44. Alex

Chapter 44

Alex

Jesus Christ, I almost had my own heart attack when I saw that diamond on Grace's finger, assuming that Shannon came back or Dr. Tran had swooped in. Hell, it only took me a month to fall in love with her, and it would have happened faster if I wasn't such a fucking idiot.

I'd only been gone a few weeks, but it was a relief to be back. I missed everything: the snow, the pine trees, even her ugly truck. I'm pretty sure Yolanda missed me too, giving an extra shimmy when I slid behind the wheel. I told Grace to close her eyes and she reached for my hand across the center seat, as if not being able to see me meant I'd disappear … then I drove to her house and parked the truck in her garage.

"Ok, darling, open your eyes."

Her lids snapped open, revealing her disappointment and frustration. "Alex, I told you, my place is a mess, you said —"

"Trust me, ok?" I stepped out of her garage into the driveway, breathing in the crisp January night air — just cold enough to see my breath, cloudless with a canopy of stars above.

She followed my gaze to the six-bedroom Victorian, illuminated in every window. "Why are all the lights on?"

"Because," I said, interlacing our hands to place a new set of keys into her palm, "their new tenant is home. "

From the first moment I saw her in that hospital corridor, I'd loved her hopeful hazel eyes … but never more than this moment, watching them widen in surprise. "You didn't."

"I was flying to Florida when you called. Mallory told me about your foster parent application — I'm so proud of you for that, by the way," I said, and the look she gave me nearly took my breath away. "I told Carol and Terry that you needed a bigger house right away, and they agreed to lease it to you for the same rent as the garage."

Her eyelids dropped closed. "How long has Mallory known?"

"About a week."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," she muttered. Her fingertips touched her lips, surprised to hear herself curse.

I laughed and the exuberance must have startled her because she jumped. Then after a moment, she started to laugh too.

Her expression sobered as she looked at the keys again, then tried to hand them back. "Thank you, Alex, but I … I can't just move into their house."

"Know what I told them?" I asked, purposely not taking the keys back. "The most wonderful woman I've ever met, with the biggest heart on the planet, needs a place to live with a charming little mini-Mallory. And hopefully this is a way to keep the house in the family, because I'm head over heels in love with her, and one day I'm going to ask her to marry me."

Soon .

Tears brimmed in her eyes as she looked at me, then the house, then the keys in her hand.

When I'd called Mallory, she told me to just come home and talk to Grace … but it hadn't felt like enough. So she begrudgingly shared Grace's foster parenting plans and housing situation. My chest felt tight with pride: She was chasing her dream … and I wanted to be beside her for every step of it.

My original plan had been to buy the damn house and hand her the deed as a romantic grand gesture … but Mallory told me that was creepy stalker behavior.

She said that I didn't want Grace to feel beholden to me for buying something that she couldn't afford, or to agree out of obligation because I'd bought her a fucking house, backing her into an impossible situation where she couldn't say no. I thought about Grace's implication that the cost of our hotel room impacted the choice to have sex and realized that my sister was right, yet again.

When did my siblings get so fucking smart and annoyingly insightful?

Before I could tell her that she won, Mallory kept ranting that she wanted Grace to choose me for me , not my name or my money. The only exception was that she could choose me for my awesome family, because Mallory already felt like Grace was her sister, and sister-in-law would formalize that.

"Where will you live?" Grace asked shyly, her gaze pinging between the rooms of the house instead of meeting my eyes.

Oh god, the moment of truth. I practiced this with Mallory to make sure I presented it correctly, but my palms still sweat with nerves.

"That's up to you," I said. "I could get a bachelor pad and we could date for a while to see if you like me once the initial excitement has worn off."

She laughed softly, shaking her head. "I don't think that will be a problem."

"Or," I said, feeling my rapid pulse in every blood cell, "you could invite me to live here with you. But I don't want to rush you."

I made that mistake before, never again. If she needs time, she'll have it.

"Alex, it's not that simple," she sighed. "Anybody living with me will need a background check and regular home visits and —"

"No problem. I want to be in your life, however you want me." I let that sink in as she chewed her lip in deliberation and I gathered the courage to swing for the fences. "As long as I'm laying out your options …"

I reached for her hands, and she turned to face me, her soft smile still tinged with disbelief.

"Grace …" I said softly, my mouth dry. "I've always wanted a family, but I was so focused on my career that I wasn't sure that was possible. Coming back reminded me how much I want to be a parent. In fact … That dream, on New Year's Day, in the perfect house? It wasn't perfect because it was in San Francisco. It was perfect because you lived there with me. You … and Ruby." When my voice cracked, she let out a soft sob. "There was never a moment in that dream she was apart from you. It felt so clear that it was meant to be more than just you and me."

I pushed through this final offer, sweating through the most important negotiation of my life. "if you're open to it, we could do it together. I could be a foster parent with you. To Ruby, and more kids if they need us."

Then I backed off, hearing Mallory's voice urging agency and consent and other terms I'd needed to look up. "Or not. Your choice. And you don't need to decide right now, I just … I'm trying to be better about giving you all the —"

"Yes, of course, yes!" She said, pulling my coat lapels and lifting on her toes to meet my lips. As she kissed me, I wondered when I'd fallen in love with her: that first night at the hospital, or under the mistletoe, or maybe when I was shoveling and she pulled her truck into this driveway … her driveway. Our driveway?

I broke the kiss to see those magical hazel eyes with flecks of gold in the moonlight. "So is that … what did you just agree to?"

She rolled her eyes softly. "Always needing to define the terms."

"This is important, Grace," I said. "I need to know what you want."

"All of it. The house, the parenting, the … the future." Her face flushed that nervous way, her gaze dipping to my mouth, pulling me closer. "Move in with me. Raise a family with me. Spend your life with me. I want all of it with you."

I felt a surge of warmth as she shivered in my arms. "Come on darling, Mom's been in there all week making updates for you and I can't wait to see them."

"You haven't been inside?"

"I wanted to do it together."

I interlaced our hands and let her lead the way up the steps, where she smiled before opening the door to her house. Our house. Our future.

Our eyes instantly lifted to the fireplace mantle, where Kate's painting hung in the place of honor. Beneath it, Mom had staged framed photos: the selfie Grace took on the ski lift was the biggest one, a goofy picture of Mallory picking Grace's nose, childhood photos of …

I picked up a photo I'd never seen. "Is this you and Elijah?"

A male voice startled me. "It sure is."

I spun as Grace gasped. "What are you —?"

Out of the kitchen stepped a man I would have recognized anywhere as Grace's twin: an inch taller, with a well-trimmed beard and side-swept hair … but those same unmistakable eyes .

My sister walked out next to him, doing a slow clap and pointing a teasing finger at me. "What, you're the only one who gets to plan a big surprise?"

I ruffled her hair, then reached to shake Elijah's hand. "Nice to meet you, man, I've heard so much about you."

"Likewise," he said, looking me up and down skeptically then turning to his sister. "So we're not moving to California?"

"No, you're moving here. And the perfect studio apartment just opened up." Her eyes crinkled as she tilted her head toward the garage.

His smile widened, less restrained than hers, and I found myself looking forward to getting to know him. Although if he was already plotting with my sister, we were in trouble.

"Do you need a place to stay?" I asked. I wanted to be alone with Grace, but knowing how much her brother meant to her and how long they'd been apart, I could put aside my desire for the night.

"No, I've got a place for tonight," he said, his eyes shifting over my shoulder. I turned quickly to see a shadow moving towards us, and stepped in front of Grace protectively as another man entered our living room.

"You broke my sister's heart," he said. From her stories, I instantly recognized Isaac, looking slightly older than me. His hazel eyes weren't menacing like Levi's, but protective. He stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

I dropped my arms at my sides and nodded in confirmation. "A mistake I want to spend the rest of my life making up to her."

When her hand slid into mine, I pulled her forward and wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

His chin tilted back so that even though he was shorter, he could look down at me. "And you broke my brother's nose."

"Nobody speaks that way to Grace," I said, then felt her elbow in my ribs. "Although I shouldn't have resorted to violence."

Isaac cocked his head in agreement to what neither of us would speak aloud: I'd stay civil, but if Levi ever stepped out of line around Grace, I'd punch him again in a heartbeat.

Unless Isaac got to him first.

He lifted a brow. "She'll have a daughter soon. You up for it? "

"Why do you think we're in this six-bedroom house? I know she'll fill it."

His eyes glimmered in appreciation before he held out a hand, which I shook forcefully. "Welcome to the family."

Our handshake extended longer than necessary, neither of us wanting to be the first to step back … until Mallory let out a loud, judgmental scoff.

"Alright, the overbearing brother parade can wrap up now, the lovebirds need private time and we need to be far, far away when they get it," Mallory said, making a shooing gesture at Isaac. "Go on, I promised your wife I'd have you home by 8:30."

She started to walk by until I stopped her with a gentle hand around the back of her neck. "This was your plan all along, wasn't it, Shrimp?"

She faked an innocent ‘who, me?' face. "Grace was freaking out waiting, and these two would have hounded her for details. Trust me, this is better."

She squeezed herself under Grace's arm for a tight hug and murmured in her ear, and Grace tilted back her head with that glorious laugh. Fuck, I'd missed that laugh, maybe more than anything.

Mallory smacked my arm. "Don't break your back tonight, old man."

She walked backwards towards the door, ushering Grace's brothers. "Mom stocked the fridge so you wouldn't need to leave for a few days. We'll all be back on Sunday morning for brunch, don't eat the facon without me."

"Your fake meat is safe here," I said dryly, wrapping my arm around Grace's shoulders and pulling her close.

Right before she closed the door, Mallory said, "Mom and I worked on one more surprise, first door at the top of the stairs."

My sister always had to have the last word, didn't she?

When the door shut, Grace melted into my arms and said in disbelief, "I don't know if I can take one more surprise."

"But aren't they all good things?"

She nuzzled into my chest, shaking her head. "Are you really moving here?"

"I am," I said. "Was that really Isaac, giving me the third degree?"

"He did," she said with a soft laugh. "We're really moving into this house?"

"We are," I said, then said definitively, "You're really going to be a mom. "

"I am," she said quietly, a hint of anxiety in her voice. "Are you sure you want to do it with me?"

"More sure than I've ever been in my life," I said, interlacing our hands. "Let's go see that final surprise, together."

She pulled our joined hands to the stairs. In front of the first door on the left, she took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Ponies. Toy ponies everywhere, and a white canopy bed with pink bedding and twinkle lights.

Grace gasped as I lifted one with a smile. "Welcome home, Rainbow Dash."