Fortuity (Transcend 3)

Easing my legs over the side of the bed, I sit and run my fingers through my hair. I jump at her touch. Gracelyn’s fingers feathering along my back.

“I did this …” she says, softly outlining the cuts on my back.

“Is it bad?”

“Not if you don’t look at it.”

I chuckle.

She kneels behind me, pressing her naked body to my back as her fingers thread through my hair and her teeth tease my ear. “No regrets.”

“None?” I reach behind with one hand and grab her ass, giving it a squeeze. I know she means the cuts on my back. I don’t. There’s something much bigger than that. A bigger elephant in the room.

She kisses the back of my neck. “None.”

I twist my torso to see her face. She sits back on her heels and pulls the sheet up to cover her chest.

“I have to shower and get ready for my conference.”

She frowns. “You should skip.”

“I can’t. I accepted the job at the university. They expect me to return with new knowledge.”

“You took the job?” Her brow wrinkles as she chews on her bottom lip.

“Playtime was over. It’s time to work again.”

On a slow nod, she lifts her gaze to me. “That feels permanent.”

“I’m going to talk to Gabe. Man to man. I think he’d love Madison.”

“So … we’re moving. Uprooting. My job doesn’t matter. His friends. His soccer team. You left San Diego with no job and no home when you could have stayed. Morgan could have gone to school with Gabe and made friends. You could have applied to one of the colleges in San Diego.”

I sigh. “I promised Morgan I’d take her home.”

“I promised Gabe I wouldn’t take him away from his.”

Scrubbing my hands over my face, I shake my head. “We’ll figure it out. I have to get going.”

She gives me a slight nod and a sad smile. I lean in and kiss her frown before heading to the bathroom.

I turn, inspecting my back. “Damn … Gracelyn …” I whisper, cringing at the smeared blood that must be on the sheets as well. It gives me a weird sense of pride.

By the time I get out of the shower, she’s gone. Sitting on the bed, I rub my towel over my head. This won’t be easy, but I won’t give up. I won’t ever give up.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Gracelyn

I shower. Stare out the window for an hour. And convince myself to take a walk. By the time I return to the hotel, I’m hungry. The restaurants are busy, which makes me regret not grabbing something while I was exploring.

“Hey, stranger.”

My head turns behind me to the sports bar. Steve waves at me from a high-top table.

I grin and squeeze through the crowd waiting to be seated. “That looks amazing.” I eye his sandwich and fries.

He pops a fry into his mouth. “It is. I tried to find you at the reception after the hoopla of toasts and cake cutting.”

“I—”

“Do you need a menu?” the waiter interrupts.

“Oh. I haven’t put my name in. I’m just—”

“She’s with me. Yes, a menu would be great.” Steve nods to the other stool at the small table.

The waiter sets a menu on it.

I wrinkle my nose, not sure about this.

“I hear it’s an hour wait. But maybe you’re not hungry.”

I hop onto the stool and rest my purse on my lap. “Starving actually.”

“I didn’t see you out on the dance floor. A lot of people were dancing into the wee hours, burning off all the food and cake.”

I grin. I burned plenty of calories last night. “I ran into a friend. We … hung out.”

“Would this be the friend you chased when we were in the elevator?”

The waiter sets a water on the table for me. “Have you decided?”

“Um …” I nod to Steve’s plate. “Same thing he’s having.”

“Extra blue cheese too?”

“Oh,” I wrinkle my nose. “No cheese.”

The waiter nods and takes my menu.

I fold my hands on the table. “Yes. Same friend. We met last summer. I haven’t seen him in months.”

“Seemed like an…” he takes a swig of his soda “…odd exchange.”

I shrug. “Just a misunderstanding. Your daughter did a great job yesterday. She’s adorable.”

“Thanks. She was upset that you caught the bouquet. Then you just … vanished. I was going to ask you for a dance. It felt like it was the least I could do after getting you drunk Friday.”

“Dancing is your form of an apology? Wow … you must be quite the dancer.”

He smirks. “You’ll never know now.”

“Where’s your daughter today?”

“She flew home with her mom this morning.”

“When are you going home?”

“Not sure. I ran into this woman Friday night. We went to high school together. She said she’s here for a week. I thought maybe I’d see if she wants to check out the city with me.”

My eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. “Oh … me?”