“How the hell am I supposed to approach her now, Pepper? Niall’s the nice one. He’s the one who knows what to say. I just smile and talking becomes unnecessary.”
“Max, you’re nice too, you just don’t want to admit it,” Pepper said. “You’re going to have to be patient. And you’re probably going to have to put in some work. Depending on the amount of television she watches, the number of magazines she reads, and the types of Internet sites she goes to, she’ll only know what she’s seen in the media, so she’s going to be a little suspect about you, especially if she’s not of age. Con thinks it’ll be easier if you wait until her birthday. I personally think it’ll be hard regardless of her age. I was twenty-five and felt drawn to Connall, but not knowing exactly who and what he was, I couldn’t fathom what that meant. I just thought I was attracted to him.”
Max shook his head. “Yeah, well, the problem is that I can’t wait. Not now that I know who she is.”
“Okay, then this is my suggestion.”
Max listened and took mental notes as Pepper filled him in on what she thought he should do. He felt as though he was going to have to climb a bloody high mountain to get to Grace, but he was coming to terms with the fact that he didn’t really have a choice.
* * *
Sunday morning, Max’s driver, Bruce, pulled into the crowded parking lot of the address he’d been given by Broc.
“This can’t be right,” Max said.
Loving Faith Church was in the middle of a strip mall in a rundown part of the city. The building used to house a discount department store, but it was now home to what Americans called a “mega church.”
“This is a church?”
“Aye,” Niall said.
Max stared up at the sign as Bruce parked the car. Once the car stopped, Max climbed out and Niall followed.
“Fuck me, it’s ugly.”
“I’d keep that opinion to yourself, Max.” Niall clapped his brother on the shoulder. “This is a house of worship.”
“It doesn’t look like any church I’ve seen.”
“According to Payton, the church is made up of the people in it, not the building.”
“Maybe.” Max started toward the entrance. “However, I’m still half expecting to be smoted.”
Niall laughed and led Max through the automatic sliding doors where a large man, tattooed and tan, held out his hand. “Welcome.”
Niall shook his hand and took the pamphlet he held out. Max did the same and they headed into the large building. They were pleasantly surprised that the building wasn’t much warmer than outside, which meant they’d be able to stay without harm. Unable to survive in temperatures over sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit, the Cauld Ane were limited on where they could travel.
As they walked through a makeshift doorway, cordoned off by large black velvet drapes, they entered a massive room with hundreds of plastic chairs, a large stage at the front of the room, and sound booth at the back. The stage was dark, and Max was a little taken aback to hear an electric guitar echo through the room. When a woman’s voice sounded, he moved so he could get a better look as the lights came up, and was riveted to the floor. It was Grace. She commanded the stage and sung like an angel. He found himself irritated when another voice came into the mix—perfect harmony, but overshadowing Grace.
“Let’s sit down,” Niall whispered.
Max nodded and followed his brother to the back row, sitting on the aisle so he could still see Grace. He spent the next twenty minutes enraptured by her.
Max suffered through the service, and was pleasantly surprised that the whole thing didn’t kill him, but he wanted out as soon as possible. “Let’s find Grace and get out of here.”
Niall held up a card from the bulletin they’d received on their way in. “There are two more services.”
“What?”
“There are apparently four services on Sundays and two on Saturdays. We’re at the second one, so there’s still two more to go.”
“She sings at six services in a weekend?” Max asked in surprise.
Niall shrugged. “I assume so.”
Max’s mouth dropped open. “That’s almost a concert schedule.”
“Aye, it is.”
“Excuse me,” a quiet voice interrupted their conversation.
Max looked up to see a group of young women staring at him.
“Are you Max and Niall from Fallen Crown?” a petite blonde asked.
“Aye,” Max said, surprised that anyone in a church would know who they were.
She held out her church bulletin. “Will you please sign this?”
GRACE GRABBED A bottled water and flopped onto one of the greenroom couches. There were two large-screen televisions in the room, and one of them had the football game on. She shook her head. She just couldn’t seem to escape during football season. Even the pastor updated the congregation with relevant scoring during his sermon.
“Grace,” Kristen called from the doorway.
Grace smiled up at her friend. “Hey. Where’d you go? I thought we could work on that harmony. I still don’t feel like I’m nailing it.”
“No time.” Kristen waved her hand. “You need to come with me.”
“Everything all right?”
“Yep. Just come with me.”
“Okay.” Grace rose to her feet. “What’s going on?”
“You’ll see.” Kristen grabbed her arm and tugged her down the hallway.
When she pulled her toward the security office, Grace hung back. “Why are we going to security?”
“Have a look.”
Grace stepped over the threshold and froze. This time, it was she who grabbed Kristen’s arm and held on for dear life.
What are Niall and Maximilian MacMillan doing here...with Trey?
She raised an eyebrow toward her ex-boyfriend. He was still gorgeous. Carl Allan Walters III was given the nickname “Trey” when he was born, and he was tall, light, and handsome. His father was an American business mogul and his mother was a Swedish model, blonde and fair-skinned, which, in turn, made Trey illegally good-looking and rich. His skin was the color of ivory and he had blond hair and the most piercing hazel eyes she’d ever seen.
“Grace,” Josh, the head of security, said with a grin, interrupting her perusal of Trey. “I understand you know these two.”
“Um...not really.”
Trey scowled, his protective nature on overdrive, and Max raised an eyebrow at her. Josh frowned at the brothers and Grace noticed a couple of the other security guards move in.
“I mean,” she added quickly, “I’ve met them. Sorry. We just don’t know each other well.” She turned to Max. “What are you doing here?”
“We just thought we’d check out your church,” Max said.
“We had to bring them back here,” Josh explained. “There was a little bit of a mob situation outside.”
“We’re sorry about that,” Niall said. “We didn’t expect anyone to recognize us.”
“We only wanted to say hi to Grace,” Max added. “We honestly weren’t expecting anyone in church to know who we are.”
Trey frowned. He was on the security team and usually assigned to Josh. “Do you really know them, Grace?” he asked.
“Um, yes. Sort of,” she said.
“Well, I have to meet with someone. Why don’t you take them to the greenroom, Grace?” Josh offered. “Might be a good idea not to go out the front.”
Grace stalled. She didn’t really want to take the brothers to the greenroom. She didn’t know why they were there and was highly irritated at her body and its reaction to Max. She was dying to kiss the man, and that just didn’t make any sense to her.
“Grace,” Josh said, “I can have them escorted out of the building, if you’d rather.”
She made the mistake of glancing at Max. He had a look on his face that indicated he’d object to anyone who tried to “escort” them out.
“No, Josh. It’s fine. I’ll take them back.
” Grace forced a smile and focused on Max and Niall. “Follow me.”
Grace led the brothers out of the office. She was still gripping onto Kristen.
“You’re leaving a mark, babe,” Kristen whispered.
Grace dropped her arm. “Oh! Sorry.”
Kristen giggled and walked ahead of her, and Grace faced Max and Niall. Josh’s office was now closed, but she noticed Trey standing outside the door and watching her intently. He must have switched duties with one of the other guards.
Grace crossed her arms and tried to shore up her courage. “What are you doing here?” she asked Max.
“Like I said, we’re here to check out your church,” Max said.
It wasn’t her church, but Max didn’t need to know that.
“If that’s the case, you didn’t really need to find me, did you?”
She noticed Niall had moved away from them to give them some privacy.
Max laid his hands on her arms, causing a shiver to course through her body. “You want me. You can’t wait to get to know me.”
“What? What are you talking about? No I don’t.” Grace snorted and shoved him away. “Please don’t touch me. It makes me nervous.”
At least it should. His touch actually calmed her, which made absolutely no sense to her whatsoever.
“Hey!” Trey snapped and walked toward them.
Grace held up her hand and shook her head toward her ex. “It’s okay, Trey.”
Trey stepped back, but she could tell he wasn’t happy about it. Grace saw Niall’s mouth gape open and Max stood and stared at her in disbelief.
“I’m sorry. You should probably go.” Grace put a little more distance between her and Max. “I have to get back up on stage in ten minutes. I’m sure you’re looking forward to getting on with your tour. I hope it goes well.”
She turned to walk away, but Max gently grabbed her arm. “Wait.”
She glared down at his hand and he released her, a dumbfounded expression back on his face. “I thought we could perhaps have that dinner we talked about.”
Grace shook her head. “That’s very kind of you, but no thank you.”
“You don’t want to spend time with me?” he asked, obviously shocked.
If Grace were brutally honest, she would have said she wanted to run away with him, but she refused to admit that out loud. She must stick to her guns, even if she couldn’t understand why she suddenly felt sad that she might never see him again. Her mother had always taught her about boundaries, and Grace had a feeling she needed to be firm in those lines with him staring down at her, all sexy and...well, sexy.
Plus, her ex was watching the entire exchange and that made her feel weird.
She shook her head. “I have no idea. I know nothing about you, other than what’s on the Internet or in magazines, and although I try not to believe everything I read, if even one percent of those stories is true, then, no, I’d really rather not spend time with you. Not in the way you’re implying, anyway.”
Niall burst out laughing. “Well, that’s not going at all how you planned, eh, brother?” he managed to gasp out.
Max scowled at him.
Grace’s heart was in her throat. She’d never spoken to anyone so bluntly before and she also felt like she was the butt of their private joke. “I’m sorry if that’s harsh. I really don’t mean to be rude.”
“One date. Dinner,” Max pressed.
“I don’t date men I don’t know, Max.” She was drawn to his face and the fact that he looked barely in his mid-twenties. His skin was almost as smooth as hers, and his blue eyes sparkled with a clarity that made him even better looking than she’d originally thought.
“We won’t call it a date. We’ll be friends.” Max smiled down at her, his eyes boring into her soul. “Dinner as friends?”
She shook her head. Niall pushed open the door and stepped outside, still laughing.
Max frowned, again looking perplexed. “You don’t want to be friends with me?”
“It’s not that. I just don’t see how it would work.” She bit her lip. “You don’t live here. You live thousands of miles away. I can’t imagine how we could form a friendship without ever seeing each other.”
“Grace!” Kristen called. “Countdown’s on. Just over four minutes. I’ve got your pack.”
“I really do have to go. I’m sorry. Have a safe trip to wherever, okay?” Grace rushed to catch up with Kristen, shoving her in-ear monitors in as she walked, and taking the pack Kristen held out to her. Once she was wired up, she dropped the mic pack in the back pocket of her jeans and took a few deep breaths.
“How the hell do you know the lead singer of Fallen Crown, Grace?” Kristen whispered. “And why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know I knew him, Nik. Honest. It’s a really weird story. I’ll tell you after, okay?”
“Grace,” Trey called as he followed her behind the stage. He caught up to her and grabbed her shoulder. “Hey. What was that back there?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. We met the band while we were in Scotland.”
“Is that guy the reason you broke up with me?”
“No,” she said emphatically. “I don’t even know him...not really, anyway. Like I said, we met him backstage at a concert they were doing. You know how much Spence and Maggie love Fallen Crown.”
“Grace,” Kristen hissed. “Thirty seconds.”
“Gotta go,” she said and adjusted the volume on her pack. “We’ll talk later.”
“We sure will,” Trey said and Grace rushed up the stairs and onto the stage.
* * *
Once the last service was over, Grace packed up her purse and hugged Kristen. “Awesome job as usual this weekend.”
Kristen grinned. “Back atya. Are you sure you don’t want to come out with us?”
“Thanks, but no. I’m exhausted. I want to go home, take a hot bath, and curl up with a good book. Charlotte’s going to Skype me later and fill me in on the wondrous world of Disneyland. Plus, I’m back on the job hunt tomorrow. First interview in a month, and it’s just after lunch.”
Kristen wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, that’s the worst.”
“I know.” Grace sighed. “Good luck tomorrow.”
“Thanks,” Grace said, and grabbed her keys, pushing open the security doors at the back. She stalled when she saw a black Mercedes parked at the curb and Max leaning up against it with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. She suddenly felt the desire to squeeze her thighs together.
Max pushed away from the car with a grin and started towards her. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Grace tried to calm her excitement. “I thought you left.”
He shook his head. “I wanted to try just one more time. If dinner’s too much, how about coffee? Now, maybe?”
She was dumbfounded. He handed her the flowers...sunflowers...her favorite, and then slid his hands into his pockets. Grace didn’t quite know what to do. He was adorable, his little boy smile making him appear sweet and vulnerable, even if his being here bordered a bit on the stalking side.
She bit her lip. “I don’t know.”
“Just a coffee. Nothing more. If you never want to see me again, you never have to see me again.” Max reached out and took her hand gently. Grace’s fear and confusion disappeared, replaced with complete trust and affection. She took a deep breath, praying for wisdom.
“No pressure. Honestly,” he stressed. “I can bring you back to your car afterwards, if you like.”
Grace had never been a “serial dater,” but she couldn’t seem to stop herself from wanting to get lost in the sea of his glorious blue eyes. Besides, she was tired, and coffee would help her wake up, right? She nodded. “Okay. Coffee.”
“Now?” he asked hopefully.
She giggled. “Okay, now. But I’d rather drive. I’ll follow you.”
“How about I follow you? Where’s your favorite place?”
“There’s a sweet little place in Felida.” She checked her wa
tch. “I don’t think it’ll be crowded at the moment.”
“Perfect.”
She smiled. “Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.”
He grinned. “Not nearly as beautiful as you.”
Heavy footsteps distracted her and she turned to see Trey storming toward them. “What the hell, Grace?”
Max stepped in front of her, a protective gesture Grace wasn’t quite prepared for.
“Max. It’s okay.” She laid her hand on his back and the second she touched him, her heart calmed again. She dropped her hand, unsettled by her sudden need to never be without him. “Give me a second, okay?”
Max narrowed his eyes, but gave a quick nod and stepped away.
She closed the distance between herself and her ex. “What are you doing here, Trey?”
Trey crossed his arms. “I want to know why the hell you’re all of a sudden dating this guy you ‘don’t know.’”
“I’m not dating him. We’re just friends. But even if we were more, it’s none of your business. You and I broke up. I know that hurts, but it was the right decision and I need you to respect that.”
He shook his head and scowled at her. “What if I don’t agree?”
“Trey. It doesn’t matter. We’re not right together. Even you’d think so if you took the time to evaluate our past, admit it.”
“No. I love you,” he argued. “I know I wasn’t as attentive as I should have been, and kind of cheated on you, but I want to try again.”
Grace tried not to snort in derision. “Um, yeah, the cheating’s a deal breaker, bud. I won’t go back to that again. We didn’t work for a reason.”
“Wait, Grace.” Trey grabbed her arm and before she knew what was happening, he was up against the building with Max’s hand wrapped around his throat.
“No! Max, stop!” She dropped the flowers and grabbed for Max’s arm. He was so strong, she couldn’t get him to budge. “Please, let him go.”
Max ignored her and sneered at Trey. “You ever touch her again, I will kill you. Do you understand?”
Bound by Song (Cauld Ane Series, #4) Page 4
