The Persistent Groom (Texas Titan Romances)

by Jennifer Youngblood

  He raised his hands in defeat, shaking his head.

  “If I didn’t know better,” Natalie continued. “I’d think the two of you have something going.”

  “Oh, no,” Silver countered, “We’re just friends.”

  Ace couldn’t stop the smile from tugging at his lips. “Yep, just friends,” he agreed, eyes caressing Silver’s.

  Natalie let out a half-growl, half-shriek as she threw down her napkin. “You mark my word, Ace Sanchez. The gala committee will hear about this. I paid top dollar for you, and all I got was a big fat nothing!” She shook her head. “What a disappointment.”

  Ace stood. “You paid for a date, where the proceeds benefitted the children’s hospital. We had our date … as planned. And that’s the end of it. Natalie, it was nice meeting you. You know your way out.”

  Her jaw dropped, then fury twisted over her face as she retrieved her purse and stomped out.

  “Good riddance,” Silver muttered.

  “Yes, indeed,” Ace said, breathing a sigh of relief. “She was about to launch into her post-college era where she discovered her passion for rich, gullible men who had one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel sliding in.”

  Silver burst out laughing. “That was a good one.” She paused, growing serious.

  “What?”

  She cocked her head, bringing her finger to her chin in a thoughtful pose. “Does it feel cold in here?”

  “You’re bad,” Ace said with a grin. “Really bad.”

  She wriggled her eyebrows, an impish grin fluttering over her lips. “That’s what they tell me.”

  He made a face. “Hey, that’s my line.” He caught a certain look in her eyes that got his blood pumping faster. “So, friend,” he drawled, stepping up to her and holding out his arms. “Would you like for me to warm you up?”

  “Do you think that’s a good idea with all that we have working against us?” Even as she voiced the question, she stepped closer, lifting her eyes to his, searching his face.

  A thrill shot through him when he realized she wanted him to say yes. “Absolutely.” Her breath caught when he encircled her waist.

  “It might get complicated,” she uttered.

  “The best things in life often are.”

  Her forehead furrowed. “I don’t know what Riley and Dinah have up their sleeves, but it won’t be pretty, I assure you.”

  “The best way to face a bully is head-on. Yank back the curtain and the monster shrivels in the light. You can’t keep letting them run all over you, Silver. The fiasco Sunday night with Gracie is a perfect example. The more you let Riley get away with, the worse he’ll get. Same with Dinah. As hard as it is, you’ve got to draw a line in the sand and say enough is enough.” He braced himself, not knowing how she would react to his plain talk, but her lips drew into a firm line as she nodded.

  “I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, and you’re right.”

  “Really?”

  She chuckled. “Don’t look so surprised.”

  “I guess I’m just not used to you agreeing with me so quickly.”

  “Well, don’t get used to it,” she countered, tipping a smile.

  “Never.” He felt light enough to dance on air. He’d been dreading tonight, dreading going on the stupid date, regretting that he’d strong-armed Silver to come and watch the whole thing. The idea had seemed so clever at the time, keep her in his life, maybe make her a little jealous. But, in light of their current situation, he wanted to be straight forward, so there would be no mistaking his intentions.

  “In this case, you’re right. I can’t keep running from this.” Her eyes took on a determined glint. “I don’t want Gracie and I to spend our lives alone. I want to be with you, Ace Sanchez,” she said softly. “It’s what I’ve always wanted.” She let out a half laugh. “I figured I’d better get off the sidelines and state my intention, rather than trying to freeze out your dates.”

  He swallowed, hardly believing what he was hearing. He’d wanted to hear it for so long. He realized she was waiting for him to respond. “Yeah,” he teased, “stating your claim’s a lot less expensive than running up an enormous electric bill. It really is freezing in here.”

  She tipped her head back, then burst out laughing. “Yes, it is.”

  He took in the fathomless depth of those stunning eyes he knew so well. They were the substance of his past, his dreams, all that he could ever hope for his future. His hands went to her face as he cupped her cheeks, marveling at how delicate her features were and yet they possessed an inherent strength that seemed ageless. His eyes caught on the tempting curve of her sensuous lips, and then his gaze lingered on her slender neck. He leaned closer and planted a string of light kisses along her ivory flesh, her tremulous pulse stoking a fire in him that sent his own heartbeat racing. “I love you,” he murmured in her ear before nibbling at her earlobe. She let out a tiny moan as she turned her face to his. She melted into him as his lips came down on hers. His hands went around her neck and then up her back. He drank in her sweetness, and the soft, dainty feel of her lips. Then she slid her arms around his neck, threading her fingers through his hair. Electricity ignited through his veins as he deepened the kiss, surprised by her eager response. They met each other measure for measure, until he thought he’d go mad with desire. Finally, he pulled back, breathing hard, his mouth burning with fire. “That was amazing,” he uttered, noting the deep flush of her cheeks. He was pleased that she’d been as affected as he.

  “Yes,” she agreed, “it was.” A smile played on her lips. “Like old times.”

  “Only better.”

  “For sure.” She rested her head against his shoulder. “I wish we could stay like this. Where nothing bad could touch us.”

  He caught the tension in her voice. “Hey, look at me.”

  She straightened and looked up at him.

  The concern in her eyes cut him to the quick. “It’s gonna be okay.”

  She nodded, her mouth going tight.

  “Really,” he assured her, rubbing his hands up and down her arms, wishing there was more he could say to put her at ease.

  She gave him a courtesy smile and nodded, but he could tell she didn’t believe him. She pulled back and looked around, going into business mode. “I’d better get everything wrapped up here.” She chuckled dryly. “I’m sure the wait staff probably saw us kissing and scattered. I’m sure I’ll hear about it later.”

  He was perplexed by her sudden change in mood. The kiss had been amazing … and she wanted to be with him. When he told her he loved her, she’d not said it back, but it was implied. Maybe he shouldn’t expect too much too soon. The fact that they’d come this far in such a short period of time was miraculous. They just needed to keep moving forward. Ace knew how worried Silver was about Riley and Dinah, but felt sure they’d back off once they realized Silver wouldn’t cower to them.

  Silver would see … their bark was worse than their bite. Of that, he felt sure.

  Chapter 13

  Glorious was the only way Silver could describe the next week. She and Ace settled into a comfortable routine. He got up at the crack of dawn every morning to work out. She also got up early and did her computer work, then would wander out to the pool and talk to Ace. Around eight, Gracie usually lumbered out of bed and the three of them would eat breakfast together. Then they would strike off on some adventure. Gracie’s favorite was the day they went to the Stockyards to watch the cattle drive. The science and history museum was also fun. Silver got Marla to handle as many of the nightly events as possible. But on the one night they had two events, Ace took Gracie to Los Tios while she covered a wedding. Gracie absolutely loved Ace’s mom, Fabiana. She talked about her incessantly and was constantly asking when they were going to see her again.

  The remodel on Silver’s ceiling was moving along at a snail’s pace. She was worried for a second that Ricardo might try to charge her an hourly rate, but he assured her his original bid stood.
“You don’t worry about how long it’s taking, Miss Silver. Just enjoy spending time with Ace and your daughter.” Ricardo had said it with a secretive sparkle his eyes, making Silver wonder if Ace had put him up to taking longer. A grin stole over her lips. She wouldn’t put it past Ace to do just that. And she was enjoying her time here.

  “Mommy, look!” Gracie waved and then paddled in the water, holding onto to the pink floatation ring as she turned circles.

  “That’s great, honey.” Gracie loved swimming in Ace’s pool. For her, all of this was a wondrous, never-ending vacation. The night before, when Silver tucked her into bed, Gracie said that she never wanted to leave Ace’s house.

  “I stay here … in the princess room,” she told Silver.

  Since coming here, Silver and Gracie had slept in the same bed. Gracie, of course, loved it, but Silver was looking forward to having her own bed again. She’d briefly thought about Asking Ace if she could move into one of the other bedrooms, but didn’t want to upset Gracie. Eventually, when she and Gracie moved back home, it wasn’t going to be easy to train her to sleep in her own bed again. Silver sighed, leaning back in her chair, lifting her face to the afternoon sun. She appreciated the warm glow on her skin. It was hard to believe how drastically her life had changed in just a couple of weeks. The only dark spot in an otherwise cloudless sky was worry over what might happen with Riley and Dinah. She’d not heard a peep from Riley since the incident at her house. That was unusual and suspicious. Normally, she heard from him at least once a day, if not more.

  Strong arms slid around her.

  “Hey, beautiful,” Ace said, kissing her cheek.

  “Hey.” She loved the feel of his arms around her, loved every second of being here with him. Many evenings by unspoken agreement, after Gracie was asleep, they found themselves together in the pool. Silver cherished their alone time. Just thinking about Ace’s slow, drugging kisses caused a quiver of desire to ripple through her.

  He pressed his hands over hers, linked their fingers. “Would you like to go over to Los Tios tonight for dinner and have some tamales?”

  “That sounds great.”

  “Ace, look,” Gracie said, then repeated the same circular motion she’d shown Silver earlier.

  “You’re doing awesome,” he said enthusiastically.

  Silver’s phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number. Probably a client calling. “I’d better get it.”

  Ace released his hold and pulled up a chair and sat down beside her as she answered. “Hello?”

  “Mrs. Coulter, this is Wendy Rutherford from The Wexton Academy.”

  “Yes.”

  “We’ve been going over Gracie’s test results and there are a few areas which give us cause for concern.”

  Silver’s throat went thick. “What do you mean?” When Silver had taken Gracie for orientation, they’d put her through a series of tests. The lady who administered them assured Silver that Gracie’s slot at the academy was assured and the tests were designed to help the teachers get a feel for Gracie’s level so they’d know how to help her.

  “We need Gracie to come in for additional testing.”

  Silver scrambled to understand what was happening. “What kind of testing?” She felt Ace watching her, his dark eyes tinged with concern.

  Long pause. “Mrs. Coulter, there’s no easy way to say this, but we’re concerned that Gracie might not be a good fit for our school.”

  “What?” Silver gasped, the air leaving her lungs. “Gracie was accepted. We went to the orientation. The tests were just a formality to determine her level of proficiency.”

  “We’ll know more after additional tests are done.”

  A white-hot anger boiled through Silver. “Do you know Dinah Coulter?”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Dinah Coulter,” Silver nearly shouted into the phone. “She’s behind this, isn’t she?” Hatred burned through her veins, bringing tears to her eyes.

  “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  Ace placed a hand on her leg, giving her a questioning look. She shook her head and looked away. Dinah was a heartless snake, who had no more regard for Gracie than she would for a stranger on the street.

  “Mrs. Coulter? Are you there.”

  “I’m here,” she barked.

  “We need to set up a time for you and Gracie to come in.”

  “I’ll have to check my schedule and call you back,” Silver said, ending the call before the woman could respond.

  Her throat felt raw as she plunked her phone down on the nearby table. “I knew this would happen.”

  Ace touched her arm. “What’s wrong?”

  She couldn’t stop tears from rolling down her cheeks. “That was someone from The Wexton Academy.”

  Ace’s face drained.

  Acid burned her throat as she swallowed. “Apparently, there’s some concern over tests which Gracie took at orientation. They’re not sure if she’s a good fit.” Her voice hitched. “They want her to come in for additional testing.”

  His brows drew together. “But I thought she was already accepted.”

  The injustice of it seared over her as she clenched her jaw.

  “You think this is Dinah’s doing,” he said flatly.

  “I know it is.” She brought her hands to her forehead, leaning forward in her chair. “I knew she would do something like this,” she spat.

  Ace balled his fists. “I’ll call the school … make a sizeable donation. That should take care of it.”

  She let out a harsh laugh. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not sure money will fix this.”

  “We can at least try,” Ace countered.

  She ran both hands through her hair. “I hate that woman,” she muttered.

  Ace scooted closer and began rubbing her back. “It’ll be okay.”

  She spun around. “No it won’t,” she seethed. She knew Ace was only trying to help, but there was no quick-fix for this. She clenched her hands. “Do you know how hard I’ve worked … how long I’ve prayed to get Gracie into that school? And now it’s all slipping away. Just like that.” Suddenly, she was angry—angry at Ace for not believing her when she told him what Dinah was capable of doing and angry at herself for believing she could fall in love and build a new life.

  “Look at me,” he commanded.

  She gulped a hard laugh and shook her head.

  He caught her arm. “We’ll work this out. Don’t panic.”

  She jumped to her feet. “That’s easy for you to say when it’s not your daughter’s future on the line.” The minute the words left her mouth, she regretted them, especially when she saw the chalky expression on Ace’s face. She took in a breath, trying to control her anger. He wasn’t the enemy here. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

  He also stood, searching her face. “Look, you may hate me for saying this, but would it be the end of the world, if Gracie went to another school?”

  She jerked. “Have you not heard a word I’ve been saying about The Wexton Academy? Gracie has had her name on the waiting list since birth.” The words fell between them like heavy stones, building a wall they couldn’t cross.

  “Gracie’s a smart girl,” he argued. “I know you think The Wexton Academy will be some magical solution for Gracie, but the greatest thing Gracie has going for her is the fact that you’re her mother. Regardless of where she attends school, Gracie’s going to be just fine.”

  She glared at him. “You don’t understand.”

  “I understand that you’re upset,” he said evenly. “And that you need time to process this. You need to know that I’ll stand by you one hundred percent. We’ll fight this together. I don’t care what it costs—I’ll hire the best tutors to teach Gracie if we can’t get the school worked out.”

  Her head shot up as she searched his face. “You’d do that for me?”

  He squared his jaw. “Absolutely. We’ll field whatever attacks Riley and Dinah throw at us. But we have to stick tog
ether.”

  She felt a little better. She didn’t want Ace shelling out money for Gracie’s education, but even if she had to borrow money from him for tutors, she could pay it back. At least it was an option that could keep her out of Dinah’s clutches.

  Ace’s phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket. “It’s my mom. She’s probably wondering if we’re coming to the restaurant tonight. Is it still okay with you if we go over there?”

  “Sure.” It would be nice to have a diversion and tamales sounded delicious.

  “Hey, there,” Ace said. A minute later, his jaw went slack. “What?” he exploded, his hand going to his forehead. “When?”

  Silver’s heart lurched as she watched the worry steamroll over his handsome face.

  Ace clutched the phone, his knuckles going white. “That’s absurd … I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He ended the call, cursing under his breath.

  “What happened?”

  “That was my dad. They just got served papers, telling them they’re being sued.” His eyes popped like he could hardly believe what he was saying.

  Silver clutched her neck. “What happened?”

  “A lady is claiming she ingested a shard of metal when she ate at the restaurant. She was hospitalized and nearly died.”

  Silver’s knees went weak as she caught hold of the back of the lounge chair to steady herself. “How is that even possible?”

  “We sharpen the knives, but we do it in a separate area and clean them thoroughly.” He shook his head, a dazed look coming over him. “I need to go over and check on them. My dad didn’t sound good. He said my mom’s beside herself.”

  “Do you know the person who’s suing?”

  “A lady named Lily Clark.”

  A horrific thought went through Silver’s mind, and she hardly dared voice it. But she had to. “You don’t think Dinah had something to do with this, do you?” Hot prickles ran over her, then she went ice cold.

  Ace rocked back and she caught the flicker of fear in his eyes that quickly turned to anger. “I don’t know,” he admitted.