Page 24 of Royal Agenda

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, but she’d already started talking to the teenager behind the glass.

Once they ordered, they went to sit at one of the tables under an umbrella.

“Oh, man! Look at those waves.” Stephán stood up and wandered to the handrail.

Grace stayed put. She needed a minute without him, which didn’t bode well for a potential boyfriend. He stayed there, staring at the ocean instead of talking to her, right up until they called her number at the window. Instead of helping her with the food, he met her at the table and dug right in.

She raised her eyebrows. “You in a hurry?”

He shoved three pieces of pepperoni in his mouth at a time. “Yeah. I want to get back on the water.”

She folded the paper plate in half, the large piece of pizza inside. “I’m going back to Grandma’s to eat. I’ll see you later.” Standing, she put on her sunglasses and walked away.

“What about the board?” he yelled after her. “Hey! I can’t carry two.”

“Bull,” she said under her breath as she kept walking. He could think whatever he wanted about her ignoring him. The man had been a total jerk today.

It wasn’t just today. He was careless and rude. Grandma was right, he left his things laying around and used her house like it was his personal beach shack. He should have been a gracious guest. Grandma had been the hostess with the mostest patience and deserved better,

The beach was the fastest way to Grandma’s but she wasn’t in a hurry. The annoyance she’d felt at Stephán didn’t sit well with her. She wasn’t the type of person to hold grievances. There were precious few things you could take with you when you died, and she didn’t want to show up at the Pearly Gates with a backpack full of grudges. She’d always known Stephán’s first love was the ocean. Maybe if she felt the same, she’d understand why he treated people the way he did.

She didn’t.

What she’d come to understand through working with old records was that falling in love with things here was as foolish as buying a toy at the dollar store and expecting it to last forever. Not that this life wasn’t beautiful. She frowned. Maybe she just found that beauty in a different place than Stephán— family.

By the time she got to Grandma’s kitchen, she was hotter than the sand on the beach. She threw her meal on the table and slammed the drawer shut after getting out a knife and fork.

Grandma came in from her bedroom. She glanced around the room.

“He’s not here.” Grace sniffed. Her nose liked to run when her face got hot.

“Well, I’m not complaining.” Grandma pulled out her chair and sat down. She reached for Grace’s lunch and began arranging it.

Grace grabbed two plates and a knife. “Want half my pizza?”

Grandma shook her head. “I probably shouldn’t.”

Grace proceeded to cut off one-quarter of the slice. She put it on a plate and passed it to Grandma. “Just don’t let it clog up your heart. I don’t want to be the bad influence that leads you down the path of destruction.”

Grandma laughed. “You’re too late. I’ve already been down it and back again.”

Grace laughed. She sat down and began to eat. Her stringy, salt-water hair fell over her shoulder and she tucked it behind her ear. The shampoo Ryker gave her would do wonders to wash out the salt and the conditioner softened it. She closed her eyes and put herself right back in his chair, his fingers in her hair, and suddenly all her stress from the afternoon melted away. Why didn’t she mentally go to that place before? Because that’s what anger does to a person, it blots out the goodness in life like paint splatters over a beautiful canvas.

Grandma nibbled on her slice. She put it down and pinned Grace with a stare. “I have to ask; what do you see in him?”

Grace choked on the question. Coughing, she pounded her chest while her eyes watered. “Who? Ryker?” she gasped out. Maybe the pepperoni was spicy?

“No, Stephán.” Grandma went to the sink and brought back a glass of water. “Why did you think I was talking about Ryker? I haven’t said a word about him.”

Grace drank deeply. “No reason.” She wiped her lips with a pathetic paper napkin..

Grandma patted her back before sitting down. “Have you been thinking about Ryker?”

Grace’s cheeks burned. “Let’s stick to the subject.”

Grandma hmmed. She sat back in her chair and took another small bite of pizza. “Did I ever tell you that I almost didn’t marry your Grandpa?”

“No! Why? What?” Grace couldn’t get whole questions out. She thought she’d recorded all of Grandpa’s history and stories before he passed away. Dangling this new one in front of her was like waving a piece of Cocoa’s chocolate cake under her nose. She plopped her chin on her fist and rested her elbow on the table, giving Grandma her full attention. “Tell me everything.”

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