Page 12 of Stick Around
His mind flashed to Grace sitting in a chair beside him in his backyard. Laughing while Billy poked at the fire in the pit. The honey-orange dusk light glowing against her perfect skin.
Jesus Christ. Grace.
He knew he should feel bad about last night. It was the wrong thing to do and the absolute worst timing, to top it off. He should have been curled up in a ball somewhere, grieving for Brian. Or been with Madison and Lauren, taking care of them. But he didn’t feel bad. He felt like the worst moment of his life had somehow delivered the best. That he’d experienced his lowest low and highest high in a span of hours.
Noah’s going to lose his fucking mind when he finds out.
Billy had stayed away from Grace for years because of Noah. Billy was sixteen years old when he asked Noah if it would be okay if he asked his sister to go skating with him. Noah had been furious and demanded Billy stay away, citing some bullshit about the Bro Code. Other guys on the team agreed sisters were off limits, so Billy had kept his distance. But after last night, he didn’t care if he lost Noah as a friend. Hell, he didn’t care if he lost every friend he’d ever had. After years of keeping his desire for her in check, he’d finally had a little taste of Grace, and there was no goddamn way he was going back.
Not now that he knew he had a chance with her. He’d kept his distance in high school by telling himself she was too good for him.She is too fuckin’ good for me. She’s perfect. Beautiful, brilliant, kind. And the biggest heart in town.But after last night, maybe she felt it too.
Billy’d had his fair share of hookups. More than his fair share, probably. Enough to understand what happened between them was something different. It wasn’t just sex.
His mind flashed back to her face, glistening with the heat between them, bouncing up and down in his line of vision as she rode his dick. Her teeth biting down on her plump lower lip before her mouth flung open with pleasure. Her head rolling back, first to the left before circling back around, swishing her shiny onyx tresses across her back. And her eyes locked on his.
It had been beyond sex, beyond intimate. It felt like Grace could see right through him, right down into the pain and confusion and fear surging through him. That she saw him. All of him.
She had to have felt it too, didn’t she? There’s no way that was all me.He shook the thought away. It didn’t matter. There was no going back for him. He’d find a way to make Grace fall in love with him if it killed him.
In love?The word flushed him with nervous energy. He turned it over a little in his head, shifted his body around as though he were trying it on.
Yes. Love. I love Grace. And somehow, I’m going to make her love me, too.
Billy cranked the last nut tight, pulled his gloves off, and wiped his brow with his sleeve. Save Avery Autos and win the girl of his dreams, all while juggling an impossible combination of crushing grief and euphoric passion.Yeah, okay. No problem.
6
Grace
Garden saladwith leftover rotisserie chicken. Grace poked at her lunch with her fork while she waited for Meg to show up. The hospital had a picnic table out on the north side of the property surrounded by trees on three sides. It wasn’t visible from any of the hospital doors, so patients and guests rarely ended up wandering out there. It was Grace’s favorite spot to take her breaks now that the snow had melted and the spring sunshine made occasional appearances.
She pulled her phone from her pocket to check for an ‘I’m running late’ text from Meg just as she rounded the tree line.
“Hey.” Meg pushed her sunglasses on top of her head as she sat down. “Sorry I’m late.” She plopped her slouchy, oversized tote on the bench and rummaged inside, pulling out a can of Pepsi, followed by an apple and a small bag of Doritos.
Grace tipped her head to the side and arched a disapproving brow. “That is not your dinner.”
“Calm down.” Meg waved the apple at Grace. “I have fruit, okay?”
Grace grinned and shook her head at her best friend.
Meg opened the tab of her soda can with a sharp pop and took a slurp. “Let’s get right into it. How are you? Tell me everything.”
Grace sighed.Where to begin?
“So, I was supposed to be on night shift last night. Or, I guess, Iwason night shift last night. And we got a call that there'd been an accident at Avery Autos and an ambulance was bringing someone in.”
Meg nodded and crunched a Dorito.
“Mr. Avery had slipped, I guess, on the sleet that came down last night. He fell back off some machine he was using to move scrap trucks in the yard and hit his head. We called for a transport, but it was too late.”
Grace picked her fork back up and pushed her salad around a little more.
“Wow.” Meg shook her head. “I can’t believe Mr. Avery died. I feel sick for Madison and Lauren.”
“They came last night. It was horrible.” Grace’s voice cracked as she spoke.
Meg put a hand to her heart. “I’m so sorry you had to see that. Are you okay?”
