Grace (The Family Simon Book 5) by Juliana Stone

away from? How many men did I use and how many more did I let use me? I didn’t know what it meant to be loved. Didn’t know what it meant to offer up my heart to another human being. To let that human being hold it and nurture it. I had no idea what it meant to love someone so much that you’d be willing to die for them.”
    She kicked at a snowdrift. “Literally die for them.” Her head shot up and Matt could see she was dead serious. “I would die for Beau Simon and he would do the same for me. Might sound dramatic and over the top, but that’s what love can be like.”
    She reached up and kissed his cheek, sliding her hands up along either side of his face so that even if he wanted to, he couldn’t look away.
    “If I can finally let someone in, you can too.”
    Betty took a step back and pointed to the bar. “I should get back to my sisters. They’re probably worried that I beat the crap out of you or something.”
    “Can’t be too worried. No one’s come out to check on me.”
    “You coming back in?”
    He wasn’t in the mood for crowds and people. He needed some time alone. He needed to think.
    “Nah. I’m good. Gonna head home and check in on Rosie.”
    “Okay,” Betty said with a soft smile. “See you tomorrow night?”
    Matt nodded and turned. “Yeah,” Matt replied. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” He strode across the parking lot and realized as he was getting in his truck, that for the first time since Monday, he was looking forward to something. And that something was Grace.
    He stared out into the clear night sky for a long time and then with a small smile, cranked the tunes. As he hummed along to an old Zepplin song, he thought that maybe , just maybe, there was hope for him after all.

13
    G race spent the majority of the week catching up on emails and dealing with her job. She worked for the Simon Foundation, a non-profit that was her father’s baby, with a focus on saving the environment. She did this from the guest house in Nashville. A pretty sweet gig really, and one she was grateful for.
    With an upcoming Christmas Eve Gala in New York City, there were more than a few problems to deal with, including a grumpy chef who was driving her insane. By the time Friday rolled around, Grace couldn’t wait to leave it all behind and head to Michigan.
    And Matt Hawkins.
    She glanced down at her cell one more time and exhaled a shaky breath. Just seeing his words made her stomach flip. Seriously, she hadn’t felt this way over a man in…
    “Never,” she whispered.
    See you in a few.
    It was only a text message but it was enough for Grace, and she smiled settling back into the car. A driver had been waiting for her at the private airstrip just outside of town (all thanks to her brother Beau), and in less than twenty minutes, she’d be with Matt.
    And her brother’s Beau and Tucker.
    And the Barker triplets.
    Oh and their husbands.
    And then there were the kids, Abel and Fitz.
    It would be busy, loud, and chaotic but that was probably a good thing. She needed something to take her mind off of Matt, because now that she was here, doubt bunnies were running rampant, causing all sorts of havoc with her stomach.
    “Oh God,” she groaned. Maybe she should have just stayed home. Maybe he was just being polite because they’d had sex. Lots of hot, hot, sex.
    It’s not as if they’d actually talked this week. A few text messages here and there. She knew he was a man of few words, but still…
    She pushed at the hair stuck to her neck, suddenly hot and more than a little bothered. She could tell the driver to turn around. Tell her brothers that something had come up and she couldn’t make it. She could have made up all kinds of reasons for not showing up, but as luck would have it, she’d be about five minutes too late.
    The car pulled up in front of a large, home nestled among evergreen trees. The windows were ablaze with lights, and the driveway was filled with an assortment of