Page 35 of Trusting Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings 2)

11

Grace was—asthe kids said—shook.

Had that actually just happened?

Had Easton told her that the only woman he was interested in was standing in front of him?

Had he said that she’d made him feel nervous and jealous?

And, if it had happened, why did that make him so sexy?

Nervousness and jealousy weren’t exactly hot qualities in a man.

Grace had always valued and been attracted to strength, confidence, and self-assuredness.

So why did it turn me on so much to hear Easton admit his weakness?

As soon as she asked herself the question, she knew the answer. It was because the truth was everyone experienced jealousy and nervousness. It took someone who was truly strong, confident, and self-assured to admit feeling those things.

She’d never in her life met a man who was so open with his emotions and feelings. The skeptic side of her, which was normally her most dominant side, pointed out that this could be him playing the long game and that being “vulnerable” and “open” was part of it. But the other side of her, the optimistic side that was usually dormant, was saying that he was just being honest and real with his emotions.

Her hands were so shaky she fumbled with her keys as she pressed the fob to unlock the door. When she got in and sat down, she noticed that her breathing was shallow and erratic. As she pulled out of the parking lot of the bar, she sounded like she’d just run a marathon.

Which reminded her. Easton had run quite a few marathons, including several triathlons including two IRONMANs, one in Africa and one in New Zealand.

Who did that?

Although, it did explain the athleticism she’d observed the night before when he’d unpacked her car in a matter of seconds. That had to be a piece of cake compared to a race that included swimming, biking, and running.

That sounded like her worst nightmare. But it wasn’t Easton’s since he’d done it multiple times.

And he was staying at the B&B. They would be sharing a bathroom. Grace didn’t know if she was excited about that development or not. Part of her was thrilled, she had to admit. But another part of her was terrified.

If she was this discombobulated and she’d known him less than twenty-four hours, what was going to happen if she spent a week, or two weeks under the same roof as him? She had no clue how long it would take to find a house, even a rental that she could stay in until she was able to buy something. The market in this small town was so different than in LA.

From the little bit of research she’d been able to do after most of her morning was taken up by doing a deep dive into Easton Bishop, she’d learned that Hope Falls boasted a ton of rental properties, but the catch was, they weren’t long-term. They sat vacant most of the time but were booked up during peak seasons, which were winter and summer. A lot of tourists spent their holidays in Hope Falls and since they were just a few weeks out from Thanksgiving, Grace worried she’d have a difficult time finding temporary housing.

Which meant she might be stuck at the B&B.

That both excited and terrified her in equal measures.

Grace felt out of sorts, like she was coming out of her skin as she approached the downtown area of Hope Falls where Lauren’s realty office was located. She was so distracted she almost didn’t notice that it was already decorated for the holidays, string lights were hung on anything that stood still. At night this town was going to look like a Hallmark Christmas movie come to life.

Grace’s mom had always talked about wanting to spend the holidays in Hope Falls. The town had a Christmas festival that Cora Wells had always wanted to see, but for some reason that had never happened.

Actually, now that Grace thought about it, this would be the first time since their mom passed that all four of the sisters would be together for the holidays because Ava left for college just a few months after their mom died. Over the years that followed, two or even three of them had been together for Christmas and Thanksgiving but never all four. And they would be spending it in Hope Falls.

Grace could feel her mom smiling down on them.

The decision Grace had made had been spur of the moment and might seem irresponsible, but realizing she was going to be with her sisters, all together for the first time since they lost their mom was just one more sign that it was the right decision.

As she pulled up in front of the real estate office, she saw that there were at least a dozen people lined up outside and they were a very eclectic bunch. The only commonality was that they appeared to be in groups of two. Some people looked like they were rehearsing lines, a practice she could spot from a mile away since she’d grown up in LA, others were checking makeup and hair. There was a man on the ground doing pushups.

This had to be a casting of some sort.

That might seem out of place in Hope Falls, but it actually wasn’t. Easton’s actress sister-in-law wasn’t the only entertainer that lived in the town. A-list actor Kyle Austen Reed and pop star Karina Black also called Hope Falls their home.

Even the woman who Grace was going to see, Lauren Harrison-Stevens had two real estate reality shows with her husband Ben, Home Sweet Home, and a spinoff called Home Sweet Vacation Home. Maybe the line of people had something to do with one of those shows.

---