Page 165 of 10 Rings I Hate About You
And Marc looked at me like I mattered to him. Looking like maybe he felt the same way I did. Like maybe he felt his heart was at home with me.
“You would have figured it out,” I said.
“Eventually.” The corner of his mouth tipped up. “You’re just faster at seeing that.”
“It’s why we make such a great team. We’re there when the other needs us.”
He placed a gentle kiss on my lips. “I think you’re right. And later tonight, I’ll show you exactly how much I appreciate that.”
His voice dropped on the last words, sending a shiver of anticipation down my spine.
Holy shit.Later tonight couldn't come fast enough.
Then Josh drew Marc into a conversation with his parents. He was so incredibly lucky to have them all.
We were halfway through our food when I decided to run to the bathroom. On the way back, I stopped at the bar to grab some water.
As I stood and waited, Grace slid up next to me.
I smiled. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she said, returning my smile. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“And you won’t take it the wrong way?”
I swallowed. My body grew cold, and I had to press my hands into my thighs to help hold me up. Was this when she told me the family actually didn’t think Marc and I were right for each other? “I can try.”
Grace’s eyes widened. “Oh shit. You look like you’re about to throw up. Are you okay?”
I waved her on. What I needed was for her to say her piece. “I’m fine.”
“Okay,” she said, clearly not believing me. “What are your intentions with my brother?”
“Jesus.” I wiped my sweaty palms across my pants. “I thought you were going to tell me I wasn’t good enough for him.”
Grace just stared at me. “No, never. Why would you think that?”
I almost told her. All of it—growing up as an afterthought, learning early on that love came with conditions and distance, arriving in Ruby River carrying someone else’s legacy and being terrified of it failing.
“Just a habit," I said instead. “Ignore me.”
Grace thankfully let me off the hook.
“The thing is.” She smiled at me. “Marc’s not … he doesn’t … Marc doesn’t dothis.”She gestured vaguely in his direction. “He doesn’t let people in. He hardly ever has. He’s always let everyone lean on him and he just takes it—absorbs it—and he doesn’t ask for anything in return. And I hate that. But with you … he’s letting you in, he’s listening to your advice, and he’s not as tightly wound as he was.”
I held what she said close to my heart and put it in the space that I’d recently filled.
“I’m not interrogating you.” She paused. “Much. I just want to know that you appreciate Marc. That you see he’s showing you parts of himself he doesn’t show everyone. That you take care of his fragile little heart. Because he pretends he doesn’t have one and yet he’s the one who feels the most out of all of us.”
“I understand,” I said. And then, because Grace had just handed me something real, the least I could do was match that. “I’m not going anywhere. I know when I came here, I was an asshole to him. Now I better understand our interactions as kids, and I see that sweet man he’s afraid to show everyone. With him, I feel safe. And I can’t ever remember being able to say that about any guy I dated.”
Grace didn’t answer right away. Her gaze held mine—steady and unblinking. My fingers tightened around my glass. God, she saw too much. Then her expression shifted—warmer, accepting—and I knew we were good.
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay?”
