Like she sensed he was thinking about her, she turned around. “Give me ten minutes to change and I’ll be ready to go.”
“Okay…take your time.” He smiled at her. She had to know how flustered he got around her. He was like a bumbling idiot when it came to talking to Grace. She didn’t seem to notice or she was pretending not to notice. He couldn’t figure out which way it was.
She grabbed a bag and disappeared down the hall. He turned his computer off and grabbed his briefcase. It was true that the weekend was going to be filled with boring meetings, but he didn’t want that to be the only thing they did while they were away from work. He wanted Grace to enjoy at least part of her time. She deserved it. He walked over to a mirror and straightened his tie. “Just don’t do or say anything stupid,” he mumbled.
“What’d you say?” he turned around and saw Grace standing before him. His jaw dropped slightly. She was beautiful. Her hair was removed from the ponytail she normally wore in her hair and she had on a respectable dress that hung to her knees.
He brought his eyes back to hers and smiled. “It wasn’t important. You look...” every compliment he could think of went out of his head and he was loss for words, “different.” Her face flushed and she was as white as a ghost.
“Different?” she asked, clearing her throat.
“I mean since you’re not wearing scrubs you don’t look the same.” He fumbled back over his words. He cringed. It was too late to turn back. He’d already said it and she was bound to think he was a jerk. He felt he was. “Let’s get out of here. We have a long drive ahead of us.” He grabbed her suitcase and overnight bag and led the way out of the office. Five hours in the car was going to be way too long.
Chapter 2
Grace was relieved that a room was already reserved at the hotel for her. It was right down the hall from Damian’s. She still found it hard to remember to call him by his actual name, but she did her best. When they arrived at the hotel, she was escorted to her room and he was escorted to his. They had stopped on the way to Ohio to grab a bite to eat and Grace had never felt so awkward, yet so comfortable at the same time. She felt like she’d known Damian for years…not months. By the way he was communicating with her, she could tell he felt the same.
Grace stretched out in the oversized bed of her lush hotel room. It was like living a dream. She opened her eyes and Damian came to mind. If only…she thought. The phone in the room rang, interrupting her imagination. Her arm stretched out and she grabbed onto the phone receiver.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Grace?”
She sat up in bed when she heard Damian’s voice on the other end. “Did I miss something?” She glanced at the clock. “What time is the conference? I can be ready in ten minutes.” She jumped out of bed with the phone in her hand.
“No…nothing like that. It’s only 8:00 and our meetings don’t start until 11:30. I did think that maybe we could meet for breakfast. I mean if you don’t have other plans.”
Grace laughed. “I don’t have any other plans.”
“Good. I will be at your room in a half an hour. Will that work?” She looked down at her pajamas.
“Thirty minutes will be great. I’ll see you then.” She hung up the phone and hurried into the bathroom. She had a lot to do to be ready in thirty minutes. With the shower running, she grabbed some clothes and placed them into the bathroom. Her pajamas were quickly removed and she jumped into the shower. It was the fastest shower she’d ever taken.
She jumped out and quickly wiped herself dry, then glanced to the clock outside of the bathroom. She only had fifteen minutes to get dressed and do her hair. She looked at the outfit she chose and frowned. It didn’t help she was rethinking her outfit choices for the weekend. She didn’t have time for that and she couldn’t do anything about it. She dressed in the black skirt and white blouse she took for the occasion. She wanted to look like she belonged. She stared at the reflection in the mirror. Tilting her head from side to side, she surveyed her reflection.
“I guess it could be worse,” she mumbled. She grabbed the hairdryer and hastily dried her hair while running her fingers through the ringlets. Her hair wasn’t completely dry when she turned off the dryer and went to brushing her hair out. She wasn’t completely done when she heard a knock at the door. She froze in place. Not a drop of makeup had been put on. She considered not answering right away, but then he knocked again. “I’ll just have to tell him he needs to wait,” she said to her reflection. She left the bathroom and went to the hotel door.
She opened the door and was instantly greeted by his smile. “Hello,” he said.
She was taken back by his appearance. He was dressed as he always was at work, but there was something different about him. She nonchalantly took a whiff and figured out what it was. He was wearing a cologne she’d never smelled before at the office. “Hello. I…” she pointed to the bathroom, “it will be just a little longer.” She started to turn away, but he reached out and surprised her by grabbing her arm. “What?” she asked, turning her attention back to him.
“You look perfectly fine.”
She blushed with his hand still on her arm. “Dr. Weston…I mean, Damian…my hairs a mess and─”
“You look fine.” He smiled. “You look great, actually.” This time she was sure her entire body was red. “Did that embarrass you?”
She looked into his eyes. “Maybe. What do you think?”
He snickered. “I think that it is a very endearing feature and I also think that this interaction is highly unprofessional.”
She slowly took a deep breath. “Then maybe we should just head to breakfast.” She was disappointed, because she enjoyed the innocent flirting that was happening between Damian and herself. Yet, it was the truth. Even though she found herself fantasizing about him, she couldn’t do anything about it. She just never expected he would ever reciprocate her feelings.
She grabbed her purse and he held the door open for her. “I thought we could eat in the hotel restaurant. Is that alright with you?”
Her heart hadn’t stopped beating rapidly in her chest. “That sounds good.” She really didn’t care where they went to eat, as long as they continued their easy connection.
***
Damian had come close to admitting to Grace he could see her as more than just an employee. However, just as soon as he could picture himself saying the words…the subject was changed. It was for the best. He kept telling himself that. When they talked, they had so much in common. It was even better than he expected.
“What made you want to become a nurse?” he asked as he took a drink of coffee.
She smiled. “It was an easy decision. My parents died when I was only fourteen and it left my grandparents to raise me. My grandfather had cancer and he was in and out of remission for several years. My grandmother spent most of her life taking care of him. Unfortunately, he died right before I graduated high school. I saw how much love and compassion my grandmother had for him and I admired that.”
“Is your grandmother still alive?” he asked quietly.
She looked down at her coffee and shook her head. “She died two years after I started college.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. He couldn’t imagine having so much loss. “I’m sure she was very proud of you.”
A grin appeared on her lips. “I like to think so.” She took a drink, then slowly put the cup down. He had never noticed a nervous twitch she possessed, but when she got nervous she bit her lower lip. At that moment she was doing just that. “How about you? What made you want to become a doctor?” She leaned forward, revealing her cleavage a little more than he figured she wanted to. He didn’t mind. His eyes slowly danced across her breasts, before moving up.
“It wasn’t quite as expected as in your case. I grew up thinking that I wanted to be a police officer.” She laughed heartily, lighting up her facial expressions. “You find that funny?” he asked with a teasing grin.
‘�
��It just seems like such a change. You’re such a great doctor and I couldn’t imagine you being anything else.” She looked innocent and he snickered.
“Thank you for the compliment, but it’s true. I wanted to fight the bad guys.”
“When did you change your career aspirations?” she asked.
“Right before I graduated high school. I had sort of an epiphany.”
“An epiphany?” she asked. “What was it?”
He smiled. “I didn’t want to get shot and die.”
She covered her mouth and started to laugh. “Makes perfect sense!” she said between giggles. “If you don’t want to get shot, then you better become a doctor.” She laughed some more and shook her head.
He sat back and watched her. The moment was perfect to give her a compliment. “You have a beautiful laugh.” Her laugh slowly came to a halt. “I just wanted you to know.”
“Thank you,” she quietly said. “I’m personally thankful you chose to go the doctor route. After all, I wouldn’t have a job if you hadn’t.”
“I have the utmost confidence you would’ve gotten a job somewhere else, but then we might never have met. I couldn’t imagine that.”
Again, she bit her lower lip and he smiled at her reaction. “You’re smooth…so smooth.”
“As long as it doesn’t come across as corny.”
She gave him some relief by shaking her head. “It isn’t corny at all. I’m a little surprised.”
“Surprised by what?” he asked.
“Well…” she ran her spoon around her empty bowl. Confusion was set on her face. “Several compliments were thrown out there, but what does it mean?”
He never found it difficult to talk to another woman before. He didn’t know why Grace was so different. “What do you want it to mean?”
She groaned and fell back against her seat. “This whole back and forth of what do you think…no, what do you think…blah blah blah, annoys me.”
He was interested by the fact that she suddenly was so passionate about something. He leaned closer to the table and reached for her hand. She quickly pulled away from him. “Grace…give me your hand.” When she still didn’t comply, he continued, “Please.” She relaxed and finally allowed him to touch her hand. He ran his finger along hers, one by one massaging each digit. “I don’t want you to question anything. I want you to understand where I’m coming from. This weekend isn’t only about the doctor’s conference.”
He continued to move his finger along hers. “It isn’t?” she asked. Her words were barely above a whisper.
He shook his head. “I want you to enjoy the weekend and it doesn’t all have to be business. If something was to happen between us…I wouldn’t shy away from it.” He swallowed a lump that formed in his throat. “Would you?”
He waited patiently, stroking her fingers and then suddenly stopping but keeping his hand on hers. “I wouldn’t,” she said with some confidence.
He smiled at her answer. Without saying a word he leaned across the table to kiss her. “Damian?” His lips had just brushed over hers, when he heard his name.
He reluctantly pulled away from her and looked up to find, Cameron Baker. “Cameron?” He stood up and shook his friend’s hand.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.” Cameron looked between Grace and Damian and then back to Grace. He saw the way Cameron’s eyes flowed over Grace’s body and it made him feel weird about it.
Damian ignored Cameron’s statement. “Grace, this is Cameron Baker. We were in medical school together. Cameron this is Grace Murphy, my…” he considered lying and saying she was his girlfriend, but he didn’t want to shock Grace and throw her off guard. “This is Grace. She’s the nurse that works with me.”
Cameron’s face lit up. “Grace…it’s very nice to meet you. My secretary is waiting for me at the door.”
Damian turned to look where Cameron was pointing. A short redhead was standing at the door. She was cute, but didn’t have the same essence about her. “Cool,” Damian said, turning back to Cameron.
“I’d like to catch up before the weekend’s over,” Cameron said.
“That would be great.” Damian had to agree that it would be nice to talk to Cameron. He was about to continue, when he noticed Grace standing up from the booth.
“I’m going to give you two a minute while I go to the ladies’ room. Cameron it was very nice to meet you.”
“You too, Grace,” Cameron said as Grace walked away. Cameron turned around and watched Grace leave.
“That isn’t obvious,” Damian muttered.
“What was that?” Cameron asked, turning to face Damian.
Damian smiled. “Nothing. So, how’ve you been?”
“Not bad, but it appears you’re doing better than me. You’re banging your nurse? Clearly there’s more going on in your office than what goes on in mine. I don’t blame you, because she is mighty fine, but─”
“Don’t say another thing. It isn’t like that,” Damian said, despite what Cameron walked in on.
Cameron raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s a shame. You truly are missing out, my friend.” A smile crossed his face. “Do you remember Jenni?”
Damian looked past Cameron to make sure Grace was nowhere in sight. He hadn’t thought about Jenni since he graduated med school and he didn’t expect her name to be brought up that night. “Of course I remember her. Why?”
“Remember that night…or should I say, that week?”
Damian looked away from Cameron’s inquiring stare. Thoughts of Jenni and the drunken week the three of them spent in the Bahamas entered his mind. “What’s your point?” Damian asked, irritated.
“I was thinking that maybe Grace would go for something like that. What do you think?” Damian stared at Cameron. He couldn’t imagine even considering that an option. He looked up and saw Grace coming back to the table. “I’m in room 425. Think about it,” Cameron said, then walked away right before Grace reached them.
“Did you have a nice talk?” she asked.
He looked at her and smiled. “We did. Are you ready to head to the meeting?” He put some money down on the table and then linked his arm between hers. It would never happen. There was no point in considering it.
Chapter 3
Grace tried her best not to yawn, but after five hours of a meeting about policies and procedures of being a doctor and everything in between, she thought she was going to lose her mind. She covered her mouth as another yawn escaped. She took a few more notes and then leaned back in her chair.
“We thank you for coming today and if you have any other questions feel free to stay after and I will answer anything I can. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.” The crowd applauded the speaker and she joined in. She slid the pen into the wire binding of the notebook.
She turned to Damian and he smiled. “I’m sorry if that was absolutely unbearable.” He stood up and reached for her hand, pulling her to her feet.
She laughed. “It had its moments, but I survived.”
“Good. I’m glad.” He held onto her hand while they walked through the chairs to the back of the room. Before they reached the door, they saw Cameron coming toward them.
“Damian…Grace…how’d you both enjoy the meeting.”
Grace looked at Damian and Damian just shrugged. “Well…it wasn’t quite the meeting I was expecting. It had some interesting points. If you’ll excuse us…” Damian held onto her hand and pulled her through the door. It was strange considering she expected him to be excited to see his friend. Suddenly everything seemed so uptight.
“Remember what I said, Damian. The offer isn’t going anywhere.”
Damian stopped and turned to Cameron. “We’re not interested. Come on, Grace.”
He nearly yanked her arm, hurrying her out of the conference room. He didn’t stop walking until they reached the hotel elevator. “What was that about?” Grace asked.
“Nothing,” he mumbled.
She turned to him as h
e pushed the button to go up. “I don’t buy that. You seem on edge and clearly you’re bothered by something.”
The elevator opened and he stepped on. “Are you coming?” he asked, a look of disgust struck his face.
She folded her arms and stared at him. “Tell me what’s going on and I’ll get on the elevator…don’t and I won’t.”
“It isn’t any of your concern,” he said. His foot went out so he blocked the elevator from closing.
“Are you sure about that?’ she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes…why?”
“You said we’re not interested as in two people.” She hadn’t been mistaken. That’s exactly what Damian said.
His face went white. “I did?”
She nodded. “Yep, so unless you have a mouse in your pocket I’m thinking you were talking about me as the second person. I have every right to know what I’m not interested in.” She couldn’t fathom what Cameron and Damian were referring to, but she wanted to have some inkling of why Damian suddenly had a sour attitude. “Are you going to tell me?”
“It’s embarrassing,” he confessed.
Embarrassing? That intrigued her even more. “Now I know I’m not going to let you get out of telling me. Damian if we’re going to have a strong working relationship, we’re going to have to confide in the good, the bad, and the ugly. You can tell me.”
“You don’t understand.” He stared at her, but she wasn’t about to give up.
“I’d like to,” she said. “Give me a chance.” He looked down at her hand and suddenly grabbed it, pulling her through the hotel elevator door and letting the door close. He quietly pushed the button to the fifth floor. She waited and in the silence she thought she heard his heart beating. “What…”
“Not here,” he abruptly said. She watched him as he nervously stared at the elevator door. Finally they reached their floor and once again he was grabbing her hand and hurrying them out of the contraption. She wondered which room they were going to, but didn’t have to wonder for too long as they stood outside of his door. He quickly unlocked the door and they entered the room.
A Fall From Grace. Mail Order Bride Western Page 30
