Page 70 of Grace on the Rocks

After a night of tossing and turning thatonlyWescould have slept through,Gracesprang out of bed the moment the clock turned from 6:59 to 7:00.

Last night’s kiss had been…

Well…

Thinking about it made her skin feel tight and itchy, like he was poison ivy and she was now rashy from head to toe.

The kiss itself had been nothing short of magical.Thatwas the problem.BecausethenGracehad accidentally groped the life out of him, and of course he interpreted it as an invitation—how could he fucking not?

I’m on my period.

God.

First of all, mighty presumptuous to assume the kiss was leading anywhere, because was it?Butthen again, he was a man and they were both adults, so wasn’t it, whether she’d felt him up or not?Wasn’titalways?Whatdate had ever kissed her just for kissing’s sake?Ordone it half so well?

God.

ButI’mon my period?

Dios mio, her abuela’s voice sounded in her head.Whatwere you thinking, mija?

She wasn’t thinking at all.Itwas the first excuse to pop into her head as she grasped for a way to exit one situation before it led to a whole other situation.Becauseif hehadgotten any ideas thanks to her wandering hand, she was too close to the edge of a bad decision to turn him down, despite knowing she’d end up regretting it.

So she used the only excuse that ever worked.

Because the kissing had beengood—his heat and the smoky, spicy taste of him, and his hand on the small of her back, and him beingnice—and of course she had to stop it right there before they took it further.Becausefurther never ended well.

Not forGrace.

So she told him she was on her period and scurried away to the bedroom like a freaked-out freshman at the junior-senior prom.

She had ten thousand words to catch up on writing today, butI’mon my periodwere the only four rattling around in her brain, over and over on a humiliating endless loop.

No wonder she couldn’t write.

She sat staring at her dark computer, trying to order her thoughts and plan her chapters for the day, and definitely not hiding as he pottered softly around the house.Eventuallyhe’d get to work, and she could sneak out of this room unseen.

When the force of his sledgehammer attacking stone shook the walls, and floor, and ceiling, and practically rattledGracedown to her bones, it was finally enough to rouseWes, who rolled over and pulled the pillow against her face.

He let loose another swing and she moaned a little. “YourStoicScotis really pissed at that wall, huh?” she asked in the froggy, morning voice of someone who’d slept deeply and peacefully for nine hours the night before. “Whyare you already up?Areyou writing?Didyou go to bed?Orcome to bed?”

“I’ll go tell him to knock it off,”Gracesaid, slipping out the door, but as soon as she was in the hall with no bra and burning cheeks, she realized she’d do no such thing.

The muscles in his shoulders rippled as he took another swing.

Grace abruptly detoured for the bathroom to catch her breath.

The sight of the tiny, ugly shower reminded her how desperately she missed her bathtub back home.Itwas the one redeeming feature of her apartment.

Next time she picked aB&B, she’d ensure there was a nice big tub.Notthat she’d chosen this one.

She closed her eyes and leaned back against the door, softly knocking her head against it.Thesight of a pair of brawny biceps in cut-off sleeves should not unsettle her so easily.

When she opened her eyes again, she took in the tiny room anew.Couldshe hide in here forever?Wasthere an outlet for her computer?Shecould sit on the toilet with her laptop on the counter…Hergaze landed on a basket placed strategically by the sink.Thathadn’t been there last night.

It was a plain wicker basket, but it held—oh god.Itheld everything: a variety pack of sanitary pads, a similar assortment of tampons, a hot water bottle with a soft, fuzzy cover.Therewere abdominal heat patches, a bottle of ibuprofen and another of paracetamol, not to mention a bunch ofCadburychocolate bars.

Her heart flip-flopped at the gesture even as she willed the floor to crack open and bury her alive.MaybeCaitrionahad left it somewhere, andWesset it out?

---