The Sweetest Devotion

𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈.

I recognized her instantly. Same cherry-red hair, same sweet face—only now as I spotted her in Italo's brightly lit pizza parlor, I could really take in her pretty brown face. She was void of makeup and wearing a baggy sweatshirt and khaki pants. Looking youthful as ever, she was reading a book at a lone table and eating a serving of Italo's ice cream. Not many were in the restaurant, and something told me Graci was alone.

I shouldn't have done anything. But seeing how I was about to head to the community center to mentor the city's youth, it only felt right.

    After putting in my large order for a few party-size pizzas, three in cheese, three in pepperoni, and three in white vegetable, I hesitantly made my way over to the young girl in the corner of the room.

    TLC was playing on the radio throughout Italo's that Friday afternoon. It was seventy degrees outside, and so the cool AC was blasting, keeping us cold as we escaped the heat.

    The spine of Graci's book was worn, letting me know she'd read it a dozen times and cared deeply for its content. The way she sat engrossed, spoon in her hand with melting ice cream, let me know this tenfold.

    I cleared my throat as I stopped a few feet from her, not wanting to crowd or intimidate her.

    Graci looked up at me, her nicely shaped brows lifting in surprise at my intrusion. It was seeing her up close that I again found myself questioning her age. Perhaps she was legal and just making a living at Crazy Legs. Kennedy—why was I thinking about her?—appeared younger than twenty-four herself.

    I had Graci's full attention, there was no backing down now. "Must be a good book."

    A smirk tugged on her lips, almost as though she couldn't believe I was opening with her book. "I only read it twice a year. Sometimes three."

    I whistled, questioning the last time I'd read a book. My mother was good with giving me quotes when I was coming up, but I'd never been a reader.

    "What's it called?"

    Graci fiddled with the paperback. "Night Changes."

    I dared to step closer, spotting a young-looking couple in an embrace on the dark blue cover. "About?"

    She perked a brow. "You really wanna know?"

    I glanced over my shoulder at the back kitchen, where the staff of Italo's were busy getting my orders together. I had a while when it came to those nine pizzas. Returning to Graci, I bobbed my head. "Yeah."

    She pursed her lips, appearing doubtful. "It's about a young woman who still lives with her parents. And on one hot and sticky summer, this older guy down on his luck moves into their garage and starts fixing things around their house to get on his feet." Graci's teeth dug into her lip as she cradled the book and spoke of its plot. "So, the girl is totally infatuated with him. Unlike her gilded world of fancy bullshit, he's real. But he's mean and standoffish, and doesn't think he's good enough for her." Graci gushed as she looked up at me. "I'm obsessed."