Playing for Keeps (27 page)

“Chloe?”

“Is that her name? She’s stunning.”

I frowned, but when I saw how rapt he looked I relaxed. If he’d been lecherous about it I’d have belted him, but he looked genuinely entranced by her.

“Is she a friend of yours?”

“She’s my sister.”

He looked at me appraisingly before he nodded. “I can see some resemblance. Though she looks more like the bachelorette.”

“My other sister.”

His eyes swung back to Chloe. “Do you think she’d be interested in me?”

I studied him, wondering if I wanted my little sister to go out with a guy we met at a strip club. He seemed nice, and he wasn’t downing his drink. In fact, he was probably more sober than me.

I glanced surreptitiously at his ring finger.

Brian grinned. “I’m not married. No girlfriend either. And I don’t normally come to places like this. I was supposed to meet a friend but he hasn’t shown up yet. I’m twenty-eight, I have a good job, and I’m financially secure.”

“Do you have references with you too?”

“I’ll give you my grandma’s number.”

I smiled at him. He was cute. “I’m not in the habit of pimping for my sister, but I can make an exception in this case.”

Brian laughed and toasted me.

I felt a pair of eyes drilling holes through the back of my head. I looked over my shoulder.

Pete.

The guys had joined our bachelorette party and Riley was reaping the benefits of Nell’s lap dance. But Pete stood to the side. His eyes were on me, and his face was clouded with the darkest frown I’d ever seen.

I set my glass down, leaned toward Brian, and rested my hand on his arm. “I’ll make you a deal.”

“Does this have anything to do with the guy who looks like he’d give anything to rip me a new one right now?”

“Does that bother you?”

Brian held my hand. “If it means I can meet your sister, I’m game.”

I chuckled. “Chloe’s going to love you.”

“Grace, I need to see you outside.”

I looked up to find Pete looming over us. My breath caught. He looked big and so livid.

“Oh, Pete. How nice to see you.” I said it in a sugary, false tone that would piss him off.

He glared down at Brian’s hand holding mine. He looked at Brian with such menace I was surprised Brian didn’t shrivel and die right there.

Brian grinned. At least
he
looked like he was having fun. “Grace and I were just getting acquainted.”

“I can see that.” Pete untangled my hand from Brian’s and pulled me away. “Excuse us.”

He dragged me away. I looked over my shoulder. Brian gave me a thumbs up.

Pete took me through the door, all the way outside and around the corner of the building (for privacy, I suppose).

Then he lit into me. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Making friends.” I snatched my hand back and lifted my chin defiantly.

“He wasn’t interested in your friendship.”

“Just because you aren’t interested doesn’t mean that other men won’t be either.”

For a second I thought Pete was going to explode, but he physically calmed himself down. He stepped up to me and said in a low voice, “Maybe I don’t want other men to be interested in you.”

Then he wrapped his hand in my hair and kissed me.

Only it was unlike any kiss we’d shared before. Sure, we’d kissed passionately and even aggressively, but this was beyond that. It tasted sad and desperate, like it was a last ditch effort.

It petrified me. It turned me on.

He pulled back, enough so I could feel his breath against my lips. His beautiful stormy eyes filled my vision. “Do you want other men, Grace?”

I only wanted him. “
You’re
the one who doesn’t want
me
. At least, not on my terms.”

“Your terms suck.” He took my hand and dragged me toward the street.

“Where are we going?”

He didn’t answer me but when he hailed a taxi I figured it out.

I tried halfheartedly to pull free. “I can’t just leave. It’s Nell’s bachelorette party and I’m the maid of honor. And you’re leaving your best friend.”

He grunted as a taxi screeched to a stop in front of us. He opened the door and helped me in. “This is more important than Nell and Riley.”

I wanted to protest that nothing was more important than my sister. But I looked into his eyes and decided to sit back, cross my arms, and pout instead.

“Is your dad home?”

What did that have to do with anything? “I doubt it.”

He nodded, gave the driver my address, and we were off. Usually I grip the door handle and pray for my life when I set foot in a taxi. This time, Pete distracted me.

His hand slipped up the hem of my dress, which didn’t cover much when I was sitting anyway. I frowned at him but the hot look in his eyes stopped me from saying anything.

“Grace, we can’t do this anymore.”

The bottom fell out of my world. I managed to croak “What?”

He lifted me onto his lap and threaded his hand through my hair. “I can’t go through another week like this. I’ve been miserable. I miss you.”

His lips grazed mine. I tried to get closer, to make better contact, but he held the distance.

“Listen to me.” He tipped my head back a little so he could stare into my eyes. “I’m sorry about our argument. I know how important your family is to you. I don’t want to come between you. I was wrong to push.”

“You didn’t call.”

“I didn’t think you wanted me to.” He brushed back my hair from my face. “I love you, Grace.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him so he’d feel it down to his toes.

It was delicious, and I ate at him like a starving woman. His hand crept up my thigh to my hip and he slid his fingers under the leg of my panties. I responded the only way I could—I shifted my knees open to give him better access.

His breath was hot against my neck. “I’ve never seen you in a dress.”

“Play your cards right and you’ll get to see me out of it too.”

He pressed me closer to his chest. “I think the cab driver is enjoying this fare.”

I looked up to see the driver’s eyes trained on us in the rearview mirror more than they were on the road. I blushed and buried my head in Pete’s neck. “I hope he doesn’t know my dad.”

Pete chuckled and held me the rest of the way, his hands teasing as the street flew by. It took forever to get to home. He paid the driver and opened the door. Holding me tight when I started to slide off his lap, he hefted me out in his arms. He carried me up the walkway without huffing, even though I wasn’t exactly petite.

When we got to the front door it struck me where we were. “Why’d we come here instead of your apartment?”

“A couple of the guys came in from out of town for the bachelor party. They’re staying there. I didn’t want to chance them coming back early.”

Fine with me. Daddy’s car wasn’t in the driveway, so we were safe.

Pete nuzzled my neck. “You’re on your own for the keys.”

My tiny purse was wedged between our bodies, and my keys were inside. I slipped my hand between us and felt around. Somehow, it went further south than I anticipated, missing the purse but finding something much more interesting.

I smiled up at him. “Found it.”

He growled, stepped back, and kicked the door open.

“Wow.” I blinked. “I’ve only seen that in movies.”

Pete didn’t answer me. He moved us inside and closed the door with his foot. He set me down and backed me up against it.

Then he stared.

I opened my mouth to say something sarcastic but the reverence in his eyes stopped me cold. I tried to remember the last time anyone had ever looked at me like that. Never.

“You’re so beautiful, and the crazy thing is you don’t even know it.” His hands skimmed down my bare shoulders, down the sides of my breasts to hold my hips. “You don’t know how amazing you look.”

He bent his knees and slipped his hands under my dress like I was the most precious thing he’d ever encountered. “Especially in this dress. We’re leaving it on.”

“On?” I wrinkled my nose. Though the way he was snaking his way up my legs was awfully distracting.

“On. It makes me hot.” He hooked his fingers in my panties, and pulled them down.

At that point I was hardly going to protest. His hands started doing deliciously wicked things to me. If it didn’t get in his way, who was I to complain?

I stepped out of my underwear and hopped up, wrapping my legs around his waist and pulling him into me.

He lowered his head and kissed me with a hunger that shocked me. I grabbed his hair and gave back as good as I got. I’d just managed to get the zipper on his pants open when I heard a loud bellow from the top of the stairs.

“What the hell is going on? Gracie, is that you?”

The foyer lights came on. Pete and I froze like deer in headlights. We disengaged our lips and I looked over his shoulder.

Oh
hell
.

Daddy.

I stepped on my underwear, hoping he hadn’t notice it.

“Joe?” A tall woman with dark, disheveled hair peeked out from his room.

I suddenly realized my dad stood there in black, silk-looking boxers shorts. I covered my eyes before that image was permanently etched on my corneas. “
Daddy
.”

Pete chuckled next to me. I lifted my hand enough to glare at him. He only grinned and called up to my dad. “Joe, maybe we should wait for you and your friend in the kitchen.”

My dad mumbled something and hustled his “friend” back into his bedroom.

“
Gah
.” I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to imagine what they’d been doing in there.

Pete kissed my forehead. “Come on. I’ll get you a beer.”

I went, not sure there was enough beer in the fridge to deal with this development.

Chapter Twenty-one

A military operation involves deception.

— Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Daddy and I sat across from each other at the kitchen table. Both of us had our arms crossed. Daddy had on his game face, the one where you can tell he’s plotting a major defense but completely open to whatever may come his way.

I didn’t do a good poker face. Pete always said he could read me like an open book. Right now, the pages said livid.

Pete sat next to me, holding my hand. His fingers gently massaged my palm, soothing me. But I didn’t want to be soothed. I wanted answers.

I glared at the woman who sat next to my dad. She was the one I’d seen him talking to at the studio. I reluctantly admitted that she was absolutely gorgeous. She had pale, flawless skin with only the faintest wrinkles around her eyes. Her hair was as thick as mine but shiny and straight.

As if all that wasn’t reason enough to hate her, she had to go and have a perfect figure too. She wore Daddy’s robe, and I swore she didn’t have on much more than underwear underneath, if even that.

The hussy.

What bugged me was that she didn’t seem nervous or out of sorts. In fact, she seemed as calm as Pete.

I glared at my dad. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your
friend
?”

His eyes narrowed. “Gracie, this is Clarice. Clarice, my daughter, Gracie.”

Clarice studied me with her striking blue eyes. Not the same blue as Pete’s—hers were the blue of expensive sapphires. “Your father’s told me much about you, Grace.”

Even her voice was rich. “Funny. He never mentioned you.”

Pete squeezed my hand. I frowned at him. What? I was speaking the truth.

“Gracie,” Daddy barked, like I was an unruly cadet under his command.

“At least now I know what you’ve been up to the last few months.” I scowled at him. “I was worried. I thought you’d taken up gambling or something.”

Daddy’s face flushed deep red and the vein in his forehead throbbed. Yeah, well, my eyelid was twitching too.

“I mean, this is a total relief.” I waved my hand in Clarice’s direction. “Why shouldn’t you have a”—somehow I managed to stop myself before I said
tart
—”
special friend
.”

My dad banged his hand on the table. “That’s enough, young lady.”

“It’s hardly enough,” I yelled right back.

“Joe.” Clarice put a restraining hand on his arm.

Daddy and I both turned to glare at her.

“Joe, why don’t you and Pete go into the living room for a bit so Grace and I can talk?”

My dad melted—
melted
—right before my eyes. “Are you sure?”

She smiled at him. He nodded and got up.

They just had silent communication. I blinked. Then I looked at Pete and raised my brows.

He smiled and caressed my cheek before he followed my dad.

Which left me alone with Clarice.

Suddenly, I felt unsure of myself. Petty, hurt, and confused.

The sympathetic look she gave me almost undid me. “It’s hard, isn’t it?”

“What?”

Her eyes seemed to see through me. “Your father told me all about you. I’ve been waiting to meet you. I could say the timing never seemed right but, frankly, Joe’s been scared.”

“Scared?
Daddy
? Yeah, right.”

She smiled. “It’s true. He’s been scared of what you’ll think of our relationship. He thinks the world of you, you know.”

“You have a relationship?”

“As much as one can have when one is hiding.” She looked at me knowingly.

I blushed. She got me there. “Do you want to have a relationship?”

At first I wasn’t sure she heard me, it took her so long to answer. But then she said “With all my heart” with such fervency that I felt it deep in my chest.

“Does my dad feel the same way?”

“Yes.” She said it with certainty that couldn’t be disputed.

Emotions shot like rapid-fire through me: surprise, sadness, and jealousy. I hated the jealousy most of all. I should have been happy for my dad but all I could think was that
I
was the one who loved him. It was
my
job to take care of him.