by Lori Foster
“He’d tell me.” Ben stared at her, taking pleasure in pointing out the truth. “He tells me everything.”
Agatha seemed startled by that news, but not unhappy about it. “Tell me, Ben, how can he possibly be happy? He’s built up so much at the restaurant, and now he’s walked away from it all. He’s in love with Kara, yet he’s pulled out of the engagement. He’s destroying his reputation, his business associations, and his love life.”
Ben shook his head with a disparaging show of pity. “Christ, you really don’t know him at all, do you? I figured since Noah was your chosen one, the heir apparent, you’d paid closer attention. I sort of assumed you were an astute woman, given all your wealth. Hell, Aggie, you might as well have been wearing blinders, you’ve missed so much.”
That was one too many insults for Agatha to calmly ignore. She shot to her feet, then had to grab the edge of the desk to steady herself. Ben slowly stood, watching her with concern. She looked…wobbly. He’d never seen her that way before.
Guilt over his appalling behavior crowded in. Agatha was an elderly woman, in her late seventies, and he’d taken pleasure in his insolence.
Ben shook off the guilt. He owed her nothing.
Yet his concern remained.
Agatha took several moments to gather herself. She stared at the desk while doing so. When she finally looked up at Ben, she was once again in control. “I do know my grandson. He’s a mover and a shaker, a man who likes to see things through. I’ve let the restaurant go because I know it’ll be impossible for Noah to watch it fall apart.”
Ben narrowed his eyes. “You love that restaurant.”
“So does Noah.”
He shook his head impatiently. “No, I mean I thought you loved it too much to let it crumble.”
Agatha stepped out from behind the desk to pace. “I don’t think that will happen. Noah will return before it does. But…” She looked up and held Ben’s gaze. “It’s worth the risk.”
Because she loved Noah. Oh, Ben doubted she’d ever admit it, she was such a crusty old witch, but it was there in her faded blue eyes, in the strain on her aristocratic face. Ben turned away from her to run a hand through his hair. Everything was suddenly more complicated.
“So what the hell do you want from me?”
“Your help in setting things right.”
“Yeah?” He faced her again. “And how do you figure to do that?”
In an uncommon show of nervousness, Agatha bit her bottom lip. Just as quickly, her chin lifted in imperious demand. “How do you feel about Kara?”
Ben shrugged. He considered Kara spoiled and self-indulgent and weak—typical of her upbringing. But he didn’t say any of that to Agatha. “She’s all right.”
“She’s perfect for Noah.”
“Not even close.”
Agatha didn’t appear to hear him. “I want to prod Noah back to his senses. To do that, I need you to temporarily replace him.”
Shock rolled through Ben. “Replace him…where?”
“Everywhere that counts. You can step in as my manager, for the restaurant and my other business ventures. Given your success at the hotel and diner, it’s obvious that you’re capable of handling the task. At least for a short time.”
Ben didn’t dare blink. He had no idea when he’d see anything this bizarre again. Agatha giving him a compliment? Or had it been? She’d stipulated that “for a short time.” He was still pondering that when she threw the rest at him.
“And I want you to pursue Kara.”
His mouth fell open. Only Aggie could be that outrageous.
“That ought to shake Noah up,” Agatha went on. “If he thinks he’s losing Kara, he’ll realize his mistakes and come back where he belongs.”
A slow burning in his gut made Ben shake. He rounded the desk toward Agatha, and given the way she backed up, he knew he didn’t look exactly receptive to her idea.
“You old bitch.” The words were spat out from between his teeth, but Ben couldn’t remember ever being so angry. “You would connive and plot against your own grandson. Noah gave you everything he had, and all along you’ve just been using him.”
Agatha reached behind her until she found her chair. She dropped into it, then braced her hands on the arms. “That’s not true.”
“Bullshit.” He leaned over her. “You act like you took care of him…well, that’s backwards, Aggie. Noah’s been propping you up since the day he arrived. But were you ever grateful? Hell no, you ground him under every chance you got.”
She clutched a hand to her chest. “That’s a lie! I did my best for Noah.”
Ben snorted. “Like you did your best for Pierce? Yeah, we all know how that turned out, don’t we? The man was a waste of humanity as far as I’m concerned.”
Agatha pushed upright, heaving in her anger. Her chair skidded out behind her on the hardwood floor. “How dare you!” Her voice rose to a shout. “He was my son and I loved him!”
“Like you love Noah?”
Her thin nostrils flared and her eyes filled with tears. “What would you have me do, damn you? Just give up on Noah, watch him ruin his life?”
“Gee, I don’t know, Agatha. Maybe you could try being honest? Maybe you could tell Noah how much you appreciate him? Give him the respect and admiration he deserves?”
For a long, frozen moment, neither of them moved. Agatha hugged herself and stared beyond Ben. “Pierce was a great man, a wealthy man. As his son, you could have had so much.”
Ben narrowed his eyes. Was that a threat, an enticement? He had no idea. “You just don’t get it, do you? Pierce had nothing I wanted, including himself, including you. Hell, I count myself fortunate that he stayed out of my life. And believe me, he wasn’t missed. My mother and I managed just fine.”
“You could have had more. New cars, luxury vacations, influence, and—”
“Everything Pierce had?”
Her mouth trembled. “Yes.”
Gently, feeling a twinge of pity, Ben said, “And look how he turned out.”
Agatha turned away. Her shoulders were hunched, making Ben feel like a monster. But damn it, she had to stop tampering with Noah’s life.
Ben knew it was time to go. But first he said, “Noah is a better man than Pierce ever was.”
Seconds ticked by, and Agatha finally said, “I know.”
Ben stared at her back. “Come again?”
She straightened, turned. “I said I know. The same can be said for you.”
Suspicion bloomed. “Still trying to finagle, Aggie? Use any old trick, including false flattery, to get what you want?”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s true, Ben. You’re a fine young man.”
His anger on the rise again, Ben told her, “I’m not that easy. You made it clear what you thought of me years ago.”
“Yes.” Her smile was slanted, real. “And you’ve made it quite clear what you think of me.”
Damn her, did she want his sympathy now? Panic crawled over Ben, joining the uncertainty, the hesitation.
The neediness. No.
Ben drew one breath, then another. He had to get out before he said something stupid. “One question before I go, Agatha.”
She agreed with a weary nod of her head. “All right.”
Ben folded his arms over his chest. “What the hell do you have against Gracie?”
Surprise flickered over her face. “Why, nothing. She’s a lovely person.”
“Yeah, I think so. One of the finest people I know. Then why are you so hell-bent on breaking her and Noah up?”
Agatha shook her head. “No, you’ve misunderstood. I tried to encourage Noah to marry her.”
Ben closed his eyes, then slowly reopened them. “Oh God, this is just great.” Incredulity rang in his every word. “You encouraged him?”
“Yes. I offered to accept him and Grace both back if they married.”
For the first time, Ben began to wonder if Agatha truly did mean well and was m
erely shortsighted in her methods. She’d learned to bulldoze her way through life and didn’t know any other way. He laughed and propped one hip on her enormous, ostentatious desk. It was sturdy, he’d give her that.
“So, in other words, you tried to bribe him?”
“I didn’t see it that way.”
“ ’Course you did, Aggie.” He pointed at her and winked. “You’re not that dull-edged yet. You knew exactly what you were doing. In fact, I’ll bet you thought such a ploy might push him back at Kara, didn’t you?”
She flushed in astonishment, which was all the answer Ben needed.
“Aggie, Aggie,” he said in mock reproach. “You really don’t know Noah at all, do you?”
She bristled, then shocked the hell out of Ben when she snapped, “Oh, stuff it, will you?”
Stuff it?
“Yes, I tried to get him back with Kara,” Agatha admitted. “I thought she’d be his perfect match, though I am forced to rethink that.”
“Doubts, Agatha?”
“Yes. Doubts and remorse. My plans backfired. Grace overheard Noah refusing my suggestion, and my God, I’ve never seen a girl look so devastated.” Her gaze narrowed on Ben, piercing and direct. “I feel wretched enough about it without your smart-ass mouth.”
Ben blinked several times, then burst out laughing. Agatha shoved him, nearly knocking him over the desk. Ben righted himself with an effort. “Damn, Aggie, you’ve got a regular gutter mouth on you.”
“Like you’d even notice, with the foul way you speak?”
Ben grinned. “I must have inherited it from you.”
Agatha looked ready to combust, but slowly her scowl lifted into a smile. She even chuckled. “Oh, shut up, you…miscreant.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Agatha gasped, then grabbed her chest, alarming Ben until he realized she was pretending shock at his courtesy. She blinked her eyes at him and said, “You were actually polite!”
“Har har.”
In the next instant, Agatha turned businesslike. “I’ve thought about Grace a lot since that awful incident, Ben. I hurt her and I hate myself for it. It didn’t take me that long to realize Grace might just be everything Noah wants. She’s strong like him, capable like him, good and honest like him. They’d make a fine pair.” Her hands twisted together. “But I messed that up.”
“Yeah, well, shed the hair shirt, Aggie, because unlike you, I do pay attention, and I can tell you, Noah is still hooked.”
“On Grace?”
“Oh, yeah.” Ben pretended to cast a fishing line. “Hooked, reeled in, and gutted.”
“But…what about Kara?”
Considering what he’d just learned, Ben decided Noah could maybe use a little help after all. And Agatha made a hell of an ally when she chose the right side.
Ben would help her choose wisely.
He nodded toward her desk chair, which rivaled the desk in pretentiousness; it was large enough to hold two grown men. “Park your old bones in a chair, Aggie. You’re already looking a tad pale, but I’ve got something important to tell you, and it may be a bit of a shock.”
Chapter Fifteen
Grace waited for her pounding heart to slow, for the sweat to dry on her heated skin. Tears threatened, but they were tears of happiness, of satisfaction—and melancholy.
Noah dropped onto his back beside her. “Good God, you get better every time, Grace.”
A smile was about as much as Grace could manage at the moment. She felt sensitive everywhere, her skin still tingling, her nipples throbbing.
Noah laid one hot, heavy hand over her belly. There was a new stillness about him, a strange mood that had taken hold of him almost from the moment they’d arrived in Florida two days past. He’d been alert, thoughtful, edgy. He’d been relentless in his sexual demands, pushing her hard, making her scream.
And he’d asked her to marry him.
Grace drew in a shuddering breath and squeezed her eyes shut, affected once again just by the memory. The urge to say yes had been so strong she’d nearly choked on it. But Noah’s grandmother had manipulated him enough. Grace wouldn’t let his sense of responsibility toward her force him to allow yet another manipulation. She couldn’t bear that.
Just as she couldn’t bear to lose him.
She felt pulled in half, wanting to say yes, bound by her honor and her love to say no. Their time in Florida had been wonderful—and yet tinged with a new strain that hadn’t existed before his proposal. This was their last day at the beach. Grace didn’t want it to end.
Overwhelmed by those thoughts, she turned into Noah’s side and hugged him.
His arms automatically came around her, as secure and comforting as ever. “Hey.”
Grace pressed her nose to his damp chest hair and inhaled his wonderfully masculine scent, now intensified by their vigorous lovemaking.
Normally after sex, Noah took inordinate pleasure in tending to her, bathing her and making her comfortable. Out on the rented boat, floating on swelling waves, he’d tidied her in the bright sunshine. All the while he’d complimented her body and kissed her everywhere.
On the shore at night, he’d held her hand and waded with her into the surf. Moonlight had carved his harsh features as he’d cupped his hand between her thighs, exciting her even as he’d soothed her flesh.
He made love to her everywhere in the condo, from the shower to the balcony to the bed. Even when Noah was merciless in giving her pleasure, he was tender and careful. Grace felt cherished by him.
This time Grace wanted Noah to feel cherished. “Lie still.”
She lifted one leg over his lap and crawled across him. Her breasts, still flushed and too warm, brushed his chest.
Noah groaned, then said, “I’ll give you a dollar to do that again.”
Grace laughed despite her confusing jumble of emotions. “You’re a sex maniac, Noah Harper.” She patted his hairy thigh. “And no, that’s not a complaint.”
Noah was still grinning when Grace returned with a damp washcloth. In leisurely fascination, she removed the spent condom, then took her time drifting the cool cloth over Noah’s body, his thighs, his hard abdomen. His penis and testicles. She dragged out the chore, enjoying herself. Before she was through, Noah’s legs were shifting on the bed and his hands had curled into fists. He was erect once again.
Their gazes met and caught, Noah’s bright with hunger, Grace’s dark and mellow.
“I want you to ride me, Gracie.”
Stunned, she asked, “Now?” Noah had always had a voracious appetite, but a half hour hadn’t passed since they’d both yelled out their releases.
“Yeah.” He growled and reached for her. “Right now before I die.”
Grace snagged another condom off the nightstand, amazed but more than willing, and Noah’s cell phone rang.
They both stared at the phone across the room on the dresser. Noah cursed and lifted Grace to the side. “I’m sorry, Gracie. The only one who has this number is Ben, and he wouldn’t call unless something was wrong.”
Naked, Noah padded to the phone and flipped it open. “Yeah?”
Grace came to her knees on the bed. Her heartbeat accelerated with dread. When his expression darkened, she said, “Noah?”
He held up a hand while he listened. Sexual excitement was quickly replaced with worry. His head dropped forward and he paced. “You’ve seen her?”
Her who? Grace wondered. Kara, Agatha? What had happened?
Noah glanced at Grace with a silent apology. “Yeah, we’ll be out of here in less than an hour. I’ll take the first flight I can get.” He hesitated, then asked, “Ben, will you stay with her?” He nodded. “Good. Thanks.”
Noah canceled the call and opened the dresser at the same time. “Agatha’s in the hospital. She and Ben were arguing when suddenly she went pale and dropped. Ben barely managed to catch her. She’s in ICU now.”
“Ohmigod!” Grace leapt off the bed and scrambled for clothes.
“Take it easy, Grace,” Noah told her as he stepped into his slacks. “According to Ben she’s doing fine now and is kicking up a fuss at all the attention. To quote Ben, ‘She’s pitching a bitch about looking old and frail.’”
“She would.” Grace jerked a shirt over her head, got her arms caught, and felt Noah straightening the garment out for her.
When she got her head free, she said, “Noah?”
“Yeah?” He pulled on his own shirt and then opened their luggage on the mussed bed.
“What was Ben doing with her?”
Noah glanced up. “Damn. I have no idea. I didn’t even think to ask.”
Shaking her head to clear it, Grace began loading clothes. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter right now, and I’m sure Ben can fill you in as soon as we get there.”
“Yeah.” But Noah stood still in the middle of the floor, a frown on his brow.
“Noah,” Grace said gently, seeing the stark concern in his eyes. He loved his grandmother very much, despite their recent differences. “Why don’t you call the airlines while I finish packing? I can have us ready to go in ten minutes flat.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.”
Within an hour and a half, they were on a plane headed back to Gillespe. Grace held Noah’s hand, but he was silent, his thoughts private. She could see he was hurting, and that made her hurt, too.
They went to the hospital straight from the airport—and walked into a small mob.
Kara stood between two female friends, her cheeks stained with tears. Ben was off to the side, adequately ignoring the slanted admiring looks continually cast his way. Noah squeezed Grace’s hand and walked toward them all.
“How is she?”
Kara looked up, saw Noah, and burst into fresh tears. She threw herself against him, leaving Noah little choice but to catch her. Grace was forced to move to the side, making Noah feel very alone.
Fear clawed at him, and he sought out Ben with his gaze.
“She’s fine, Noah.” Ben gave Kara a disgusted look, then rolled his eyes. “They’re running some tests right now. She evidently had heart failure, and she’s still a little weak, but she’s awake and talking—or rather complaining—and the doctor says with medicine she’ll be all right.”
