Irresistible Lies (4 page)

The
silence that followed was tense, so she spun away from him to face her computer,
hoping he would take the hint and leave. She just couldn’t handle this. She
didn’t know how she was supposed to feel or how she was supposed to act, and a
big part of her wanted to hit him.

The
confusion was expected, but her anger surprised her. She was still angry with
him for breaking up with her in college, after all these years.

She
was pathetic.

 
“Grace.”

“What?”

“Have
dinner with me tonight.”

She
turned to look at him, surprised he was trying this again. “Jamie, I already
told you-”

He
put a finger to her lips, stopping her thought in its tracks. “Grace. I haven’t
seen you in years, and I want to catch up since we’re going to be working
together. Surely your boss can understand that.”

She
smacked his hand away. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

He
grinned at her. “I promise I won’t try anything.”

She
knew that look, and she didn’t believe him for a second. “No. I can’t.”

“Why?
Give me a real reason.”

I have to get home to feed our son
dinner.

“Because
I’m not interested in starting a relationship with you again, of any kind.” She
felt bad as soon as the words came out of her mouth and she saw his
disappointment, but it had to be said or he would never leave her alone. “I’m
sorry. A lot of things have changed since we were together. I’m not the same
girl you used to know.”

“Evidently.”

He
was hurt, and she felt the distance between them as clearly as if he had put up
a wall.

“You
should go,” she said quietly, shutting her eyes for a brief moment to clear her
head.

“Grace...”
There was something in his eyes that she couldn’t name, and it scared her.

“Please,
Jamie. Just go.”

When
she opened her eyes, he was halfway out the door.

JAMIE
SAT AT the Clean Whistle Bar drinking a beer the bartender had recommended for
him, thinking about Grace.

Their
first meeting hadn’t gone as well as he had hoped it would. Years of daydreams
had made him too optimistic. He had hoped she would be happy to see him and
ready to pick up where they had left off. He had never imagined she would have
such an adverse reaction to him. When he had walked into the room, she looked
like she had seen a ghost.

Grace
clearly wanted nothing to do with him, and all he could think since he saw her
again was that he wanted everything to do with her. She was even more beautiful
than he remembered her being somehow, and he still thought everything about her
was adorable.

Most
of her was just as he remembered, like her high cheekbones and her huge brown
eyes with thick, dark lashes that made her look more innocent than she ever
deserved. Her hair was longer than it was when they had dated but she still
wore it in loose waves down her back, the way it dried naturally.

It
was her figure that had changed most. She had been wearing a skirt and buttoned
blouse, and he had noticed that her petite frame had gotten curvier in all the
right places. It had been hard for him to be in the same room as her, unable to
touch her. He wanted to slowly peel off her clothes and explore every inch of
her body, learning it all over again.

He
wondered if she still wore the little lacy bras she used to wear when they
spent the night together and if she would still make that little noise when he
kissed the hollow of her neck.

Then
he thought of her with Charles Bradden and felt as if someone had punched him
in the chest.

It
had driven him crazy for years, thinking of her with someone else, but it was
worse to have a real man’s name and face in his mind. What was she doing,
dating her boss? He could guess Charlie’s type—a powerful man looking for
a trophy wife. Grace was exceptionally beautiful, and obviously her boss had
noticed.

He
tried hard to hide his animosity when the door of the bar swung open and
Charlie walked in. He was wearing a fancy coat and had his hair slicked back,
and Jamie couldn’t help but dislike him even more.

To
be fair, Charlie could be the best man in the world, and he still wouldn’t be
good enough for Grace. Hell, Jamie wasn’t even good enough for Grace. But he
was going to spend the rest of his life trying to be the man she deserved, and
that had to count for something.

For
better or for worse, Grace was the love of his life. He wasn’t about to let her
walk away on some other man’s arm.

It
was time to put a stop to this.

“Thank
you for meeting with me on such short notice,” Jamie said, gesturing for
Charlie to sit down beside him.

“Oh,
it’s not a problem.” Charlie slid into the seat across from Jamie and opened
his briefcase, pulling out a paper. “I’ve brought the contract, if you’re ready
to sign it.”

Jamie
had not signed the contract earlier that day, because he didn’t want to lose
his leverage where Grace was concerned. It had turned out to be a good idea,
since Grace didn’t seem to want to work with him.

If
he had to play dirty for her heart, he would happily do it.

“I
am ready to sign, but I do have a condition,” Jamie said.

Charlie
smiled but looked uncomfortable. “Name it. I’ll do whatever I can to make this
work.”

“I
want Grace to take the lead on this. I want her to be my go-to person for this
campaign.”

Charlie
didn’t look surprised, just annoyed. “May I ask why?”

“Because
I trust her,” Jamie said. “I’ve known her a long time. I know how talented she
is, and I know she will give this project the dedication it deserves. If I sign
this contract, I’m signing to work with Grace.”

They
stared each other down for a moment, but Charlie looked away first.

“There
is something I feel I should let you know,” Charlie finally said.

“Yes?”

“Grace
and I are together. We are a couple.”

Jamie
didn’t say anything.

“I
want you to know...” Charlie folded his hands together and seemed to change his
thought. “I want to make that very clear, Castleton.”

“That’s
interesting,” he said, sipping his beer. “How long has this been going on?”

“Long
enough,” Charlie said. “I care about her.”

“Do
you?”

“Yes.”

“Well,
in that case, you should know that I care about her, too.”

Charlie
frowned. “In what way?”

“In
every way,” he said. “Is that going to be a problem?”

Charlie
glanced at the contract, and Jamie thought he could see the dollar signs in the
other man’s eyes. “Not if you don’t let it become a problem.”

“I
can’t make any promises,” Jamie said.

“Well,
that’s very frank, Castleton.”

Jamie
shrugged and took a sip of his drink. “What do you say to my proposal?”

“You
are agreeing to a retainer of $5,000 a month?”

“Yes.”

Charlie
took a moment to consider and finally nodded, sliding the contract to Jamie. “I
accept.”

Jamie
was even more annoyed. If he were in Charlie’s position, he never would have
agreed to let Grace work with her ex. Obviously, Charlie cared more about money
than he did about keeping his girlfriend.

“When
I sign this, Grace will work for me.” He wanted to drive the point home, so there
could be no doubt that Charlie knew exactly what his intentions were.

“Technically
she is working for me,” Charlie said, narrowing his gray eyes. “But yes, you
will be
her
client.”

Jamie
signed the paper and slid it back across the table, feeling a lot better than
he had when he had sat down.

Grace
said she didn’t want a relationship with him, but now she had no choice.

Chapter 4

Grace
had just turned 19 years old, and she went out to a bar with two of her
girlfriends to celebrate.

The
bar was grimy and wonderfully collegiate. She had gotten past the bouncer
easily with a penciled I.D. and was already on her third rum and coke, feeling
a little bit buzzed and a little bit sexy.

She
was wearing a tight red dress, her highest heels and a plastic crown declaring
her a 21-year-old birthday girl. This was going to be her night.

The
D.J. was playing techno music. Grace let her friends lead her to the dance
floor, which was already packed with people who had found their nightly hookup.
She looked around for any promising guys but didn’t find any.

Whatever.
She was over the hookup thing anyway. She was getting bored of making out with
guys she met at bars, and she didn’t want to take things any further with a guy
she didn’t really know. She had taken a human sexuality course in her senior
year of high school and was really grossed out by the thought of all the STDs out
there, waiting to be picked up.

She
didn’t trust any of these guys. Most of them were frat boys who were collecting
girls just to brag about them to their friends.

Then
again, it was her birthday. She knew she looked good. She had barely eaten all
week to fit into her dress, her roommate had curled her hair and done her
makeup, and the silly crown was attracting her a lot of attention. She was
definitely in the mood for some flirting.

Grace
danced with her friends for about an hour. Different guys came up to her,
grabbing her hips and dancing with her. Some were better dancers than others,
but none of them really interested her. One of them grabbed her ass, and she
smacked him away. What ever happened to chivalry?

When
her rum and coke was empty, Grace yelled over the music to her friends to tell
them she was going to get a refill. She wasn’t sure if they heard her, but they
nodded anyway.

“A
rum and coke, please,” she told the bartender. She waited for her drink
patiently, and when she got it, she spun back around toward the dance floor.

Someone
bumped into her, dumping beer all over her new dress.

“What
the hell!”

“I
am so, so sorry.”

She
looked up and found herself looking into the bluest eyes she had ever seen on
the face of the hottest guy she had ever seen. Really. He was that good
looking. Insanely tall, broad shouldered and blonde, he looked like he had
walked right out of a J. Crew catalogue.

“It’s
okay,” she said with a smile, thinking that her night had just gotten a lot
more interesting.

“I
ruined your dress.” He gestured to get the attention of the bartender and got
some paper towels for her.

“It’s
really okay,” she said. “It’s so dark in here that no one will be able to tell
anyway.”

“I’m
usually not that clumsy,” he said with a small smile. “I saw you, and I got
distracted.”

Oh, now this was more like it.
He was clearly flirting with her.

She
looked up at him, making her eyes wide and innocent. “Me?”

“Yes.”

“So
was spilling beer on me some sort of elaborate plan to talk to me, then?”

He
laughed, and she liked the sound. Low and deep. “I wish I were that clever.”

“You
may as well take the credit for it, because it’s working for you.”

“Oh
yeah?”

She
nodded, taking a sip of her rum and coke so she didn’t lose her liquid courage.
She was a much better flirt with alcohol in her system.

“Happy
birthday.” He tapped the top of her plastic crown. “21, huh?”

She
winked deliberately at him. “Yep. I bet I’m the youngest 21-year-old you’ve
ever met.”

He
laughed again. “I’m guessing you’re 18.”

“19.
A sophomore.”

“Oh
yeah? Me too. Is it really your birthday?”

“That
it is.” She gestured to her outfit. “When it’s not my birthday, I don’t usually
dress up this much. Or wear crowns.”

“Good
to know.”

They
smiled at each other for what must have been a full minute. She didn’t want to
stop looking at him. He was so handsome, and he was flirting with her.

She
thought of asking him to dance, but wasn’t sure she was drunk enough to confidently
grind up on someone so Greek-God like.

“Do
you want to go grab some pizza?” he asked her.

“What?
Did you say pizza?” She wasn’t sure she heard him right.

“Yeah.
There’s that place across the street. It’s pretty loud in here.”

“Yeah,
it is loud.”

“It’s
hard getting to know someone with the Black Eyed Peas blasting in the
background.”

Getting
to know someone? So... he didn’t want to dance with her and make out with her
and try to get her to come home with him? That certainly set him apart from the
guys she usually met.

“Are
you here with your friends? What will they think?”

He
gestured toward three guys at the bar who were doing vodka shots with a group
of girls.

“They
won’t even notice I’m gone,” he said. “What about you?”

She
looked over at the dance floor and saw one of her friends dancing with a guy.
The other had one up against the wall, her leg wrapped around him.

“Yeah...
I don’t think my friends will miss me.”

He
smiled. “So you want to go?”

“Okay,”
she said. What did she have to lose?

“I’m
Jamie, by the way.”

“I’m
Grace.”

JAMIE
HAD DRAGGED Grace hiking, one of her least favorite activities. She was trying
to be outwardly positive about it, because it was only their third date. She
didn’t want him to think she couldn’t go with the flow or that she was one of
those high-maintenance types.

“What
a gorgeous day,” Jamie said.

“Yeah,
gorgeous.”

“Not
as gorgeous as you.”

“Cheesy.”

“True.”

He
took her arm and slid it through his as they made their way along the path. It
made keeping up with him a bit easier. He had a good foot of height on her, so
it was difficult to match his strides. Not to mention the fact that he was in
great shape and worked out all the time, and she hadn’t seen the inside of a
gym in, well, ever.

“What
are you thinking about?” she asked him.

He
smiled slyly at her. “I was just thinking how happy I am to be spending this
day with you. And how sweet it was for you to come hiking with me even though
you clearly hate it.”

She
stopped in her tracks and pulled her arm from his grasp. “Excuse me, I do not
hate hiking. Who told you that?”

“No
one had to tell me, Grace. It’s pretty obvious. I don’t think you’ve smiled one
time since we hit the trail. And every time we see a bug you cringe.”

“Bugs
are disgusting. I’m not going to apologize for that.”

He
laughed. “We can go back to the dorms if you want. Watch a movie or something.”

“Are
you kidding? I love this stuff.” She looked around for inspiration and her eyes
landed on a nearby pond surrounded by growth. “How pretty is that pond over
there? I love nature.”

He
raised an eyebrow like he didn’t believe her, but she figured she was in too
deep to give up now. She made her way toward the pond, and he followed behind.

“Look
at the sunlight on the water,” she said, trying to sound upbeat. “So beautiful.
It’s such a clear pond, too. Do you think there are fish in it?”

“Sure.”

“I
bet there are.” She moved closer to the water and leaned in to get a look
beneath the surface.

“Be
careful.”

Jamie’s
warning came a second too late. The ground beneath her feet was wet and
slippery, and Grace fell forward into the water with a little scream.

“Grace!”

She
quickly sputtered to the surface and was relieved to find that she could stand
up easily. Thankfully, the water was shallow and hit her below the shoulders.

Jamie
was looking at her, concerned. Then he burst into laughter.

“This
is not funny,” she told him.

“I’m
sorry,” he said, laughing harder. “It’s actually really funny.”

His
laughter was the infectious kind, and she started to giggle despite herself.

“You
should have seen your face when you fell!”

“Stop
laughing!” She felt something slimy touch her toe and she screamed, which only
made him laugh harder. “Ew, it’s so gross in here!”

“I
thought you loved nature!”

She
tried to scowl at him through her laughter. “You know, I should be really
pissed at you right now. You didn’t jump in to save me. What kind of gentleman
are you?”

“Sorry,
you’re right. I’ll be right there.”

Grace
watched with wide eyes as Jamie stripped off his tee shirt, revealing broad
shoulders and a chest so solid it could have been carved from marble. She
caught her breath, no longer in a laughing mood.

Jamie
wasted no time getting into the water, which only came up to his hip. He moved
toward her wearing that devilish grin.

“You’ve
got your shorts all wet,” she sputtered out, unsure of what to say.

“Well,
I’m trying to operate a rescue mission here,” he said and lifted her up into
his arms.

“Jamie!”
she squealed. “Put me down!”

“No
can do. I’m trying to save you, honey. Hold on tight.”

He
pulled her against his chest and she wrapped her legs around him, enjoying the
feel of the hard lines of his body against her softer ones.

“Ooh,
I can get used to this.”

“Good,
because I think you may need mouth-to-mouth,” he said. “It’s a standard part of
rescuing clumsy girls.”

“In
that case, I think maybe I do.”

They
met somewhere in the middle for the kiss, and Jamie instantly tightened his
arms around her. It started sweet and playful but quickly turned into something
more intense, her body reacting to the heat of his mouth and the teasing of his
tongue in ways it never had before.

Without
thinking, she ran her hand lightly down his chest and moved her hips against
him. He swore softly and broke off the kiss.

“Is
something wrong?” she asked, immediately missing the feel of his lips against
hers.

“Yes.
You’re driving me crazy.” He peeled her off of him and started tugging her back
to dry land.

“But...
Is that a bad thing?”

They
emerged from the water soaking wet and dripping, and she squeezed out her hair
and tee shirt as she waited for his answer.

“Not
bad,” he finally said. “Just different.”

What
the hell did that mean?

“You
didn’t expect me to be a good kisser?” She winked at him, trying to be playful
even as she felt old insecurities eating at her.

“I
knew you would be.” He moved toward her, his blue eyes curious. “I’m just
surprised at the effect you have on me. It’s unexpected.”

“Oh.”
She looked up at him, suddenly feeling a little shy. “It’s the same for me.
Unexpected.”

“Good.
I like that.” He kissed her quickly and softly on the lips. “I like you.”

Suddenly,
hiking wasn’t one of her least favorite things anymore.

“I
HAVE SOMETHING to tell you.”

“What,
sweetheart? You can tell me anything.”

She
was in bed with Jamie, her head on his chest. He was playing with her hair.

“It’s
serious.”

“That’s
okay.”

“I
want to...” She drifted off, her heart beating frantically. “Never mind.”

“Not
so fast, you’re not getting out of this one.”

“Okay,
okay. Promise you won’t judge me?”

“Scout’s
honor.”

“I
want to have sex.” She buried her face in his chest, mortified.

“Say
that again? I didn’t quite hear you.”

She
felt his chest rumble with laughter and she smacked him lightly. “Shut up. You
heard me just fine.”

He
ran his fingers through her hair soothingly. “Okay, I’m sorry. I just didn’t
expect you to spell it out for me. I thought it would kind of happen when it
happened.”

“I
know, but it’s different for me.”

“How
so?”

Her
cheeks were on fire. “I’ve never done it before.”

She
thought he was going to make fun of her, but he didn’t. He brought her fingers
to her lips and kissed her palm. The tender gesture sent shockwaves through her
system, and she thought for the millionth time that if she didn’t have him soon
she was going to lose her mind.