The Rhythm of My Heart

by Velvet Reed

  “Wow. She certainly got the whore part right.” Tiffany chuckles. What the hell!

  Grace abruptly gets up and knocks the table, spilling Cole’s beer everywhere. She stares straight in Tiffany’s face and scathingly says, “That’s my best friend, you stupid bitch. Don’t ever speak about her like that again!” She then turns her furious eyes on me. “And I thought you were a nice guy, Sam. Too bad you just proved what an asshole you can be.”

  As Grace stalks toward Ashley at the bar, Cole stands as well. He doesn’t say anything, but just stares at me with a penetrating gaze as though he’s trying to read my mind; then, he too turns and heads for the girls.

  “Obviously, I’m the only one who agrees with you about that girl. She’s just asking for trouble, acting like that and wearing those clothes,” Tiffany remarks.

  My head snaps up and I pierce her with menacing eyes. “You have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about, Tiffany, so just close your mouth.”

  She sits there shocked and I watch as her eyes glaze over. “I said exactly what you said, Sam; now you have a go at me. Well, screw that and screw you. Don’t bother speaking to me again, got it?” she snaps, and then grabs her bag and leaves.

  I’m sitting at the table alone and feeling like a complete asshole with a tornado of feelings and emotions wreaking havoc in me. Why does Ashley get to me so much? She’s just another chick.

  When I turn to try to find Cole and the girls at the bar, they aren’t there. Great... I ruined everyone’s night… Just fucking perfect. I grab my beer and down it in one gulp.

  Alone… Story of my fucking life.

  Chapter 17

  Grace….

  After two months with Cole, things couldn’t be better. Apart from the incident at the hospital with the blonde bitch and my resulting anger and frustration at Cole, which I got over quickly, everything has been great. We spend as much time as we can together and Cole is always caring and attentive.

  Tonight, however, I’m a nervous mess as I get dressed to go have dinner and meet Cole’s family for the first time. As I’m putting on my earrings and doing one last check in the mirror, Cole comes into his bedroom and stands behind me. “You look beautiful, Gracie,” he tells me, and places a kiss on top of my head.

  “I’m so nervous,” I confess.

  He caresses my bare shoulders with his thumbs. “They’re going to love you. Trust me, my parents are great and completely normal, don’t be nervous.”

  “Easy for you to say, you met my dad before we started seeing each other. You got it easy.”

  He starts nibbling on my neck and kissing a path across my shoulder. “Do you need me to help you relax? Because… I can certainly think of a few things that might calm your nerves.”

  Leaning my head to the side, I relish the feelings he’s evoking. “Mmmm, I’d loved to but we don’t have time. I don’t want to make a bad first impression by being late,” I somehow manage to say.

  “I could be quick,” he chuckles.

  “Babe, you’re never quick. It’ll have to wait till later.”

  With one last kiss on my shoulder, he moves away and I feel the loss immediately. He reaches for my hand and starts pulling me to the door. “The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave.”

  As we head for his Jeep and my first official meet the parents dinner, I can’t help the huge smile that overtakes my face at his statement.

  The Tierneys’ home is breathtaking. The huge, white, two-story house has a balcony and porch, complete with porch swing, that span the entire width of the façade. The circular driveway is lined with beautifully manicured gardens; they’re still in full bloom even though the summer heat has descended on them. I’m taking in the grandeur and beauty of it all and don’t realize that Cole has parked the car and is now waiting at my open door. “You ready?” he asks. I nod my head and take his hand as I exit the car. Cole hands me the bouquet of flowers I had Ashley make for his mom, while he carries the wine and leads me to the front door.

  Just as we reach the top step, the door flies open and a beautiful woman with Cole’s bright blue eyes and dark hair steps out with a huge smile. “Bunny Boy.” She laughs and pulls Cole in for a hug.

  “Dammit, April, stop calling me that. You know I hate it,” Cole chastises but returns the hug. The affection between them is obvious and reminds me of Charlie and myself.

  April pulls back. “You will never live that nickname down; once Grace hears all about snuggle bunny, she’ll be running for the hills.” She continues laughing.

  “You’ll keep that story to yourself, little sister.”

  “Not likely.” She turns her laughing eyes to me. “It’s so great to finally meet you, Grace. Cole hasn’t shut up about you, so we’ve been so excited about tonight,” she says, pulling me in for a hug.

  “Well, I hope I live up to your expectations and I definitely want to hear all about snuggle bunny,” I snicker.

  April laughs again and Cole grimaces. “Not gonna happen, Gracie.”

  “We’ll see. Now come on, Mom’s dying to meet you.” April grabs my arm and practically drags me into the house. I glance over my shoulder at Cole who is shaking his head with a huge smile on his face.

  The inside of the house is just as beautiful as the outside but in no way pretentious. It’s warm and inviting, and I instantly feel relaxed. There is an abundance of photographs on the walls and the furniture exudes elegance as well as comfort. When we enter the kitchen, my sight is drawn to the older woman in an apron with perfectly styled, dark hair, going about making dinner. “Mom, they’re here,” April announces.

  When Mrs. Tierney turns around, I can see exactly where Cole and April get their good looks. She’s a beautiful woman. Wiping her hands on a dishtowel, she places it on the counter and comes toward me with her arms open.

  “I’m so happy you’re here, Grace. I’ve been pestering my son for weeks about getting to meet the woman he’s always talking about. Welcome to our home,” she says, and wraps me in her embrace.

  “Thank you for having me, Mrs. Tierney. It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.”

  “None of that Mrs. Tierney business, you can call me Olivia, okay?” she says, and lets go of me.

  Still holding the flowers that have been slightly squished with all the hugging, I hand them to Olivia. “These are for you.”

  “Oh, my goodness. They’re gorgeous. That’s so sweet of you; thank you, Grace,” she gushes.

  “You do realize I’m here too, right?” Cole asks beside us.

  His mother smiles and turns to her son. “Well, of course I do, my handsome boy. Give your mom a hug.” Cole wraps his mom in his arms chuckling as he does.

  There’s a lot of love in this family; the pride and joy in Olivia’s eyes, when looking at her children, sends a sudden pang of longing straight to my heart. I wish I had that.

  “Right, April can you put these in a vase? Cole, can you please organize some drinks? And I’ll finish up here. Your father is running late and Sam should be here any minute.” Olivia instructs.

  “Can I do something to help?”

  “Not at all, Grace. You’re our guest. You take a seat at the island and tell me how my son has been the perfect gentleman that I raised him to be.” She winks at me. I see Cole roll his eyes, as he goes about grabbing wine glasses and pouring drinks.

  We haven’t been chatting long when Sam walks into the kitchen. “Hi, everyone,” he greets, and heads for Olivia, kissing her on the cheek. He repeats the action with April, and then shakes Cole’s hand and nods at me. Things were a little strained between Cole and Sam after the night at Pitch and Tone, but they’ve gotten over it. I, however, still can’t believe the way he treated Ashley.

  Olivia asks how they all are going at work and they start discussing an award dinner for Cole’s dad. “What award is your dad receiving?” I ask Cole.

  “It’s for his dedication to cancer research and treatment. Dad has been at the hospital for twenty-five y
ears; fifteen of those as head of the department. The dinner is also a fundraising event for the research division.”

  I’m impressed and in awe of Cole’s father and his commitment to the hospital and the cancer unit. I briefly wonder if he treated my mom, though the chances of that are slim. “That’s wonderful. You all must be so proud of him.”

  “We certainly are, Grace.” Olivia responds with love and pride in her tone.

  “It’s in August and I haven’t had a chance to ask you yet, but I was hoping you would come with me.”

  “Absolutely, I’d love to come,” I beam.

  With that, we hear the front door open and a deep male voice that I presume is Mr. Tierney’s echo through the house. “I’m home. Sorry I’m late and I bought an extra guest with me.”

  I chance a glance at Cole and he gives a slight shrug and small smile. Then his eyes narrow as his gaze goes over my shoulder.

  “Good evening, everyone.”

  “Shit,” Cole mutters under his breath.

  I turn in time to see long blonde hair and a fake-ass smile enter the room. When Miranda’s gaze meets mine, her eyes subtly widen and her smile becomes somewhat devious. What the hell is she doing here?

  “Olivia. April. How lovely to see you. It’s been such a long time.”

  “Not long enough,” April mumbles, in a barely audible voice.

  “Hello, Miranda.” Olivia greets her, and then sends a scathing look at her husband, while Miranda turns to Cole and Sam.

  “It’s so good to catch up outside hospital, don’t you think? We haven’t done that in a while.”

  “Why are you here, Miranda?” Cole snaps.

  “I invited her, Cole,” his father interrupts. “So you’ll be polite to our guest.”

  While Cole and April look like their mother, the resemblance to his father is strong as well. It’s there in the chiseled jaw line, the strong shoulders, the tall, slim, build and the air of confidence they carry. The Tierney family has exceptional genes in the looks department.

  Taking his wife in his arms with a look that says she means everything to him, Mr. Tierney kisses her sweetly. He then kisses April and man hugs both Cole and Sam. Mr. Tierney turns to me, hand extended. “Now, you must be Grace. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  I reach out and shake his hand somewhat awkwardly. “Nice to meet you too, Dr. Tierney. Thank you for having me in your home.”

  “Please call me John,” he smiles.

  “John,” I repeat.

  A strange silence descends over the room. My eyes are flitting around at all the faces with their emotions on display; Cole looks annoyed, as do Sam and April. John seems oblivious to the tension. Olivia is glaring at her husband, and Miranda, the bitch that she is, has a huge, smug grin on her face.

  “It’s been quite a while since I’ve attended a Tierney family dinner,” she announces while looking directly at me. What the hell does that mean?

  Ignoring Miranda, Olivia starts giving out directions. “April please set another place for Miranda; the rest of you can go take a seat.” Just as she’s about to walk away, Olivia turns. “John… You can help bring the food to the table.” I think Dr. Tierney is about to find himself in a big pile of trouble.

  Ushering me into the dining room, Cole pulls out my chair and places a kiss on my head, and then takes the seat beside me. Sam sits across from Cole while Miranda stands waiting behind her seat. “Well… Did you boys forget your manners?” she purrs.

  “Nope. We’re good.” Sam snidely replies, and I hold back a chuckle as Miranda huffs and pulls out her own chair across from me. Olivia and John enter the dining room followed by April, and they set all the dishes on the table. I haven’t known Olivia Tierney long but I can tell she isn’t impressed by the unexpected dinner guest.

  The food looks amazing and the aroma has my mouth watering in anticipation. “It smells incredible, Mom,” Cole praises.

  “Thank you, darling.”

  The dishes start being passed around the table with soft mutterings from everyone and then John speaks, “So Grace, what do you do for a living, again?”

  Spooning some green beans on to my plate, I reply, “I’m the office manager for my father’s auto repair shop and my best friend’s florist shop.”

  “Cole said that you also care for your niece a few days a week,” Olivia puts in.

  I nod. “Yes, that’s right. I watch Ruby two days a week and work at the garage three days.” Cole places his hand on my knee and squeezes it under the table. When I glance at him, he smiles in reassurance.

  “So you don’t have a full-time job?” Miranda snottily asks.

  I lift my eyes from my plate and stare at her for a second. “Between both businesses, yes, I do work full-time.”

  “But it’s not a real job,” she retorts.

  “Jesus. Here we go.” I hear from Sam’s direction.

  “How is it not a real job?” I enquire. The table is fairly quiet.

  “Well, I mean it’s not like it would be hard to manage a little repair shop. I’m sure if you went to college, you’d be able to improve yourself a bit and find a career with meaning.”

  “Miranda,” April snaps.

  My mouth drops open in utter disbelief. I take a breath and try to calm my rising anger.

  “Grace actually went to Berkley with a full scholarship, Dad. She majored in finance. From what her father tells me, since Grace took over the garage’s management, the place is almost tripled its profitability and is booked out weeks in advance,” Cole states, while looking at me with an emotion in the depths of his eyes that I can’t quite name.

  “Well, that’s impressive, Grace. Berkley is a damn fine school. Did you not want to pursue a career in the finance sector?” John enquires.

  “My family needed me after I graduated so that was the path I followed.”

  “What a waste.” Miranda shakes head disdainfully. “Someone who actually had some goals and wanted that scholarship could have put it to good use, instead of you flippantly disregarding it.”

  My cutlery drops to my plate with a deafening clang. “Let me fill you in on a few facts, princess,” I spit. Sam and April chuckle across the table. With piercing eyes glaring at Miranda, I continue. “Yes, I received a full scholarship to Berkley. I also graduated magna cum laude and received countless job offers from some of the biggest firms in New York. I turned them all down because my family needed me. It was my choice because if the people I loved weren’t happy and were experiencing the greatest challenges of their lives, then fancy titles and tons of money would mean absolutely nothing. Again, it was my choice. My. Choice. It doesn’t affect you in any way; so keep your snotty damn opinions to yourself.”

  There’s complete silence at the table. I don’t think anyone is actually even breathing. I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and when I open them again, everyone is staring at me. I’ve made an utter fool of myself and I’m completely ashamed of my behavior. I’ve probably embarrassed Cole as well. I can’t look at him. I can’t look at anyone.

  Placing my napkin on the table, I push my chair back and stand, still refusing to make eye contact with anyone. “I’m terribly sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Tierney. I sincerely apologize for my outburst. It was truly a pleasure to meet you… I… I’m sorry.” I leave the table. Opening the front door and step outside taking an unsteady gulp of fresh air. I’m shaking. I certainly won’t be going anywhere right now in this state, so I sit on the front step and try to calm myself.

  Who the hell does that woman thinks she is? Someone needs to take out the stick that’s been shoved up her ass, and beat her around the head to knock some sense into her.

  Bothering me the most is her comment about it being a long time since she’s been to a Tierney family dinner. I want to know how she fits in with Cole’s family; not that it matters though, I doubt that I’ll ever be welcome back in their home again. Oh, God, please don’t hate me, Cole.

  Chapter 18

  Cole….
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  No one’s moved an inch, no one except Gracie, who has walked away. I can’t believe Miranda acted like that… No, actually, I can. Once a bitch, always a bitch as the saying goes. The front door closing jolts me out of my dumbfounded stupor and I send Miranda a hard glare, “Who the hell do you think you are?”

  “Oh, please. Don’t tell me you believe that rubbish, Cole.”

  Sam stands up and throws his napkin down. “Excuse me; I’m done,” he declares and leaves the room.

  “Of course I believe her. Gracie is selfless, unlike you who is just plain selfish. You need to leave, Miranda,” I state.

  “Your father invited me to dinner Cole, not you,” she says, with her smug smirk.

  Raising my eyebrows, I look from my dad to my mom.

  “You may be the daughter of my dear friend, Miranda, but you will not be disrespectful to anyone in my home. Like Cole said, you need to leave,” Mom firmly backs me up.

  With an indignant huff, Miranda stands. “Thank you for the invitation, John. I’ll see you at work. Olivia. April.” And she leaves with a haughty strut.

  Mom turns to me with raised brows. “Are you just going to just sit there? Or are you going to go after that girl and bring her back to my dinner table?”

  I abruptly get to my feet and head to the front door, just as I hear my mom say, “John Matthew Tierney, if you ever invite that woman into my house again, you find yourself sleeping on the couch indefinitely. Understood?” April’s chuckle reaches me as I step outside.

  Sam is sitting beside Grace on the steps and I can see her shoulders are hunched and her head is hanging low. “She’s a nasty bitch, Grace. Look at the way she just pranced out of here. At least she had the sense to keep her mouth shut as she left. Just don’t let her get to you,” Sam tells her.

  “It doesn’t matter, Sam. I’ve just humiliated myself in front of Cole’s parents. Great first impression I made, huh. Cole is probably mortified by my behavior.”

  I move toward her. “I couldn’t be prouder of you for sticking up for yourself. She had no right to say those things to you, Gracie.”