Page 169 of Eight Years Gone

“You mean because of Steve’s money?”

Colton shrugged.

“Grace has never given a shit about the money. She’s happier making her own way.” The wind gusted as the sun sank closer to the horizon. “I’m going inside. It’s cold out here.”

Colton followed him up the walkway and through the front door. “How does this Bea woman have so many good recipes?”

Jagger set the bag on the entryway table to take off his jacket. “All I can say is she’s a culinary genius. Let’s impress your sister with one of her favorite meals.”

“I can do whatever. But I’m heading out at seven. I’m picking Amanda up. We’re working on our papers together.”

Jagger raised his brow. “And where is this happening?”

“At the library.”

“The library closes at nine. So does most everything else around here. I’m sure I’ll see you shortly after.”

“Yeah. Fine. Whatever. It’s not like we’re parking somewhere and making out. We’re just friends. And Amanda’s watching her little sister in the morning, so she’s not staying out late anyway.”

“Okay. Sounds good.” And it did. He was missing some alone time with Grace.

* * *

Three and a half hours later, Grace rested her back against Jagger’s chest as they snuggled on the couch, cozy under a blanket while they watched Netflix in their pajamas.

He wrapped her up closer when she yawned for the third time. “Am I losing you here?”

She shook her head as she turned to meet his gaze. “I refuse to fall asleep before Colton gets home. I want to see how things went on his study date.”

Jagger raised the remote to pause their show. “According to him, he and Amanda are just friends.”

Grace frowned. “I don’t know if I believe that. I got a vibe today at the shop. There was definitely some flirting going on.”

He nodded. “Ditto on the vibe. I saw it myself Wednesday night.”

Grace turned fully now, crisscrossing her legs in the V of his thighs. “I certainly wouldn’t hate it if they decided to date. Amanda’s super smart and kind. She’s an excellent student, and I know she does a lot of volunteer work like her mom. She has a good head on her shoulders, and she’s gorgeous. What’s not to like?”

Jagger nodded. “It seems like it could be good for both of them. I just hope they take things slow when they decide to stop dancing around the ‘we’re just friends’ thing. They’re definitely on different playing fields.”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “Colton’s been around the block. I don’t get the same impression about Amanda.”

Grace’s frown returned. “How do you know?”

He jerked his shoulders again. “About Amanda, I don’t. But Colton had a serious girlfriend for a significant amount of time, and it doesn’t sound like he’s had a ton of supervision over the last couple of years.”

Grace made a sound in her throat as she clearly mulled over what he was saying.

“I just know you and I were serious,” he continued. “We had minimal supervision, and we had sex all the time.”

“This is very true.” She snagged her lip with her teeth. “I’m not sure what we should do. He’s a junior in high school, so he needs a little breathing room. But I also don’t want to give him too much freedom. Yet I also want him to feel respected—like he has a voice in his own life.”

He tucked her hair back behind her ear. “I guess we’ll keep an eye on things. We’ll talk to him about being safe if it seems like that’s a conversation we need to have.”

She nodded as she sighed. “You’re pretty great at this whole sort-of-parenting thing.”

He grinned. “We’re doing the advanced version. We blew past the diapers phase and moved straight into sex.”

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