“Because Soph—never mind, so then what are you doing here, and why’d you sell your place?”
“I’d bought that apartment as an investment. I never really considered it home,” he said carefully. “I hadn’t been actively looking, but then I found a few floors for sale in a great pre-war building and bit the bullet. It’s still being renovated right now though, so I decided to work out of our London office for a bit, until it was ready. It was also fucking hard to stay the hell away from you, but I knew I needed to give you space,” he admitted.
Her heart squeezed painfully when she thought of how much she would have missed out on because of her stubbornness. Even though he drove her crazy—a lot—this man totally got her. It could have very well been because he’d known her for her entire life, but the repressed romantic in her fantasized that it was because they were soul mates.
A memory floated across her mind. One that had been stuck with her forever. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything, my lovely brat.”
She was still so warm and fuzzy inside, she decided to leave his choice of endearments alone for now. She would deal with that later. First, she needed an answer from him.
“Do you remember that summer you came to the beach house after your first year in college? The summer I was thirteen?”
“How could I forget?” he muttered. “When your brother came back, I had to make up some shit story about why my ass was in the sand and all your stuff was there but you weren’t.”
Her voice lowered noticeably with her next question. “Why did you look at me like that? Like I was disgusting? If you wanted to be near me, why did you do that?”
The hurt in her voice confused him. “Grace?”
She pulled her head out of his chest to look at him.
“Do you remember what you were wearing?” he asked, the memory just as vividly painted in his own mind.
“That tiny ass bikini. All my other suits were in the wash. I was so embarrassed,” she murmured, flames fanning across her cheeks.
“Baby, I was eighteen-years-old, and I walked out on the beach, and there was a hot babe sprawled all over a towel, soaking up the sun. The most amazing ass I’d ever seen, and incredible legs, lush thighs.” He groaned before continuing. “I hit on you—tried to pick you up with some dumb ass cheesy lines, and I had no clue it was you. Then after I’d made a clown of myself, you turned around and I saw you. And what an amazing fucking body you’d grown into, and it blew my mind.”
She listened intently, a captive audience of one. Unable to not touch her, now that he finally had her in his arms, he rubbed his thumb across the delicate pulse at her throat. It picked up when he continued.
“Couldn’t do anything more than just stand there and stare at you. Blew my fucking mind, baby. Into pieces. And the way you looked at me, with those big, gray eyes—all innocent and curious.” He closed his eyes, and he could see it play out in front of him as clear as if it had happened yesterday.
She poked him in the chest. “Keep going.” He opened his eyes and met her warm, interested gaze.
“All I could think was this was my best friend’s little sister. Little—like, really little. Clearly with all the right, perfect parts, but fucking thirteen-years-old, and I was eighteen. I felt like the biggest pervert in the world. What you think you saw on my face? Honey, that’s because I was disgusted with myself. Not you. Never you. I wanted you even back then. Sick, huh?”
She leaned her forehead against his before she twisted and straddled him on his lap, pasting every inch of her body against his. If she could have climbed into his body, she’d have done that, too.
“You stupid man. I’ve loved you since I was five-years-old.”
She peppered dainty kisses across his beloved face, her eyes softening at his whispered admissions of love. He pulled back for a moment, and stroked her cheek, grinning like a lunatic. “See? Whoever said being a bully doesn’t work?”
He smiled at her and was about to respond but he grew wary when she lifted her hand up, her fingers pressed together. When he saw they were aimed for his earlobe, he tried to get away, but he didn’t move quickly enough.
She hadn’t lost her touch.
Though he would never admit that her pinches made him scream like a little girl.
Epilogue
He was going to go into cardiac arrest.
Good thing his girlfriend was a nurse.
Although, she was currently nowhere in sight. He looked at Lucas, who was obviously in much worse shape than he.
Did liquor stores deliver to hospitals?
If they didn’t, they should. No use mentioning it to Lucas right now. He filed that thought away for future reference. Could be a profitable endeavor. His best friend was sweaty and pale beneath his tan and kept checking his watch.
“She’s been in there forever,” he groaned.
Forever was really only three hours, but Sean felt his anxiety acutely. For several reasons.
Hours earlier, he and Grace had been seated at a dinner table across from Lucas and Sophie along with several sets of parents at a swanky, new American restaurant. He and Lucas were silent partners in the restaurant, so they were celebrating three weeks early, before the grand opening.
And before Sophie’s due date.
Lucas was a nervous wreck, and up until that night, Sean had enjoyed his friend’s discomfort. Now, the other man’s jumpiness made Sean want to leap out of his own skin. Everyone raved about the food, but he could have been eating glue, and it wouldn’t have mattered. He raised his nearly empty glass of whiskey towards one of the wait-staff and motioned for another. He glanced at Grace’s wine glass to see if she needed a refill, but she hadn’t touched hers.
His nerves ate at him, and he tried to focus on something else, anything else for the next few minutes. He frowned at her. “Your wine okay, baby?”
She gave him one of her gentle smiles. He loved his spitfire, but even though they’d known each other since childhood, he’d rarely seen the softer side of her. In the year since she’d raced across the ocean to find him, he’d seen it more and more often. Gentle smiles, soft looks, whispered cries. Didn’t matter if the woman was yelling or moaning, she never failed to get him hard.
Right now though, the concern in her eyes belied the slight upturn of her lips. “It’s fine. Are you okay, though? You don’t look so hot.”
She was right. It was a miracle he hadn’t turned green or thrown up his dinner. But he needed to divert her.
His hand rested on her thigh. He gave it a lecherous squeeze through the navy silk. “Bet I can get you to take that back later tonight,” he leered.
She laughed softly, and the sound put him slightly at ease.
But only slightly.
Throughout the rest of the dinner, she still looked at him curiously from the corner of her eye. Damn woman knew him far too well.
Dinner plates cleared.
Desserts and after-dinner drinks ordered.
He reached into his pocket and clutched the velvet box in his fingers. His heart was going to pop out of his chest, he was sure of it. He cleared his throat loudly, and the buzz of conversation fell silent.
He stared at Grace, who’d turned to look at him.
“Ohmigod.”
“What, what? What happened honey?” Panicked, Lucas looked like he was going to throw up, too.
Sophie stood up and calmly placed her hand on her protruding belly. “My water just broke.”
Her mother and mother-in-law let out twin squeals of excitement.
Lucas heaved, but to his credit, he kept the contents of his stomach. Grace pushed her chair back briskly. “Overnight bag?”
Her brother just stared dumbly. His wife answered. “We’ve been keeping it in the car. Lucas was scared he’d forget when the time came.”
“Okay, that’s fine. Right now he looks like he can forget how to drive. I’ll take you to the hospital. Lucas, you can sit in the back.” She turned t
o her parents, Sean’s parents, and Sophie’s mother and boyfriend. “You guys will meet us there? It should be easy to grab a cab in this area.”
Everyone nodded, already shrugging on coats and jackets, except for Sean. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and patted his cheek almost … fondly? Then she got down to business. He stood still and stared after the woman he loved hustled her brother and his wife out of the restaurant.
His father clapped him on the back, while his mother looked on sympathetically but anxiously. He knew she was eager to get to the hospital. Both of his parents loved Lucas like he was one of their own and were as excited as Lucas’s own parents about the upcoming birth.
But his father, that old bastard, couldn’t help twisting the knife just a little. “Better luck next time, sport,” he chuckled.
Irritation rose within him, but he choked it back. Fuck. “Come on,” he said, defeated. “Let’s share a cab to the hospital.”
Now, he sat in the waiting room looking just as sorry a bastard as his best friend. Lucas had been kicked out of his wife’s hospital room by his sister. Grace had stormed into the waiting room, dragging her pale brother behind her before pushing him into a seat next to Sean.
“Can you please keep an eye on him? He’s driving everyone nuts. He keeps yelling at the nurses and doctor to make her labor go faster. Poor Sophie was trying to keep him calm,” she hissed.
Sean couldn’t blame him. He couldn’t even think about what he’d be like in Lucas’s shoes, and the very thought made palms sweat. He made a strangled sound in his throat, and she gave him a hard stare before rolling her eyes.
“Useless,” she muttered under breath. “Utterly useless.”
“I’m not useless,” her brother mumbled next to him.
She turned her laser gaze to Lucas. “I’ll come get you when she’s closer to delivery. For now, you stay put.” She shared a look with her mother, who was trying hard not to laugh, and shook her head.
Then she turned on her heel and stalked out of the waiting room.
One hour turned into two.
Lucas had dissolved into a wreck of nerves. “What’s taking so long? I can’t take this torture. What are you two playing cards for?” he shouted at his father, who was in the middle of a game of rummy with Sean’s father. “How can you play cards right now?”
Sean clenched his fist and contemplated knocking out his best friend to put him out of his misery. Before he could act on his thoughts, Grace swept back in the room. Her cheeks were flushed and tendrils escaped from haphazard ponytail she’d thrown her hair into, curling around her face.
Everything faded into the background as he studied his woman.
She was stunning.
His fingers itched to grab the small jewelry box in his pocket, but he knew it wasn’t the time.
“She’s ready,” she said breathlessly. “Lucas, come on, you’re going to be a daddy soon.”
Lucas bolted up, a wild look in his eyes. “Behave,” she warned him, before she bent down to press a quick kiss on Sean’s lips. She grabbed her brother and hauled him with her.
Sean watched as they went through the double doors. He was still staring at the doors when someone settled into the chair next to him.
“Are you nervous?” his mother asked.
“No,” he croaked.
“Saved by the breaking water,” his mother joked.
He groaned. “I just want to get this over with. Now, I’m gonna have to wait. I don’t know if I can take it much longer.”
His mother laughed. “You and Lucas are no different from each other. This isn’t about you, honey. That sweet girl has been living in sin with you for over a year. Before that, she had to watch you parade girl after girl in front of her while she’s been in love with you for more than half of her life.”
His mouth screwed up in a scowl. “I had to deal with the same thing, too,” he muttered.
She gave him a knowing look. “But you knew they didn’t matter. You knew she wasn’t going to end up with them. Every time she brought someone around, you managed to make her realize he wasn’t good enough for her.”
He shifted uncomfortably at the reminder of his antics with Grace’s former boyfriends.
“I just want her to be mine,” he mumbled.
Her mouth lifted in a smile. “She’s already yours. Has been from a long time. Lord, what did I do to get a son so thick in the head?” she mused. “Oh wait, I forgot—you got it from your father’s side.”
“I heard that!” his father shouted, his eyes still on his card game.
“If we don’t get married soon, her father’s going to kill me. After he dismembers me piece by piece.” He winced and apologized to his member, which shriveled up at the phantom pain. Time to change the topic. “Wow, that baby’s taking a while to get here.”
His mother laughed. “No, he won’t.”
“Hell yes, I will Stella!” Max Sinclair boomed from a few feet away. “Told the boy myself. He’d better not knock her up until after the wedding either. Got a nice exotic knife collection started up a few years back.”
A dull flush crept up his neck, and both of his parents chuckled.
Traitors.
He would forever be thankful to his best friend for bursting into the room right that second. He was exhilarated, eyes bright as he took in the room of anxious onlookers. “She’s here,” he said exultantly. “Mommy and our little girl are doing fine. They’re doing amazing, actually,” he said, emotion choking his voice.
Something warm expanded in Sean’s chest at the words. Lucas’s parents embraced him, and his own mother squeezed his hand tightly. He felt a drop of moisture hit the skin on his wrist, and he swallowed hard. He clasped his hands in hers and went to congratulate the man who wasn’t his brother by blood, but in every other sense of the word.
Lucas’s parents had already moved past the double doors and into the maternity ward. He still stood there, looking a little stunned before he thought of something. “Sorry we kinda ruined your plans man,” he apologized.
Sean waited a second before enveloping his friend in a tight hug. A manly hug, he assured himself. He broke away and grinned at his friend.
“No you’re not. You wouldn’t give this moment up for the world.”
A content smile stretched across Lucas’s face. Up until this point, Sean had never seen his best friend as happy as he’d been on his wedding day, watching his bride float down the aisle.
Now, he was on a completely different fucking planet.
“Come and meet your niece.”
He followed him through the mysterious double doors and down the hall into the private room on which Lucas had insisted.
His mouth opened to congratulate Sophie and the rest of the Sinclairs, but he froze at the scene that greeted his eyes.
Grace stood beside the bed, gently smiling down at a bundle wrapped in pink with a shock of dark hair crowning the top. Her mouth moved in soft whispers, and he could see the streaks her tears had left in their wake. She looked up right then, and when he met her eyes, they exchanged volumes without ever uttering a word.
And in that moment, he thrilled that the girl who’d been his past and the woman who was his present would be his eternity.
Their life together flashed before him. He saw her cradle their baby, whispering soft promises and pressing gentle kisses. Breastfeeding a tiny newborn in a rocking chair. Bandaging hurt, grubby little knees and kissing boo-boos.
Oh God. Breastfeeding. Holy hot fuck.
Completely unaware of the indecent train his thoughts were on, she motioned him near her. “You going to stand there all day?”
Her sweet, sexy, amused voice jolted him straight out of his daydream. Everyone in the room, except for the baby of course, looked at him strangely. His feet carried him over to the hospital bed, but he was still having an out of body experience.
Sophie lay back, clearly exhausted yet glowing at the same time. He wrapped her in a gentle hug and
dropped a kiss on her forehead. She beamed at him.
“How do you feel?” he whispered.
“Like I just pushed a watermelon out. But otherwise, great,” she said wryly, laughing when the men in the room flinched. “Go meet her,” she urged.
Something thick and heavy rose in his throat as he turned around and met Grace’s eyes once more. He looked down at the miniature sleeping being she held in her arms. She was pink all over and a little wrinkly, with a pink rosebud mouth that looked just like her mother’s. Shallow, rapid little breaths made her body pulse like a live wire. She still looked a little strange, but he knew from several explicit, unsolicited conversations with Leah about childbirth and infants that a newborn’s appearance would change rapidly in the days following birth.
His lips tugged upwards in a smile. If she grew up to look anything like her mother or aunt, Lucas was in for a trip to hell in about sixteen years. “She’s so tiny,” he murmured, unable to tear his eyes away. “What’re we naming her?”
“We?” Lucas laughed. “Sorry buddy, but ‘we’ don’t have a say. Sophie and I decided on Isabelle Grace.”
“That’s a good name,” he said thickly. “I approve.”
Grace giggled and just then, little Isabelle opened her eyes and stared at him. He stared back in rapt fascination. Gray and clear as day. Her tiny, perfect mouth opened, too, and he was charmed even further when she yawned in a world-weary way. A soft pop sounded and the corner of her little mouth turned up right before her eyes drifted shut, and she fell promptly asleep.
“She smiled at me!”
“Fuck no,” Lucas protested. He scooped up his offspring from his sister. “She did not. That was gas.”
“Language!” several female voices reprimanded.
Lucas flushed guiltily. “Sorry,” he mumbled down at the tiny infant. “But you’re not giving your first smile to your bastard uncle, do you hear me, Izzy? You gotta save that one for Daddy, but it’s okay if you give it to Mommy, too.”
“She smiled at me,” Sean insisted. “She did it right when she heard my voice. She likes me better than you. See? You bore her. She’s still sleeping.”
State of Grace Page 18
