Chapter 59 Why Is He Not in a Hurry?

Chapter 59 Why Is He Not in a Hurry?

Rebecca's POV

A figure emerged from behind the car—it was Jeffrey.

He had a way of appearing without warning. If he didn't speak up, I'd often miss him entirely.

He waved at me with a smile, "Hey there, kiddo. You never replied to our messages, so we figured we'd better come ask in person."

Steven glanced at him and opened the car door for me. "Don't listen to him. If you don't want to go, I can take you home first."

I got in the car and shook my head. "No, I'd like to go."

Jeffrey was clearly thrilled. "That's great, Rebecca. You're definitely going to love my fiancée."

I couldn't help but respond to that kind of energy. "Does your fiancée have anything she particularly likes? Since it's my first time visiting, I should bring something."

Jeffrey quickly waved his hands. "No need, no need. She's not really into that stuff."

Even if they didn't mind, I still felt I should prepare something.

When I kept pushing, Jeffrey stayed in the car to take a call while Steven and I got out to pick gifts for them.

Nothing I picked in the store seemed right. I felt stuck and looked at Steven.

"So what would she actually like? Just tell me."

Steven walked around the store, then led me out of the boutique to the supermarket next door.

"Things here are more her speed. Jeffrey was right—that boutique stuff is what little girls go for. She's nothing like that."

She wasn't the type you could pin down with typical gifts. But Steven told me she preferred alcohol. With that direction, things got easier.

When we got back to the car, Jeffrey had just hung up.

He looked at us. "Get in, quick. Grace can't wait anymore."

After the car pulled up to their place, I got out and looked at the two-story house in front of me.

I felt a pang of envy. If only I could have a house of my own too.

I was staring when I suddenly noticed smoke rising from the backyard.

I quickly tapped Steven's arm. "Steven, look, there's smoke over there."

Steven looked where I was pointing. There was definitely a stream of smoke rising up.

When Jeffrey saw it, he immediately dropped what he was holding and ran toward the house.

"Grace, didn't I tell you to wait for me to get back!"

I wanted to rush over too, but Steven pointed at what I was holding. "Grab the gifts first. We need to get inside."

He looked way calmer than me, which only made me more nervous. What if there really was a fire?

By the time we got inside, the thick black smoke from earlier had thinned out.

In the yard, Jeffrey was blowing hard at the grill, and the charcoal fire slowly caught again.

Grace was standing nearby. When she turned and saw me, she froze for a second, then her face broke into a huge grin, and she came right at me.

She pulled me into a hug so tight I thought my ribs might crack. I could barely get air.

Before meeting her, I'd only vaguely imagined Jeffrey's fiancée would probably be the lively, outgoing type. But I never pictured she'd be like this.

I looked up at her. With her height, she could stand next to Steven and Jeffrey without looking out of place at all.

Standing next to the three of them, I looked tiny. Without heels today, I had no chance of keeping up—definitely should've thought that through.

Grace Hernandez let me go. "Rebecca, I'm so happy to meet you."

I blinked. I hadn't introduced myself yet—how did she already know who I was?

She smiled and pulled me toward the yard, showing me what she'd been working on. The grill was radiating heat, making the whole yard feel warmer.

The smoke that had been choking earlier was now just steady flames and waves of heat.

She suddenly let go of my wrist. I looked down and saw a black smudge had rubbed off on my skin, like charcoal ash.

Grace looked sheepish and scratched her head. "Rebecca, sorry about that."

I shook my head. I really didn't mind something this small. My eyes fell on her hair.

Her neat short hair made her look sharp, with an almost boyish edge.

I gripped the hair clip in my hand, my fingers tightening. Thank god I didn't buy a hair tie, or it would've been totally pointless.

I reached out and placed the hair clip in front of her. The little wine bottle charm caught the light.

"I heard you like alcohol. Besides the bottles we just bought, this is another small gift for you."

Grace picked up the hair clip, her face lighting up, and clipped it in her short hair right then and there. Then she pulled me into another hug and kissed my cheek a few times.

"Rebecca, you're the best. Thank you."

Jeffrey was turning the charcoal nearby. Seeing us hugging the whole time, he finally spoke up.

"Grace, quit hogging Steven's girlfriend. Can't you see he's been standing there the whole time?"

Grace looked embarrassed and pulled back. "Alright, alright. If you need help, just say so."

I ducked my head and said quietly, "I'm not his girlfriend."

Steven stood beside me. Even though he didn't say anything, I could feel the awkward beat that followed.

He glanced at me and handed me a beer. "Don't listen to him. He just runs his mouth. I'll tell him to knock it off later."

I took the beer and nodded. I knew Steven was trying to smooth things over.

Right now, I hadn't even figured out how to define what we were, so I pushed the thought away.

I looked across the yard. Grace and Jeffrey stood side by side in front of the grill, flipping the meat together, moving in sync.

Watching them made it easy to picture that kind of settled life, and I felt a twinge of longing.

I turned my head to look at Steven. He stood quietly beside me. I found myself wondering—if one day it was the two of us, would he be like this, standing with me while we figured things out together?

Jeffrey suddenly turned around. "Alright, you two quit standing around and come help."

When he called, I walked right over and took the skewers from his hand.

He and Steven went to set up the table and chairs nearby.

Grace looked at me, still smiling. "How did you and Steven meet?"

I glanced at Steven. Meeting him—it was just that time Everett brought me to their house for dinner.

"It was after he was put on forced leave."

I flipped the skewers over. Grace picked up the sauce and brushed a layer of red oil on the meat.

The already good-smelling meat took on a richer color from that glaze.

Grace's eyes dropped, her voice softer. "Thank god for that leave."

I didn't know what to say to that.

From what I'd seen, neither he nor Jeffrey really wanted time off. Jeffrey had even fought with Steven over not being able to go back on time.

But from Grace's tone, she seemed like she'd always hoped Jeffrey could take leave.

Her shoulders sagged just slightly, and her voice went even quieter. "If he hadn't had that forced leave, maybe... I would never have seen him again."

I looked at her, confused. Why wouldn't she see him again?