Grace (BWWM)

Chapter Twenty-Four

"I don't need to."

"I see . . . you can both come down now," he says randomly. I freeze, wondering what he's going on about before realizing it must be another trick.

"Your tricks won't work this time."

"Tricks? Am I playing tricks on your mother, you two?"

"Naw," I hear Ty say.

"Wait, what?" I ask, then rush back to the island to see Ty and Nova coming down the stairs, smiles on their faces. My thoughts stop for a moment before whirring around.

"How long . . . oh my goodness." I blush as I wonder if they heard me asking Joe for a kiss. "But they couldn't. I wasn't talking too loudly," I say under my breath. Joe chuckles and takes one of my hands, pressing a kiss to it.

"They haven't been around all too long, Gracie," he reassures me, but I still give him a worried look.

"We just got down here, Ma."

"Why don't you two tell her why you're here?" Joe asks, then motions for me to sit beside him. I do, still wondering as to how much they heard. I'm not even thinking about why they're suddenly here.

"Well . . ." Nova starts, then she glances at Ty before frowning. "We want to know what's going on between you and Pa-Uncle Joe. We know you two love each other, we've seen it, but Mom, you haven't told us anything."

"Sis is right, Ma. We're for your relationship but we also want you to bring us in and tell us what's going on."

"We've been waiting for years!" Nova declares.

"Wait, what? Years?" Joe asks. Nova gives a look and Ty raises his brows.

"You two haven't exactly hid anything well. Rose and Austin weren't the only ones who noticed. We just didn't say anything."

I'm surprised at that, but I guess I shouldn't be.

"We're not mad or anything, we just want you to bring us into this. We're not kids anymore, Ma."

I look at my babies who are almost all grown up. Ty is right—they're not kids anymore. For some reason, I hadn't thought about asking for their thoughts on my relationship with Joe. I never thought to involve them.

Realizing that now, I don't see why I did that. They have every right to know what's going on.

"Come and sit down," I tell them, and they do, taking seats in front of Joe and me. I look to them and then look to Joe, who gives a gentle smile. His hand gives mine a squeeze and I take a breath, thinking about where to start.

"You are both right. I am sorry for not talking to either of you about this. And, well . . ." I shrug, not sure how to go about this. "I love Joe."

"How did things go from friendship to this?" Nova asks, looking at me intently. I pause, unsure if there's a need to go into that.

"We'd like to know," Ty says.

"Although you both should be involved, I will still leave out some things," I say. They look to one another before looking back at me.

"Deal," they say.

"Good," I respond, feeling uncomfortable talking to my children about something as mushy as finding love again. But I'll do it.

I plan to just give them a very concise summary but find myself divulging much more than I ever thought I would. I finally tell them about how I felt after their father passed. That brings tears to my eyes and has Joe running a hand down my back.

The pain from that has become bearable, but the memory of it all never leaves. I tell them about how Joe and his late wife were there for me—and emphasize that I had no romantic feelings for him then. Even years after his wife's passing, things were completely platonic between us.