“Banana pancakes?” I asked, looking to Grace, who was still smiling.
“They are so good, Daddy. I’ll go warm them up for you,” Ruby said, jumping up from the couch and walking past me into the kitchen.
“You’re feeling better, then?”
“Much better,” she said with her head in the refrigerator.
“There’s Gatorade in there. I want you to drink some of that anyway.”
“I already had a whole bottle. Grace made me drink it with breakfast.”
“I tried to stick to the BRAT diet, but we figured banana pancakes were a good compromise. Although, Jax has requested next time we add chocolate chips.”
I was frozen where I stood, trying to take everything in.
“You made my kids breakfast?”
“Well, I was already awake, and Ruby was hungry. I figured she needed something in her belly, considering….”
I heard her trying to defend herself and I could have kicked myself for making her feel like she’d done something wrong.
“Thank you,” I managed, interrupting her unnecessary apology. “It’s been a while since I was able to sleep in.” She smiled, but I still felt like shit. “Kids, we’ve got to drive Grace home, so why don’t you get dressed.”
“You’ve got to eat your pancakes,” Ruby insisted, the microwave dinging.
“I’ll eat them while you get changed.” Ruby placed the pancakes in front of me on the bar and as she passed I stopped her, bringing her head to my chest, looking down at her. “You feeling okay, kiddo?” She didn’t feel warm and the color was back in her face.
“I feel much better, Daddy. I was really hungry when I woke up, so Grace made me pancakes and made me drink the Gatorade. I feel fine.”
I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m glad. Now go get dressed.” She made her way down the hall and when I knew both kids were in their rooms, I turned back to Grace.
“Listen,” I said, dragging my fingers through my hair, “I’m really sorry about all this. Last night was a disaster and then this morning….” I looked up at her to see the smile still fixed on her face. “This definitely wasn’t the way I wanted our date to go.”
She shrugged. “It’s not a big deal, Devon. I hope I didn’t overstep any boundaries though.”
“No. No, of course not. I just don’t want you to think I brought you here to take care of my kids. I didn’t. I’m grateful you did, but you’ve got to know I didn’t even think about it. It’s been years since those kids didn’t come right into my bedroom when they woke up. I never expected they’d come to you first.”
“All right,” she said, standing from the couch and walking toward me. “We’re both sorry and it all worked out.”
Her dress flowed around her knees and some of her hair had come loose from the bun she’d wrapped it up in. Strands fell in soft sweeps along her neck and I wanted so badly to just run a finger along her there. With both excitement and apprehension, I’d envisioned a very different ending to our evening the night before. I would have walked her to her door, found some reason to hold her hand or rest my hand on her waist, and pulled her in to me for a hug. I’d imagined kissing her, but wasn’t sure if we were there yet. The last thing I wanted was to kiss Grace and then realize I wasn’t ready to kiss someone who wasn’t Olivia. I wanted to be sure.
What I hadn’t anticipated was the way I would feel about Grace stepping in and taking care of my kids. It felt right. Easy. Comfortable.
And the pancakes were out of this world.
“Grace,” I said between bites, “these taste incredible.”
She sat on the stool right next to me and rested her chin on her hand. “I just googled an easy recipe.” She gave another shrug, as if to say it was no big deal.
“You’ve never made these before?”
“Nope. I just saw your bananas and figured they’d be easy on Ruby’s tummy.”
Something deep in my chest tightened with her words. Before I could change my mind I leaned forward and kissed her, my lips pressing softly just to the corner of her mouth. She tensed at first. I hoped she was just surprised by my random advance. When I felt her relax against me, I kissed her fully. My mouth lined up perfectly with hers.
It was a soft and quick kiss, but it rocked me. After a few moments, when we both pulled away, she was still smiling when she said, “You taste like bananas and syrup.”
We watched as Grace made her way up to her door, giving us a wave before she disappeared into it.