Working It Out (23 page)

Grace hugged Seth’s
oversized sweatshirt to her, breathing in the smell and reminding herself why
she was here.

The door opened, and Alec wheeled
himself inside with Lanna close behind. She wore military camo and a bright
smile, as though she went paintballing every weekend. Was Grace the only
newbie?

“Grace!” Lanna pulled her
in for a hug like they were best friends who hadn’t seen each other in a while.

It made Grace feel
marginally better. She shot Alec a look of surprise. “You’re paintballing, too?”

“Lanna made me,” Alec said.
“I tried to tell her I’d be an easy target, but she promised to find us a good
hiding place.”

Lanna’s hands came to rest
on Alec’s shoulders, and she gave them a squeeze. “He’s my secret weapon. He’s
going to be like one of those snipers who picks people off from a distance.”

Grace’s heart swelled—not
only at seeing them together, but the fact that her brother was here, ready to
participate in a game designed for someone with two good legs. She couldn’t
believe how far he’d come in such a short time. Grace owed so much to both
Lanna and Seth. Did they have any idea how wonderful they were? How big of an
impact they’d made on the lives of both of the Warren siblings?

Grace’s eyes moved to
Seth, who was at the counter, filling out forms. His shoulders looked so strong
and capable. Even in his old sweatshirt, Grace had never felt more attracted to
him. It hit her that Seth was all she’d ever wanted—all she never knew
she wanted.

When Seth turned and
caught her staring, he waved her over and held out a pen. “They need your signature,”
he said.

Grace signed her name with
a flourish, suddenly excited to see what awaited them in the fields behind the
store. If her wheelchair-bound brother and petite little Lanna weren’t intimidated
to play, she refused to be either. A surge of energy shot through her, and Grace
suddenly felt like grabbing a gun and saying, “Bring it.”

Outside, when the shrill
alarm sounded, and as the initial shots rang out, Grace smiled. If she ever wanted
to get Seth back for choosing the most un-romantic date ever, this was her
chance. Seth was going down.

C
overed in
paint
and laughing, Grace waved goodbye to everyone as she ducked inside
Seth’s car and flashed him a smile. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but that
was incredibly fun. Thank you.”

“Thank
you
for
telling me to ask you out.”

Grace wagged a finger at
him. “I didn’t
tell
you to do it. I merely told you that I’d willingly
go if you did.”

“Thanks for coming so
willingly then.” Seth leaned in close enough for Grace to feel his breath on
her face. Her heart raced as he glanced from her eyes to her lips and back to
her eyes as though challenging her to tell him to kiss her as well.

Should she?

Just as she’d made up her
mind to do just that—regardless of the fact that she was covered in paint—Seth
smiled and backed away. Grace’s heart sank.

When he shoved his key
into the ignition and started the car, Grace forced her thoughts back to her
earlier, less-than-willing feelings. How much they’d changed. The sight of Alec
completely doused in paint and still having a good time, along with the fun
camaraderie of the group, had made the experience one Grace wanted to repeat.
Yes, several of the shots had stung, but not nearly as bad as she remembered. It
was as if Seth’s sweatshirt gave her an extra layer of protection that Grace
was loath to part with. Maybe he wouldn’t notice if she “forgot” to return it.

“Okay, so we have a couple
of options,” Seth said as he pulled from the parking lot. “One, go to dinner looking
like an art project gone wrong. Or two, head home to change and go for a really
late dinner someplace nice.” He winked. “But only if you promise to change back
into that fabulous red shirt.”

Grace smiled, wondering
what he’d say if she chose option one—not that she ever would. The thought of
Seth leaning in to kiss her paint-splattered face didn’t sound nearly as
romantic as it did moments before. Maybe that’s why he’d backed off. She
sneaked a glance at him. He
was
planning to kiss her at some point,
wasn’t he? Because that part was non-negotiable.

“Two,” she said.

Seth’s face split into a grin.
“I was hoping you’d choose that one.”

Once Seth dropped her off,
Grace quickly showered and changed then applied her makeup. When she pulled out
her hair dryer, her favorite song came on the radio so she sang along, raising
her voice to be heard above the sound of the whirring. A feeling of giddiness and
anticipation swept through her as she sang and even danced.

Behind her, the bedroom
lights flickered on and off as a deep voice rang out from what sounded like the
hallway outside her bedroom door, “Grace?”

She simultaneously yelped
and jumped, dropping the hair dryer. It clattered onto the granite vanity top with
a loud bang. Grace stared at it for a moment before she had the presence of
mind to turn it off.

“Sorry, did I do that?”
Seth’s voice came again. He didn’t sound the least bit sorry.

“You could say that,”
Grace returned, trying to slow her racing heart at the same time she raked her
fingers through her windblown hair.

“You decent?”

“Yeah, but I might
strangle you, so I’d keep my distance if I were you.”

Seth’s head poked around
the side of the door with a grin fixed on his face. “Hey, gorgeous.”

How could she not smile at
that? Grace shook her head, looking at him through the mirror. “You could have
knocked, you know,” she teased.

His handsome body came
into full view as he leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb and folded his
arms, still watching her. “I did. I also rang the doorbell. I even poked my
head inside and called your name, but you didn’t hear me. I thought it would
freak you out if you walked into your front room and found me sitting there, so
I was trying to let you know I was here. Didn’t work so well, did it?”

Grace reached for her
curling iron and turned it on. “Not so much. But I’ll forgive you if you let me
finish getting ready.” When he didn’t move, she raised an eyebrow. “You’re
going to stand there until I’m done, aren’t you?”

“I can’t seem to take my
eyes off you.”

Grace set down the curling
iron and turned, placing her hand on his chest as she pushed him backwards. Over
the years, she’d developed a fool-proof system that gave her hair those relaxed,
beachy-looking curls. But in order to do it, she had to part her hair into
sections and create a few haphazard-looking ponytails—sort of Pippi Longstocking
meets Cindy Lou Who. She wasn’t about to let Seth see her like that—not on
their first official date.

“Why don’t you go and make
yourself comfortable on my couch? I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“If I promise not to
stare, can I stay?” Seth asked. When she started to shake her head, he added, “C’mon,
I’ll be bored sitting out there all alone. I can keep you company while you
finish doing your hair.”

Grace let out a breath and
felt herself caving. Why hadn’t she hurried faster in the shower and not taken
quite so much time to do her makeup? Then she would have heard Seth’s knock and
been ready. “Fine, whatever. Just no jokes about how I curl my hair.”

Seth raised an eyebrow.
“How do you curl your hair, exactly?”

She pointed a finger and
said, “No jokes,” before grabbing her curling iron once again.

Seth gave her a half smile
before disappearing from sight. With a sigh of relief, Grace quickly sectioned
off her hair, creating four lopsided ponytails, and started curling away.

“Hey, is this you standing
on The Great Wall of China?” Seth’s voice sounded. Apparently he was examining
the picture frames that lined the top of her dresser. The snoop.

“Yeah.”

“Wow, you and Alec look so
young. It’s strange seeing him standing on two feet.” He paused. “Are those
your parents with you?”

“Yeah.”

A clink and shuffling
sounded before Seth’s voice came again. “The Louvre, Sydney Opera House—and is
that you sitting on the elephant? Talk about a well-traveled family.”

Grace couldn’t argue that.
Her parents loved to travel. From the time she and Alec were little until the
day of his accident, they’d vacationed at least two times a year. Iceland, New
Zealand, a safari in Africa, a cruise in the Caribbean—you name it, Grace had
probably been there at some point.

But then Alec’s accident
happened, and vacationing didn’t seem as exciting to Grace as before,
especially not when Alec refused to go. So she’d refused as well. At some
point, their parents resumed vacationing without them, always issuing invitations
to both her and Alec even though they knew they wouldn’t be accepted.

The pictures covering her
dresser now served as a bittersweet reminder of happier times and how much
things had changed. Every time Grace looked at them, she couldn’t decide if
they should be displayed on her dresser or locked away in the attic.

Through the mirror’s reflection,
Seth appeared, holding one of Grace’s favorite and most hated pictures—her and
Alec, standing on top of a run at the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort in British
Columbia. “This is my favorite,” he said.

A stab of pain hit Grace
in the chest. No matter how many times she’d wanted to throw that picture
against the wall, break the glass and burn it, she’d never been able to bring
herself to do it. That had been one of the most fun and memorable trips they’d
taken, but the pain of loss was still as biting as the cold wind that had blown
that day. Grace forced her eyes away from the reflection as she fought against
the rising emotion.

“Nice hair,” Seth said,
smiling at her reflection in the mirror.

“Shut up.” But Grace
couldn’t muster the teasing tone to go along with the words.

Seth’s smile disappeared
as he looked down at the picture. “This wasn’t the day that Ale—”

“No,” said Grace quickly.
“It was the last trip we took before his accident—a day that will never happen
again no matter how much I want it to.”

Seth leaned his shoulder
against the doorframe as he studied her, this time with a look of
consideration. “No day can happen more than once. You know that, right?”

Grace nodded. She knew
exactly what Seth was saying, and he was right. Even if Alec still had two
working legs, that moment could never be repeated. That was life.

At least Alec still
breathed, still talked, still smiled—unlike Lanna’s brother, who was buried
somewhere in the ground. Grace needed to remember how lucky she was to still
have her brother around.

Two large hands landed on
Grace’s shoulders, and Seth turned her around to face him. “You okay?” he said.

She nodded again, meeting
his gaze with a question in her eyes. More than ever, Grace wished for his
strength and positive outlook on life. “How do you stay so happy and optimistic
when your best friend’s life was taken away?”

Seth blinked. “Wow, that’s
a pretty heavy question coming from someone with four pigtails.”

With a laugh, Grace pushed
him away and quickly tugged the elastic bands from her hair, letting it fall to
her shoulders. “There. Better?” she said.

“Much.” Seth tugged on one
of her curls and gave her a look of appreciation. Then he shrugged and stuffed
his hands into his pockets before clearing his throat. “I think the difference
between me and you is that I don’t blame myself for Mike’s death. He got
cancer. Yes, it sucked that I couldn’t do anything to change that, but I never
blamed myself. You, on the other hand, think that just because you coerced Alec
into going skiing that makes his accident your fault. But you didn’t force him
to make that jump. He did it, and now he’s living with the consequences of that
decision. I wish you could believe that.”

“I do—or, at least I’m
starting to, thanks to you.” Grace stepped toward him and placed her hands on
his arms, running her fingers up and down his defined biceps. “Everything
changed so drastically after his accident. All the happiness we shared as a
family was sucked away, leaving us with no other option but to cope. But ever
since that first wheelchair basketball game, I’ve seen snatches of the old Alec
emerge. It’s like you’ve opened a portal and allowed some of that happiness to
return.”

Grace paused, moving her
fingers up to play with the collar of his shirt. “I know I’ve misjudged you and
pushed you away again and again, but I’m really glad you didn’t go far. The
truth is, I’m falling for you.” There, she’d said it. She’d laid her feelings
out of the table for him to take or leave. Somehow, though, she wasn’t worried.

Seth searched her eyes for
a moment before interlacing his fingers with hers and slowly dipping his head.
Their foreheads touched, and he placed her hands behind his neck before
circling her waist with his own. Grace’s heart sped up as he pulled her against
him and dropped his head further to nuzzle her neck. Shivers ran down her spine
and goose bumps broke out all over her body. Her breath caught in her throat as
his lips slowly made their way from her neck to her mouth, landing there with a
tentative touch. Her fingers brushed through his hair as he deepened the kiss,
pinning her against the counter.