and I took Declan for the final fitting on the tuxes,” Nora told her. “He looks so adorable.”
Declan, Nora’s son from her first marriage, was a precocious two-year-old with curly ginger hair, adorable freckles and striking blue eyes. Nora’s fiancé hadn’t been open to taking on another man’s child at first, which had worried Gracie and Eve, and especially Sutton. But Reid proved himself to be an amazing father and the three couldn’t be happier.
“I wish there was something I could do to help,” Gracie told her. “I know you have your hands full.”
“I’m fine. For once in your life I want you to just enjoy a family event instead of feeling like you have to run it.”
But that was what Gracie did. She helped people. She sacrificed her own time to make the lives of others easier. “Well, if there’s anything you need me to do—”
“There isn’t,” Nora insisted. “You are a guest at this wedding and I want you to act like one. Which reminds me, are you planning to bring a date? I’d like to have the final list ready by tomorrow. And I’ve heard a thing or two...”
Of course she was talking about Roman.
“Would it be a problem if I brought someone?”
“Honey, of course not.”
Gracie frowned. Maybe she just didn’t understand who Gracie would be bringing. “Seriously, I can bring anyone?”
Nora laughed. “Why are you beating around the bush? If you want to bring Roman that’s fine. I think it’s better than fine.”
Huh? “You do? After what he did to our family...”
“That was a long time ago, and Eve explained that he had nothing to do with this last scandal. He’s human, Grace. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone deserves a second chance. And it’s obvious that he makes you happy. There’s a light in your eyes that I haven’t seen in ages. I’m not saying that he doesn’t have to prove himself, but I do think he has potential.”
Her relief at hearing that left her weak in the knees. “I’m in love with him again.”
“Again?”
What was her sister implying? That Gracie hadn’t really been in love with Roman before? “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I’m curious, Grace. How many men have you dated seriously in the past seven years? Just a rough number.”
Nora already knew the answer to that. Gracie had used work and her charity obligations as an excuse to avoid dating, but the truth was, no man had come along whom she’d been interested in dating more than once or twice. She always compared them to Roman.
“None,” she told her sister.
“Exactly.”
She wasn’t sure what her sister was trying to say. “Meaning what?”
“Is it possible that maybe you never stopped loving him?”
Leave it to Nora to speak her mind and tell it like it was. And of course Gracie had considered that. “At this point, I’m not really sure. I just know that I feel good when I’m with him. We just...fit. The thought of letting him back in then losing him again terrifies me. Maybe it’s not so much that I don’t trust him. Maybe I don’t trust myself.”
“I know all about loss, honey, believe me. When I lost Sean I thought I would never recover.”
Nora’s husband and childhood sweetheart, Sean O’Malley, had died fighting in the war in Iraq. He’d given his life saving other soldiers. Gracie hadn’t forgotten how devastated Nora had been to lose the love of her life. The only thing that had kept her going was her son, Declan. And she’d sworn that she would never give her heart to a man again. But here she was, now happily engaged, deeply in love and about to get married. People did get second chances.
Maybe it was now meant to be, and seven years ago just hadn’t been their time.
“Your only other option is to not try,” Nora said. “Is that what you want?”
No, not trying wasn’t an option at all. They had something good. Something special. “I can barely imagine my life without him in it. I’ve never been able to talk to anyone the way I can talk to him. He accepts me for who I am. He sees past the Winchester name and appreciates me for me. He always has. In a couple of weeks he’s gone from being my mortal enemy to my best friend. How do you give up on something like that?”
“Simple. You don’t. You give it your all, and you fight for what you want. And you don’t stop until you have no fight left in you.”
Nora was right. Gracie needed to fight for them. And the truth was that so far, she hadn’t even had to fight all that hard. Everything just seemed to be falling into place. It was almost too easy. But easy was good, and she planned to enjoy it.
“Yes,” she told her sister. “I’m bringing Roman to the wedding.”
Nora sounded genuinely pleased when she said, “Wonderful! I’m so happy for you, Grace.”
Her doorbell rang. “Speak of the devil. Roman is here. I have to go.”
“If I don’t talk to you before then, I’ll see you next Thursday. Love you!”
“Love you, too!” Gracie hung up, slipped a robe on and scurried to the door. Roman was early. He wasn’t supposed to be there for another half an hour, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t wait to see him.
She pulled the door open, ready to throw herself into his arms, and was surprised to find not Roman standing there, but Dax Caufield.
Before Gracie could say a word, Dax walked right in without invitation, and for a second she was too stunned to say or do anything. He’d been blowing up her phone and nagging her assistant since Friday, after Gracie had seen him at the restaurant. But to show up uninvited at her home?
“Dax, what are you doing here? And how did you get in?”
He avoided her question entirely. With a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, he shrugged out of his coat and said, “You’ve been avoiding me, Grace.”
She instinctively pulled her robe tighter around herself. She’d always felt comfortable with Dax. He’d been to her place a dozen times before when they’d worked on the campaign and she’d never thought twice about it. But something about this surprise visit, and the vibe she was getting from him, felt very wrong. She made a mental note to have a serious talk with her doorman. She didn’t care if it was the president there to see her, he should have called up. “As I told you the other night, I’ve been very busy.”
He took a seat on the couch, making himself comfortable. “You don’t look busy now. Let’s talk.”
Who the hell was he to tell her if she was or wasn’t busy? Why was he acting like this? “This is not a good night for me.”
“I won’t take too much of your time,” he said. “I promise.”
He
