Grady stood, a muscle working in his jaw. “I paid twenty thousand dollars in tuition for Savannah to attend kindergarten at her mother’s alma mater. She has attended school regularly and done the work. She will graduate with her peers and be promoted to first grade, along with everyone else in her class.”
Principal Jordan stared at Grady. “Very well. Savannah will be promoted—with reservation—and can attend her graduation on Thursday, along with all her peers. But I must warn you, Mr. McCabe. Should her problems with Lisa Marie Peterson and some of the other little girls continue next autumn, we will revisit this issue. And if necessary, move Savannah back to kindergarten then.”
So that’s what was going on here, Alexis thought angrily. Kit Peterson was behind this! She’d had a feeling ever since Kit showed up at the house on Friday that she had something up her sleeve.
Grady took a moment to absorb the thinly veiled threat, then stated in a low, implacable tone, “It won’t be an issue when the new school term starts.”
Alexis believed him. She just didn’t know what his next move was going to be.
She followed Grady out the door, and together they left the school and headed across the parking lot toward his SUV. Grady opened the passenger door for her. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper in there,” he said, starting the engine a moment later.
Alexis fastened her safety belt. “You had every right to be disgusted. I certainly was.”
Grady looked at her. “Well, now we know why they brought cupcakes for Savannah Friday evening.”
“And were giggling and making fun of her that way.”
Stopping at a traffic light, Grady turned to Alexis. “Why would they want Savannah out so badly?”
Noting he was hurting for his daughter, as much as Alexis was, she tried to explain. “She’s very pretty and smart. Maybe too nice to be in a cutthroat environment like that. Unless…”
“What?”
She had to say it. “You want her turning into a mean girl, too.”
“Hell, no.” Grady’s jaw set as he drove on.
“Well, then, it looks like you’re going to have to do something about it. Either take on Kit and her daughter’s entourage and make them all behave, or move Savannah out of there and put her in another school.”
They reached his driveway, where Alexis had left her car. “Do you have time to come inside for a moment?” he asked, his expression pensive.
Alexis glanced at her watch. Her first appointment with a new client was not for another hour and twenty minutes. “Sure.”
“I’m going to have to find another private school for Savannah,” he said, leading the way into his study and switching on his computer. “I was hoping you’d help me look for a good match. On the clock, of course.”
His mention of money sent her spirits into a nosedive. Alexis had to work to keep from showing her hurt. “Of course. And here I thought I was just put on this earth to help people find love.”
The sarcasm in her voice caught his attention. “Very funny.” He motioned for her to have a seat at his desk. “Seriously, it’s going to be difficult, at this late date, to find a spot for her this fall.”
Alexis slipped into his swivel chair. It felt oddly intimate, sitting where he usually did. She lifted her face to his. “If you don’t mind my asking…what’s wrong with public school?” She didn’t let the hesitant look on Grady’s face keep her from speaking her mind. “I went there,” she continued. “You went there. We both had good experiences. Why does it have to be private?”
Grady sat down on the edge of his desk, facing her. “Why indeed?” he murmured. “You’re right that I should consider it. Whenever I take Savannah to the playground—or anywhere there are kids from varied backgrounds—she does great. It’s only when I stick her with a bunch of little blue bloods that the atmosphere becomes intense.”
Alexis rebuked him with a look. “Well, I don’t think we should discount all rich kids, as a rule. I mean, you come from wealth, Grady, and you turned out pretty great.”
He flashed her a sexy grin. “You think so?”
She caught the look in his eyes. Hitched in a breath at the warm intimacy beckoning her near. Aware that she was way too close to falling head over heels in love with him as it was, she reminded herself that Grady was not interested in letting anyone into his heart again, even if he did want to marry. As for her, she needed much more than a simple legal commitment from a man to say “I Do” to him.
But from the determined look in his eyes, he clearly had his mind made up.
Grady wrapped one hand around her wrist, pulled her up out of his chair, and reeled her in to his side. Caught off balance, she crashed into him, her body rubbing against his. He clamped an arm around her waist, holding her close, then reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She trembled as he stared soulfully into her eyes. “Have I told you,” he asked softly, “just how fantastic you’ve been the last couple of weeks?”
A ripple of need swept through her, followed swiftly by a wave of feelings she could not deny. “Grady…”
“Just one kiss, Alexis,” he murmured tenderly, his lips shifting toward hers. “Just one…simple…kiss. What can that hurt?”
Chapter Eleven
What one kiss could hurt, Alexis knew, was her ability to go on being this close to Grady without losing her head and her heart. Spellbound, she closed her eyes as his mouth captured hers, and then all was lost in the taste and touch and feel of him.
He was so big and blatantly male. His kiss so incredibly tender and sweet. A sigh rippled through her. She lifted her arms to encircle his neck, burying her fingers in the thick strands of his hair. Giving back even as she took, she pressed forward, meeting him kiss for kiss.
Heat swept through her. Her knees wobbled with the effort it took to remain upright. The next thing she knew, he’d swung her up into his arms and was heading for the stairs.
She didn’t have to ask where he was going.
She knew.
She didn’t have to ask if this time they had what they needed.
She was certain that would be the case, even before he stopped to grab the box from his top bureau drawer.
Alexis had never been in his bedroom before. The furniture was heavy and masculine, the king-size bed large enough to accommodate both of them, no matter how they wanted to lie.
Legs quivering, she sat down on the taupe paisley sheets. Watched as Grady took off his coat, tie and shirt.
She’d seen him naked before. She already knew what a tremendous body he had. His shoulders were broad, his chest muscles defined, his pectorals covered with crisp, dark hair that arrowed down to the waistband of his trousers. He dispensed with those, too. Clad only in a pair of gray jersey boxer briefs that left very little to the imagination, he knelt in front of her, like a knight paying homage to a queen.
“Tell me this is what you want,” he said.
Heaven help her.
“This is what I want,” she agreed breathlessly.
He smiled and used his hands to part her knees. Her skirt slid up past her thighs. It was too hot to wear panty hose, so all that stood between her and what he wanted was a thin scrap of lace.
Smiling, he kissed his way from knee to inner thigh, then stood and guided her to her feet.
Their gazes locked.
He unbuttoned her suit jacket, drew it off her arms, laid it gently aside. Her lace-edged camisole came next. Then her skirt. He tugged her to him once again, one hand flattened across her spine, the other threaded in her hair. He tilted her head back, and their lips met in an explosion of pent-up heat and need.
Alexis heard the groan in the back of her throat as if from a distance. Felt the hardness of his muscles and crisp chest hair teasing the taut tips of her breasts. Lower still, there was a burgeoning pressure and heat. Dampness flowed between her thighs. She held on to his shoulders, on to him, unable to stop the sway of her body, the flood of need.
He kissed her wi
th a sure sweet deliberation that reminded her of everything that had been missing from her life, for so very long. Feeling as if she had come home at long last, she returned his kiss with everything she had. The brisk masculine fragrance of his cologne and the soapy clean scent of his skin filled her senses. She recalled how it had felt before, when they’d brought each other to climax, and couldn’t help but want to experience the pleasure of it again—this time, with Grady buried deep inside her.
She whimpered as his fingertips played over her nipples, turning them to tight aching buds. And again, when he followed the path with his mouth, lips and tongue.
Still holding her against him, he dropped once again to his knees, this time taking off the single scrap of cloth that covered her. Grasping her hips, he buried his face in the softness of her body. He caressed the slope of her abdomen gently, ran a hand between her thighs. She cried out, feeling heat spreading through her in undulating waves, as he loved her. “Oh, Grady.” She trembled helplessly as the obsession to be one with him grew ever stronger. “Not…yet…” Needing to give as well as receive, she pushed away and reached for the protection he’d provided. “Not without you.”
He grinned.
Together, they removed his shorts and lay on his bed. Blushing, Alexis struggled with the wrapper, and oh so tenderly and carefully slid the condom on. Caressing him with her hands, she straddled his hips, then slowly lowered herself until they became one.
Grady groaned and grasped her waist, drawing her into an even deeper union. Then his fingers were trailing over her body, finding every responsive area, until need overwhelmed her and pleasure skyrocketed. She cried out, self-control evaporating, and the next thing she knew she was beneath him once again, euphoria flowing through her. His hard, hot body was draped over hers, and they were moving together in unison.
His hands slid beneath her. With a low moan, he lifted her higher still, possessing her fiercely. Surrendering willingly, she arched into him. Raw need gripped them both as they crested together, washed by wave after wave of sensation. Afterward, hearts pounding in unison, they slid slowly back down, into the most wonderful peace she had ever experienced in her life. And in that moment, Alexis knew there was no question about it. She was in love with Grady McCabe and always would be.
GRADY GENTLY disengaged their bodies and rolled to his side, bringing Alexis with him. Part of him couldn’t believe that had just happened. The rest of him knew it had been inevitable from the start.
He hadn’t been looking to fall in love. Still wasn’t. Hadn’t been looking to make love without any sort of commitment, either. He wasn’t impulsive. He thought things through. Weighed consequences first, acted only once he knew what the stakes were, what the outcome would be. But this was different. When he was with Alexis, nothing mattered but the present moment. He felt connected to her in a very fundamental way.
She shifted, shuddered. He saw her studying him thoughtfully. Maybe even regretfully. Grady took a deep breath. Yes, the days ahead would be tricky, but together they could navigate them, if they worked together. “We don’t have to figure out everything today,” he murmured.
“You say that as if there is more to this than just…this,” she replied.
He caught her arm before she could leave the bed, and forced himself to be ruthlessly honest. “There is,” he said quietly. She was always in his thoughts. When he wasn’t with her, he would find himself wondering just how long it would be before he saw her again. And since the first time they had ended up in bed, he had known they would find a way to be together again.
Apprehension laced her low tone. “I don’t see how.”
He paused, still struggling with his emotions. “Exactly why we shouldn’t talk about it just yet,” he said.
“Because we want such radically different things?”
Because he didn’t want to misstep. He touched a hand to her hair, burying his fingers in the silky softness. “Because where there’s a will there’s a way, Alexis.” He drew a long breath and looked deep into her eyes. “And what I want more than anything is you. Right here, right now, with me.”
Confusion warred with the quiet deliberation on her face. “Grady…”
“We’ll work it out eventually,” he promised. They had to. She was the one—the only woman for him. The only mother for Savannah. Somehow, he would figure out a way to give Alexis everything she needed, to bring her all the way into their lives.
His mouth crooked up in an affectionate smile. But for now, there were more pressing needs. The desire heating their skin. The gentle give of her body that said she had been just as long without intimacy and fulfillment as him. Between the two of them, they had a lot of pent-up sexual energy. It was past time they put it to good use, because there was no way they were letting anything this good go.
Determined to make her see how great things could be if she would only put her reservations aside, he shifted so she was beneath him once more. Their eyes met. Her hands came up to clasp his shoulders and her breathing grew uneven. Slowly, deliberately, he lowered his mouth and fused his lips to hers. She ran her fingers through his hair, across his shoulders, down the center of his back. He felt her body soften as he began to explore her breasts. And knew that, no question, they were meant to be together.
This time, when the last shuddering spasm had passed, they clung together. Silent and content, they made no effort to sever the physical and emotional intimacy that had been missing for so long from both their lives.
ALEXIS WOKE TO THE late morning silence of Grady’s house and the faraway sound of a cell phone ringing. A glance at her watch told her the time. She had slept through her eleven-thirty appointment with a new client!
She leaped from the bed, wrapped a sheet around herself and raced down the stairs. After checking the message and her cell phone, she swiftly dialed the office. Martha, the office receptionist, whispered, “Where are you? Holly Anne is furious! Zoe Borden asked for you personally and has waited almost a week for you to work her in—and not very patiently, I might add—and then you’re a no-show?”
“I was unavoidably detained,” Alexis said with as much coolness as she could muster, which wasn’t a whole lot under the circumstances. She had never been this irresponsible in her life! Getting emotionally involved with a client, sleeping with him, and then missing an appointment! What was next in her long litany of mistakes? Aware that Grady had come up behind her, clad only in his boxer briefs, Alexis turned away so she could continue to concentrate on her conversation, instead of how great he looked. “Were you able to reschedule?”
“Are you kidding?” Martha yelped. “I thought she was going to blow a gasket!”
Alexis could imagine it hadn’t been pleasant. Zoe Borden was Kit Peterson’s friend—the one who had wanted to be fixed up with Grady. Alexis had tried to avoid taking her on as a client, to no avail. Zoe was very wealthy and accustomed to getting what she wanted, when she wanted it. Because the customer was always right at ForeverLove.com, her wishes had prevailed.
“Holly Anne is meeting with her now. You better get here as soon as possible.”
“I will. Thanks, Martha.”
Alexis ended the call. Clasping the sheet around her with one arm, lifting the hem with both hands, she headed back for the stairs.
Grady followed, looking disappointed that their interlude was coming swiftly to an end. “Problem?”
“You could say that.” Briefly, Alexis explained, as she rushed into the bedroom and began gathering up her clothes. What a mess. A glance in the mirror confirmed her worst suspicions: she looked like she’d spent the morning making love. Her hair was tousled, her lipstick all kissed off. Her skin radiating a postcoital glow. Holly Anne would take one look at her and know this delay had not been strictly business.
“How can I help?” he asked.
Alexis grimaced. “You can’t.”
They exchanged another tension-filled glance, then he went downstairs to check his own messages. Alex
is finished dressing, and slipped out while he was still on the phone.
She had no choice but to stop by her apartment for a quick shower on the way to the office. When she arrived, Zoe Borden was still in with Holly Anne.
Alexis gathered her resolve, knocked, and strode on in.
Holly Anne made the introductions, adding compassionately, “Zoe has just weathered her second divorce.”
And had responded, Alexis observed, by having a little “freshening” done, with mixed results. The woman’s face still had the telltale puffiness and immovable quality commensurate with recent Botox. Her perfectly taut body appeared to have been enhanced by a tummy tuck and breast lift. Who knew what it looked like beneath her clothes?
Showing no evidence of the irritation Alexis knew her boss must feel, Holly Anne continued, “She’d heard that Grady McCabe was looking for a wife.”
Zoe radiated cougarlike determination. “I’d like to be matched with him,” she stated firmly.
“I’ve explained that’s not how it works,” Holly Anne interjected.
“But I already know Grady McCabe is exactly what I want in a man!” Zoe said petulantly.
Me, too, Alexis thought ruefully. With the exception of one tiny roadblock. As far as she could tell, Grady was still not ready to fall in love.
“There’s no point in matching me with anyone else!” Zoe continued, sounding ever more agitated.
“First of all,” Alexis soothed, with the most comforting smile she could conjure up, “you haven’t seen any of the other candidates we might be able to match you with. We have dozens of eligible, successful, wealthy men in our database who are also looking for love, companionship and someone to build a future with. You would be limiting yourself terribly if you don’t allow us to show you who all is out there, before you make up your mind.”
As Alexis suspected, the ka-ching of the cash register resonated with this particular client. “Well…” Zoe hesitated. “I suppose…”
Mommy for Hire Page 14
