It Must Be Love - Jacob and Connie

Chapter Twenty Four

"Mummy!" Connie woke with the sound of Grace calling her name, and before she had chance to open her eyes, the little girl had jumped on the bed and had started to hug Connie.

"Oh darling, I'm so glad you're okay!"

"I didn't like living with dad," Grace said. "He wasn't as nice as you. Can I come back?"

"Of course you can, my love." Connie pulled her arms out of the quilt, immediately regretting her decision to sleep without her underwear, as it was difficult to keep herself covered up.

"Who's that?" Grace asked, indicating Jacob.

"Oh, that's erm, that's Jacob. He's mummy's friend." Connie tried to be as discreet as possible, but she knew that Grace was getting older, and that she probably knew exactly what was going on between the pair.

"Do you usually sleep naked with your friends, mum?" Grace asked, seeming a little concerned, but then she broke out in to a huge smile. "I'm just so glad you've found someone who treats you well." Connie was shocked at the maturity of her ten year old daughter, but in all honesty, she was just glad to have her little girl back. It was then that Jacob yawned, and he naturally rolled over to place his arm over Connie.

"Good morning sweet-cheeks," he grumbled, and Grace laughed at him.

"Good morning Jacob," Connie replied. "We have company."

"Huh?"

"Good morning!" Grace beamed, and she laughed as Jacob sat up in the bed.

"Morning, princess," Jacob replied groggily, before adjusting to the light and smiling genuinely.

"So you're mummy's new boyfriend?" Grace asked, bouncing up and down on the bed as if it were Christmas. "Are you going to get married? Am I going to be a big sister any time soon?"

"Alright missy," Connie laughed. "Enough of the 21 Questions. Come on, let's go and get you some breakfast."

"I already had some at Rita's - she made me pancakes! So, will I ever get to call you 'dad'?" Grace was very keen to get some answers out of Jacob and her mother, but both of them were too tired to answer them at the moment.

"Come on, honey. Jacob and I need to get dressed, so if you take my phone and wait in the relatives room downstairs, then we'll come down as soon as we're ready, and we'll organise a plan for the day, okay?"

"Okay!" Grace skipped over to Connie's clothes on the floor, and found her mobile in her pocket. She switched it on and smiled, as there was a picture of Connie and Grace at the park on the lock screen. "Is your passcode still the same?" Grace asked.

"Still your birthday, my love." She saw Grace tap in the passcode, and then she smiled again, and started giggling at the screen. "What's so funny, poppet?" Connie laughed.

"I didn't know you were the selfie type, mum!" Connie rolled her eyes as she realised that she had left her Photos open, and the most recent ones to be taken were those she took with Jacob while they were having their picnic. There were some of them pulling funny faces, some more classy, and others included the pair kissing, or lying on the floor entwined with each other. "These are so cute!"

"Alright, enough of stalking my private life, missy. Come on, I'd like to get showered and changed!" Connie laughed.

"Okay, okay." Grace began to leave the room, but stopped and climbed on to the bed on her way out. She kissed Connie's cheek, and whispered "I love you mummy," in her ear, before jumping off the bed again and going down to the relatives room.

"What a sweet child," Jacob smiled, as Connie curled up in to him once more.

"At times, she can be an absolute angel, but then there's times when she's a little pest." Connie and Jacob laughed together, and he tightened his hold on her. "But not a day went by where I didn't miss her when she was in LA. I love her so much, and I'm so glad she's back home."