Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (17 page)

‘
I went. I
’
ll tell you about it another time.
’

She continued the story saying Jake had woken her with the phone call and next thing she knew they were on the ferry to Manly.

‘
He looked divine
,’
Grace said.

‘
Yeah
,
tell me
,’
Kate was relishing every word.

‘
You
’
re such a sucker for a good date story. How are those relationship books going?
’

‘
Grace
,
it
’
s not funny. Stop laughing. You know I need help when it comes to making the right decisions with men
,
don
’
t pick on me. I want to hear what happened
,
please?
’

She gave Kate a rub on the arm.
‘
Anyway
,
we talked and talked
,
had fish and chips on the beach and a quick drink at the pub where we saw the news about de Silva
,’
she made a grimace
,
‘
and after we caught the ferry back to the Quay
,
he walked me to my house. Took in the icons on the way
,
you know
,
Opera House
,
Botanic Gardens and the rest of the sights.
’

‘
No kiss?
’

‘
He kissed me on the cheek. He
’
s a pet.
’

‘
A pet? Shadow is your pet. Jake is a man. Wise up
,
girlfriend.
’

‘
I
’
m not going to get myself all worked up about something that may go nowhere. It was a lunch date and we both had to get back to work. And
,
of course
,
you were coming over.
’

‘
Which you obviously forgot about
,’
Kate said.
‘
What does that look mean?
’

‘
If you want to know you better not tell anyone.
’
While Grace loved her friend she needed to know she could confide in her without any gossip.

‘
One time I said something and you still won
’
t forgive me.
’

‘
I have forgiven you but I
’
m as apprehensive about relationships as you are. I had a great time in New York but we were friends
,
full stop. He was engaged. And yeah
,
I had a bit of a crush on him. Yet
,
at this point of my life I
’
m not sure I can commit emotionally to someone who will be gone soon
,
as in
,
back to another country. I
’
ll see what happens. Rushing it will make it worse and I
’
ve had enough bad relationships and hopefully I
’
ve learnt how to make better decisions
,’
she paused.
‘
There
’
s no point getting all deep and meaningful
,
I mean
,
it
’
s only been one date
,’
she laughed.

‘
When you
’
re off your pulpit
,
let me know
,’
Kate laughed along.
‘
He sounds scrumptious. Do you feel anything for him?
’

Grace sighed.
‘
Yes. And here lies the problem
,
Katie.
’

‘
I
’
ll be here if you need me.
’

‘
Thanks.
’

‘
I know how you feel. You reach a point in life when you
’
ve been out on enough bad dates
,
and even good ones that went south
,
and now you want to know what
’
s going to happen.
’

‘
I
’
m in two minds. You know this self-imposed ban on anything to do with men and relationships?
’

‘
Yep
,
I remember.
’

‘
So
,
I
’
m not meant to be dating and when I make a vow to forget all about stupid
,
silly boys
,
Jake pops up. It
’
s annoying. Anyway
,
tell me about Christian. Please tell me you didn
’
t do anything stupid.
’

‘
I didn
’
t realise you thought so little of me. I
’
ve learned my lesson
,
Grace. We
’
re meeting up for breakfast at the Hilton on Friday morning. Two days to go. Seriously though
,
I
’
m going to play this one cool. I mean it. I want to check him out before I get involved. This is my life we
’
re talking about here. And I
’
m on the same shelf waiting to see if I
’
m picked by the right one. I want to find out if he
’
s staying in Sydney or what
’
s the point?
’

‘
I
’
m proud of you
,’
Grace said with a sigh of relief.
‘
Why are you waiting till Friday?
’

‘
I
’
m away tomorrow and staying at a resort tomorrow night on a short break. I
’
ll be up before dawn on Friday to make it back in time.
’

The doorbell rang and the girls stared at each other. As Grace placed her hand on the handle to open the door
,
she said to Kate
,
‘
I hope that
’
s not him.
’

‘
Not who?
’
Joy asked as she gave her sister a hug.

‘
What are you doing here
,
sis
’
?
’
Grace asked as she hugged and kissed her.
‘
Oh
,
it
’
s good to see you. I wasn
’
t expecting you.
’

‘
I cooked all this extra food and thought I
’
d drop it off to you
,
make sure you don
’
t get too skinny. Hi Kate
,’
Joy said as she headed straight to the kitchen to unpack her portions into Grace
’
s freezer.

‘
Hi Joy
,
how are you?
’
Kate asked.

‘
Can
’
t complain.
’

Grace stood in the doorway between the living area where Kate remained on the lounge and the kitchen where Joy was unpacking what appeared to be an enormous amount of food.

‘
Who
’
s him?
’
Joy asked.

‘
What do you mean?
’
Grace stalled. She looked at Kate. Kate made a slow sweeping motion with her hand as she moved her thumb and forefinger from the left side of her closed mouth to the right
,
indicating her lips were sealed and she wouldn
’
t breathe a word.

‘
Oh
,
no-one. A guy I
’
m working with was meant to drop some work off to me today but he didn
’
t get around to it.
’
Grace shrugged her shoulders and threw her hands upwards to Kate.

‘
You know our Gracie
,
Joy. Work
,
work
,
work
,’
Kate said.

Grace gave Kate the thumbs up.
Thanks Kate
,
I can trust you after all.

‘
Don
’
t work too hard
,’
Joy said as she came out of the kitchen and gave Kate a hug and kiss.
‘
You look fantastic. You
’
re not in love
,
are you?
’

‘
Not yet
,
Mum
,’
Kate said.

Joy had mothered Kate as much as she had mothered Grace over the years. Grace loved it and she knew Kate did
,
too.

‘
Did you bring any chocolate chip ice cream?
’
Kate asked.

‘
As a matter of fact
,
I did bring a little treat for you. It
’
s in the freezer
,’
Joy said.
‘
Are you girls about to watch a movie?
’

‘
What else would we be doing on hump night?
’
Kate asked.

‘
Hump night?
’

‘
Joy
,
you
’
ve never heard of
‘
hump day
’
? Currently
,
it
’
s hump night. Basically
,
you
’
re uphill from Monday until you hit the peak
,
Wednesday
,
also known as the hump
,
and then you
’
re on the downhill run to Friday. At which point we will probably still be desperate and dateless
,’
Kate said.

‘
I do not believe you two young lovelies could ever be D&D. Those men don
’
t know what they
’
re missing.
’
 

Joy was forever the optimist
,
another attribute Grace loved about her. She had been there for Grace over the years
,
far more than Kate had been
,
in consoling her over heartbreaks. Although
,
since Grace decided to become tougher in her love life
,
she was determined the emotional support would become less frequent. 

‘
You
’
re marvellous
,’
Kate said as she headed to Grace
’
s freezer. She retrieved bowls and spoons from the cupboard and jumped straight back on the couch.
‘
Staying with us?
’

‘
No
,
it
’
s a quick visit. I hope you
’
ve eaten dinner otherwise the ice cream can wait
,’
Joy said.

‘
Oops
,’
Kate returned the dessert to the freezer and put the bowls on the kitchen bench.
‘
You
’
re right. Dinner first
,
treats second. Thanks
,
Mum.
’

‘
Oh
,
you
’
re a cheeky wretch. I have to go. I have all the kids at home
,
no doubt running amuck. Vince has no idea how to control them. He
’
s too soft. They
’
ve probably tortured the dog and killed all the goldfish. I better go
,
chicks
,’
Joy said as she gave both the girls a big hug and headed to the door.
‘
Don
’
t eat it all in one sitting and enjoy your movie.
‘
Bye
,’
and she was out the door.