Page 53 of Feel It All

We head into the restaurant and give the hostess our name. She escorts us through the dining area out to the balcony that looks over the water. We thank her and take our seats.

“This is so nice; I love the view,” I wink at him, careful to not specify whether the view I am talking about is the water or him. It’s a little bit of both, really.

“Tell me about it,” he winks back at me. Our waiter comes up with the menus, and Graham orders us a bottle of Riesling.

“So, what’s our plan for this weekend?” I ask while skimming the menu.

“Well, tomorrow for your birthday, we have the festival and carnival. Your sisters, Ivy, and Owen will be here around 3. I figured I would hold you captive in bed for a little while first. Then Sunday we have brunch with my mom.”

“What about your dad? Are we meeting him?” The waiter comes back with the wine and pours us both a glass.

“I sent him a text that we would be in town, and he said cool, so no.” Graham takes a drink of the wine. “He is more the call me-when-you’re-dying kind of dad.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Does that bother you?” I feel bad. I wouldn’t know what to do without my dad.

“Not really. It’s the way he has always been. He’s not a bad guy, just not one to show any emotion or affection either. Now, my mom on the other hand has not left me alone since I told her about you. I think she messages me five questions a day. It was much to her dismay that she won’t see us till Sunday.”

I chuckle. “I’m excited to meet her; think she will like me?” I ask, reaching for my glass. I’d be lying if I said I’m not nervous about meeting her.

“She’ll love you, just be prepared: She can be a little overbearing. She may ask you to convince me to have us move in with her or ask you about how many children you want right away.” Graham’s lips curve up in a smile, and he laughs.

“Why are you laughing? Are you a giggle drunk too?” I tease him.

“No, it’s nothing,” he waves me off.

“Oh, no way, buddy. Tell me what you made you laugh,” I play footsie with him, trying to pester him into telling me.

“It’s nothing, Win. I guess I just thought it was funny that I never really thought about introducing any girl to my mom before. Now, there’s you, and I think about a lot of things.”

My cheeks turn pink, and I try to use my wine glass to hide my cheesy smile. “Yeah, like what?”

“I guess you will just have to wait to find out,” he smirks at me, and our waiter comes up and takes our orders. I was so wrapped up in him that I really hadn’t even looked at the menu. I pick out the first thing that sounds good and go with that.

We fall into casual conversation, our food comes, and we devour it. Every bite was so delicious that we fell silent, leaving only the sound of our forks against the plates. The waiter comes back and asks us about dessert, but I couldn’t eat another bite. Graham pays the bill, and we head back to the bed and breakfast.

“That was wonderful, Graham, thank you.” I interlock my fingers with his as we walk up the little path leading up to Rosemary’s.

Graham wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me in, and kisses the top of my head. “Anything for you, buttercup. Now I will have to apologize to you though.” We pause halfway up the path.

“Why?” My anxiety skyrockets.

“I can already see Mary peering out the window at us; she’s dying to get ahold of you. Promise me you will still love me after she tells you all of my embarrassing high school stories.” He places his forehead to mine.

“I promise,” I smile.

“Good, let’s go.”

And with a quick kiss, we head inside.

Chapter 15

Graham

Myheadhasbeenspinning ever since Winry’s confession. She loves me, and obviously I love her, but she actually loves me too. Every time I look at her, I want to tell her again and then kiss her senseless. I’m pretty sure I have been turned on ever since she said those words. I want nothing more than to go back into our room, but right now I am being cockblocked by my best friends from high school. We don’t even make it halfway to the door and I spot Mary peeping from the window.

“Oh, yay, you’re back. Sage is in bed and Jace just went out to light the fire. Perfect timing,” Mary beams. She has always been this way; she has never met a stranger, and she is not about to start with Winry.

“Huh, it’s almost like someone was watching us from the window,” I raise my eyebrows at her.

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