Page 76 of Trusting Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings 2)

“That’s almost as ridiculous as you saying that I’m adorable.”

Easton still wasn’t sure what her problem was with that word, but he’d have to circle back to that because he felt like they had bigger fish to fry right now. “It is sweet, Grace. Your feelings would only get hurt if you cared about me. And honestly, if my brothers knew something significant about you that I didn’t, I would feel the same way. I know that you don’t want to put a label on us—”

“I just put a label on us,” she quickly corrected him. “We’re in a situationship.”

He grinned. “Okay, well I know that our situationship hasn’t exactly been traditional. We’ve sort of skipped a lot of steps that people usually go through when they are getting to know each other. I’m not saying I would do any of it differently, I wouldn’t. I love our situationship.” Easton had to stop himself from saying, and I love you. He didn’t think that Grace would believe him if he did. He needed to show her. Grace was a person who valued actions over words. “But I think because of how we started, it just never dawned on me to tell you. I wasn’t trying to intentionally hide anything from you.”

“I know,” Grace nodded.

He could see that she wanted to believe him, but he could also see that it was difficult for her to do so. He decided he needed to take another approach. “Do you think I would ever lie to you?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I wasn’t saying that you were lying to me I just—”

He cut off her explanation. “Grace you might not know every detail about my life, but you know me. You probably know me better than anyone, including my family.”

She gave him another look that clearly communicated she thought he was being even more ludicrous than when he told her it was sweet that she got upset or that she was adorable.

“I’m serious. My mom thought I was lying to her about where I was spending Thanksgiving. I would never outright lie to my mom. Did I avoid her calls? Yes. But I wouldn’t lie to her. My family loves me, unconditionally. But I don’t think they’ve ever really understood me or my lifestyle. You said Kenzie told Viv that my family has always been worried that I’d end up with a gold digger. Do you think that I would ever end up with someone who just wanted me for my money?”

“No.” Grace shook her head as her brow furrowed. “Never.”

“Why? Why do you think that?”

“Because you’re too smart for that. You’d sniff out someone with bad intentions in one conversation. You would never be attracted to someone like that. Ever. Even if they were Sophia Loren or Jane Mansfield.”

Easton grinned because she remembered who he said his first crushes were the night they stayed up talking in the snowstorm. And she’d just proved his point. “You see me, Grace. The real me. I felt it the first time you looked at me. You didn’t see what I looked like—”

“Pfft,” she let out a forced laugh and shot him an I-beg-to-differ look.

“You didn’t only see what I looked like. You saw past that. You saw who I am. And I like to think I saw you. I think I do see you.”

* * *

Grace was veryaware that everything Easton was saying to her was what any woman would want to hear. Especially from a man looking at them the way Easton was looking at her, but to her, it was all a little bit…overwhelming.

The room was dim, with only moonlight shining in through the window. But Grace could see Easton’s face clearly. The intensity in his stare and the intimacy in his words were a lot for Grace to take in.

She’d kept people at such a distance for so long, that having this conversation was sort of like someone who had never run a mile before doing a 10k on their first jog.

As much as she wished she could respond to the things he’d said, she couldn’t. She wasn’t capable of being as raw and vulnerable as he was. The thought of continuing this conversation terrified her because she had no idea what the right thing was to say. She wasn’t used to that. She’d spent the last ten years professionally knowing exactly what to say and when to say it. And she’d been the best of the best at it.

But with Easton, it was different. With Easton, she felt like a deer trying to stand for the first time, or a kid trying to learn to ride a bike without ever having training wheels. She felt off balance and unstable.

“I’m really tired,” she said hoping not to offend him. She was just starting to feel claustrophobic, like the walls were closing in on her. “Can we finish this later?”

He didn’t say a word. He just wrapped his arm around her and tugged her down with him so that they were spooning. His arm tightened around her waist as he kissed her on the top of the head.

Grace closed her eyes and felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes. He was right. He did know her. Probably better than she knew herself. Because this, being held, feeling safe, is exactly what she needed when she’d thought she needed space.

She snuggled against him as he ran his hand up and down her thigh beneath the blanket. This was the same position that they’d been in the first night together in her SUV. Her mind flashed back to that night, the way he made her feel. How much she intrinsically trusted him with her body.

With Easton, it had been different from the beginning and that theme continued until now. Everything with him was just…more. Even though they were both clothed, somehow being beneath the blanket felt very intimate. Or maybe it was because she’d just been so vulnerable with Easton that she was feeling exposed.

The longer she laid there, the more antsy she got. Today had been such a draining day and she just wanted, needed something to take her mind off everything. She wanted to shut her brain off and just feel.

“I wish sex was on the table,” she confessed.

For some reason, telling Easton what she wanted and needed physically was a hell of a lot easier than telling him what she wanted or needed emotionally.

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