Jackson
Grace walked away for a minute to get some air, and I waited for her return. I stood in the room, feeling completely out of place. The suit was itchy. The people were rude, and the food was bite-sized.
I was officially in hell.
“Not your normal crowd, huh?” a woman remarked.
“Not in the least.”
She held her hand out toward me. “I’m Judy. Grace’s sister.”
Of course—they had the same eyes. I shook her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Same with you.” She smiled and shifted around in her heels.
I arched an eyebrow. “Is this the part where you tell me to stay away from Grace?”
“No. Why would you think that?”
“That’s what everyone seems to be telling me to do.”
“I see. That’s not why I’m here. I’m just here to ask you to be gentle with her, okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“Her heart…it’s fragile. She’s been through more than I think she even realizes, and I don’t think she can take much more. If you are going to allow her to fall for you, please be ready to catch her because I’m not certain she’ll be able to stand again after being dropped.”
She loved her sister, and it was apparent through her words. She wasn’t shouting at me to stay away from Grace, only requesting that I be easy with her heart and soul.
“I can do that,” I told her.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
She smiled, rubbing her left hand up and down her right arm. “You like her.”
“I do.”
“She likes you.”
I hope so…
“Have fun tonight, Jackson, and please ignore everyone at this party except for her. She’s all who matters tonight, okay?”
Judy thanked me before she walked off to go entertain others. I could see so much of Grace’s personality in her sister. It was nice to know other good people existed in the world besides Grace.
I wanted to go check on her since she’d been gone for a while, but I was working on being patient. She needed to breathe, and I’d be there when she came back to me.
“You must be real proud of yourself, huh?”
I turned to see Finn walking my way. He looked a bit wild in the eyes as he spoke to me.
He was drunk.
I’d seen the look in my father’s eyes enough times to know.
“Finn, let’s not get into it tonight,” I told him.
“Stay away f-from my wife,” he ordered, slurring his words a bit.
“Wife?” I huffed. “We’re using that term a little loosely, aren’t we?”
“Don’t get slick,” he warned, stumbling in my direction.
I groaned.
This is the last thing I want to deal with.
I took a breath and tried to calm my natural instinct of stepping up to him. Even though he was an asshole, he was still Grace’s ex, and I didn’t want to do anything stupid that might tick her off.
