Free Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) by Kellie Merriman

catch ups. And with another early morning tomorrow , the last thing she needed was a lack of sleep resulting in a cloudy , foggy mind when meeting with The Voice .
    Grace spotted the birthday girl. ‘ Happy Birthday , Joanna ,’ she said close to her ear and then kissed her on the cheek.
    ‘ Thanks. And thanks for the present. ’
    Someone had thrust a card into Grace ’ s face at work and asked her for five dollars. ‘ My pleasure. ’ She wondered what the young girl received as a present.
    She found Kate. Immediately , as was the routine , they became embroiled in a conversation about their days.
    ‘ Hey , there ’ s a guy over there checking you out ,’ Kate said.
    ‘ How embarrassing. ’
    ‘ Get used to it. It ’ s not going to change. ’
    I loathe being picked up in a bar. She found meeting a man when she was out having a quiet drink with friends sleazy and cliché. Plus despite her striking exterior , and detectable hardened approach , she was quite shy with men.
    ‘ Hi ,’ the tall one said to Grace.
    ‘ Hi. ’ She looked at Kate , not noticing him , hoping he would slip away quietly.
    ‘ I ’ m Jake and this is my buddy , Christian. ’
    ‘ Hi , I ’ m Kate and this is my best friend , Grace ,’ Kate said as she elbowed her friend.
    Kate gave Grace one of her famous looks that meant , ‘ You-are-not-leaving , there-will-be-no-excuses and you-will-enjoy-yourself-and-have-some-fun. ’
    ‘ Hi ,’ Grace said to both men then stared at the man who was called ‘ Jake ’ .
    ‘ Hello ,’ Christian said to the girls.
    ‘ Oh , do I detect an accent? ’ Kate asked Christian.
    ‘ Yes ma ’ am , no actually , well , kind of. Okay. Let me make myself clear ,’ he laughed. ‘ I ’ ve spent the last two years in Canada and returned home about two weeks ago. Can ’ t seem to shake it. Hey , you ’ re quick. ’
    ‘ I guess you could say I ’ ve travelled a lot. ’
    Grace listened as Kate struck up a conversation with the young man. Kate talked about her travels and the year she had spent in Canada studying to finish her degree while Christian asked all about Australia and the recent news. Were there any new places to eat in Sydney? And how great it was to meet a nice girl in this place. Kate told him nice girls had to take their friends out to prevent them from becoming dull and boring.
    ‘ That ’ s not fair , Kate ,’ Grace said smiling. Then she stared at the man who stood before her , stunned.
    ‘ Grace , it ’ s m e. Jake , from America , remember? ’
    She looked at him long and hard. Do my eyes deceive me? ‘ Jacob? ’ she managed.
    ‘ You did like Jacob , didn ’ t you? ’ His smile was big.
    ‘ Hello? What ’ s going on here? ’ Kate asked.
    ‘ I can ’ t believe it ,’ Jake said ignoring Kate.
    ‘ You can ’ t believe it? What on God ’ s green earth are you doing here in my home town? ’ Grace asked , still reeling from seeing him again.
    Kate interrupted. ‘ You two know each other? ’
    Grace kept her eyes glued on Jake and said , ‘ We worked together when I lived in New York. How long has it been Jacob? Two , maybe three years? ’
    They hugged with some awkwardness , both spoke at the same time about ‘ What a coincidence ’ and ‘ I ’ m in shock ’ and ‘ You look exactly the same ’ .
    ‘ I didn ’ t recognise you with longer hair. You used to have a buzz cut. ’ He is sublimely good looking.
    ‘ Yeah , the time came when I left the force and could finally have some hair again. All happened around the big three o. ’
    ‘ It ’ s a milestone turning thirty , congratulations. ’
    Jake nodded , ‘ I guess so , thank you. ’
    ‘ Grace? ’ Kate asked.
    ‘ Jake was the police officer in the local precinct near my office. He would keep me up to date on the latest cases and provide information for my stories.  I was there almost every day during my year in New York. ’
    ‘ Oh , yes , I heard all about you and – ’ Kate said.
    ‘ What