Page 63

Chapter Twenty-six
Grace
I have no idea where we are. If we’re heading in the right direction or if we’re going to end up in Florida but I decide it doesn’t matter. If I miss my appointment, I’ll just reschedule.
Or not.
Maybe I’ll just forget about college and ask Patrick for a job as a shot girl at the bar. I know he’s looking to hire more and I have cocktailing experience. In a place like Gilroy’s I could make decent money. Decent enough to support Molly. We might not live in the lap of luxury but that’s okay. It’s not like—
“We’re here.”
I lift my gaze and catch sight of a stately, brown brick building with brass framed doors and tall, arched windows. The words Bay State College are emblazoned across a stretch of burgundy colored awnings that dress a bank of windows facing a wide, bustling sidewalk.
I’m suddenly so nervous I want to throw-up. The feeling only intensifies when Ryan pulls my little candy-colored car to a stop in front of the building and shifts it into park.
This is a mistake, Grace.
You might as well go back to Patrick and Cari’s, pack your suitcases and take Molly home, because this is a waste of time. You’re never going to make it.
I can’t do this.
“The fuck you can’t.”
Ryan’s low, angry tone bounces between us, making me realize that I actually said it out loud.
“How do you know,” I can feel defeat start to set in. The kind that makes you wonder why you were even dumb enough to try in the first place. “You don’t even know me.”
“I know you love Molly,” he says, his deep brown eyes hooked into mine. “I know you’re determined to give her a better life and I know you know that is how you do it.” He flicks his gaze at the dash clock—it’s 8:55. “You’ve got five minutes, Grace—time to nut up or shut up.”
“Nut up or shut up?” Turning my seat, I sputter it out. “Is that how you talk to the guys in your Army platoon or your squad or whatever?”
“We were a unit,” he informs me, flashing me a heart-stopping grin that I’ve never seen him wear before. “And yes—when my guys were being whiney little bitches, that’s exactly how I talked to them.”
Before I can lose my shit over the fact that I’m pretty sure he just called me a whiney little bitch Ryan diverts my attention by kissing me.
Finally…
That’s the last rational thought I have before my brain shudders to a stop and starts to melt under the heat and pressure of his mouth. The slow, teasing sweep of his tongue, licking and swirling against mine. The soft, dizzying nip of his teeth against my lower lip as he pulls away to look me in the eye.
“Three minutes, Grace.”
“Huh?”
His delicious mouth twitches at its corners. “You have three minutes to get inside and take that test,” he tells me, reaching past me to open my car door. “I’ll be here, waiting for you when you’re finished.”
Then he gently pushes me out of my seat and onto the sidewalk before shutting the car door in my face and driving away.