Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 126850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
“Please, you only enjoyed the history parts.”
“Damn. You caught me.” Her smile twinkled in her eyes. “Thank you for driving me.”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her hair. Her arms wound around my waist, and Grace buried her face in my chest, holding onto me tightly.
I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “You should—”
“We didn’t decide who won bingo,” she said quietly, turning her head to the side.
I dipped my chin, drawing my face down closer to hers. “Who do you think won, Cinderella?”
“I think you’ll find you did.” Her words were a little more than a whisper.
A smile teased my lips. “Did I?”
“Pretty sure.” Grace tilted her head back and, reaching up to wrap her hand around the back of my neck, she pulled my lips down to meet hers.
It was the sweetest kiss I’d ever tasted, and hope bloomed in me once more.
That this wasn’t the end.
That this was just the beginning of something, maybe.
“You’re going to regret that,” I said softly, bringing my hands up to cup her face. “Give me an inch, I’ll take a mile. I thought you learnt that lesson.”
“Evidently not.”
“Good.” I kissed her again, cradling her face in my hands, then pulled back to meet her beautiful gaze. “Because I’m not letting you go again, Grace.”
“I’m literally leaving right now,” she replied.
“I’m not still doing it,” I said, smiling at her. “Text me when you land and get home?”
She nodded, and I kissed her one last time before I had to let her go.
“Bye,” she said softly, and a hint of sadness clouded her vision.
“I’ll see you soon,” I promised her as she stepped into line and was swallowed by all the other people trying to get there.
And I meant it.
I would see her soon.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE – GRACE
…Don’t Have To Come To An End
Amber had chosen to spend the weekend with her mum, and that meant coming home to an empty house.
That was what I was dreading the most.
The emptiness of my house.
Glenroch Castle had always been so alive. Even if it was the damn bird chasing after me, there was always something happening. So many people were there all the time, and while I imagined that could be exhausting to live with, there was a part of me that envied it.
Maybe I needed to get a cat.
Because, despite her threat, Amber had not gotten a cat.
I was a little upset about that.
All right, fine.
I’d been a little upset all day. Nobody could blame me—it’d been chaos from start to finish, and all the things I’d wanted to do today had been thrown out of the window and unceremoniously stomped on.
Now, instead of spending one last night at the castle, I was here.
Standing in the middle of my living room.
Plotting how to kill Amber because she hadn’t set the alarm like I’d said.
Sigh.
I left my suitcase where it was near the sofa and went to the kitchen to check it. There wasn’t a lot of food here, and now I was wondering if Amber had been home at all over the last week.
Probably not. That would involve her grocery shopping, and she hated that more than anything in the world.
Which, sadly for me, meant there was no food to welcome me home. So I was going to have to order some. I wasn’t entirely mad about that since I didn’t have the energy to cook, but now I had to decide what to order, and that was overwhelming.
Naturally, I was going to avoid that as long as possible.
And get out of these plane clothes.
I trudged upstairs to my room for some fresh clothes, then quickly jumped in the shower to rinse off my body. I didn’t need any plane germs on me for any longer than necessary, and I was over wearing jeans.
I dried off and changed into my pyjamas, then headed back downstairs to get my phone and see what I could order for dinner.
I also needed to tell Granny I was home, and I’d promised William…
I sighed.
I’d promised William that I’d text him when I was home. And when I’d landed, but I hadn’t done that, so I really did need to message him.
I sent Granny’s text quickly, followed by his and a quick one to Amber so she knew I was home, and dropped onto the sofa. With that done, I needed to order food, and I was so miserable that my desire to wallow in a glass or two of wine was going to narrow down the list of available food options.
I was going to have to choose the place that delivered the wine.
That made my decision a lot easier, and I placed an order at the local Indian restaurant. Honestly, it was carbs, carbs, and then some more carbs, but that was all I needed right now.