The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (45 page)

He
laughed and
smiled into her eyes
, resting his hand on hers
. “T
rust me, t
he pleasure is all mine.”

Before the dinner and concert
portion of the evening
started, Grace lost count of all the important people she met—state senators and congressman as well as a couple of U. S. senators. What amazed her mos
t was how at ease she
felt. Maybe it was the clothes and make-up
,
or perhaps it
was having a man like Jason as her escort, but she
somehow managed to carry
on intelligent conversation without
fear or
trepidation
.

She blinked.
Now, here she was, sitting next to the man of her dreams while he lavished his attention on her.
All through the evening he’d been a perfect gentleman,
had anticipated
her e
very need
,
and
been
quick to provide
.
An irresistible urge to pinch herself flashed through her consciousness. Was she dreaming? If so, she never wanted to awaken.

A
troubling thought crossed her mind
, and
brought a frown with it
.
In spite of the wonderful evening,
she had to
ho
ld
back,
wary
of succumbing to Jason’
s charm and persuasion. While part of her wanted to relax an
d enjoy the enchantment, a deeper
part
pulled on invisible reins
.

They dined on
lobster
,
asparagus
spears
, and potatoes au gratin followed by a creamy
tiramisu
for dessert. T
he
orchestral
performance
by
a string ensemble
from Dallas
only added to the magical aura
. Before she knew it,
the evening came to a close. Grac
e stood with the rest of the audience to applaud the orchestra,
and
then squint
ed against the glare as the house lights were brought up.

Jason
placed his hand in the small of her back
.
“So did you enjoy tonight
?”

Happy laughter fell from her
mouth. “How could I not?
Thank
you for a lovely
evening
.
”
She gathered her evening bag
from the
table,
where
a centerpiece of fragrant roses
spilled their perfume into the air
.
As they turned to leave a f
amiliar voice sounded
.

“Grac
ie?”
Andy
stood
nearby
, Trish
on one
arm. Questions glistened in his eyes. Next to them
were
Ben Snodgrass and a
woman she’
d never met
.
Andy’s gaze focused on her.
“
You look quite different
, Gracie
.
I almost didn’t recognize you.”
His eyes
now traveled to
her date for the evening
.
“Hey
, Jason.
Thought I might see you
here
.”

P
alpable tension hung in the air.
Even Jason seemed slightly
uncom
fortable in the awkward moment, though h
e quickly masked
his discomfort
with
a good-natured grin, and
patted Grace’s hand. “I
couldn’t pass up the opportunity of spending the evening with this lovely young woman
,
now
could I?”

Grace made
the mistake of glancing at Andy
.
There was no mistaking his displeasure.
Defensiveness roared inside
.
Why should it matter to him that she was out with Jason? Did he really view her as the enemy?

As if things weren’t already tense enough,
Elena swept into their midst, her gold lame dress rustling.
“Well, well, if it isn
’t Andy Tyler and his cohorts.
My, Grace,
but
you do clean u
p well. That outfit must’ve set
you
back
a pretty penny.”

“I—uh, that is—”

Jason stepped in
to
save her. “She’s been turning heads all evening.”

Disgust etched on her features,
Elena moved
her focus
to Grace, making no attempt to disgu
ise the hostility in her eyes. Then j
ust as quickly
,
she moved onto the woman standing beside Ben
, her voice now exuding friendliness
. “
I’ve met Mr. Snodgrass and Mrs. Tyler
, but I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you. I’m Elena Delgado.” She extended a hand.

“
Deborah
Rowe, the new attorney with Andy’s firm.”

Grace
tremble
d with pent-up emotion,
the realization of all that could have been hers hit
ting
her squarely in the face.
How unfair th
at in her attempt to protect those she loved
, she’d lost out
on so much
.

Jason must ha
ve noticed her sudden distress
, for he tucked her hand more securely in the crook of his elbow and covered it with his own, at the same time moving
closer to her side as if to provide
a
place for her to
lea
n
. “Well, it’s been lovely chatting with you all, but we’d best be getting on.”

A few minutes later,
after
Jason made sure she was seated
comfortably
in the passenger seat of his sports
car,
he climbed
in the driver’s side and
easily
maneuvered their way through
traffic
. S
oon
they sped down
the
two-lane highway that led
to Miller’s Creek.

“So glad you enjoyed the evening.
” Jason’s velvet voice was particularly sonorous
,
as she gazed out the window at the moon and stars, the fie
lds bathed in
beautiful light
.

She leaned her head back
against the seat and turned
his way with a smile. “I feel like I should pinch myself to see if I’m dreaming.”

He gave a slow lazy laugh. “You’re not dreaming, but after seeing how beautiful you look tonight, I wonder if I am.”

Grace didn’t know how
to respond
.

“Please accept my apologies if I was too forward.”

She placed a han
d on his arm.
“Not at all
.
I’m just not used to looking or
feeling like this. I don’t
quite
know
how to act.”

He smiled at her through the dim light of the car’s interior. “You’ve definitely shown a different side of yoursel
f tonight, and I must confess
I’m intrigued. You handled yourself so professionally
. Do you realize how many influential people you hobnobbed with tonight?

She laughed. “I know.
It’s been unbelievable
. I wish it would never end.”

He grew silen
t a moment. “I feel the same
.
I
just wish
we could erase the confrontation
that occurred
before we left
.
You were
understandably upset
.
”

A
heavy sigh rushed from her mouth before she could
contain
it. “
Thanks for coming to my rescue.” She paused, unsure
if
she could trust him with her
thoughts and
feelings. “
Life’
s so unfair sometimes.”

“Yes, it often is.”
His comment
was s
o cut an
d dried and formal—so
British. “Unfortunately, we have no control over what happens to us. We only can control our response to it.”

“What a
wise thing to say.”
She hadn’t expected him to have such depth.

He glanced toward her,
his face illuminated by the
moon
and lights from the dashboard
. “You’ve had a difficult week
, haven’t you?
”

“Yes
, it’s been a real winner
.”

“Pardon me
if I’m being too forward, but do you feel like you were set up by Elena Delgado?”

Something about the question unnerved her, and
an invisible wall
ro
se around he
r heart. She thought through the
question. Yes, Elena had masterfully manipulated her into doing something she wouldn’t ordinarily do
, and had done so for the purpose of discrediting her
.
In addition she’d covered her wrongdoing by laying the fault
entirely on her shoulders
.
“I can’t place all the blame on her. I was the one who broke into Andy’s office. She didn’t force me.”

“It shows great character on your part for taking responsibility for your actions.”

His words were salve to her bruised spirit. “I wish others could see it that way, but they seem determined to condemn and punish me.” She shifted in her seat so she could see him better. “Aren’t you concerned their perceptions of me will
cause them to view you in a negative light
?
Aren’t you
even
a
tiny
bit afraid to be seen with me?
”

He
lifted one
shoulder
casually
. “How others perceive
me is of little importance
. If they do perceive me negatively, they’ll come around in time.
But I do care what you think of me.”

A
n unexpected
chill skittered down her spine
and she shivered
. “Why?”

Jason pulled into the driveway, put the car in park
,
and faced her, his face an enigmatic mask in the moonlight, his
eyes completely hooded by his brows.
He
took hold of
one of her hands.

Grace swallowed against the panic moving from her stomach to her throat. “I mean, you could have your pick of anyone. If I were to see you for the first t
ime in a group of people, I’
d never have the nerve to approach you.” She rattled out the words
in rapid-chatter mode
t
o cover the electric silence. “So w
hy
does what I think matter
?”

He brought his other
hand to a ringlet that had escaped her chignon and fingered it for a moment befor
e cupping her face with his palm
. “You hav
e no idea how exquisite you are
,
do you?”

A shaky breath shuddered out of her as she reached for the door handle.
She couldn’t let this happen, not when she cared so much for Matt.
“Thank you
again, Jason.
I’d better get inside. I had a lovely
ti
—”

Jason silenced her
babble
with a kiss
that stole her breath
.

Only minutes later, when she once more stood in the safety of the little house, the door locked behind her
and currently
holding up her weight
, did she realize that in the midst of the most fairy-tale-like night she’d ever experienced, she’
d completely forgotten to
quiz
him about
her suspicion of a
possible connection to
Elena.