She thought of asking him to dance, but wasn’t sure she was drunk enough to confidently grind up on someone so Greek-God like.
“Do you want to go grab some pizza?” he asked her.
“What? Did you say pizza?” She wasn’t sure she heard him right.
“Yeah. There’s that place across the street. It’s pretty loud in here.”
“Yeah, it is loud.”
“It’s hard getting to know someone with the Black Eyed Peas blasting in the background.”
Getting to know someone? So... he didn’t want to dance with her and make out with her and try to get her to come home with him? That certainly set him apart from the guys she usually met.
“Are you here with your friends? What will they think?”
He gestured toward three guys at the bar who were doing vodka shots with a group of girls.
“They won’t even notice I’m gone,” he said. “What about you?”
She looked over at the dance floor and saw one of her friends dancing with a guy. The other had one up against the wall, her leg wrapped around him.
“Yeah... I don’t think my friends will miss me.”
He smiled. “So you want to go?”
“Okay,” she said. What did she have to lose?
“I’m Jamie, by the way.”
“I’m Grace.”
JAMIE HAD DRAGGED Grace hiking, one of her least favorite activities. She was trying to be outwardly positive about it, because it was only their third date. She didn’t want him to think she couldn’t go with the flow or that she was one of those high-maintenance types.
“What a gorgeous day,” Jamie said.
“Yeah, gorgeous.”
“Not as gorgeous as you.”
“Cheesy.”
“True.”
He took her arm and slid it through his as they made their way along the path. It made keeping up with him a bit easier. He had a good foot of height on her, so it was difficult to match his strides. Not to mention the fact that he was in great shape and worked out all the time, and she hadn’t seen the inside of a gym in, well, ever.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked him.
He smiled slyly at her. “I was just thinking how happy I am to be spending this day with you. And how sweet it was for you to come hiking with me even though you clearly hate it.”
She stopped in her tracks and pulled her arm from his grasp. “Excuse me, I do not hate hiking. Who told you that?”
“No one had to tell me, Grace. It’s pretty obvious. I don’t think you’ve smiled one time since we hit the trail. And every time we see a bug you cringe.”
“Bugs are disgusting. I’m not going to apologize for that.”
He laughed. “We can go back to the dorms if you want. Watch a movie or something.”
“Are you kidding? I love this stuff.” She looked around for inspiration and her eyes landed on a nearby pond surrounded by growth. “How pretty is that pond over there? I love nature.”
He raised an eyebrow like he didn’t believe her, but she figured she was in too deep to give up now. She made her way toward the pond, and he followed behind.
“Look at the sunlight on the water,” she said, trying to sound upbeat. “So beautiful. It’s such a clear pond, too. Do you think there are fish in it?”
“Sure.”
“I bet there are.” She moved closer to the water and leaned in to get a look beneath the surface.
“Be careful.”
Jamie’s warning came a second too late. The ground beneath her feet was wet and slippery, and Grace fell forward into the water with a little scream.
“Grace!”
She quickly sputtered to the surface and was relieved to find that she could stand up easily. Thankfully, the water was shallow and hit her below the shoulders.
Jamie was looking at her, concerned. Then he burst into laughter.
“This is not funny,” she told him.
“I’m sorry,” he said, laughing harder. “It’s actually really funny.”
His laughter was the infectious kind, and she started to giggle despite herself.
“You should have seen your face when you fell!”
“Stop laughing!” She felt something slimy touch her toe and she screamed, which only made him laugh harder. “Ew, it’s so gross in here!”
“I thought you loved nature!”
She tried to scowl at him through her laughter. “You know, I should be really pissed at you right now. You didn’t jump in to save me. What kind of gentleman are you?”
“Sorry, you’re right. I’ll be right there.”
Grace watched with wide eyes as Jamie stripped off his tee shirt, revealing broad shoulders and a chest so solid it could have been carved from marble. She caught her breath, no longer in a laughing mood.
Jamie wasted no time getting into the water, which only came up to his hip. He moved toward her wearing that devilish grin.
“You’ve got your shorts all wet,” she sputtered out, unsure of what to say.
“Well, I’m trying to operate a rescue mission here,” he said and lifted her up into his arms.
“Jamie!” she squealed. “Put me down!”
“No can do. I’m trying to save you, honey. Hold on tight.”
He pulled her against his chest and she wrapped her legs around him, enjoying the feel of the hard lines of his body against her softer ones.
“Ooh, I can get used to this.”
“Good, because I think you may need mouth-to-mouth,” he said. “It’s a standard part of rescuing clumsy girls.”
“In that case, I think maybe I do.”
They met somewhere in the middle for the kiss, and Jamie instantly tightened his arms around her. It started sweet and playful but quickly turned into something more intense, her body reacting to the heat of his mouth and the teasing of his tongue in ways it never had before.
Without thinking, she ran her hand lightly down his chest and moved her hips against him. He swore softly and broke off the kiss.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, immediately missing the feel of his lips against hers.
“Yes. You’re driving me crazy.” He peeled her off of him and started tugging her back to dry land.
“But... Is that a bad thing?”
They emerged from the water soaking wet and dripping, and she squeezed out her hair and tee shirt as she waited for his answer.
“Not bad,” he finally said. “Just different.”
What the hell did that mean?
“You didn’t expect me to be a good kisser?” She winked at him, trying to be playful even as she felt old insecurities eating at her.
“I knew you would be.” He moved toward her, his blue eyes curious. “I’m just surprised at the effect you have on me. It’s unexpected.”
“Oh.” She looked up at him, suddenly feeling a little shy. “It’s the same for me. Unexpected.”
“Good. I like that.” He kissed her quickly and softly on the lips. “I like you.”
Suddenly, hiking wasn’t one of her least favorite things anymore.
“I HAVE SOMETHING to tell you.”
“What, sweetheart? You can tell me anything.”
She was in bed with Jamie, her head on his chest. He was playing with her hair.
“It’s serious.”
“That’s okay.”
“I want to...” She drifted off, her heart beating frantically. “Never mind.”
“Not so fast, you’re not getting out of this one.”
“Okay, okay. Promise you won’t judge me?”
“Scout’s honor.”
“I want to have sex.” She buried her face in his chest, mortified.
“Say that again? I didn’t quite hear you.”
She felt his chest rumble with laughter and she smacked him lightly. “Shut up. You heard me just fine.”
He ran his fingers through her hair soothingly. “Okay, I’m sorry. I just didn’t expect you to spell it out
for me. I thought it would kind of happen when it happened.”
“I know, but it’s different for me.”
“How so?”
Her cheeks were on fire. “I’ve never done it before.”
She thought he was going to make fun of her, but he didn’t. He brought her fingers to her lips and kissed her palm. The tender gesture sent shockwaves through her system, and she thought for the millionth time that if she didn’t have him soon she was going to lose her mind.
“Why not?” he asked. “What stopped you before?”
“I just never met anyone I wanted to do it with. Until you.” She looked away from him. “This is embarrassing.”
“Don’t be embarrassed, Grace.”
“I’m very embarrassed. This is very embarrassing.”
“It’s not embarrassing. I think it’s sweet.”
“Sweet?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. So you don’t mind?”
“Not at all. I like the idea of being your first. Your only.”
It was the perfect thing to say, and it turned her on even more.
“I just want to make sure that you’re ready before we do anything,” he said. “We can wait. There’s no rush.”
“The thing is...” She slowly started to undo the buttons on his shirt. “I don’t want to wait. I’m ready. Right now.”
She felt Jamie suck in a breath as her hand touched the warm skin of his chest. “Right now?”
“Yes.” She moved to sit on top of him. “Is that okay with you?”
“More than okay.” He flipped her over so that he was on top, his voice low and sexy. “You must really like me or something.”
“I do,” she whispered as he kissed his way down her neck. “Oh, that feels so good.”
“It only gets better.”
He helped her out of her shirt and shrugged out of his. She gasped as he ran his hands over her body, lingering on her breasts.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said.
She blushed.
Grace had made up her mind that she wanted to do this, and she didn’t want time to let her nerves get the best of her. She had never been naked in front of a man before.
She reached for the waistband of his jeans and for his zipper, but he grabbed her hands to stop her.
Jamie gave her a look of such tenderness that she lost her breath. He eased her back down on the bed.
“Sweetheart, we can wait,” he told her. “I’ll wait for you as long as it takes. I want you to be sure.”
Grace smiled. Now, more than ever, she knew he was the one she wanted to be her first.
“Jamie. Please. It has been three months, and there hasn’t been one day that has gone by since we met that I haven’t wanted to do this. I want you so badly I can’t sleep at night. I need this.”
That was all he needed to hear. Her clothing came off quickly and she pulled at his, desperate to feel his skin all over hers. He kissed his way down her body, leaving her moaning, breathless.
“God, you’re gorgeous,” he told her when she was naked, before she could think to be embarrassed or insecure. “But we need to slow down. I want you to remember this.”
They made love slowly, passionately, exploring every inch of one another. She was captivated by the look, the feel of him, and once he was inside her she was lost to everything but sensation. He kissed her in those first moments of pain, and when they passed she felt nothing but pleasure. They climaxed together as they did so many times after, always in unison, driving one another to the brink.
She lay beside him when they parted, pulling the sheet up to cover herself. He pulled the sheet down and guided her head to his chest, the spot that would become her spot in the months and years to come, and listened to his strong heartbeat.
“What are you thinking?” she asked him.
He smiled. “I’m thinking about how happy I am.”
She was happy, too. But she wondered what would happen now. What was she to him? They had been inseparable from the night they had met three months ago, but she was constantly worried that she was falling for him harder than he was falling for her. She was afraid of being in love on her own.
His lips brushed over her knuckles.
“Grace. I have something to tell you.”
“What?”
“It’s a secret.”
“Were you a virgin, too?” she teased him.
“In a way,” he said, taking a deep breath. “I’ve never been in love before. I’ve never even said the words to a girl.”
“Oh.” She could hear his heart start beating faster. “Jamie... That’s okay. There’s no rush.”
“I know. But I don’t want to wait. Look at me.”
Grace propped her head up on his chest and looked into his eyes. She saw that he was nervous and smiled at him, thinking that he was the best thing that had ever happened to her.
“I never thought I’d meet someone like you. You’re sweet, smart and so beautiful. I love the way you bite your lip when you’re nervous and how your nose wrinkles when you laugh and how I can always tell when you’re annoyed with me by the tone of your voice. I think you’re the cutest girl I’ve ever met and the sexiest girl I’ve ever met, and I don’t know how you manage to be both at the same time. When I’m around you, I feel like a better person. I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be.”
He put his hands on her cheeks and looked her straight in the eyes. “I’m in love with you, Grace. And I have a feeling that I will be forever.”
She knew she had a stupid grin on her face, but she didn’t care. “Oh, Jamie. I love you, too. I love you so much. I’m so happy I met you. Every time you walk into a room and smile at me I feel like I have to pinch myself. These past three months with you... I’ve never been happier in my whole life.”
He kissed her sweetly and wrapped his strong arms around her, and she felt in her heart that she was home—the place she was supposed to be.
When they broke the kiss, his eyes locked onto hers. “I don’t want you to worry about anything, Grace. I’m going to love you for the rest of your life.”
She believed him.
When he broke up with her, this was the memory that hurt her the most.
Chapter 5
Grace dropped Jake off on her way to work the next day and made a beeline for her desk when she entered the office. She kept her head down, not in the mood to speak to anyone and have to pretend everything was normal.
Her head was filled with thoughts of Jamie just as it had been the night before. She had told Caroline about seeing him again as soon as she was able to get Jake in bed and the two of them had stayed up until the early hours of the morning discussing and dissecting the situation and what it all meant.
Caroline was convinced that her bad feeling the day before was a warning from the universe about Jamie, a warning not to trust him. His arrival could only be bad news. Grace had expected this—Caroline didn’t like Jamie at all, not since he broke Grace’s heart, and she was worried about what his return would mean for all of them.
In the end, the sisters both agreed that the best thing for Grace to do was stay as far away from Jamie as possible until he walked right back out of her life.
Grace booted up her computer and opened an email from Charlie that read simply, “See me.”
She swore under her breath, hoping Charlie wasn’t going to speak to her about Jamie. He hadn’t yet said a word about it, and she had hoped that meant he wasn’t planning to.
She knocked on his door before entering Charlie’s spacious office, by far the nicest in the building. He was sitting behind his large mahogany desk, reading over some papers and drinking a cherry soda she was sure he had sent his assistant out to buy him. That used to be her job.
“Have a seat, Grace,” he said, glancing up at her.
She did as she was told, feeling nervous. She still had trouble separating Charlie her boss from Charlie her almost boyfriend, and when they were in the office she
still felt uncomfortable around him. She wondered if that was something that would go away with time.
“I wanted to talk to you about Four Brothers Brewery.”
She almost groaned but bit her lip instead.
“I stand by what I said yesterday. I think you’re the right person for the account, and I’m going to trust you to handle it. You will deal directly with Jamie Castleton on this. I see no need to supervise.”
“Charlie...” The idea was horrifying. “I-I can’t.”
“You can and you will,” he said. “If you’re having trouble handling your workload, pass something off onto Brooke. This takes priority.”
“You don’t understand,” she said, trying to appeal to his humanity with her wide eyes. “Jamie and I have a history together, and I am not comfortable working with him. I appreciate the opportunity and I’m sorry to let you down, but I have to refuse. I can’t do it.”
Charlie pursed his lips together. “You don’t have a choice, Grace.”
“What do you mean?”
“He insisted that he work with you.”
Her mouth fell open. “Why?”
“He says it’s because he trusts you.” Charlie rolled his eyes. “I expect it’s more than that, but the reason doesn’t matter. He’s paying well above our typical fee to work with you on this. If it’s not you, he will leave and take his business with him.”
“So let him!” She heard her voice rising and tried to calm down. “We don’t need his business.”
“Grace. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Don’t you care about me, Charlie? I’m telling you that I’m not comfortable doing this. Doesn’t that matter to you?”
“Don’t make this about us,” he said sternly. “This is work. Our relationship is separate.”
Thoroughly chastened, she felt her cheeks warm.
Charlie sat back in his chair and looked her over. “I know this won’t be easy for you in the beginning, but you need to learn to separate your personal feelings from your work. There are clients I deal with who I can’t stand, but I never let it show. It’s all part of the job and part of being a professional. This will be a good lesson for you to learn.”
She imagined that Charlie never felt quite the same way about one of his clients as she did about Jamie, but she didn’t say anything. She knew when she was fighting a losing battle.
Irresistible Lies Page 4
