lack of sleep, stubble covered his jaw, and his hair was sticking up every which way.
“Gah,” he said to his own reflection.
He finished brushing his teeth and attempted to wet his hair to get it to behave. After a few go-rounds with the comb, he finally just ran his fingers through it and popped in his earbuds.
It was cold. The clearing of the storm left the sky void of clouds. This made for a beautiful morning, but a chilly one as well. He shivered as he warmed his muscles up. His head was foggy, lack of sleep and a persistent state of arousal causing serious issues with his cognitive abilities.
As he stretched and walked along the footpath, he craned his neck in search of Grace. He passed by her cottage and saw no lights on. Disappointment filled him as he realized she must be sleeping, tired from staying up so late. He set his playlist and began his run, hoping to distract himself from thoughts of the night before.
If he was going to get anything done, he needed to stop thinking of her.
Chapter 8
“Is it safe? Are you decent?” Valerie asked, her eyes scrunched tightly shut as she popped open Grace’s bedroom door the next morning.
The smell of coffee filled her room and the sound of birds chirping outside her window signaled fair weather. The night seemed like a dream. She reached out her arms and stretched all the way to her toes as she took a deep breath and smiled to herself.
The door creaked as Valerie poked her head inside, one hand holding a steaming cup of coffee.
“I’m alone.”
Valerie opened her eyes, clearly surprised. “But, I thought, Drew?”
Grace shook her head and took the offered cup. “He left around two.”
Valerie waggled her eyebrows suggestively, leaning against the door frame. “Really? I pictured him as more of an overnighter, breakfast in the morning, maybe even lunch.”
“No, it wasn’t like that. Nothing happened.”
“That’s not what it looked like when I got home.”
“Well, yeah. It sort of killed the mood knowing you were in the next room.”
Valerie had the good sense to look abashed. “Sorry.”
Grace shrugged and brought the coffee to her lips. She felt like she owed Valerie some kind of explanation. After all, she’d become more than just an assistant over the last year. After John died Valerie was the one who’d kept her focused and together. Things were different in Braley. They’d become much less like co-workers and more like good friends.
She remembered fondly the day she’d spent packing her house, readying everything for their move across the ocean. Valerie had changed, morphing into a friend almost instantly.
The doorbell had rung promptly at eight-fifteen. Impeccably punctual, she’d thought as she opened the door to see a harried-looking Valerie balancing a carrier with two coffees on top of a box of fresh bagels. In her other hand, she held a tape gun and at least five sharpies of various colors.
“What is all this?” she asked with an amused smile.
Valerie blew a stray piece of hair from her face as she handed the coffee and bagels over. “Sustenance and supplies!”
“Yeah, but why so many sharpies?”
“Color coding.” Valerie rolled her eyes as if this was normal for everyone.
“Can’t I just label the boxes in the same color?”
Valerie looked at her with her mouth agape. “Oh, sure. Go ahead, if you want to be searching all over the place for kitchen boxes because they got put in the bathroom.”
Grace snickered under her breath and set off to the already sparse kitchen.
“I see. You know most of this is going into storage, right?”
The day had passed slowly while they packed and occasionally emailed the office. Her replacement was a competent architect in his own right and she wasn’t concerned about his ability to take care of things. It was just about lunchtime when Valerie poked her head up from a box she was working on.
“What do you want to do with this?” she said, holding up a box labeled,
“Gah,” he said to his own reflection.
He finished brushing his teeth and attempted to wet his hair to get it to behave. After a few go-rounds with the comb, he finally just ran his fingers through it and popped in his earbuds.
It was cold. The clearing of the storm left the sky void of clouds. This made for a beautiful morning, but a chilly one as well. He shivered as he warmed his muscles up. His head was foggy, lack of sleep and a persistent state of arousal causing serious issues with his cognitive abilities.
As he stretched and walked along the footpath, he craned his neck in search of Grace. He passed by her cottage and saw no lights on. Disappointment filled him as he realized she must be sleeping, tired from staying up so late. He set his playlist and began his run, hoping to distract himself from thoughts of the night before.
If he was going to get anything done, he needed to stop thinking of her.
Chapter 8
“Is it safe? Are you decent?” Valerie asked, her eyes scrunched tightly shut as she popped open Grace’s bedroom door the next morning.
The smell of coffee filled her room and the sound of birds chirping outside her window signaled fair weather. The night seemed like a dream. She reached out her arms and stretched all the way to her toes as she took a deep breath and smiled to herself.
The door creaked as Valerie poked her head inside, one hand holding a steaming cup of coffee.
“I’m alone.”
Valerie opened her eyes, clearly surprised. “But, I thought, Drew?”
Grace shook her head and took the offered cup. “He left around two.”
Valerie waggled her eyebrows suggestively, leaning against the door frame. “Really? I pictured him as more of an overnighter, breakfast in the morning, maybe even lunch.”
“No, it wasn’t like that. Nothing happened.”
“That’s not what it looked like when I got home.”
“Well, yeah. It sort of killed the mood knowing you were in the next room.”
Valerie had the good sense to look abashed. “Sorry.”
Grace shrugged and brought the coffee to her lips. She felt like she owed Valerie some kind of explanation. After all, she’d become more than just an assistant over the last year. After John died Valerie was the one who’d kept her focused and together. Things were different in Braley. They’d become much less like co-workers and more like good friends.
She remembered fondly the day she’d spent packing her house, readying everything for their move across the ocean. Valerie had changed, morphing into a friend almost instantly.
The doorbell had rung promptly at eight-fifteen. Impeccably punctual, she’d thought as she opened the door to see a harried-looking Valerie balancing a carrier with two coffees on top of a box of fresh bagels. In her other hand, she held a tape gun and at least five sharpies of various colors.
“What is all this?” she asked with an amused smile.
Valerie blew a stray piece of hair from her face as she handed the coffee and bagels over. “Sustenance and supplies!”
“Yeah, but why so many sharpies?”
“Color coding.” Valerie rolled her eyes as if this was normal for everyone.
“Can’t I just label the boxes in the same color?”
Valerie looked at her with her mouth agape. “Oh, sure. Go ahead, if you want to be searching all over the place for kitchen boxes because they got put in the bathroom.”
Grace snickered under her breath and set off to the already sparse kitchen.
“I see. You know most of this is going into storage, right?”
The day had passed slowly while they packed and occasionally emailed the office. Her replacement was a competent architect in his own right and she wasn’t concerned about his ability to take care of things. It was just about lunchtime when Valerie poked her head up from a box she was working on.
“What do you want to do with this?” she said, holding up a box labeled,
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