As Grace came out of her Literature class later that morning, August, who had been waiting outside the door, appeared next to her and put his arm around her waist.

"Hi, beautiful."

"Hey." Grace smiled. "Um, are you sure we should be doing this - in public, you know? Not that I'm complaining, it feels great, but don't you think we should keep a bit of a low profile or something?'

"I don't care, to be honest," he retorted. "I'm not teaching you or anyone in your year, these people don't know who I am, they most likely don't care, and I'm too happy to care either. Now that I've found you again I'm not going to tiptoe around you for the rest of our lives."

"Except around my family..."

"Well, yes, except then," he smiled and bent down and kissed her quickly as they walked. "So now, what do you want to do today? Are you free for lunch?"

"I think...no, dammit, I promised my roommate and her brother we'd meet up today for lunch. Ally's found some fantastic little French bistro just outside campus, or something, that she wanted us to go to."

"Well, that's all right."

"No, no," Grace said quickly, not wanting to disappoint him on their first day as a couple, "I'm sure I can get out of it. Ally will understand."

"Grace." August stopped walking and led her into a deserted side corridor. "We're together now, and I'm thrilled, but you know I don't expect you to cancel plans with your friends because of me, or change anything because of me. I want you to have friends, and a life apart from me. You wouldn't be a whole person otherwise. Much as I'd like to keep you all to myself," he said thoughtfully, running his index fingers down the sides of her face.

"You," said Grace, "are really something, you know?"

"I know," he replied teasingly, and kissed her. For a few moments they kissed, lost in each other, and then pulled apart, their faces still inches away from each other's.

"So, what about after lunch?" Grace said softly. "I've got no classes this afternoon; what about you?"

"Free as a bird. I've got a comparative lit class for some masters students right before lunch, but after that I'm…all yours." He lingered on the last two words, and Grace felt a thrill deep in her stomach, not unlike the butterflies she got before a performance on stage. "Tell you what. You call me from this bistro - I think I know where it is - when you've about finished up, and I'll come and collect you. We can go to my house; I live just a few blocks from there. That is, if you want to."

"I do," Grace said, and leaned in and kissed him again. It seemed incredible that they'd only just met again yesterday; it felt like they'd been together for years. They pulled apart as they heard a group of people approaching.

"Here's my cell number," August said, handing her his card. "You'd better give me yours so I can find you...whenever I want you." Grace's stomach flip-flopped again, and she silently pulled out a pen and scribbled down her number on a scrap of paper, which August then tucked into his shirt pocket.

"Close to my heart," he said. "Now I have to go and do some preparation for that ghastly class, so - I'll see you after lunch?"

"Definitely." Then, as he began to move away, she remembered something suddenly.

"Did you say comparative lit? For masters?"

"Yeah, why?"

"My roommate - Ally, you met her this morning, I think - her sister is taking that class. Gabrielle Jessop."

"Ah, yes. I've had the pleasure." August looked thoughtful, and Grace felt chilled suddenly, as she remembered what Gabrielle had said the day before - " the lecturer is a TOTAL babe, which helps...He totally seems to get me; I'm thinking of asking him out sometime... we have a lot in common - I'm taking his course, we both have red hair..." Oh, God. The lecturer she wanted to hit on was August! And of course, no man could resist Gabrielle, according to Ally - and she was the most beautiful woman Grace had ever met. No, no, no. How horrible.

"Grace? Is something wrong?"

Grace looked up into August's loving blue eyes. "No...not really. Only...what do you think of Gabrielle?"

"How do you mean?" he demanded, surprised.

"As a person. I mean...do you think she's pretty...and stuff?"

August burst out laughing. "So that's where you're heading! No, Grace, I'm not interested in Miss Gabrielle Jessop in the slightest. Yes, she's very pretty, but I'm not into that sort of superficial beauty unless there's something underneath."

"But - I mean, she's not stupid, she must be really clever...it's not like she's some dumb bimbo, or anything," Grace said uncertainly.

"No, she's not. She's very clever, I grant you; her work is excellent, but when I said I wanted something underneath I meant character, Grace. Depth. Personality. Everything you have and Miss Jessop does not."

"Really?" Grace said, slightly reassured.

"Really really. Look, she's nice enough, and I know you're best friends with her sister, but..."

"But you don't want to date her."

"No, Grace. For one thing, I'm with you now, and even if I wasn't I'd never give her a second thought. Much as she might flirt with me," he grinned suddenly.

"Yeah, she said something like that," Grace admitted. "She wants to ask you out."

"Well, she'll have a long wait, in that case, because I," he wrapped his arms around Grace's waist, "am well and truly taken."

"Yes, you are," Grace whispered, and kissed him deeply. After a few minutes he pulled back.

"I think we'll have to continue this later. Much as I don't want to, I do have to prepare for that class. Though I don't know how much work I'll get done right now. And you have a class to get to as well, right?"

"Yes," Grace admitted reluctantly.

"Then I'll say farewell, fair Grace, until this afternoon. I'll be waiting for your call." He smiled a smile full of warmth, Grace smiled back, and he turned and walked off lightly. Grace felt weak at the knees suddenly, and caught onto the wall for support.

"Never felt that before," she muttered, and smiled a secret smile to herself. Suddenly a sound penetrated her reverie and she realised her cellphone was ringing. It was her mother.

"Hi, Mom."

"Hey, Gracie. I just wanted to say hi and check if you're still coming home next weekend. I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"No, it's fine, I'm between classes at the moment."

"Ok, good. So are you coming next weekend then?" Lily asked.

Grace considered. She didn't exactly have anything on, and she had promised. On the other hand, that was before she'd met August; what if she wanted to spend the weekend with him? Now that she had him she didn't think she'd ever want to let him go. And a whole weekend away from him, unable even to talk about him...?

"Grace? Are you there?" Lily's voice came.

Grace prevaricated. "Mom, I'm not sure. I want to come, but there's something about an extra class or a field trip or something on that Saturday night...I don't know, nothing's been finalised. Can I find out and tell you later - like tomorrow, say?"

"Oh, sure honey." Lily sounded disappointed, and Grace felt extremely guilty. Still, her mother had Rick, and Zoë and Jessie at home, and Judy, probably...why shouldn't she stay with August if she wanted to? She was nineteen now, she was an adult, her mother couldn't expect her to be at home whenever she wanted. Still, she felt bad.

"I'll try my best, Mom. I do want to see you guys. I'll let you know by tomorrow, okay? And now I've got to go, I'm due at class."

"Okay, Gracie. Have a good class. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Bye, Mom." Grace hung up, and walked off to her class uncertainly. How was she going to hide her relationship with August from her family?

"Grace! Did you find the place okay?" Ally hailed her roommate as she walked into the bistro, looking around for her friends. "Here, over here."

Grace walked over to the corner booth where Ally was seated along with David and - oh, great, Gabrielle. Grace didn't particularly feel like seeing her. But she sat down and forced a bright smile. "Hey, you guys! No, it was easy, " she said in reply to Ally's question. "Your directions were great. And it is nice in here," she looked round appreciatively at the French-inspired decor. "I love the little umbrellas over the tables outside. Very picturesque."

"And just like France," remarked Gabrielle, who was sipping some sort of chic cocktail and looking as cool as a cucumber in a little blue sundress, which showed off her creamy, toned shoulders - and rather more cleavage than was necessary, Grace thought. Beside Gaby's trimness she felt hot, untidy and fat, even in her long green skirt and white tank-top. "I bet Gabrielle never gets untidy hurrying anywhere," she thought to herself.

"Drink, Grace?" David, a good-looking boy with spiky brown hair and an engaging smile just like Ally's, asked as the waitress hovered near.

"Oh - thanks. Orange juice, please," Grace said.

"Way to live dangerously," Ally grinned teasingly.

Grace felt stupid for a second and then laughed. "I think I'm already living dangerously enough in other departments, wouldn't you say?" she winked at her roommate, who giggled and winked back.

"Oh yes? What's all this about?" demanded David, looking from Grace to his sister and back again.

"Grace has-"

"Ally!" Grace kicked her under the table.

"Don't worry, Grace. All I was going to say was that you have a new, Secret Boyfriend."

"Oh really? Tell us more," said David, looking impressed, and even Gabrielle looked interested. Probably thinks I could never get a guy, Grace thought to herself. She grinned suddenly. Well, sucks to Miss Gabrielle, because she, Grace, had the very man Gaby was after, and there was nothing she could do about it. So there, Miss perfect cleavage and long legs.

"Come on, Grace! Who is it?" David said again, with nothing but friendly interest in his voice. Contrary to Lily's hopes, there had never been anything but friendship between Grace and her roommate's twin brother. He liked her a lot as a friend, someone to talk to and tease and hang out with, but that was about it. They both went for different types, and they both knew it.

"Oh, just some guy. I used to know him and we bumped into each other and we got together," Grace said, unable to keep the huge smile off her face. But the one thing she must remember not to say was where she knew him from, or what their previous relationship had been. It was just about okay that she was dating him now, but if anyone - Gabrielle, for instance - knew what had transpired between them two years before, things could get very awkward. People might not believe that they hadn't been dating all along, for one thing. Fortunately neither David nor Gaby seemed interested in how she'd met this secret boyfriend, and Grace knew she could trust Ally to keep her secret. Their eyes met over the table and Ally nodded imperceptibly.

"Well, that's really cool, Grace," David said. "So when do we get to meet this wonderful guy?"

"Well, actually, he's -" Grace stopped. Oh, bugger. August was supposed to be coming to meet her here, which was great, except that she hadn't expected Gabrielle to be with her. Still - why not? August didn't want Gabrielle, he wanted Grace. He'd made that abundantly clear. So why shouldn't Gabrielle find out about it? She'd certainly find out sooner or later; might as well be sooner. She continued hurriedly, "He's coming here to meet me after lunch; we're going to his house. Which reminds me; I'm supposed to call and let him know where to meet me when we're finished. He wasn't sure if this was the restaurant he was thinking of, and neither was I, of course." She fished out her phone and pressed August's number which she'd already programmed into speed-dial. It rang twice and then he answered.

"Grace of my heart."

"Hey." Grace couldn't help but smile broadly at the sound of his voice, and the three siblings exchanged knowing glances and pretended to lean closer and listen in. Grace batted them away with her serviette.

"So, where are you? Is it Pierre's?" he asked.

"Yeah," Grace replied. "I guess if you come at about - two - that should be okay. We should be done by then. Hang on a sec -" she covered the mouthpiece and mouthed, "What?" at Ally, who was trying to say something.

"I'm just saying, I've got class at two-fifteen, so we'll probably be done just before two," Ally said. "I've got to drop Gaby back at her apartment first, because we all came in my car."

"Okay." Grace uncovered the phone. "Um, yeah, we'll be done just before two, Ally says. She has to drop off her sister before class."

"Ah. The infamous Gabrielle is there, too?" August said, sounding amused.

"Yeah."

"That should be interesting," he said. "Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah, I think I am," Grace said, almost surprised at herself. "Suddenly I don't care what she thinks anymore."

"That's my girl. I can't wait to see you."

"Me neither," Grace said. "Bye." She hung up.

"Nice goofy grin," David commented airily. "And nice hickey, too." He and Ally burst out laughing. Grace, who had forgotten about the love bite, pulled her hair over it quickly. "Shut up, you two," she said exasperatedly.

"So who is it you don't care about?" Ally demanded.

"What?"

"On the phone. You said you don't care what she thinks anymore. Who is she?"

"Oh - no one. Just some girl. It's not important. I'm starving, let's order! Crêpe Suzettes all round?"

"How did you guess?" David twinkled.

"Oh, I don't know - maybe because you have them every chance you get?" Grace said dryly. Everyone laughed, and Grace was startled to realise what she was feeling - total, absolute contentment.

An hour later the crepes were eaten, plates smeared with syrup, sugar, cream and chocolate sauce laying testament to the feast they had just had. David leaned back and sighed.

"Ouf! I'm stuffed! I can hardly breathe."

"Well, don't even think of unbuttoning your jeans; there are ladies present," drawled Gabrielle.

"What? Where?" David looked around wildly, and Grace thumped him on the arm.

"Okay, okay! You win!" he held his hands up. "I give up, oh mighty one."

"Oh God," Gabrielle said suddenly.

"What? What's wrong?" Ally said.

"The guy - my Lit lecturer - the one I told you about. He just came in!" Gabrielle whispered. Grace smiled complacently, but her back was to the door and she didn't dare turn around yet.

"Oh, God, he's coming this way. And I just ate like a hundred crepes. Do I look fat?" she demanded of her sister.

"Relax, sis. You look as svelte as usual," Ally drawled. Then she looked up and her eyes widened as she recognised August nearing the table. She looked wildly from Gaby to Grace. Grace smiled back, just as she heard his voice behind her.

"Hello."

Gabrielle straightened up and crossed her legs elegantly. "Oh, hello, Mr Dimitri," she purred. Grace rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Gabrielle, hi." Grace heard August say, and then felt his hands on her shoulders as he leaned down towards her face. She turned her head sideways to meet him, and they kissed - slightly longer and more lingering than they would normally have, but they were both rather enjoying showing Gabrielle up. Sure enough, when they separated, Gabrielle's eyes were like soup-plates and her mouth was open in a most unladylike fashion. August pulled over a chair from the next table and sat down next to Grace. He waved mildly at Ally.

"Hi, Ally. Nice to see you again."

"You too, August," Ally choked, for she had caught on to the joke, and was enjoying it thoroughly. She loved her sister, and didn't begrudge her any happiness, but sometimes her complacency that she could have any man she wanted was rather annoying. Only David had no idea what was going on. August leaned across Grace, who was between them, and extended his hand to David.

"Hi, I'm August, Grace's boyfriend. You must be David."

"Yeah. Hi, it's great to meet you," David said sincerely, a little thrown at how old the secret boyfriend was, but recovering himself admirably.

"You too." August pulled his hand back and settled it on Grace's leg. He looked across at Gabrielle, who looked more uncomposed than anyone had ever seen her.

"I didn't expect to see you again so soon," he remarked conversationally.

"Um, no," she replied coldly.

"Gabrielle is in my comparative literature class," he explained jovially to Ally and David. "I hadn't realised she was your sister. I'm sorry about this morning, by the way," he directed his comment to Ally.

"Eh? Oh, it's quite all right. At least I don't sleep in the nude," she twinkled back.

"Just as well. I liked your Eeyore pyjamas, though," he responded swiftly. Grace felt laughter building up in her, and she hid her face behind a serviette. She caught Ally's eye and winked. Gabrielle looked so thoroughly nonplussed, so caught off guard, with just a little bit of anger thrown in. It was such a wonderful picture.

Where's my camera when I need it? Ally thought to herself. "Oh, thanks," she responded to August's comment. "Maybe we could get Grace a pair, if you like."

"Hmmm, we'll see about that," August smiled wickedly, looking Grace up and down, contriving to convey to everyone present exactly what sleeping attire he'd prefer Grace to be in. She blushed, and Gabrielle looked livid.

"Well, ladies - and gentleman - ," August said, "it was a pleasure to see you all, but I need to steal Grace away now. And it's just on two o'clock, weren't you supposed to be somewhere?"

Ally gave a squawk. "My God! Yes, I've got class. Grace - I'll see you later, right? August, it was nice to see you again. Come on, you two."

"Nice to meet you. Bye, Grace," said David.

"Bye." said Grace, getting up. "Bye, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle made a noise that could have passed for a goodbye, and then the siblings had left. Grace and August burst out laughing.

"Oh, my God! That was priceless! The most brilliant thing ever," Grace gasped.

"Why, thank you."

"And the Eeyore pyjamas..." and she burst out laughing again.

"Well, they were nice," August said innocently. "And now that we're alone, what do you say we make tracks for my house?"

"Sounds like perfection," Grace replied.