He stepped around her and jogged away.
What was Liz doing going after another man?
Why wasn’t she with Roger?
Roger.
Stephanie felt pity for the younger man. Did he have a clue about what was going on with his bride-to-be?
She stayed where she was, unable to watch Liz’s heartbreak and unable to offer comfort. If what her dad said was true, then the young woman had to be suffering from nothing but cold feet. Her and Roger seemed so perfect for each other.
At last, Liz ventured on and Stephanie pushed to her feet and headed back to her cottage where she expected to find Stone waiting for her. Instead she found her mom puttering in the kitchen. “Hey, Mom.”
“Where have you been? I hope it wasn’t with that nasty divorce lawyer.”
“He’s not all that nasty.” She sat down at the kitchen table and opened her laptop. “In answer to your question, I went for a walk. Alone.”
As she scrolled through the list of items she still needed to take care of, she could feel her mom’s gaze on her. At last she looked up. “What?”
“Why are you wearing that old sweater again? Go put on something nice, then toss it out with the rest of the trash. I don’t know how you ended up with it anyway.”
Stephanie grinned. “Actually, if you must know, Dad rescued it from the garbage and gave it to me to keep for him until he deemed it safe to bring it back into the house.”
“He did what?” Dora eyed-balled her. “That man. He’s intolerable. I don’t know who he thinks he’s been living with all of these years. When did he start to believe I was his slave in the kitchen?”
She peered back at the screen and bit back the grin threatening to break free. “Yeah, the nerve.”
A frown creased lines into her forehead. “Still, I wonder how he’s doing? We’ve never been apart like this.”
“I’m sure he’s doing just fine without you, Mom. He’s a grown man.”
A knock sounded on the door. She pushed to her feet, and when she reached the door, it was Stone, tall and strong and so undeserving of her mom’s new attitude. As she let him in, she whispered, “My mother is here. Prepare to be insulted.”
He followed her into the kitchen, and the moment Dora saw him, she wiped her hands on a tea towel, crossed the room, and stopped in front of him, her hands on her matronly hips. “You might be lower than pond scum, but I might need a good divorce lawyer. What are your rates?”
“Mom, you are not divorcing Dad. You’ll see. He’ll come around.”
Dora huffed out a sigh and slid a glance her way. “Maybe. The makeup sex is pretty good.”
She swept from the room, once again careful to ensure her skirts didn’t touch Stone, and as the door closed behind her, Stephanie met Stone’s gaze.
“What was that all about?”
“She doesn’t know it, but Dad deliberately riled her up to get rid of her.”
He raised his brows. “Why?”
“He said it was easier to plan her birthday party without her.”
He laughed. “So you got stuck with her?”
“Yeah, and it’s totally unfair.”
His gaze dipped to her stomach, then returned to her face, and there was heat there, and something more. Affection. “So do you have a job for me?”
She decided not to worry about the future until after Liz’s wedding, and closed the distance between them. Sliding her hand up his chest, she inhaled the scent of him, and the tightness in her stomach eased. “You know, we can probably take a minute or five before we need to get back to the party and wedding arrangements.”
A millisecond later, she was in his arms doing the naughty.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Grace stared out the bedroom window at the lush greenness of the golf course. Where was Jim?
Normally he’d be on the course at this time of day, getting in one final game before supper, hitting that stupid little ball, with his friends jeering him on, and now his little golf bimbo…bimboing.
Before she ended up more depressed than she already was, she forced herself to turn away and head for the shower to get ready for tonight’s party.
In the bathroom, in front of the full length mirror, she pulled off her robe and stared at her naked body.
She wasn’t bad looking. A little thick around the middle, but not so much that men had stopped looking at her. Well, except for her own man.
What was the matter with him?
Or maybe she should quit asking what was the matter with him and start asking what was the matter with herself? Why was she hanging onto him, waiting for a small crumb of his affection? Why didn’t she go out and find herself another man?
She needed a man.
Badly.
Here she was, in the prime of her sexual life—or at least, that’s what the experts claimed—and there was no one willing to fulfill her fantasies…her desires.
She rubbed one hand down her belly and with the other hand, captured her breast, trying hard to remember the feel of Jim’s hands on her body.
It had been so long.
She closed her eyes and guilty pleasure filled her.
Proper women didn’t do this, did they?
Her eyes popped open and she looked back at herself in the mirror.
Well, when proper women’s husbands didn’t do their duty, then proper women should be entitled to find their enjoyment wherever and whenever they could.
As she rubbed one hand across her breast and bit back a moan of pure pleasure, she noticed a small puckering on the edge of her breast and stilled.
What was that?
Grace lifted her arm over her head, the dizzy pleasure gone from her head, and with one hand shifted the breast to the light and proceeded to do a breast examination.
She encountered a small painful lump and fear rocked through her as she dropped her hands to her sides and stared at her naked body in the mirror.
Maybe this is what proper women who weren’t so proper in private deserved.
With shaking hands, she picked up the phone and punched in her doctor’s office number.
By the time she was ready for the party—makeup on, hair swept up, perfumed and dressed in an exquisite teal gown—her nerves were on fire. She’d arranged the appointment with the local doctor and was scheduled for an overnight stay at the Serendipity Island hospital tomorrow. They’d assured her she’d be back in plenty of time for Liz’s wedding.
As she swept into the ballroom, she refocused on the evening, her shrewd gaze taking in everything from the glittering lights to the Congratulations Liz and Roger sign to her family scattered among the guests.
Family.
These days, it was almost a foreign word. Liz wasn’t talking to her. Mariam was always distracted. Stone was making eyes at a woman so totally inappropriate that it made Grace want to scream.
And Jim…non-existent, as usual. Caught up in his golf game and course.
No, she wouldn’t think of that tonight. In fact, she wouldn’t think of it ever again. Jim could do whatever he wanted and so could she. Which made her narrow her eyes as Stone’s rascal friend, Kevin Donahue, walked into the room.
Sandy Strom stopped at her side, a drink in one hand, a canapé in the other.“He’s positively yummy.”
“Reminds me of my Andy when we first me,” Leta Johnson said as she parked herself on the other side.
Grace looked over at Andy, with his bald head and distinctive paunch, and wondered about that starry eyed look in Leta’s eyes.
Nancy Strom stopped beside her sister-in-law. “Mmmmm, give me a piece of that hunk of meat.”
Grace had to admit that Kevin Donahue was easy on the eyes, hair shaven just short of not being there, that oh-so-popular five-o’clock shadow that gave him a hint of a dangerous bad boy. Tonight, a jean jacket covered his well muscled shoulders and broad chest. Beneath the jacket, a black t-shirt hugged his physique. Blue jeans encased long legs and cowboy boots finished the
casual outfit.
“He knew we were celebrating tonight. Couldn’t he have dressed up? At least washed the mud from his boots?” Grace asked in annoyance.
“Honey, no one will notice the mud way down there, not when there’s so much more to look at…higher,” Nancy drawled. “Maybe you should have hired him as your assistant instead of that other one.”
Liz swept into the room at that moment, her fiancee nowhere in sight, and Grace watched her daughter’s face light up when she spotted Kevin.
Nothing good could come of that attraction, except that it proved she needed to stop her youngest daughter’s wedding.
Then Mariam walked into the room, her little boy cradled in her arms, Roger at her side. Her gaze slid toward Kevin, and for just a moment, there was something vulnerable in her eyes, before she shuttered her emotions, and turned her back on him.
Grace watched her oldest daughter’s progress across the crowded ballroom as her younger sister headed in the opposite direction.
As far as Grace knew, Mariam hadn’t looked at anyone since her divorce.
“Wow, doesn’t that get you wet just watching him,” Nancy muttered as she pulled out a cigarette and stuffed it between her lips.
“Not in the house.” Sandy pulled it out of her mouth, broke it in half, then gave it back to Nancy who responded with a, “Hey.”
Grace followed Nancy’s gaze to where Roger had joined his fiancee. He bent Liz back and claimed her mouth with his, and Grace stopped thinking of anything but…sex.
Hard sex.
Mind blowing sex.
Sex so spectacular, it could make any woman a slave to her man.
She blinked and stared down at the champagne glass in her hand.
What was the matter with her? She should be focused on her health instead of sex.
Leta sighed wistfully, drawing everyone’s attention. “No wonder Liz has her heart set on that man.”
“For now,” Sandy added with a narrow eyed look.
“No man is worth keeping forever.” Nancy stuffed the broken cigarette into her purse and pulled out another one.
Sandy grabbed this one too, then hooked her arm through her sister-in-law’s and started toward the patio. “Come on. We’ll finish this discussion outside so that Nancy can kill herself slowly.”
“Stuff it,” Nancy muttered as she pulled her arm free and sailed ahead of them.
“I should really stay here. Be with my guests,” Grace protested, but even to her own ears, the protest sounded weak.
Leta grabbed Grace and tugged her along. “We’re guests.”
She pulled back. “But the party—”
“Will survive without you,” Nancy threw over her shoulder. As they stopped on the patio, Nancy lit her cigarette and took a huge puff, then blew it out. The smoke hung in the air between them.
Leta gave a polite cough, cough. Grace waved the smoke away from her face. Sandy grabbed the cigarette from her sister-in-law, dropped it on the stones underfoot, and ground the toe of her very expensive, very lovely shoes into it. “Okay, let’s get down to business.”
Grace didn’t want to go there tonight, so she played innocent. “What business?”
“Husband business,” Leta stated, her mouth firmed with determination.
Grace noticed they were all looking at her. “I did my part when I hired the assistant.”
Nancy grabbed another cigarette from her purse, gave them all a dirty look, then lit it. This time, though, she made a point to blow the smoke away from them. “Well, it didn’t work. We need a better plan.”
Sandy nodded. “Jim doesn’t seem to have noticed your boy-toy, so no way is that young man going to help our situation.”
Leta hooked a thumb toward the ballroom. “Do any of you remember the last time your husband treated you like that?”
“Before golf,” Sandy stated.
“Never,” Nancy replied.
Three pairs of curious eyes turned toward Grace. Panic infiltrated her body, starting a chain reaction of heat that moved from her chest, to her ears, and finally infused her face. Damn she hated menopause.
“I really am a marriage fraud.” In more ways that one. With a sigh, she gave in. “Before he retired and decided to build the golf course.”
Leta patted her arm. “It’s okay, dear. Your secret is safe with us.”
Nancy dropped her cigarette on the patio and ground it out with the tip of her pointy shoe. “It’s time to get dirty, ladies.”
“Dirty?” Grace squeaked.
The three women exchanged glances, then grinned at Grace. “We’ve been taking golf lessons.”
Grace stared at the women who were staring back at her with studied patience in their eyes. She frowned back at them. “And?”
With a grin, Sandy said, “It’s time to disobey that No Women Allowed rule.”
“You don’t mean—” Grace shook her head and began to back away. “I’m sorry. You’re more than welcome to use the golf course, but I can’t be part of this plan.”
No, she thought as she turned and reentered the ballroom. She couldn’t commit to anything, not right now. By tomorrow, she might discover that she had months of chemo treatments in her future.
Then Jim walked into the room, freshly showered and shaved, handsome as handsome could be. And on his arm was his golf bimbo.
The woman clung to him as though he were a prized possession, his arm pressed against her amble bosom, her dress so tight and smooth, Grace was positive she was naked beneath it.
She clenched her hands at her sides, fury robbing her of every thought but one.
When was the last time he’d treated her as though she were more important than air?
When was the last time he’d spoken to her like a true friend?
When was the last time they’d had sex just for the fun of it and not because it was all about makeup sex?
She glanced back over her shoulder at the three women with their heads huddled together.
They were talking about mosquitoes, the hot afternoon sun, and sweat. Three of Grace's least favorite things in the world.
Jim currently being the fourth.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Stephanie glanced around the ballroom, taking in everything from the glittering lights on the outdoor patio to the warm tropical breeze drifting in the open doors, from the Congratulations Liz & Roger banner to the elegant cream and pink color scheme.
Grace had overseen the decorations—rolled linen napkins draped with tiny pearls, crystal glasses fill with blush pink roses, and lights to illuminate every table.
The guests had started to arrive an hour ago, and the guests of honor were doing their part to mingle. Stephanie prayed Liz had come to her senses after Kevin’s rejection on the beach.
Leaning against a decorative post near the buffet table, her thoughts drifted to Stone. Where was he? After their sexual interlude, she’d sent him to keep watch over Liz to ensure the younger woman made an appearance at this evening’s party.
Although right now, she’d much prefer he was standing right beside her so she could lean into his shoulder and inhale the delicious scent of him. It would help deflect the smells of perfume, aftershave, and food all mingling together and turning her stomach.
As if her thoughts conjured him up, he walked into the room, and the beat of her heart faltered and picked up pace. As he scanned the crowd, the needy woman inside of her jumped up and down, and screamed pick me, pick me.
Oh yeah, she had it bad, all right. So bad, she was willing to beg for a scrap of his attention.
As his gaze connected with hers, she stopped breathing, stopped hearing, stopped thinking.
Mine.
It had to be the pregnancy hormones that were making her so territorial. She couldn’t remember ever wanting anyone else the way she wanted him.
Without breaking eye contact, he headed her way, but every few feet, someone stopped him to shake his hand and talk. At this rate, it would be hours befo
re he reached her…which was probably a good thing because every time he was nearby, she forgot about the job she’d been hired to do.
A noise to her right caught her attention. She reined in her libido and turned her head as Dora stopped at her side, a drink in one hand, a canapé in the other. “Liz’s fiancee is positively yummy. He reminds me of Tom when we first met.”
Stephanie resisted the urge to choke. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder about that starry eyed look in her mom’s eye. After forty years of marriage, her parents still showed signs of desire for one another. Maybe not all of the time, like a new relationship—like her and Stone—but often enough that she could tell there was still heat between them.
She wrinkled her nose. “Mom, that’s gross. You’re old enough to be his…well…mother.”
Dora threw her a patient glance. “Honey, just because I’ve aged doesn’t mean I’ve stopped appreciating the finer things in life.”
“Yes, well, it’s embarrassing.”
Dora sighed. “I wonder how your dad is doing and how he’s making out at Mandy’s without me. I hope he’s started decorating the house for my birthday party.”
“I’m sure he’s doing fine.”
“Maybe I’ll give him a call.”
Dora slipped away, her cell already in her hand.
Alone again, Stephanie watched Liz with Roger.
They were both so young. What did they know about love? At their age, Stephanie had been infatuated with more than one man, sometimes at the same time.
Right now, they were locked in a lip lock that didn’t look like it was going to end any time soon, ignoring the dinner bell and the guests as though none of it existed but themselves.
How could Liz claim to love one man while she married another?
She turned her attention away from the couple.
It wasn’t her business or responsibility. They weren’t her concern. All she needed to do was focus on the wedding, get through the next two days without saying a word about what she’d seen.
Then her gaze locked on Stone. He was staring at his sister and her fiancee, a frown on his face.
She knew that he was concerned about Liz’s hasty decision to marry the rock star. He was worried that she was too young to handle the responsibility of marriage.
Caught Between an Oops and a Hard Body (Caught Between series Book 2) Page 17
