Loves Second Chance

Chapter Fifteen

Lacey awoke in the bed by herself, flat on her back. Today was the day they were finally heading down to Florida for a few weeks to spend time with Maddie and take in the sites of the Miami area. Lacey reflected on how they had all sat down and had a very long, serious talk with Grace about all her fears and they'd dealt with some of the leftover grief Grace was still carrying around.

Losing her mother had been very hard on her and Lacey thought this trip was just the medicine they needed to help heal some of those emotional wounds. They assured Grace that going to Miami would not change anything and meeting Maddie was something she should be excited about, not stressing over it. At the end of the talk, Grace apologized for running away and then she had to go apologize to John. He was really upset when he learned she had scrambled the monitors and snuck out on his watch. Grace had batted her eyelashes, gave him lots of hugs and kisses and he came around soon enough. Apparently, John's a glutton for any female attention, no matter what the age. Now all was well again in his world.

"Hey, Sweetheart," Ryan said as he walked into the room and lay down beside her pulling her into his arms.

"Hey, yourself," she replied with a smile in her voice.

"What's got you so pre-occupied? I called your name twice and you didn't answer." He hoped she wasn't having doubts about the trip.

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about our trip, I know this is a good thing for all of us right now. Of course, I was also mentally going over everything we've got packed, trying to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything. It's a lot different packing for two people, instead of just me; thank goodness you packed for yourself. I'm about to buckle under all the pressure."

"Sweetheart, you're doing fine. Stop worrying. If we don't have something when we get to Miami, it'll just be an excuse for you to go shopping."

"As if I need an excuse to go to mall.... please." Lacey rolled her eyes at the handsome man lying next to in bed with the hint of a smile on his face. "What time is our flight?" she asked as she settled her head onto his shoulder.

"Our flight leaves in a few hours, I'll check the exact time in a minute. I splurged and got tickets in first class. That way Grace can watch movies, listen to music, or play video games and we'll be more comfortable." Ryan made the statement casually, as though flying first class wasn't a big deal.

"First Class!" Lacey exclaimed, laughing as she bolted upright in bed looking down at Ryan, who now had a beautiful smile on his face. He gave her a nod; she shook her head in disbelief. She has having trouble believing that he would do something like that for them.

Ryan was glad to see her happy, even if it was at his expense. "You are really going to get it, now you better behave." He swatted her on the butt, which stopped the laughter immediately.

Lacey looked at him in shock, "You did not just spank me?"

"Sweetheart you so deserved it." The glare he received from her had him bolting off the bed and slamming the bedroom door just as the pillow landed with a thump against it. The muffled, "Jerk!" from the other side had his laughter ringing out in the apartment.

Two hours later, she had everything of hers and Graces packed and waiting by the front door. She knew Ryan and John would be by to get their bags, and then John would be driving them to the airport.

Sure, enough ten minutes later Joh showed up, grabbed the bags, and they all made their way to the SUV. Ryan had his arm firmly around Lacey's waist as they walked. He had arrived a couple of minutes before John. When he stepped into the apartment, he immediately kissed Lacey senseless, and the early scene seemed to be forgotten after that.