Page 129 of Ethan & Grace

I disentangled myself from our embrace and took the ring from Grace before reaching for her hand. I searched for her gaze, and once I’d found it, I held it. The warm sparkle in her eyes and her encouraging smile took the edge off my nervousness, but didn’t make it disappear completely. Even though I knew what I felt, this was the first time I’d ever spoken the words aloud. I had never said them to anyone before.

“I love you.”

Although the ring engraving had already said as much, Grace’s breath caught. To my surprise, I realised it hadn’t been at all hard to say, because no three words had ever been truer than those.

“I love you, Dreamgirl,” I repeated.

Grace beamed. “I love you too, Beelzebub.”

Brunch at Sky Garden flew by. The food was average, but the view over London was phenomenal, especially on a sunny day like today. We talked for hours about everything and nothing. A couple of times, the conversation drifted towards Alistair and Charles, but no one wanted to let them ruin the day. Official charges had been filed against the two of them, and as expected, the media had descended on the news like a swarm of ravenous piranhas.

My mum would also have to appear in court because of the deleted CCTV footage, but thanks to her cooperation and her willing confession, she would in all likelihood get off with a fine. I still didn’t understand why she had helped Alistair just to cast my dad in a better light, but sadly, that was nothing new. At least the scandal surrounding Alistair was causing such a stir that the press barely paid her any attention. It was probably the only positive thing about the whole affair. If there was one thing The Darlington could do without, it was more devastating publicity. Alistair might have got my dad off the front pages, but ever since the court had obtained Hazel Parker’s video evidence, my dad didn’t have much reason to be cheerful.

Neither did Henry. The hotel was doing increasingly badly, and even though the peak tourist season was approaching, occupancy at The Darlington was lower than ever. It was really taking a toll on Henry. I was trying to support him as best I could, but there was little I could do beyond helping with the planning of this year’s Pearl Gala.

But that would have to wait till tomorrow. Today was Grace’s day. After brunch, we went for a walk through the park with her family before heading to the cemetery where Amy was buried. It was the only sombre moment of the day. This was the first birthday Grace wasn’t celebrating with her sister. She was twenty-three now, and Amy would remain twenty-two forever.

Seeing Grace, Jason, and their parents in tears made me cry too, but I didn’t feel the need to hide it from them. I was crying for them, as well as with them.

After we said our goodbyes, Grace and I drove back to the hotel together. We spent most of our time there now, because we had more privacy at The Darlington than in the flat in Shadwell. I had started looking for my own flat now that my mum no longer lived at the hotel, but I still hadn’t found the right one yet. Maybe, deep down, I was waiting for the right moment to ask Grace if she could imagine living with me. It would be quite early for such a big step in our relatively new relationship, but on the other hand, we spent practically every minute together, except for when I was at university and she was working. And we were both unhappy with our current living situations, so why not give it a try?

Once at the hotel, we made ourselves cosy on the sofa. We were both exhausted from the long day. I had my head in Grace’s lap, and she stroked my hair while we watched an anime. Technically, it should have been my job to pamper her today, but I wasn’t going to refuse her affection.

My phone buzzed with a new message. The preview showed that it was from my brother.

Logan:

Happy birthday to Grace!

It made me happy that he’d remembered this detail from my life. “Logan says happy birthday,” I told Grace.

“Tell him thanks from me.”

Me:

Grace says thanks!

Logan:

If you don’t already have plans this evening and fancy a romantic dinner, you can come to the Meridian. Then I’d finally get to meet Grace too!

I held my phone so Grace could read the message.

She wrinkled her nose. “That’s really sweet of him, and on any other day I’d love to, but I’m so tired. I’d rather stay here. Is that OK?”

“Of course. I’m pretty exhausted too.”

I messaged Logan to say we couldn’t make it, but promised him that Grace and I would stop by the restaurant in the next few days.

We’d seen each other twice since his birthday. Henry had been there too on both occasions, but I felt I was ready to spend time with Logan without him, to get a sense of what our relationship was like when it was just the two of us. I didn’t want my connection to Logan to exist only through Henry. I wanted to build up something of my own with him.

“Shall I make us more popcorn?” I asked.

“Yes, please.”

I got up, and Grace stretched luxuriously while I went into the kitchen. “Did you have a nice time today?” I asked.

“I did, but I miss Amy,” Grace replied. She took a tissue from the box on the coffee table and dabbed at her eyes. “It’s been nearly five months, and I don’t understand how it can feel so very long and yet so terribly short at the same time. So much has happened in that time, but sometimes I still feel like she’s only just gone. It makes no sense.”