Grace didn't hold the chicken disaster against Nico. Cooking could be unpredictable, and these things sometimes happened. Besides, pizza had been a more than acceptable alternative.

The point was that he continued making the effort to connect with her and to bond with a baby that wasn't even born yet - a baby that was theirs, when he didn't even have to.

It certainly wasn't the only reason that her feelings kept growing, but it didn't hurt. She knew deep down that Nico was a truly good man, and Grace hated knowing that whatever could have been between them had been cut off far, far too soon.

Sometimes, she allowed herself small moments to fantasize about what it would be like to date - truly date - but sooner or later, Grace felt pathetic about it and tucked those thoughts away for another day.

She was lucky enough that he was willing to be co-parents with her, not to mention friends. Hoping for anything more was just being selfish on her part and Grace didn't want to be selfish.

This was enough.

I'll do my best. What do you think about Chinese as a backup plan? 😋

Grace fired off the text, and then jumped up to answer the door once the knock arrived, letting her know that Nico was there.

"Hey", she greeted, her smile widening. "I have something to show you, but I didn't want to do it through text."