Matt walked a few steps closer to me. “I’m going to hug you now, Noah.”
“O-okay, Matt,” I said as I held my arms out and Matt slammed his body into mine, causing me to stumble backward. Jesus, this guy was huge!
After a quick hug, Matt turned and looked at Grace. “Bye, Grace.” Turning, he walked over to Jeff’s truck and got inside. Grace stood there with her jaw to the ground.
“I didn’t get a hug. I’ve always gotten a hug,” Grace said as she turned to me.
“I got one!” Alex said.
“Screw you, Alex,” Grace said as she leaned into me while I slipped my arm around her waist.
The moment Jeff turned and looked at me with a look like he was ready to kill me, I pulled my hand back and took a step away from Grace.
Jeff walked up to Grace and took her in his arms as he whispered something into her ear. Grace smiled at her father and gave him a wink.
Jeff took a step back and turned to me as he held out his hand. Reaching my hand out, I said, “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Johnson.”
Nodding his head, Jeff said, “Same here, and it’s Jeff. Maybe you can come to Mason soon, meet the rest of the family. I’m sure Ari would love to meet the man my daughter says she’s in love with.”
Holy shit.
I was stunned by Jeff’s words and my heart felt like it was about burst from my chest. Knowing Grace told her father she loved me did weird things to my body. Good weird things. I couldn’t help but smile at Jeff.
Flashing me a quick smile, it was as if Jeff knew exactly how I was feeling because he had felt it before himself. His smile was gone as quick as it came.
After saying goodbye to Alex and Will, Jeff got in the truck and pulled out of the driveway.
Grace and I stood there and watched them until he turned the corner and was out of sight. I quickly leaned over and placed my hands on my knees and dragged in breath after breath as Will laughed his ass off.
Will walked up to me and gave me a push. “Holy shit! Dude if you could have seen your face the moment you realized it was Grace’s dad in the backyard. Priceless!”
Alex walked up and took Will by the arm and pulled him away before I could tackle him to the ground and start beating on him. “Dick,” I murmured as Will laughed harder.
Grace ran her hand up and down my back. “It wasn’t that bad. I think he likes you.”
Turning my head and looking up at Grace, I snarled my lip. “Likes me? He looked like he wanted to kill me every time he looked at me.”
Grace giggled and said, “Let me run upstairs and pack a bag for this weekend. I won’t be long.”
Before Grace headed back into the house, I took her by the arm. “Thank you, Grace. I’m sure you miss your mom and brother. Thank you for coming home with me this weekend.”
Grace placed her hands on my chest as she flashed the most breathtaking smile I’d ever seen. “Noah, I just got you back. There is no way in hell I’m going to let you go that easy. The more time I can spend with you, the better. We have a lot of time to make up for.”
I laced my fingers through Grace’s hair and pulled her lips to mine as I said, “Yes we do.”
As Grace pressed her lips to mine, she smiled and I felt a fire quickly race through my veins. I couldn’t wait to have Grace in my arms for the next few nights.
Grace let out a chuckle as I pulled down the street that led to my house. “Are you kidding me? You live on this street?”
I looked at Grace and said, “Yeah. Why?”
“How long have you lived here?”
“We moved to this house when I was four.”
Shaking her head, Grace placed her hands over her mouth and started laughing. “What’s so funny??
?? I asked.