Regret Came Too Late (Grace and Ethan) novel Chapter 190

After parking her car outside the Henderson residence at Palm Bay, Grace immediately called Tim. During the few minutes it took Tim to come open the door, Ethan asked, "What does your boyfriend like?"

She felt awkward again because she had no idea what the man looked like. "He's not exactly my boyfriend yet. We're still getting to know each other. Our situation is complicated."

She was practically telling him not to ask about it anymore. As Ethan went inside, he left her with one last comment. "Treat him well. There are plenty of jerks out there, and you're better than that."

Great, he had just turned the compliment back on her again. He seemed unusually talkative tonight. Before, he would mostly respond with grunts, but he'd actually given her relationship advice tonight.

Grace felt something strange stir inside her. Back in her car, she couldn't help but smile. Ethan definitely had a weird air about him tonight.

She desperately needed to get home and sleep. After arriving home, she suddenly received a friend request on her phone. But there was nothing but a black background on his profile picture.

For some reason, she accepted it. As soon as she did, a message appeared. "It's only been a few hours, and I already miss you."

This had to be that man from earlier. Grace had never done such an intimate thing with other men before, so she decided not to respond.

As she was about to fall asleep, another message came through. "Did I bother you?"

The message instantly made her feel guilty. She sat up in bed, suddenly wide awake. "No, I was taking a shower and didn't see your message."

His reply came almost instantly. "When will you come see me? You said I could come find you. Were you lying?"

Grace rubbed her temples, unsure what to say. Back in that dark room, she had been totally under his spell. Add to that the intensity of her first experience like that, and she'd been defenseless and was agreeing to whatever he suggested.

The man's voice dropped lower—he was clearly disguising it. "When I'm ready, I'll let you see my face."

Grace immediately wondered if he had some kind of birthmark. Maybe half his face was blotched or covered in dark moles—something she couldn't detect by touch. He must be very insecure if he only dared to meet her in the dark.

Something tugged at her heart, and she gripped her phone tighter. "It's okay. I won't judge you based on your looks. No pressure. Just call me when you want to meet."

They had each other's numbers now, after all. His voice carried a hint of joy. "Okay."

After hanging up, Grace stared at her bedroom ceiling, unsure if she'd made the right decision.

But in that dark room, she had really felt his repressed emotions. He felt like a beautiful butterfly trapped in a spider's web when he actually belonged in the sunlight.