The lights were on. Grace appeared and gestured him to follow her into the living room, where she stood holding her hands together, an uncomfortable expression on her face. “How was dinner with your family?” she asked. “The usual.” He hauled in a deep breath as he examined her. Tonight she was casual in yoga pants and a stretchy, white T-shirt, with her hair falling loose around her shoulders, the way he liked. He hadn’t seen her all day, and he had a craving to inhale her fresh gardenia scent into his lungs. “What’s up?” he asked, noting the faint line between her eyes. “Rose, my flatmate, came home earlier than expected. I took the liberty of packing up your things so she could have her room back. I hope you don’t mind.” “Of course not.” He threaded his fingers through his hair as the implications of what she’d said sunk into him. After the tense evening with his family, he’d been looking forward to focusing on pleasanter problems—like how to separate Grace from her clothes—but now it appeared he’d have to take a rain check on that.
