I slide one leg to the ground an
d try to dislodge her body without waking her. She mutters something in her sleep, and her arms fall down, her hand resting on my lower stomach. A hiss slips through my lips, and I go still.
Her heartbeat quickens against my ribcage, and I know she’s waking up.
“Morning.” I kiss a few times along her hairline.
“Good morning. What time is it?” Her voice is full of sleep and comes out hoarse.
“Not sure, but I think it’s still pretty early.”
She sighs, nuzzling deeper into my chest. “One week could equal one month, one year, one decade…” she mumbles.
“What’s that?”
“Hmmm, something Bizzy told me yesterday is beginning to make sense.”
“Babe, are you still asleep? You’ve lost me.”
She raises her head and scoots back enough for me to get a good look at her face. I’m momentarily frozen at the sight. I’ve gotten used to being stunned by her beauty, but this is different. No words come to mind as I stare at her and decide I want to wake up to this every morning.
“Didn’t you know? I thought she’d have told you.”
“Who?”
“Bizzy, she came to visit me yesterday.”
My heart starts racing, and I’m torn between aggravated and relieved. “Did she now?” I ask, trying to hide any reaction.
“Yes, is that okay?”
“Depends… I guess I’m not surprised. I should have guessed she wouldn’t stay away and wait until Sunday to reacquaint herself. Seeing as you’re in my arms the next morning, she didn’t chase you away, so I’d say, so far so good.”
“She loves you.”
“She does, and I love her.”
“She’s a special person. I can see why you’re so close.”
The hair on the back of my neck starts to prickle. This could go either way. I know Bizzy would never be ugly to Grace, but I also know how far her protective streak reaches.
“Want to tell me what she said?”
Grace gives me a rundown of their visit, but nothing seems out of the ordinary.
“So what’s this one week could equal one month stuff all about?”
Her face starts to get splotchy, and my curiosity grows.
“Grace?” My hand tightens on her hip.
“Actually, it was Claire who used that phrase. She was trying to make a point, saying that time doesn’t seem to matter to the Bennett brothers.”
At the mention of Claire, I start to get anxious. “Claire was there, too?”
Grace nods. “She was, and I really like her. She’s actually very funny.”
I relax because this is true, but Claire can be a little saucy and a lot mouthy. There’s no telling what she will say.