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Grace had never been on time for anything, and Luke probably should've known that if there was anyone who could alter an international flight schedule, it was Grace. Luke drummed his fingers nervously against his leg as he waited, glancing at his watch every few minutes. 4:39. 4:42. 4:43. 4:47.
Then he saw her. He must have zoned out and missed the landing announcement, and he thought it was almost poetic. It was only for a second, but he was sure he'd seen a flash of her blonde hair as a crowd started filtering out of the gates.
Luke jumped to his feet and followed the crowd toward baggage claim, intent on finding Grace before she found her luggage.
He saw her as the jet-lagged passengers started to spread out around the carousel, back toward him and her hand holding tightly to a little girl's.
He'd been stupid. It had never occurred to him, even after he had done the same, that Grace would move on. He swallowed and approached them slowly, his heart pounding in his chest and more than a little lightheaded. He cleared his throat when he reached them. "Grace," he greeted, trying to keep his voice as nonchalant as possible.
She spun around and a smile that didn't quite make it to her eyes flooded over her face. "Hey. Luke." She gestured to the little girl. "This is my daughter, Evi."
Luke looked from mother to daughter and nodded. The resemblance was clear. Grace and Evi shared the same blonde hair, much more lustrous than Luke remembered. Evi's eyes were greener than Grace's, but her bone structure was similar. He dropped to his knee in front of Evi and smiled. "Hey Evi. I'm Luke. Your mom and I are... good friends. How old are you?"
Evi grinned and held up her right hand, spreading her fingers and thumbs to show Luke all five.
Grace cleared her throat and ruffled Evi's hair lightly. "She's four, not five."
"Almost five!" Evi piped up, her voice like that of an airy sprite.
Luke laughed as Grace rolled her eyes. "She'll be five in June. Still about three months away."
Luke nodded. "Well, let me just get your luggage and we'll get out of here. What do your bags look like?"
Grace's eyebrows shot to the ceiling. "I can get my own luggage."
"Mummy," Evi whined, tugging on Grace's arm.
Grace sighed. "My suitcase is black and Evi's is a light purple. I attached blue ribbons to both, and they have our tags."
"Cool."
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Luke snuck a glance at Grace for the umpteenth time in the last twenty minutes as he directed his BMW onto the exit for Arcadia. She was staring out the window, her expression unreadable.
"Must be weird to be back home," he said quietly, and was rewarded by Grace jerking her head away from the window to look at him.
"It is." She glanced into the back seat where Evi was sound asleep. "I didn't really have a choice though."
Her tone told him not to go there, not to ask what had prompted that midnight phone call. So he didn't. "You must've been in England for a while now. Evi has an accent."
"I've lived there for almost eleven years now," Grace responded, glancing down at her hands.
Luke watched as she twisted something around her finger, guessing it was a wedding band. "When'd you... take that step?"
Grace looked up at him, surprised. She bit her lip and stared at him for a long moment, and Luke looked back at the road. "I was pregnant with Evi, and Brett thought we should... you know. His family would have disowned him if they found out he'd gotten a girl pregnant outside of marriage."
Luke thought of Riley and sighed. "Yeah."
They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence which Grace eventually broke. "What about you? Married? Have any kids?"
Luke shook his head. "Well, I have a kid. A daughter, Riley. But I'm not married."
Grace smiled. "How old is she? Your daughter?"
Luke paused. "She'll be fifteen in October." Grace's wince was almost imperceptible, but it was there. Luke cleared his throat. "It wasn't- we didn't stay together. She dropped Riley off and took off."
"You don't owe me an explanation," Grace murmured, returning her gaze to the passing city.
Luke sighed. "Where am I taking you? To your parents'?"
"No. I made reservations at the Ramada Inn. We're staying there until I make peace with my parents."
Luke swore under his breath and pulled over to the side of the road. "Grace," he said forcefully, waiting until she was looking at him to continue. "You aren't going to stay in some hotel. You can stay at my house until something better is worked out, but... I can't just drop you off at a hotel."
"Luke-"
"It's not up for debate."
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Luke's house was a modest two stories, little like the stuffy mansion Grace had shared with Brett, a wedding present from his equally stuffy family.
As Luke turned off the ignition, Grace stared at the house, with its pale yellow walls and dark brown shutters. "It's beautiful," she murmured, "Quite a step up from our place during college."
Luke laughed. "Yeah, I guess it is." He handed Grace his key ring, house key out. "Riley's over at my neighbor's, so I'm going to go over and get her. You can, uh, make yourself at home."
Grace didn't move until Luke had disappeared into a neighbor's house, still too stunned by everything that had happened. She sighed, popping open her door and glancing at Evi in the back seat. "Evi, it's time to get up," she murmured, watching as Evi's tired eyes opened slowly.
Evi sat up and yawned. "Where are we?"
Grace looked over at Luke's house and sighed. "We're going to stay at Luke's for a few days, Baby. It's just temporary."
"I like Luke. He's nice."
You don't know him yet. "Yeah. He is."
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The stairs had a deep red oak, almost mahogany, stain. Grace descended them slowly and glanced around the room below her, flooded with warm colors and textures. It didn't surprise her, really, that Luke's house would be so warm and comforting to her. What surprised her was that much of the furniture- from the brown leather sectional couch to the marble coffee table- were items she'd circled in catalogs years ago, when the idea of having that kind of money available was as distant as Sarah Polonski.
Grace froze when she heard the door open. "God, you're no fun. We were just playing around, Dad. Why can't I stay there? Jase was just-" The words died off as the girl entered the room and saw Grace on the stairs. "I swear one of these people is going to murder us in our sleep, Dad. There's shelters for them."
Luke looked embarrassed at the comment and grimaced in Grace's general direction. "No, Riley, this is an old friend, Grace. She's staying with us while she gets back on her feet."
Grace descended the stairs, unable to tear her eyes off the girl. She looked so much like her. Aside from Luke's sapphire eyes, the girl looked nothing like him. Her lips were full, a tender pink. Her hair was a raven-black, darker than the blackest obsidian under natural light.
Just. Like. Hers.
"Oh, I'm sorry... Grace. I didn't mean- my dad has a habit of taking in homeless people, and-"
"It's okay," Grace said slowly, her eyes still on the girl. She wore a navy pleated skirt and a white blouse partially concealed by a burgundy vest with "SBA" embroidered in golden thread. "Where do you go to school?"
Riley frowned, then glanced down at her vest. "Oh, right. Um, Sterling-Bentley Academy?"
"I'll have to check it out. I have a daughter who will be starting kindergarten this fall."
"Oh, um, cool. There's a K-8 building across the street." Riley glanced over at Luke. "I'm going to go upstairs now, work on my homework."
Luke and Grace watched as Riley darted up the stairs, Luke laughing quietly. "That's a first."
Grace smiled tensely and nodded. "She's beautiful, Luke."
"Thanks."
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Steam billowed around the bathroom, fogging the mirrors and the glass stall, making her feel moist even after she'd turned off the shower. It turned out a hot shower had been just what Grace needed, so when she stepped out she felt oddly refreshed and ready to start the day... at 11 PM.
Luke had left her warm towels on the back of the door, and she smiled at his thoughtfulness as she wrapped the largest of three around her body, ignoring the pain that greeted her when the towel tugged at her breasts.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a moment, just thinking, before stepping out into the hallway.
"Whoa."
She halted in her footsteps, feeling like someone who'd just stepped out of a cheesy romance novel. "Luke. I was going to uh, get dressed."
His eyes swept over her from head to toe and he shook his head. "Don't. I think we should talk."
"I'd rather do that clothed. We never had a really good track record with that..."
"Funny." Luke crossed his arms over his chest. "I think I get it now."
Grace shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, well, I, uh, let me go get my robe and then we can talk."
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After a moment's hesitation, Grace haddecided upon along silk robe Brett had given her for Mother's Day last year,as it was ironically more modest than her terry cloth one.
She met Luke in the kitchen, where he sat at a reddish brown wooden table, drinking from a mug. He handed her another, saying, "I was originally going to break out the nice wine for you, but I decided it wasn't the best idea."
Grace winced, intercepting the mug graciously anyway. "Is it...?"
"Decaf."
"Good."
Luke stared at her hard for a moment before continuing. "Have you seen a doctor?"
Grace shook her head. "No, I'm okay. It wasn't as bad as last time."
Luke nodded, scooting his chair closer to Grace's and pushing the fabric of her robe over her shoulder. He traced the line below her left clavicle, a purplish brown against ivory. "Did he do this to you? Brett?"
She looked away, uncomfortable. "Yeah."
"What about Evi? Did he ever hurt her?"
Grace shook her head quickly. "No. He could never..."
Luke's fingers continued with their ministrations, exposing more damage as he did so. "And did he know about the baby?"
Grace froze. "How'd you?"
"You're starting to show. Just a little bit. I wouldn't have even thought of it if you hadn't worn that sweatshirt today. It's March."
"March is cold here," she muttered, casting her head down.
"Grace..."
She nodded slightly, almost hoping he'd miss it. God, his hands felt soothing.
Luke swore under his breath. "You did the right thing."
"I know."
He sighed, pulling his hand away. "You've always been too self-sacrificing. Why'd it take a second life to make you leave?" He wrapped an arm loosely over her shoulder, ready to envelop her in a hug.
She'd forgotten how small she'd always felt next to Luke. She let herself lean forward just a bit, let herself give into the embrace just this once. "It wasn't just the baby," she murmured, "I realized how much I changed, how much I'd weakened. The old Grace Polk wouldn't have given him a second chance."
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