6.
Watching Neil shepherd Jake upstairs, Grace took a moment to gather her thoughts, or rather to try to gather the scrambled emotions that were currently coursing through her mind. She knew she cared about Neil, more than cared about him – if she were entirely honest with herself, she should own up to being in love with him. He was strong, intelligent, gentle, emotional in his own way, passionate about his family, and – a content smile graced its way across her face – from the few kisses they had shared so far, she got the idea that he could be quite passionate in other areas of his life too. She had no idea where they were going, but Grace was more than sure that she wanted to find out.
The clink of cutlery from her left brought Grace back to the present. Turning slightly, her breath caught at the gentle smile her boss was giving her. Reaching over, Grace tried to cover her nerves by serving up a plateful of the pasta that she and Neil had made, sitting down and finding the usually fabulous meal tasteless as she ate a mouthful.
"Relax Grace. Take a deep breath and relax. I'm not going to bite." Jack told her with a grin. "So. You and Neil, hey?"
Grace swallowed tightly, her mouth dry as she tried to come up with a reply, before giving in with a resigned nod.
"How long?" Jack asked curiously, taking another mouthful, and watching as Grace leant forward, putting her plate on the floor.
"Long enough to know that - "Grace swallowed tightly before diving in. It wasn't as if it wasn't glaringly obvious now anyway. "Long enough to know that I love him. Long enough to know that he is a good man, he's strong, and caring, and he loves his son very much. Jake is the most important thing in his life and his job comes a very close second. Guv, Neil loves his job, and he needs it, needs the security and the distraction of the job, and if it comes to it, if us being together means one of us has to leave, then it has to be me. He needs this job, he needs the stability, he and Jake need each other, and Neil letting me into that, letting me in like he has – it's - "Grace stopped, unable to find the words for a few moments. "He's a very special man, Guv, he and Jake and I - I'm just – just thankful that they seem to need me as much as I need them. And I will do whatever it takes for it to stay that way."
"Grace?" a yell came from the top of the stairs, "Grace, Jake wants to say goodnight" Neil called, slightly anxious at having left her alone for so long with Jack Meadows.
Jack gave a small smile at the way Grace's eyes lit up at Neil's voice. "Go" he told her, and there was no hesitation on Grace's part as she stood and moved over to the door. The hesitation set in as she started glanced up and saw Neil watching her. Turning back towards Jack, she watched him nod at her, "Go. Go and tell him goodnight Grace"
