See you tomorrow. And thanks, Grace. I appreciate you working so hard for us.”
Okay, now the guilt was sinking in. She pushed the feeling away and said, “It’s entirely my pleasure. Have a great fishing trip.”
“Thanks.”
After she ended the call, she went to put the appointment in her calendar and grimaced. She glanced at Joy. “I had a date planned with Owen tomorrow night at seven, and now I have to cancel it.”
“Man, that’s sucks. But at least you have the showing with Matt, right? I’m sure he’ll understand,” she said giving her a sympathetic look. But then her lips curved into a small teasing smile. “There’s a silver lining here you’re not thinking about.”
Grace narrowed her eyes at her. “What’s that?”
“By the time you do get together, all that sexual tension will be off the charts.”
She wasn’t wrong. Still, Grace had really been looking forward to their date. Sighing in disappointment, she tried to give him a call. When it went straight to voice mail, she left a message letting him know they’d need to reschedule due to a work conflict.
She contemplated making the date for later, but she didn’t know how long her appointment would take. And besides that, she wasn’t in her twenties anymore. Anything after ten and her eyes started watering with fatigue.
Stop it, Grace, she thought. She could survive a few nights until she could get Owen alone again.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Grace,” Matt called as he walked toward her with two handsome young men. There was no mistaking that the two younger men were Matt’s sons. They all had the same green eyes, wide shoulders, and narrow-waisted build. They even all moved the same. Kind of gangly and a little awkward due to their height. It was adorable, and Grace figured she could watch them all day.
“Hi there.” She waved and gave them a cheerful smile. “How was the fishing trip? Did you catch a lot of fish?”
“Hunter did. Hayden not so much. He probably needs to stop wearing so much cologne. It scares away the fish.” He grinned at his two sons while they both rolled their eyes.
“Deodorant isn’t cologne, Dad,” the one with a small scar over his left eyebrow said. “Besides, you’re probably the one to blame. All that talking you did was sure to scare them off faster than the scent of a personal hygiene product.”
“Hayden needs to blame his lack of skill on something,” Matt said with a wink at Grace. “It makes him feel less like a failure.”
“Oh, here we go,” Hayden said with a guffaw. “What’s your excuse? Did you just decide to give the fish a few days off?”
“Never mind me, Son,” Matt said, draping an arm over Hayden’s shoulders. “I’ve seen my days of successful fishing. You’re the one who doesn’t have any stats under his belt.”
Hunter, the other brother who’d been quiet up until that point, interjected, “The sooner you find a house, Dad, the sooner Hayden can work on making you proud with his fishing skills.”
Matt snorted. “I’m not holding my breath.”
As entertaining as it was to watch the men needle each other, Grace was getting antsy. She had a house to show… and explain. “Are we ready to go? I can drive us. It’s not that far.”
“Sure,” Matt said, grinning at her. “Work your magic, Grace.”
Oh, didn’t she wish she could. But her code of ethics required her to keep her magic to herself. It did bode well for her that Matt was in such a good mood. But she was fairly certain as soon as he saw the cottage and realized where she’d taken them, he was going to have questions.
They arrived at the house entirely too quickly, and by the time Grace stopped the SUV in the driveway, she was certain she was going to sweat right through her blouse. Only this time it certainly wasn’t a hot flash. She was as nervous as she’d ever been.
“Grace?” Matt asked, sounding confused. “Why are we here?”
She cleared her throat and was about to explain the family connection when Hayden let out a small gasp and then threw the door open and rushed to the front porch. He stood on the top step, clutching the railing and staring wide-eyed at the front door.
“What’s he doing?” Matt asked.
“It’s Mom,” Hunter whispered as he wiped at his eyes. “He’s talking to her.”
“Mom? That’s not possible,” Matt said, but his voice trailed off as he watched Hunter stride up to the porch and stand right next to his