Page 22 of Fall From Grace

Grace seemed like she had secrets of her own. Anybody who moved from a fancy hotel in the city to a bed-and-breakfast inthe middle of nowhere had to have a past. Earlier, Fiona came into the bar, grumbling about some “fancy pants” moving into The Grand for “God knows how long.” I understood Grace and why she might want to keep certain things private. I didn’t want to air out my business. This was a small town; people saw me as a single dad, a business owner, the guy everyone in town turned to when something needed fixing. Not a man who really enjoyed the company of a woman who looked out of place in this town. Not a man with needs.

A soft tug on my flannel sleeve broke me out of my thoughts. “Dad, you’re totally zoning out. Are you gonna help me with my math or what?”

I ruffled her hair, grinning when she let out a dramatic sigh. “I’m always gonna help you, kid. Let me guess—word problems?”

“Yep.” She slumped onto the barstool, sliding her workbook toward me. Noelle was already pissed at me for making her do her summer homework. “This one’s about a bakery and fractions, and it’s making my brain hurt.”

I glanced at the problem and refilled her glass of soda before leaning over the bar to grab the pencil. “All right, let’s break it down like a real-life scenario. If Ms. Kenzie bakes twelve cupcakes and sells half, how many does she have left?”

Noelle wrinkled her nose. “That’s easy. Six.”

“Now, if she bakes another batch of twelve but gives a third of them to the fire department, how many does she have?”

She chewed her lip. “Um … eight?”

“You got it,” I said, tapping her pencil against the page. “See? Not so bad.”

Noelle blew out a breath. “Okay, but why do I need to know fractions? Do you use fractions at the bar?”

I smirked. “You think I just pour whiskey into a glass without measuring?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then remind me to teach you how to make the perfect mocktail later. You’ll need fractions.”

Noelle grinned. “Deal.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled out the flip phone and saw there was a message from Grace.

See you soon ;)

I had texted her earlier to make sure we were still on for our date.

Noelle was going to shadow my mom at the gallery and help “teach” an art class. It was a field trip for the local nursing home. The seniors loved Noelle and helped her learn to have patience and respect.

For the first time in forever, I was going on a date. Being a father came first but tonight it was just going to be me and a beautiful woman who had the ability to turn my whole life upside down. Nervous wasn’t even the word for what I was feeling.

CHAPTER 10

Grace

“Ow. Shit. Ow.”I hobbled around the bed-and-breakfast after stubbing my toe on the bed frame. Served me right. After five outfit changes, I ended up circling back to my original idea.

I was getting ready for my first real date with Caleb.

I flipped through the rack of clothes I had delivered to Fiona’s and hated them all.

Did I move into a bed-and-breakfast for the unforeseeable future? Yes.

Did I give up a penthouse suite at The Plaza for small-town living? Yes.

Had I lost my mind? To be determined. But one thing I knew was that I liked this small town and the interesting cast of characters. Including a certain bartender.

Why did none of these designer pieces feel right? I mean, normally I had no doubts that my outfit would wow. So why did everything suddenly feel inadequate? Including me.

Caleb already had seen the way I dressed based on that night in the bar earlier this week. So why did it matter all of a sudden?

Because you really like him. Duh.