Falling Into Grace (18 page)

“So how do you know so much about cars?” he questions me.

“My father is a car lover, so I’ve picked up things from him.”

“I’m impressed, but I would be even more impressed if you knew the exact model.” He is challenging me, and I think I’m up for it.

“It’s a 1953 -356 -A Speedster,” I say.

“OK, when can we get married?” he jokes. I roll my eyes and look over at the coastline. “I have never met a girl who knew about cars.”

“You never told Carla about the car when you two were driving around?” I ask, giving him a jab.

“You are the first girl besides my mother, of course, to step foot in this car,” he says without looking at me. He is smooth as he shifts gears. The car roars down the road, pushing us back in our seats. The wind is loud, so we don’t talk. I look at all the sights and think,
I’m the first girl to be in this car besides his mother
? What does that mean? When we get to Main Street, Grant breaks the silence.

“I would go there for gelato, but my mother hates it, so we have to go a few towns over. We have to go on the highway; you might want to put your hair back. She hasn’t stretched her legs in a while, so I thought I would work her out.” I smile and take the hair tie from around my wrist and pull my hair back. He places his hand on my leg and gives it a quick squeeze.

“I’m happy you came with me.” He smiles. I wish I could see his eyes.

“I’m happy to be the second girl to ever ride in this beautiful machine.” I smile at him and a grin comes over his face. He licks his bottom lip, then bites it. I stare at him. It is so freaking sexy. Traffic starts to move, and I watch him shift. In a few minutes, we are on an open highway, and he goes to work, getting her up to ninety-five. I look over at him, not worried in the least, but I get nervous we might get pulled over. I bet if he did, he wouldn’t get a ticket. We get off a few exits later, and Grant navigates to the little ice cream parlor. He pulls around the building and parks.

“That was amazing. I bet my father will be jealous when I tell him!”

“If you would like, I can teach you how to drive her.” He looks at me in a way he never has before. Maybe Mrs. Grace is right about him. Once you get past all the bullshit, he is a loving man.

“I wouldn’t want to step on any toes,” I say, smiling.

“Stay, I’ll open the door.” He gets out and walks around. It’s a nice gesture, but I don’t think I have ever had a man do this.

“My lady.” He laughs as he says it and makes an ‘after you’ gesture with his hand.

“I don’t think that suits you much,” I tease him. I stand up and walk around the car. He is behind me and stops me. I turn around, and he starts kissing me. I can’t stop it. Yesterday I was able to push him off, but today he is even more aggressive. His hands are holding my face. My hands go up to his arms and rest there. I don’t even try to push him off. His hands slip in my hair, and I bring mine up to his face. I am wearing flip-flops, so I am much shorter than he is. He is leaning down, so I go on my tiptoes to get some height. He is passionately kissing me as he nips at my lips and his hands slip to the small of my back. He stops, leaving me spinning.

“I needed to get that out of the way.”

I just stare at him and begin to laugh mirthlessly. He takes my hand and we begin to walk. I pull my hand away.

“What?” he snaps at me.

“You are so fucking complicated, do you know that?” I snap back at him. “You have a girlfriend, and you have been making moves on me all week. For some stupid reason, you put me into a tailspin and I give in to you. I can’t do it anymore. Where is Carla? Why isn’t she here with you?” I’m getting heated. He looks around and no one is around.

“Will you please keep your voice down,” he says quietly.

“Are you kidding me? I’m not yelling and no one is around. You didn’t answer my question. I will start screaming if you don’t talk.” I feel like a little kid threatening to scream in the grocery store if her mother doesn’t get her candy. He just stares at me.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I would. Do you want to test me?”

I open my mouth, getting ready to scream, but he steps forward and kisses me again. I sink into his arms and kiss him back. I run my
hands through his hair and down his neck onto his shoulders, making my way down to his rock-hard abs. He groans a little as I touch him. I pull away this time.

“I know what you are doing. Stop changing the subject.” I glare at him in delight, trying to hide my smile.

He takes my hand again, and I give in and follow him.

He lets go of my hand when we reach the door and lets me go ahead of him as we enter the shop. He places his hand on my back and leads me through the ice-cream parlor. Its old school and I love it. I look around at all the ice-cream flavors.

“What do you like?” he asks me. My face beams.

“All of it,” I joke. “I’ll have whatever you’re having. I’m not picky.” I walk over to the wall and look at all the pictures, while Grant places the order. I feel him behind me, then his hands slip around my waist, and he starts telling me what I am looking at. We both hear his name and turn around. It’s an older man. Grant shakes his hand.

“Mr. Peters, this is my friend, Hannah Redman,” he says, introducing us. I put my hand out and we shake hands.

“Grant, I’m excited about Friday,” Mr. Peters says. “We are flying to Manhattan Wednesday to catch a few plays before the gala.”

“I look forward to seeing you there,” Grant says, then they shake again and Mr. Peters gives me a nod.

Our order is up, and it is a huge bag. What did he get?

“You said you liked everything, so I got us a sample of the top fifteen best sellers.” I just laugh at him.

“Maybe I’ll share with you,” I say as we’re walking out. He opens the door to the car. I pause and look at him.

“What?” he asks.

“You know my last name is Winterfield, right?” He looks at me, confused.

“I thought you told me it was Redman when you introduced yourself.” He looks like he is thinking back.

“I did. I use my maiden name at work, but my last name is Winter-field,” I say again, waiting for him to catch on. I get into my seat and
take the bag from him. I place it on the floor and balance it between my legs.

“OK, so you know the director?” He is starting to catch on.

“Yes, he is my father-in-law,” I laugh.

“So when I went in there and threw a fit, he was never going to fire you, and you knew this?”

“Yes, and it gave me great pleasure watching you think you had the upper hand. But no, I was never worried about losing my job.” He leans over and kisses me.

“You never cease to amaze me,” he says as he starts the car. We ride in silence until we reach a light.

“When we get closer to home, I’m going to let you drive,” he says. I perk up in my seat.

“Have you ever driven a stick before?” he questions me. I decide to play with him.

“No, but I’m a fast learner. Aren’t you afraid I will strip your gears or something?” I say, trying to dumb the statement down. My father taught me how to drive a stick shift when I was fifteen. He told me I had to learn, so when he bought my first car, of course it was stick.

He starts to say something, then stops.

“What is it now, Grant?”

“I broke up with Carla last night. I just thought you should know.” I watch his face as he says this, and he gives nothing away.

“I hope not on my behalf,” I say softly. He gets serious.

“Hannah, you opened my eyes. She isn’t anything I wanted. She was just something to pass time with. You, on the other hand, have an opinion and you speak it, whether I want to hear it or not. You’re not afraid of me or my moods.” He looks over at me, and I am smiling a big smile.

“I think it’s funny that you think people are afraid of you. You’re a person, Grant, not some king of the world. Well, at least not that I know of. I still don’t know what you do.” We stop talking because we are heading onto the highway. The wind whips around us, and I look over at the speedometer. He gets her up to one hundred. The speed is
powerful and exciting. We head off the highway, and shortly after that Grant pulls over. He looks at me.

“Don’t make me regret this,” he says as he steps out.

“Well, if you think you will regret this, then don’t bother.” I sit and cross my arms. He is such an asshole sometimes.

“Oh, stop,” he says as he opens my door. “Don’t make me pick you up,” he teases me.

“You wouldn’t,” I reply, testing him.

“I guess you don’t know me that well. I will never back down.” He leans over and tosses me over his shoulder. I slap his wonderful backside and laugh. He places me down in the driver’s seat, then slides the seat closer and begins to show me where everything is. I nod at everything he tells me, even though I already know it.

“Just get in the car before I leave you here,” I say to him.

“You can’t. You don’t know how to drive a stick.” I smile at him. I start the car, push it into gear, and start creeping forward.

“I guess you don’t know me that well. Oh, and I never back down,” I say, smiling at him. Each time he reaches for the door handle, I creep forward a little. I see the wildness in his expression. I can’t help but laugh.

“OK, I’ll stop,” I say, placing my hands in the air. He jumps over the door and lands perfectly in the seat. Once he is in, I look over my shoulder, signal, and roar out onto the road. He gives me directions, and I follow them. This car is a work of art. It is smooth and I love it. He leans forward and turns on the music. ‘Life Is a Highway’ comes on, and I smile as I stop at a red light and he looks over at me.

“I could get used to this, you know,” he says.

“Anytime you want me to drive this around, I will jump at the chance,” I say, looking ahead. I head down his mother’s block and pull into the driveway. John is about to get into his car and his jaw drops. I wave at him, and Grant starts to grin. I park in the same spot Grant was in earlier, and turn off the car. He looks over at me and gives me a sweet grin.

“I’m happy you came with me.” I nudge his arm and get out. John walks over to us.

“What the hell was that?” he questions us.

“Oh, Grant lost a bet, so I got to drive the car,” I say nonchalantly.

“What was the bet?” he asks seriously. I look at him and smile.

“Ever play the back-down game?” He looks at me, confused.

“Yeah, when I was a horny teenager.”

“Well, your brother was bragging to me about how he was the king, so he bet me if he backed down, I could drive the car.” I love making up fun stories. John is wide-eyed. Grant is trying to control his laughter.

“What did you do?” he asks me, very interested.

“I will never reveal my secrets, Mr. Grace.” I smile and grab the bag of ice cream and gelato and walk into the house. I’ll let Grant take over. I’m just stirring the pot. I figured John would be the best to do it to, since he was encouraging Aiden to kiss me on the lips. I think about Aiden and last night and push it out of my head. I can only deal with one Grace at a time. I head to kitchen to put away the goods.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

A
ddy is in her usual position by the stove, cooking up another meal for the family. She stops when she sees me and starts to take the bag.

“I can do it. Finish cooking,” I say, smiling at her. She shrugs and goes back to making dinner, while I put everything away. Grant definitely wasn’t kidding when he said he got fifteen different flavors.

“What did he buy, the store?” Addy asks as she sees all the containers. She gives me an amused smile.

“Pretty much!” I say to her, grinning back at her.

“Oh, Hannah, you had a good time, didn’t you?” she says, turning to look at me.

“I did. Grant let me drive the Porsche.” She nearly chokes on her drink when I say this.

“What? He has strict rules! No one but Victoria is allowed in that car. I have known him his whole life, and he has never taken me out. I think his brothers have gone for a ride with him, but I don’t even think they have driven it.” Her voice is almost shrieking. “Hannah, Victoria is right. He has it bad for you.” I roll my eyes.

“Addy, the Grace’s are wonderful people. They have been nothing but kind, and they have welcomed me like family. Maybe they think of me like a sister or something.” I almost laugh when I say this, but I hold it back. If only they knew what was going on. Oh God, what would they think? I cringe at the thought and push it out of my head.
Grant walks in and walks over to the stove to taste what Addy is cooking. She swats his hand and he laughs.

“I’m going to check on Mother,” Grant says, leaving the kitchen. I sit and watch Addy cook. Then I hear Grant yelling my name and go into a panic. I run through the house and into her room. She is lying in bed, looking very pale.

“She said she was having trouble breathing.” I can sense Grant is scared.

“We have to get her to the hospital. Do you want an ambulance, or do you want us to drive you?” I ask her. She nods at me. It takes Grant and me to help her up. Addy comes into the room with a wheelchair. We help her into it, and Grant pushes the chair to the front door. Addy is running behind us with a set of keys. Grant brings her over to the Escalade we arrived in on my first day here.

“Grant, she can’t climb into an SUV. It would be easier if she was in a car.” I look over; his Porsche is the only car here.

“Take her, and I will follow you.” He changes direction, and we get her into the car. He puts the top on, and we speed away. The adrenaline is pumping as I follow close to him. I would be screwed if I lost him, because I have no idea where we are going, and I don’t have Grant’s number. I blow a light and cringe, hoping I won’t get pulled over. As I panic I start to see the signs for the hospital. I decide to call Richard. I reach him on the first ring and tell him what is going on. He tells me he will call the hospital and have her chart faxed over ASAP. I know all her details, but that means nothing. They will want her chart.

I tell him the hospital’s name as I pull in and see the welcome sign. He gets right on it. I have pulled up front, right behind Grant. I run in and grab a wheelchair and I see a crowd of people coming out. By the time we get her in the wheelchair, five doctors are at her side, asking questions. I feel a little better that we are here. Grant and I follow behind the staff as they wheel Mrs. Grace inside. I take his hand and give it a squeeze. When he looks over at me, I can see the fear all over his face. They take her straight into testing.