Grace (The Family Simon #5)- Juliana Stone Page 0,28

but the least she could do was let him choose one.

He doffed his hat and gloves along with his jacket and Grace took a moment to appreciate the man in front of her. He wore a thick blue turtleneck, faded jeans that fit just right, and kick-ass work boots. With his dark hair curling over the collar, more than a few days’ worth of stubble on his chin, and a smile that wouldn’t quit, he was the entire package.

And he was smiling at her right now. Holding out a beer.

Grace walked to him and accepted the bottle, her heart leaping a little when his fingers brushed over hers.

“I hope you don’t mind that I came out here,” she managed to say, proud that she sounded like a normal adult human being, and not some scared-as-hell fifteen-year-old. The fact that she felt like the fifteen-year-old might have been a sign that she was in over her head, but again, the jumping in thing kinda prevented her from figuring that stuff out in time.

Matt took a swig of beer and leaned back against the counter. “I don’t mind.” His eyes were glittery again—the kind of glittery that made her stomach jump and her mind race ahead to things that maybe they shouldn’t be racing ahead to. Not when they needed to talk. Not when they needed to figure some things out.

She took a sip from her beer bottle and managed not to wince as the cold liquid made its way down her throat. When she got it down, she picked at the label and spoke. “I talked to my brother today. He says that the fundraiser is a go for next weekend.”

“I heard that.” Matt leaned back, elbows on the bar, legs casually crossed in front of him.

She took another sip. “Apparently Josh Hayden can’t swing it. He had some other commitment so…”

“I heard that too.”

Grace was quiet for a few moments, and continued to peel at the label. “Good news is that Beau can make it now and I think him and Betty are traveling down mid-week.”

“Betty was saying.”

She glanced up at him, a little annoyed. “Beau suggested I come back for the indoor beach volleyball.” She watched him closely as he took another long swig from his bottle. He set the bottle on the bar top and shoved his hands into his front pockets.

“You play volleyball?

She nodded. “Yep.”

“It can get intense. And some of the guys don’t care if there are women on the other side of the net.”

She tore off the entire label and crumpled it in her hand. “I grew up playing sports with my brothers. I can handle myself.”

He nodded then, a soft smile on his face. “I don’t doubt that.”

Grace cleared her throat. “My flight home is later tonight.”

Matt looked surprised and shuffled his feet a bit, his smile fading as the air between them filled with a whole bunch of things that needed to be addressed. He knew it, she saw that in his eyes.

“We should probably talk about what happened,” Grace said, her words coming out in a rush. “You know…last night.”

Matt sighed and ran his hands through his thick hair, scrubbing at the stubble on his chin before nodding. “Yeah. We should.” But he didn’t say anything else, and his short, succinct replies were starting to work on Grace’s last nerve. Why was he making this so hard?

“The sex was…” She paused, a little embarrassed. Good Lord the sex was hot. So, so hot. And she wanted more of it. Lots more of it. Her cheeks heated and she hoped like hell they weren’t as red as the Thunderbird parked a few feet away. “I...” Her eyes fell to the floor. Okay. She was almost twenty-six. So why did she feel like a bumbling teenager?

Matt was right in front of her now, his boots in her line of vision.

“Hey,” he said, voice heavy with the rasp she loved so much. She tried to move out of his reach but he wouldn’t let her. “Hey.” His fingers swept under her chin and lifted up, so that she was forced to look into his eyes.

Wrong thing to do. She wanted to drown in them. She was drowning in them.

“I’m clean if that’s what you’re worried about. Last night was the first time I’ve ever had sex without a condom. And for that I apologize. I think we both got carried away.”

“Oh. Right.” She’d been ready to beg him for another go, and he was thinking