Falling Into Grace (36 page)

“Who is that?” I whisper.

“It’s Derek,” he laughs.

“I thought he was your driver?”

“He does driving, security, everything.”

I turn red as I see Shane walk in. Fuck. We are standing here practically naked, and here comes his brother. Since I’m hiding behind Grant, he doesn’t see me.

“Hey, you hit that shit?” My jaw drops, and Grant steps to the side, leaving me exposed. I could kill him.

“Is that any of your business, Shane?” I ask. He walks over to kiss my cheek.

“Yeah, you hit that shit.” He half hugs, half shakes hands with Grant. I just stare at them.

“I got a call from Harry.” Grant gets serious. Shane walks into the kitchen and goes to the fridge.

“I just talked to Aid; he told me. I called John, and he is already home.” Shane looks at Grant with an intense stare. They are talking their secret brother language that I don’t understand.

“I’m going to get dressed.” I head down the hallway and into his room. I find my cell and call Becca.

“Hey,” she says.

“You OK?”

“I’m fine, walking into Grant’s now.”

I hear them in the living room.

“Come into his room.” I hang up and wait for her on the bed. She comes right in and climbs on the bed next to me.

“So…” She looks at me with a smile.

“I passed out in the car last night. Apparently I tried to have sex with him in the car and embarrassed myself beyond belief.” I look down, but can’t help smiling. “But he made up for it a few times this morning.”

“So how was he?”

“Delicious, couldn’t get enough.” I start to get dressed.

“We have to get going,” Becca says as she answers her phone. “No comment,” she yells, and then hangs up.

“What was that about?” I stop and look at her.

“Apparently some pictures got taken last night at the club, and I keep getting calls to confirm if I’m with AJ.” I smile at her.

“So how was he?” She just looks down.

“We’ll talk later.” I cringe as I zip up my suitcase and lug it out of Grant’s room.

The brothers are all standing together; they get quiet as we enter the room. Grant is still wearing his pajama bottoms, and they sit right on his hips, showing off his deep
V
. My hand wanders onto his butt as I walk by. He grabs me and wraps his long arms around me, pulling me into him so I’m facing Aiden and Shane. I try not to look at Aiden. Shane shows full amusement.

“I never thought I would see this day, Grant,” Shane says. Aiden isn’t showing any emotion.

“What day?” Grant asks as he kisses my ear.

“This,” Shane waves his hand at me. “You, actually showing genuine affection to a woman.” I roll my eyes. He had to have shown some kind of love to another woman before. Or is it true? I think back to game night and don’t remember him touching Carla, or showing any affection toward her. I thought that was because I was there and we had kissed.

“Is this true, Mr. Grace?”

“Absolutely.” I find this sad. He has lived his whole life without ever loving another person?

“I told you, Hannah, you changed our family. I heard my mother apologized to Becca last night.” Becca smiles a forced smile. I remember Mrs. Grace’s words:
Aiden loves you
. I look over at Aiden, but he’s looking out the window. I slowly ease out of Grant’s hold.

“Where are you going?” He pulls me back in.

“I have to go home. I have two little people there who need me, remember?”

“Give me a minute?” His brothers turn to leave. Aiden takes Becca, and in under a minute, we are alone.

“Do they always listen to you?” I lean my head to the side.

“Everyone always listens to me.” I bite the inside of my cheek as I take in his words. “I love when you do that.” His voice is still raspy.

“What?”

“Whatever you’re doing, your lips look…” He stops and kisses me. I stand on my tiptoes to gain height.

“I will be in Rome the next two weeks.” I see a pout come across his lips, so I pout too as I go back down on flat feet.

“I guess I will see you in two weeks.” I kiss his chest and hug him.

“I’ll call you.” He leans down and kisses me again.

“Go put a shirt on,” I say when I get to the door.

“Why?”

“Because you are walking me out to the car.” He disappears to his room and reappears wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Oh, how I’m going to miss him and his perfect, sexy body. He takes my suitcase in one hand and my hand in the other.

We take full advantage of the elevator ride and fool around the whole way down. When the door opens, I can tell they know what we were doing. Aiden looks surprised that Grant came down.

“And you walk her down? You must have it bad.” Shane teases. Grant doesn’t tell them it was my idea, and I don’t say anything either. I kiss him one last time and get into the SUV Becca has been waiting in. When I start to close the door, he stops it to steal one last kiss.

“Have a safe flight,” I say.

“I will.” Then he whispers in my ear, “I love you.”

I look up at him and mouth the words back to him.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

T
he ride home starts off quiet. I can tell something is bothering Becca. I don’t want to push her to talk, but that’s never stopped her, so why should I let it stop me?

“So what happened last night?” I watch her tangle her fingers together.

“Nothing, we just talked.”

“Talked?”

“Yup, apparently we have a lot in common.” She forces a smile. “Like what?” I look out the window and watch everyone in a hurry.

“We are both crazy about you.”

Her voice is off. I look over to make sure she isn’t crying.

“What?” I search her face.

“He was subtle, but he kept bringing you up and asking questions about me that would always lead to you. I asked him flat out after a while, and he said he wishes he never screwed it up.”

“Well, you can’t change the past.” I feel irritated by this.

“Hannah, you realize it was my fault you’re not together.” I whip around and look at her.

“Not in any way, shape, or form is this your fault. He wanted you, and that’s why he slept with you.” I see her shift in the seat, and I can tell there is more to this story.

“Not exactly. I hit on him and told him he could close the deal if he closed the deal with me.” Her voice is small.

“Bec, it would have ended up the same, no matter how you spin it. We got into a fight before you slept with him. I want to be with Grant.” She takes my hand. We sit like this for a while.

“He wants to have lunch with you, Hannah. Would you consider it?”

“No.”

“Why? Close the chapter and let him move on. You deserted him on the dance floor after he admitted he loved you.”

“It would piss Grant off. I told him I would stay away from Aiden.”

“And you all of a sudden answer to Grant?”

“No, I don’t, but I want to be with him and not fuck it up. I don’t want to be near Aiden, Bec. I can’t.”

“Why is it such a big deal, Han?”

I take a deep breath. Why is it so difficult? I want to be near Aiden, but when I am, things change; maybe I’m afraid my feelings will too. I don’t want to hurt Grant, but I can’t stand the fact that I left Aiden hanging. Why did I do this? I’m in so deep now, and I can’t get it together.

“I just can’t, Bec. Please stop.”

“I stayed up most of the night with him talking about you, and…” She stops.

“What?” I can tell she wants to tell me something, but she hesitates. “What, Bec?”

“It was like hanging out with Chase.” She cringes, and I feel the tears pierce my eyes.

“Don’t even think about comparing.” I look out the window, ending the discussion. How dare she even think about comparing Aiden to Chase?

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

I
t’s Monday morning, and I wake up to my two alarm clocks. I still feel tired; I don’t know if it’s from the emotional roller coaster I have been on or the sleeping pills. I get ready for work and get the kids ready for school. Today is the Father’s Day party at school. Hunter already called Kevin to make sure he is still going. I get them out the door and to school on time, then dread heading to work. I know Michele will have a million questions, and I’m not up for it. Since Becca told me about Aiden, I have been lost. I never thought I would feel this way toward him, but I do, and I feel horrible about it.

I hear my phone and see it’s Grant. I hesitate to pick it up, because when we talked yesterday, I was short and used the kids as an excuse. I do the calculation and it’s the afternoon in Rome. I grab my phone.

“Hey.” I try to sound happy but fail.

“Hey, are you at work yet?”

“Almost, just driving there now. How is Rome?” I meant to ask him yesterday, but I was so lost I forgot.

“Beautiful. I want to bring you here sometime.” He is so confident. I cringe at his words. He loves me, and I’m second-guessing everything because of Aiden. The one man he knows can take me away from him.

“That would be nice, but it wouldn’t be just me.” Let’s test the waters. See how he reacts when I throw the kids in.

“Do the kids have their passports yet?”

“No, we have never left the country.”

“Maybe you should do that this week. It takes a few weeks to get them back now.” I can hear people around him and wonder what he is doing.

“I’ll think about it.”

“It can’t hurt to get them; it’s a photo ID for them.” It’s a good point, but I don’t see me taking the kids away with him. I barely know him; it was a big step to let him pick me up from the house and see them again.

“So how is work going?” I change the subject.

“Busy. We just took a break and are about to start up again. I miss you.” I hear the words but struggle with them. He misses me, and I don’t know if I miss him. I wish he were here. If he were here, I would never be tempted to see Aiden. I should tell him about Aiden wanting to have lunch with me. I don’t want to lie to him, but I think I need to hear Aiden out and get closure. I want to be with Grant.

“Hannah.” I shake out of it and realize I shouldn’t do this now.

“I miss you too.” My voice is low. I do miss him.

“You still love me?” I can hear the pout in his voice, and it makes me smile.

“You still love me? Or have you met a beautiful Italian woman?”

“Never. I have you, no one could compare. I love you, no one else.” The words hurt. I do love him, but do I love Aiden too?

“I love you too, Grant, but I have to go into the hospital now. I’ll call you when I get out if it’s not too late.” I park and wait for him to reply.

“Call me whenever. You OK?” He can tell even over the phone.

“I’m just tired.” It’s true; I’m tired from all the thinking.

“Dreams again?” My heart sinks because he knows about the dreams.

“Something like that.” I use them as my excuse.

“I wish I could stop them.” His voice is sincere and loving, and I start to cry. Why am I so emotional?

“Me too. I love you.” I want to hang up, but I listen for his voice again.

“Love you too, babe.” I smile at the way he is introducing this new pet name for me.
Babe
. I wish I could see him as he says it.

“Bye.” I hang up and get out of the car.

I know today is going to be busy. I have been gone for a week, and I’m sure there is a ton of paperwork waiting for me. I have to get Grant and Aiden out of my head. I settle at my desk and play catch-up, until I see Michele staring at me from the door.

“Have fun?” I nod at her, not looking up.

“That’s it? That’s all? You’re not going to give me any details?” She walks in and drops a paper on my desk. I see it’s a picture of Grant and me at the gala. I look at it and see my smile. It must have been taken after he told me he was falling in love with me. We look so happy together, in love even. I start to read the article out loud: “Grant Grace with girlfriend, Hannah Winterfield. The new happy couple has been spotted multiple times around his estate in the Cape.”

“I guess we are a happy couple.”

“Is it true?”

“I guess, it’s in print.” I smile at the lame joke I made.

“Hannah.” Her voice is growing frustrated.

“Yes, we went to the gala together, and yes, I believe we might be dating each other.”

“So how is that going to work?” What does she mean how is it going to work? “Is he moving here?”

“He has a place in the city, but he’s never there. He’s in Rome for a couple weeks, and then I will see him when he comes back. Then I’m sure he will be off to another place.”

“And you’re OK with this?” I think about her words and my original concern for his workaholic tendencies.

“It’s his life, Michele. I can’t change him now. I never said it would work, but we are going to see where it leads us.” I look down at the paper again. We look good together. I realize I do miss him.

“Can I keep this?” She smiles at me, then leaves. As soon as the door shuts behind her, I call him.

“Is everything OK?” His voice is low, and I realize I probably interrupted his meeting.

“Yes, sorry, did I interrupt you?”

“No, it’s fine. What’s up?” His voice is still low.

“I just saw a picture of us, and it made me miss you. That’s all. Go back to work.”

“I miss you too, Han. I’ll call you later.”

“OK.”

“Love you.” I smile at his words.

“Ditto, baby.” I test the waters and hear him smile.

“Good-bye,” he laughs into the phone.

“Bye.” I hang up and feel a little better. I have a wonderful boyfriend who loves me. That’s all I need. I don’t need to see Aiden. I tell myself that a few times and begin to believe it.

The next few days pass fast, and I find myself home alone after I drop the kids off at school. I walk around the house and clean, but it doesn’t settle the feeling inside me. I pick up my phone and battle for a while as I scroll through my phone and find Aiden’s number. I put down my phone, grab my keys, and leave.

I drive down to the water and sit on the beach for a while, just listening to the waves crash along the shore. I clear my mind and enjoy the silence of the beach. I can see a few people starting to make their way down the sand to settle for the day. I people watch under my dark sunglasses. I watch a young couple throwing a Frisbee and laughing together. It makes me nostalgic, and I begin to think of Chase. I throw a pity party and begin to think about what my life would be like if he were still here. I wouldn’t have the Grace problem. I bet I wouldn’t have even thought about them if Chase were still here.