The Rules According to Gracie by Stefanie London Page A

“But I can’t go back to Conrad after this.”
    “If you love them it hurts more when they leave.” The words came out so softly that Gracie wondered if she’d imagined them.
    Cecilia stood and hesitated before turning on her heels and leaving the room without a backwards glance.
    “I think she needed to hear that,” Gracie said, nodding as if to convince herself. She’d never stood up so openly to her mother before, and she had certainly never seen her mother react like that.
    “I think so, too. You didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.” Emmaline frowned. “Is it okay if I stay here?”
    “Of course.”
    Emmaline sighed, rubbing her temples. “Smug bastard had the audacity to say that if I slept with him more then he wouldn’t have been forced to go elsewhere.”
    “ He did not .”
    “Yep.” Her sister nodded. “I’m sorry, but I can’t get excited for a beer belly and unwieldy pubic hair.”
    Gracie snorted and then cringed. She was tempted to call TMI on Emmaline, but the girl deserved her chance to vent now that their mother had left. She slung an arm around her sister’s shoulders and squeezed.
    “You never know, Ems, this might turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to you.”
    “You think?” Emmaline raised a delicate, golden brow.
    Hope shimmered in the depths of her eyes, and a tentative smiled tugged at her lips. If Gracie didn’t know any better she’d say that Emmaline was relieved to be rid of Conrad, despite the humiliation of finding him in the arms of another woman. Perhaps now she had the opportunity to write the life she wanted, one free of Cecilia Greene’s restraints.
    “Yeah, I’m almost certain of it.” Gracie smiled. “Now you can find someone to love. Someone who has nice, neat pubic hair.”
    “And abs.” Emmaline chuckled, wiping the leftover tears from her eyes. “I want abs, too.”
    …
    Saturday mornings at First were usually busy, thanks to their creative brunch menu, but the first balmy hint of summer heat had drawn even more people out of hibernation. Customers filled every inch of the restaurant. They occupied the wooden tables in the courtyard outside and lined the edges when there were no tables left.
    Pride swelled in Des’s chest. Twelve months ago his restaurant was struggling to break even, but his perseverance and hard work paid off. When something felt right you had to go for it.
    Hypocrite.
    He frowned at the parallel his mind drew to his failed-before-it-started relationship with Gracie. Since the night they’d slept together, his stomach churned constantly. He couldn’t erase the image of her standing in his lounge room, guilt painted all over her face.
    But she’d apologized for the way she treated him, not for the reason behind it. And that reasoning was precisely his concern. Sure, she’d had sex with him without knowing whether it would lead to anything. That he could handle, but the fact that she threw the towel in because her family would think him a poor choice… Well, that cut to the bone.
    Still, he hadn’t been able to think about anyone else. All other women paled in comparison to her; therefore he was up shit creek without a paddle.
    “You’ve got to get laid.” Paul slapped him on the back with gusto. “I can’t stand to see you moping like this. Chicks aren’t worth it.”
    “Getting laid is not the solution to all life’s problems.”
    “You should think about it. Might help you burn off some of that anger.”
    Des shook his head. Sometimes his brother was clueless. “Don’t you ever want to find one special person to be with instead of sleeping your way through my customers?”
    “If chasing after one girl turns people into this”—Paul gestured up and down to Des—“then no, I don’t want to do that. Life is for the living, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
    “You’re deluded.”
    “And you’re crazy. You’re refusing to make up with Gracie but you won’t move on to someone