Batter of Wits (Green Valley Chronicles #22) - Smartypants Romance Page 0,47

like someone lit a sparkler under my mood. Everything got bright and golden, and this time, there was no guilt to darken the edges.

Now I was allowed to drink in the sight of her, the mess of golden, curling hair falling around her shoulders, the unconcealed happiness on her face before she took a massive bite of whatever had lodged in her throat.

Whatever had changed between us on that picnic table didn't feel like something I should be ashamed of, something I should hide, I wanted to examine it under the light.

Normally, I might've been disappointed that Grace didn't seem to share that opinion, but the truth was that my breakup with Magnolia was still so fresh, it was impossible for her to know about it.

And even if she did, I had to face the fact that she might not care.

I glanced at the man standing next to me. "It's all right," I told him. "I'd like to try and figure her out on my own."

It was risky, to admit that to a man I didn't really know, all but declaring intentions toward his sister.

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "That so?"

I nodded.

Grady glanced toward where she'd made her escape, the wheels turning in his head as he did. "I'm gonna grab that table in the corner, if you want to join me for couple of minutes."

"I think I'll take you up on that."

While he found a seat, I bought an almond croissant and a large coffee from Mikey, then made my way back by Grady.

I jerked my chin at the bag he'd set in the middle of the table. "Stocking up for the week?"

He grinned. "That should tell me how badly my sister wanted out of here, that she was willing to sacrifice the eight pounds of baked goods she just made me buy." Grady waited until I was sitting across from him before he spoke again. "What'd you do to her?"

"Nothing," I insisted. I rubbed a hand over my forehead. "Or, I don't know, simply being myself seems to rile your sister up in one way or another."

"I noticed," he said dryly. "I can't say that I've ever seen Grace dislike someone so thoroughly after knowing them for so short a time."

That didn't make me grin. That made me grimace.

Was I seeing what I wanted to see when it came to Grace Buchanan? Yes, there was something intriguing about her, something fascinating, almost from the moment I met her, but it was entirely possible that her unfiltered reaction to me—even if it seemed to be shifting in a different direction than blind hatred—had me misreading the signals.

Grady tore into his pecan roll and groaned happily, while I thought quietly.

No, Grace may have hated me, but I wasn't imagining our interaction this morning. The way she spoke to me. The way she looked at me. The inexplicable way she almost started crying, just because she said something she hadn't meant to say.

If I could bottle that for you, Tucker, that feeling you're searching for, I would.

No, I wasn't imagining things. It was so very real, what had happened at the fairgrounds.

Like I'd recorded it on high definition, I could hear her voice in my head on repeat. How, after knowing me for such a short period of time, was she able to slice through the placid, immovable mask that no one else seemed able to penetrate?

Grace, the seer of hidden truths and patron saint of not being able to fake how you feel.

That had me smiling.

"What's that smile for?" Grady asked.

I leveled him with a curious look. "You really want to hear this?"

"Depends on what you're about to say."

Glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping; I braced my forearms on the table and leaned forward. "I broke up with my girlfriend this morning, who I've been with since we were seventeen."

Grady paused with another bite of frosting laden roll halfway up to his mouth, then he lowered the fork back to the plate.

I surprised myself with the calm way I was admitting it, because inside, I still felt torn to shreds over the tears Maggie had shed. Tears that I'd caused, and honestly hadn't expected. "And I broke up with her—a kind, smart, beautiful woman who's been very important to me—because of feelings I was having for your sister. Feelings that were not fair to someone like Maggie, even if they don't make a single lick of sense."

"Okaaaay," he drawled. Grady hooked an arm over the back of the