“It’s like this,” he said, the words coming out in a rush. “I’ve had this itch. It’s always in the same spot, always right between my shoulder blades. And I know that sounds like some sort of weird disease or mental problem, and maybe it is the latter, because I equated it all to this idiotic idea that something was missing in my life.”
Eesh. And she thought she’d been off the deep end with that 1.0 and 2.0 stuff.
“I thought it was adventure that was missing,” he rushed on, oblivious to the increasingly impatient crowd who wanted to see fireworks, not conversation. “I thought the road would fix everything, but the second I got to Costa Rica, it was all wrong.”
Grace took in a deep, shaky breath, not wanting to let herself hope, but hoping all the time.
Both of his hands moved up to cup her face, his thumbs brushing her cheeks. Julie made a gushing awww noise. Grace knew how Julie felt. It was a good move.
“I did need a change, Grace. I’d gotten sick of myself, and for good reason. I was a lot of crap and not a lot of substance.”
“Here, here,” Cole muttered.
Jake forged on. “But I didn’t see the change when it was right in front of me.” His eyes moved fondly over her face as he smoothed a strand of hair back into her now messy ponytail. “You were the change I needed. I do want to be a one-woman kind of guy, Grace. But here’s the part I forgot to mention the other day. I’ve wanted to be a one-woman kind of guy for a long time.”
“What about when the next adventure comes up?” she asked quietly.
“Then we’ll talk about it. Like a couple. Although somehow I think you’ll be all the adventure I need. I mean, just keeping you in chocolate and trying to predict your next move is exhausting.”
Her eyes searched his face, wanting so hard to believe him. “How do I know this isn’t just a phase?” What if you leave me?
“You don’t know,” he said. “You’ll just have to trust me.”
Her stomach clenched. “I’m not so good at that. Not anymore.”
“You’ve got to give me a chance, Grace,” he whispered.
“I did. And you left for freaking Central America with three days’ notice.”
He winced. “Because I messed up. And I’ll probably do it again. And so will you, but we’ll keep trying. I know we will.”
“Why?”
“God, she’s tough,” Riley grumbled from behind them.
Damn straight. She wanted it all. And without it …
She saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. “My mom warned me I was going to have to say this … she didn’t mention how hard it would be.”
“He’s talking about his mom. Smooth moves, dude,” Mitchell muttered.
“Can we please get some quiet here?” Jake hollered, sounding slightly crazed. Everyone ignored him, of course.
“It’s like this, Grace. I love you. I do. And I know this isn’t a romantic way to say it, and I should probably have truffles and Merlot and some shit, and instead someone just spilled beer all over my foot, but that’s the way my love is going to be. A little bit messy, completely confused. But it’s real.”
“Better,” Mitchell chimed in again.
But Grace wasn’t listening to any of that. She was trying to search inside herself. Maybe she’d cut 1.0 and 2.0 loose too quickly, because she needed someone to tell her what to do.…
“Stop thinking about it, Grace. Stop letting anyone else do the answering for you,” he said, his fingers linking with hers. “Besides, I already know you love me back.”
Her eyes narrowed. “That’s taking your supposed expertise with women a bit far, isn’t it?”
Wordlessly he slid a hand down her arm, gripping her hand and pulling it between them.
Then gently, purposefully, his fingers curved around and his thumb settled on the sensitive, fragile skin of her inner wrist.
Her pulse was in overdrive. Just like it had been that first day in the cab, and during that first kiss.