Page 97 of Trusting Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings 2)

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Easton stoodin the staging area of the Christmas Parade at the community center and shifted back and forth on his feet, not able to contain his excitement as he waited for Grace. They were going to be the Grand Marshalls of the parade.

“Do you need to take a leak?” Evan asked as he walked up to him.

His brother hadn’t asked him if he had to use the bathroom since they were kids going to the movie theater, because he knew his mom would make him go with Easton if he had to go during the movie. “No, I’m good.”

“Then why are you doing the pee pee dance?” Eli asked, joining Evan and Easton.

His brothers were also in the parade. They would be riding on the fire truck.

“I’m not.” Easton couldn’t stand still because he’d decided that tonight was the night.

He’d been giving Grace space for the past few days, but he had a gut feeling it was backfiring on him. So tonight, he decided he was going to make things official. Or at least try.

Before his brothers could grill him any further on his bladder, Grace walked up to join them. Like it did every time he saw her, the oxygen in his lungs escaped. She truly did take his breath away. She was wearing a red turtleneck sweater with black jeans that had rips in the knees and the same ankle boots she’d worn the night he met her. The outfit might have looked basic or plain on someone else, but on Grace it looked stunning.

“Hi beautiful.” Easton leaned forward, placed his hand on Grace’s hip and pressed a kiss to Grace’s mouth.

She didn’t tense, but she also didn’t melt against him as she smiled at all three of the men. “Hey.”

Her greeting was not personal to him, it included his brothers. He didn’t want to read too much into that but the interaction only solidified what he had planned. Things had been strange between them since the finale and he wanted, no needed, things to be right between them again.

“Well, we’ll see you two later.” Evan dipped his chin in a nod and headed toward his wife Shayne, who was also going to be riding in the parade with another actor who lived in Hope Falls, Kyle Austen Reed.

Eli stared between Easton and Grace for several moments before clapping his hands together. “Okay, well, see you two love birds after the parade.”

Relief washed over Easton when it was just himself and Grace. Well, himself and Grace and about a hundred other people gathered in the parking lot of the community center. But it didn’t matter how many people were around when he was with Grace it felt like just the two of them.

“How did the house hunting go?”

“It was fine.” Grace shrugged her left shoulder, as she smiled up at him. It wasn’t her normal smile, the one that went all the way to her eyes, but it also wasn’t a tense smile. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what kind of smile it was. It looked like she was nervous.

“Did you find anything you liked?”

“There was a bungalow with a river view that was nice.”

Easton had already spoken to Lauren, and he knew that Grace hadn’t put any offers on anything. Which he was glad about.

“How is the writing going?” Grace asked.

“Slow.” He hadn’t written a damn thing. For the past few days, he’d been miserable. Right after the press junket was over, Grace decided to stay with Audrey. Her reasoning was that she wanted to give Easton time to write but he knew better. She was pulling away from him.

He was almost positive he knew why. She was scared. He’d seen the fear in her eyes when the host of Good Morning Sacramento had asked if they saw wedding bells in their future. She’d tried to hide her reaction, but he’d seen it.

And since then, she’d been distancing herself. There was one of two ways he could handle the situation, let her go and see if she figured out that what she really wanted was him. Or double down, go big or go home, go all in and every other cliché he could think of.

He’d decided to take the cliché route.

“Grace.” He stepped closer to her and placed his hand on her lower back when he heard a honking sound.

He looked up and saw his truck being driven toward them. But, it couldn’t be his truck because his truck had been totaled. But it was the same year, make, model, and color.

Josh got out, wearing a big smile on his face and keys in his hand. “I would give these to you, but since I’m driving you for the parade, I would just need them back.”

“What?” Easton asked Josh and looked over at Grace who was smiling up at him.

“It’s not your truck, but it’s the same year, make, model, interior and exterior color and it actually has less miles on it.”

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