by Raquel Belle
“No, that’s not really it. You tend to want to kill any guy I talk about. None of the boys I hung out with in school wanted to come over again after meeting you once. They were all afraid of ending up on a missing persons list.”
His deep, hearty chuckle makes me smile. “You’re my little girl, I can’t help wanting to protect you,” he shrugs. “So this is about a man then. I’ll gut him if he’s hurt you. Just tell me where he—”
“See what I mean? I will not have you gut him or carry out any other act of violence.” I still love him.
“Who is he?”
“You’ve met him.”
“Let me guess, that Nicholas fellow?” I only glance at him with pursed lips and he scoffs, “I knew it. I knew he was up to no good.”
“You only met him once.”
“That was enough to know he wanted to get his hands on my little girl. A father knows these things.”
“I was an adult and I’m thirty today.”
“I know,” he sighs. “But I still want to kill him. Look at you. You’ve done nothing but cry and lock yourself in your room since you’ve been here. He did this.”
“No I did it to myself.” As embarrassing as it is talking about this with my father, I admit, “I got too involved when I shouldn’t have. We work together, I should have kept my heart out of it. I saw what you went through after...Olivia.” It makes no sense to call her mom since she skipped town, leaving her family in the dust. I was eight at the time. “Sorry to bring her up.”
“It’s okay. I got over that a long time ago. I got through it and finished raising three great kids on my own. Boys are one thing, but I’m glad I didn’t completely screw up with you…”
“Of course you didn’t. I can swear like a sailor, throw a decent right hook, and I can probably rebuild a car engine in record time…while wearing heels. I turned out perfectly.”
His roar of laughter warms me as it always has. “Yeah, you did.”
Letting out a breath, I sit back. “I’ll be fine, dad. I promise.” It might take a while, but I will be. Sure I’ll break down every now and then when I think about what a mess my life has become… I know, I’m being dramatic. But it isn’t my entire life, it’s just the portion concerning Nick—which is a major part.
“I know. You’ve always been tough. I’ll leave you alone for a bit.”
I can’t get any words out because I’m getting choked up again so I nod. He leaves me alone and I pull my phone from the pocket of my sweats. It’s been vibrating like crazy—birthday messages from the girl’s I’m sure. The messages from them bring a smile to my face and I promptly respond with a big YES to Cara’s proposal for all of us hitting the town on Sunday night for a belated birthday celebration. I’ll need the night out before I return to work on Monday because my workplace has officially become a warzone.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Nick
I step out of my black Bentley—it’s been sitting in the underground parking garage collecting dust for a long time. I much prefer chauffeured vehicles in a place like Manhattan, but for occasions like traveling to Long Island to grovel at Grace’s feet—my own ride comes in handy. I’m nervous as hell, evidenced by my sweaty palms which I wipe on my jeans before picking up the envelope resting on the passenger seat. I thought sleeping with Grace for the first time all those years ago was the most nervous I’d ever be in this lifetime…I was wrong.
Strolling to the green and white two-story house, I blow out a breath. I’ve already forgotten everything that I’d rehearsed last night and on my way here. That never happens. “Shit.” I’ll have to wing it. Hopefully I don’t fuck up more than I already have. There are no vehicles parked in the long driveway beside the house and I wonder if anyone is home. I should have called first but I thought Grace would probably just ignore me.
Reaching the front door, I pray John Peterson doesn’t answer. The man is kind of scary. I suspect any father can be scary when it comes to their daughters. I’m sure I’d be a downright terror to deal with if I had a daughter.
Interesting…I’ve never found myself having those thoughts before. It’s as if finally deciding to admit that I’m in love with Grace is giving me a brand new perspective on everything—even having kids.
The door swings open.
“Dad, did you forget your k—”
Grace lets out a squeal and slams the door shut. “What the hell, Grace? I know I’m the last person you want to see but—”
“That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?” I glance around to see if anyone is watching me shout at the door.
“I’m fixing my hair… and my face,” comes the annoyed grumble.
Relief swamps me, followed by a smile. Of course she’d make me smile the instant I see her. At least she does want to see me. “I’m sure you look fine.”
Slowly, the door reopens to reveal Grace dressed in sweatpants and a tank top, self-consciously brushing a hand over her disheveled ponytail. It looks as if she hasn’t slept well in a while and she isn’t bouncing up and down with energy. Nevertheless, she’s beautiful.
“A little notice would have been good,” she says, looking over my shoulder rather than meeting my gaze. She then proceeds to tug at her top and shuffle from one foot to the other. “I’d have put on something more appropriate if I knew my boss was visiting.”
I’m slightly miffed that she refers to me as her boss—ridiculous as that is because I really am her boss. But she makes it sound like there’s absolutely nothing else between us. “I was afraid you wouldn’t answer.”
Finally, her eyes meet mine. “Come in.” I step into the Peterson’s home and look around. “What’s wrong? Were you expecting someone else.”
“I was. I was expecting John to jump out with a shotgun by now.” Especially if Grace let him in on what happened between us.
A smile barely touches her lip, reminding me how I’ve missed her megawatt smiles and contagious laugh. “Don’t worry, I’d never let him shoot you.”
“That’s surprising. So you don’t completely hate me then?”
“Of course not,” she rolls her eyes. “Dad isn’t here. We’re alone.”
I relax slightly. At least I can focus on apologizing and baring my soul without the concern of being killed.
She folds her arms defensively and eyes the envelope in my hand with suspicion. “Why are you here? You’re not really suing me are you? I said I’d stay until my contract is up.”
Too busy staring at her because I’ve missed her—even though it’s only been two weeks, it may as well have been two years―it takes me a few seconds to process her words. “What? No. Grace, I’d never do that. I don’t even know why those words left my mouth. I was… Look, I panicked. You took me by surprise is all and—” Realizing that I’m rambling I sigh, “Happy birthday.”
“You came all this way to wish me a happy birthday?”
Mentally face-palming myself because I’ve turned into a bumbling idiot, I offer her the envelope. “I came to give you your gift in person.”
“You could have waited until Monday.”
“I could have but I want to fix things before then.”
“Really? You haven’t even tried calling once in two weeks. I didn’t know you were interested in fixing anything.” There’s hurt ringing in her voice and if I could kick myself in the ass, I would.
“I was trying to give you time, Grace. I didn’t think you’d want to hear from me.” I take her hand and place the envelope in it. “Please, just take a look. Then you can kick me out if you want to.”
She opens it and looks at the documents with bewilderment. “I don’t understand…”
My heart is racing because I’m starting to doubt my grand gesture. I’m starting to think I should have gone with jewelry. “Uh...well, those are leases.”
“I know,” she shrugs. “I just don’t know why you’re showing them to me,” she says with a confused half-smile
“They’re of
fice spaces close to Davis Michael Parker. So no matter what, we’ll still be close.” Her eyes, fixed on me, are still clouded with confusion. “Office spaces for you, Grace. All you have to do is choose which one you want, sign the dotted line and it’s yours. All the legalities have been dealt with. Great to have a friend in corporate law, right?”
She says nothing and continues to gawk at me. Okay, maybe that ‘friend in corporate law’ joke was lame.
“You said you wanted to start your own PR firm.”
Her mouth drops open. “Well, yeah, but I’ve done like zero planning. I have no experience, no clientele. Nothing. I can’t afford to pay rent. I guess I can for a while with the money I’ve saved up, but I’d have to move into a cardboard box on the sidewalk.”
“You already live in an apartment rent-free.”
“I wasn’t planning to stay there.”
“We have a disagreement and you’re ready to give up your apartment?”
“I got it because I work for you. After the eight months is up and I’m no longer in your employ, I doubt DMP is going to be that generous.”
“DMP has nothing to do with your place,” I murmur, hoping she doesn’t hear the guilt in my voice. I’d failed to fill her in on this little detail. She’s going to kill me.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve been paying for your place.”
She turns on me with rounded eyes. “What? You’ve lied to me for four years?”
“Three, and it wasn’t so much a lie as it was not seeing the need to mention it…”
“I thought you said you spoke to the partners and demanded a place for me along with yours?”
“I did and they agreed...to pay for your place for one year.”
“Oh, my God. I can’t believe you! I’ve been your kept woman all along.”
“Excuse me?”
“You shower me with gifts—inappropriate gifts for an assistant, I might add. You overpay me, you take me everywhere with you when it’s unnecessary, and now I find out you’ve been paying my rent for an insanely expensive Manhattan apartment.”
“Of course, because I…” This isn’t going as I planned. She was supposed to accept my birthday gift and that would mellow her out to accept my apology for being an ass, I’d kiss her because I’ve been longing to, then, I’d swallow my fear and profess my love. That’s how it all played out in my head. Her being angry with me again wasn’t a part of it.
“Because what? You wanted to have some hold over me? I know you like to be in control of everything, maybe you wanted to control me too?”
Where in the hell did that come from? It shocks me to think she’s had that in her mind the entire time. It hurts. “That’s not it at all, Grace. You sure do have quite the imagination. Maybe everything I’ve done can be considered inappropriate. I get that.” Here goes. I think I feel sweat running down my chest. “I’ve treated you more like a...girlfriend”—I’d say that’s an accurate description—“than an assistant because I’ve always loved you and I wanted you to stay...with me.” I let out a breath, satisfied that I got it out. For a while there I thought I’d chicken out.
Now that I’ve said it, I don’t know what I’ve been so afraid of. Grace is like a statue with a slack jaw. She doesn’t even blink. So much time passes without a response from her, I begin to worry that I’ve just made a fool of myself. “Grace—”
“You love me as in we’re friends and you care about me?” She finally asks.
“That, and I’m in love with you…as in I want to be with you whether you work for me or not. I want to try having a serious, committed relationship with you…although I’m pretty sure—now—we’ve inadvertently been doing that all along.”
She’s still staring at me wide-eyed without a word…but I feel much braver, so I take a step closer. “I’m sorry for the way I behaved when you told me you wanted to quit.”
“I started to feel like I was living in your shadow too much and I wanted to be more than your assistant.”
“You’ve always been more. And I’ve never thought I was above you in any way. You’ve been running the show all along. You took two weeks vacation and my whole life fell apart.”
Her smile is sad, but encouraging so I keep going. “If you want to leave, I’ll let you go, Grace. I can’t have you doing a job you’re no longer happy with.”
“I don’t want you to let me go, Nick. I wanted to resign from the job, not from you.”
“I thought I’d lose you in every way if you quit, that’s why I said what I said. I’d never take you to court over a silly contract, you have to believe that.”
“I do. Did you mean it? Are you really in love with me?”
“I am. I have been for a long time, I was just afraid of things going bad between us so I denied it.”
“Oh. Wow. When I imagine you professing your love I always look so much more fabulous than this.”
Her eyes twinkle with laughter…and all my concerns and what was left of my fear seeps away. Grace teasing me is a great sign. “You always look fabulous.”
“Well…as you always say to me—you’re biased,” she laughs. “I love you too, Nick. You must have known all along. I don’t think I hid it very well.”
“I think I’ve always known, but at the same time, I thought you wanted to keep things platonic. I’ve always wanted to give you whatever you wanted. As long as you were happy, I was happy too. But along the way, I did get a little selfish and it all goes back to not wanting to lose you.”
Eyes glistening with tears, she admits, “I did want to keep things platonic at first, but over time, I started to want more. Well, I wanted more from the very beginning but I was afraid…just like you were. I should have been honest about my feelings from the beginning.”
“I did make it hard when I kept insisting that I wouldn’t be able to give you a real relationship.”
She sighs, “We both messed up.”
“But we can move past this right? I know what I want now. I want you.”
“Of course we can.” She glances at the envelope and frowns. “But I can’t accept this. It’s very thoughtful and I appreciate your effort, but I won’t be able to afford―”
“Any one you choose will be paid for—for a year. I think that’s enough time for you to know if you want to keep going with it. I told you…all you have to do is sign. You can check each location out first, of course. I thought long and hard about what to get you for your birthday this time. All along I’ve handed you a credit card to get something for yourself but I realize that wasn’t very thoughtful.”
“Nick, I can’t allow you to do this. It’s too much. You’ve already done enough.”
“I just told you that I’m in love with you.”
With a patient sigh, she puts a hand on my chest and I’m compelled to rest mine over hers. I’m grateful for any contact. “That doesn’t mean I’m free to accept something like this.”
“You’ve helped me reach where I want to get. It’s time for me to help you. Please, let me.”
“I don’t think I can do it. Dreaming about it is one thing, but actually doing it—I’m terrified. What if I fail? What if I suck at being a PR manager?”
“You’ll be great. You were wrong about not having any experience or clientele. You make me and DMP look good every day, and a majority of the firm’s clients adore you. They’ll hire you for PR at the drop of a hat. You’ll be a natural. I believe in you.”
“I’m the one who gives the pep talks.”
“It’s my turn.”
Nibbling her lower lip, she glances back at the envelope and then launches herself into my arms. “Thank you. Knowing you believe in me is the best birthday gift ever.”
I hold on to her tightly, not wanting to let go. I’ll never let go. I’ll never mess up and risk letting her slip away again either.
Epilogue
Grace
Two weeks later…
The room is silent except for the sounds
of heavy breathing. My head rests on Nick’s arm as we both stare up at the ceiling. I’m wearing nothing but my bra and he’s only clad in his shirt with his tie hanging askew. We were so eager to have each other, we didn’t even get to the state of full nudity.
We make a funny picture, but the sex we just had is far from humorous. It was incredible. Passionate. Wild. Explosive. My body is still on fire, slowly cooling down. I wipe a hand over my forehead, swatting away a sheen of sweat.
“Why do we always end up naked when we celebrate?”
“I don’t know, but I love it,” he replies drowsily.
“We’re on the floor.”
“The carpet is brand new,” he shrugs.
“You’re supposed to be helping me unpack.”
“But this is so much better.”
“It is.”
“You’re a wild woman, Grace. A sexual fiend,” he teases.
“Says the man who seduced me. How quickly you forget that you started things.”
“I did, didn’t I? But you loved every minute of it.”
I burst into giggles because I’m deliriously happy and sexually satisfied. I feel like I’m floating on cloud nine and I have been for weeks since Nick showed up in Long Island and finally admitted his feelings for me. After that, everything just fell into place and I started getting everything that I’ve always wanted. We just went at it like animals on the floor of my new office. I didn’t just jump in when it came to signing on to start my own business. I took some time to think about it before taking the plunge.
I don’t know if it’ll work out—I really hope it does, after wanting to do it for so long—but if it doesn’t, I’ll be fine. I have Nick’s support. Not just as a friend or a lover either. I really have him…as in we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together. Happily ever after. I never thought it would happen with Nick. I gaze at my left hand boasting a dazzling yellow, cushion cut engagement ring. The three massive stones represent friendship, love, and fidelity—so I learned when Nick proposed.
I’d been stunned speechless when he popped the question. I mean, we only just decided that we were going to be an item two weeks ago. I thought he was crazy for wanting to move so fast. But then he made a valid point. His exact words were “for Christ’s sake, Grace, say yes. We’ve practically been married for the last seven years, we might as well make it official.” I had to agree. We know each other inside and out. We’re great together. So here we are, and I’m overjoyed. The ring is gorgeous. Something I would have chosen for myself.
