"I came to bring you this file." He dropped an oversized manila folder on her desk. "And discuss details of the wedding."
"Like what?"
"When? Where? That sort of thing."
"It's next week. On St. Patrick's Day. It's at the Shamrock Inn, a B&B about an hour west of here. My parents own it."
"And the bride and groom?"
"My sister, Maggie, is marrying Trey, her college boyfriend. They've been together about three years and he's going off to graduate school in Chicago in the fall, with Maggie tagging along. He’s getting a degree in hospitality management or something like it. Someday they’ll run the Shamrock together."
"Sounds like they have things all planned out. A small family affair then?"
"My family is many things but small isn't among them. No, my entire family is coming, most of them from Ireland for the event, including my grandmother."
"She's the reason for the deception, I take it?"
"Yes. My mother, for reasons known only to herself, assured my grandmother that I have someone special in my life. She claims she didn't want her mother to worry and, in fairness, never expected my grandmother to make the trip here."
"Best laid plans." Grayson flashed another way too intimate grin. Claire shifted. He really had quite a nice smile, for someone so evil. If he weren't the bane of her existence, she'd find him very attractive.
"Exactly. So, it'll be the rehearsal dinner the night before, on Friday, and then the wedding is mid-day the next day."
"The thing is, O'Shaughnessy," Grayson said, examining his fingers as he spoke, "I don't know you very well."
"You don't need to know me well. Smile for the camera and act charming. I'm sure you can fake it."
He paced along the bookshelves lining her office. He picked up a photo of her, Kennedy, Val, and Joy on their trip to New York City at Christmas two years before. The picture showed them all gathered together, beaming, with the Rockefeller Center tree twinkling behind them. He set the frame carefully down and fiddled with a cat paperweight, a gift from Val last Christmas. Another framed photo showed her and her sister, Maggie, on their trip to Ireland when Maggie turned 16.
"Well, the thing is I might start talking about a wonderful tennis player you are, when golf is really your game. Or tell everyone how much you love dogs, when you're really a cat person. Or start talking about your four brothers when you only have sisters." Grayson shrugged. "I wouldn't want your Gram to see through our deception."
Claire crossed her arms over her chest and considered. "You have a point. What do you suggest?"
"How about I take you to dinner?"
Claire eyed him suspiciously. "What's dinner got to do with getting to know each other?"
"Well, see, I thought we could eat dinner and chat. It's a thing people do in Texas. Do they not here?"
Claire chuckled. "They do. But it sounds rather suspiciously like a date, which I am not interested in."
"You don't date?"
"I don't date evil little job stealing—"
"Careful now, O'Shaughnessy." Grayson said and she fought off a little shiver as he said her name. "I might get the idea that you don't like me—"
"I don't."
"And leave you high and dry for your sister's wedding."
A pain shot through her jaw and Claire unclenched her teeth, molar by molar. "Are you free for lunch?"
"Today? Yes."
"Fine. We'll start the getting to know you lessons then."
"Sounds good." Grayson headed for the door and turned back. "Oh, and I'm really looking forward to us getting to know each other, O'Shaughnessy."
"Where did you want to grab lunch?" Grayson asked Claire when he stepped back into her office at noon on the dot. As he strolled into the office, he saw that she'd twisted her dark hair up and stuck a pencil through it, but other than that she didn't appear to have moved since he left her office this morning. She glared at the screen, a furrow over her brow as she concentrated, ignoring him completely.
“O’Shaughnessy?” He said, careful not to startle her again. She blinked at him, looking like nothing so much as a sleepy owl. He walked around the desk and glanced at the spreadsheet. "Have you been working on this since I last saw you?"
"I guess so." Claire shrugged. "I'm a hard worker, unlike some people who gad about the office, chatting with all."
"I like to spread cheer wherever I go." Grayson favored her with a sunny smile, determined not to argue with his porcupine of a co-worker. He spun her chair and tugged her out of it by the hand. "Come on, O'Shaughnessy. Time for a break."
"Okay, but just a quick one. I have more—"
"There's always more work to do." He placed a gentle but firm hand on the small of her back and whisked her past the front desk, calling over his shoulder, "Ella, we'll be back in an hour."
"Ella? I've worked here five years and still call her Mrs. Crabbe." Claire said as they emerged into the bright March sunshine. A light breeze caught her floral skirt, making it flutter around her shapely legs. She blinked up at the sunlight and then hastily pulled her hand out of his. "Anyway, I don't have a lot of time. I've got a lot more to do. Let's grab something quick—"
"Nope. You need a break." Placing his hand on the small of her back, Grayson ushered her up the walk and led her down the street. "Let's walk for a bit and enjoy the sunshine. Do you want to grab sandwiches at the deli and we can eat them outside?"
Claire sighed. "Fine."
They strolled to the deli, just a few streets over. He pointed out a blossoming patch of jonquils, dancing in the gentle breeze, and the budding cherry trees. She nodded, shrugging, squinting around as though bewildered to find herself outside. Once they had their sandwiches and sat at one of the outdoor tables in the sunshine, he grinned at her.
"So, how about I tell you what I know about you?"
She eyed him suspiciously as she set to unwrapping her sandwich, neatly folding the paper down, and then nodded.
"You're originally from Ireland, since you still have the accent. You're a loyal friend, probably the most driven of your little group. You've been with the firm for five years, earning your MBA at night, while you maintained a heavy caseload during the day. You applied for the Junior Partner job and didn't get it, which is why you hate me."
"One of the reasons, anyway." Claire stared at him, her sub halfway to her mouth. "And?"
"You like to wear the color red a lot. The first time I saw you, you wore your scarlet suit with the short skirt. When you dropped the papers you were holding, it made my day. It's still my favorite. Though you also wear a lot of blue, which looks amazing with your eyes. And you've got a cat, Dr. Pepper."
"Who told you the name of my cat?"
"Ella."
"Bigmouth Crabbe. It figures." Claire rolled her eyes. "Well, you've got me all sorted then."
"Hardly. For example, I'd like to know how you got here from Ireland." Grayson took a bite of his sandwich.
"On a plane."
Grayson chuckled and she grinned. Since she usually scowled and glared at him, he stared, transfixed. Claire was nothing short of gorgeous when she smiled. "Not going to make this easy, huh? Some people might be extra nice to the person doing them such a generous favor, but not you—too determined for that, huh?"
"Sorry." Claire said, swiping at crumbs on her skirt and snagging one of his chips. "I was born in Ireland. My parents moved us here when I was four and Maggie a newborn."
"Why?"
"They came to work at an inn. Eventually, they—well, really all of us— worked hard enough to buy it. They re-named it the Shamrock. Maggie helps them run the place."
"But not you?"
"No, not me. I hated the constant neediness of the Inn. The endless tasks and to-do lists. It's not the life for me. Maggie loves it though." Claire scowled and shook her head, before taking a long swallow of water. He waited, admiring the way the breeze tossed her dark hair around her face. "I think my parents thought I was a change
ling. Here they can't add two and two together and I'm a math wiz. I like numbers."
"You're not close with your family?"
"No, I am. My mother and I don’t agree on the whole marriage and babies thing, but I love them all dearly. I'm just not like them." Claire shrugged. "And you?"
"Me?"
"Where is your accent from?"
"I have an accent?"
"You have a twang, as though you're from Texas. But it's softened a bit. Live all over?"
"I'm from a tiny town in East Texas, right on the gulf. Middle of three brothers." He tossed a bit of bread from his sandwich to a nearby squirrel who chittered before picking up the bread and stuffing it in his cheek.
"Now you've done it. He'll bring all his friends." Claire grinned at the squirrel's antics though and glanced over at Grayson, her blue eyes sharp. "And what else should I know about you?"
"I got passed over for Junior Partner too." Grayson volunteered and Claire scowled. "I'd been with my firm down in Dallas for seven years. And I didn't get it. I applied here and they hired me. I thought I'd be able to force my firm into a partnership offer. That didn't work out so well… so here I am."
"Much to my chagrin." Claire snapped, setting her half-eaten sandwich aside.
"I didn't know you, O'Shaughnessy. It wasn't anything personal."
"I know that. It's not just that you got the job instead of me." Claire wrapped up her sandwich neatly and tossed it into a nearby trashcan. "Buzz listens to you in meetings. He's implementing your ideas. You're changing things."
"Don't like change, huh?" Grayson smiled. "Buzz loves you. You're like a daughter to him. But, I think he can't quite recognize that you're so talented. It's like a parent with a child. They can't see the kid grew up on them."
"Maybe." Claire toyed with a chip.
"Sometimes, O'Shaughnessy, you have to make a change."
Claire took a swig of water before nodding and favoring him with a grin. Maybe she was thawing, just a bit, towards him. It was more than Grayson had hoped for.
The following drizzly Monday, Claire headed out for her weekly client meeting with the Hendersons. She walked all the way to the parking lot before remembering she'd agreed to share this particular client with Grayson. She sighed, considering just heading off without him. But she'd agreed and a deal was a deal. Just as the drizzle became cold rain, she turned back to the office. Grayson lounged just a few feet behind her, tapping his golden umbrella against his leg.
"Thought you forgot about me, O'Shaughnessy." Grayson smiled, flashing those adorable dimples at her, and opening his umbrella. He stepped forward and shielded them both from the chilly rain. This close, she caught the scent of his cologne, reminding her of the seashore.
Claire's shoulders' stiffened. She wished she could forget about Grayson March. Ever since their lunch the previous week, he'd invaded her thoughts with distressing regularity. When he'd just been her enemy, her nemesis, she'd been able to ignore him in her single-minded focus on her job and on proving she was a harder worker than anyone else. Now, as she was getting to know the man, she couldn't stop thinking about him, his indigo eyes, and his warm smile. He was fast becoming a distraction that she just didn’t need.
She stepped away, letting the cold rain pelt against her hair. No matter if he was helping her with the wedding, he was worming his way into her accounts and fast becoming the golden child at work. He was still her enemy, even if they were temporarily friends, and she would do well to remember that.
"Not at all." Claire lied, her voice breathy and high, as droplets of rain ran down her cheeks.
"Liar." Grayson said, amusement laced through his voice. "I'll drive."
He ushered her to his car, a late model BMW in steely gray. She inhaled the rich scent of leather and admired the spotless interior. She grabbed a tissue from her briefcase to dry her face and leaned back in the seat before swiping at her rapidly curling hair. As she fixed her makeup in the vanity mirror, he drove them through the winding streets of Ashford Falls, parking near the law offices of Henderson & Henderson, her star clients.
"We're early." Grayson tapped his long fingers on the steering wheel. "Let's grab a coffee. You can tell me more about yourself so I can pretend to be your lover."
Claire shivered at the images that single word conjured up, far too close to her daydreams recently for her liking. He hopped out of the car and came around to her side, considerately covering her with the umbrella as they dashed across the cobblestone streets in the old part of town to the welcoming warmth of Cupid's Coffeeshop. As they slid into the coffeeshop, he placed his warm hand on her lower back, guiding her gently inside. She wanted to lean back into his warmth and let him wrap his arm around her. Instead, she shifted away, leveling a glare at him over her shoulder.
"If you react like a scalded cat every time I touch you, your family will see through our sham pretty quickly." Grayson smirked at her before turning to Patrick. "Two Lucky Lattes please."
"I'll have plain coffee, Patrick. Thanks." Claire corrected Grayson and smiled sunnily at Patrick. "And a rainbow cookie. Joy make these?"
"Yep." Patrick nodded with a soft smile. "She's really talented."
"She should open a bakery." Claire and Patrick said together and then laughed. She studied Patrick's flush with interest. Maybe there was hope for him and Joy after all.
When they'd grabbed their drinks, Grayson picked a tiny table near the window. Claire's knees brushed his as she sat, heat crawling up her body from the merest contact. Okay, so she was the slightest bit attracted to Grayson. So what? She had eyes, didn't she? Didn't mean anything. She broke the rainbow cookie in half and offered it to him as a sugary peace offering. He took it with a smirk.
"So, playing matchmaker for your friend?" Grayson asked, tilting his chin toward Patrick.
"Joy, you mean? I wish. She's engaged to an utterly useless tosser." Claire shrugged.
"You seemed like a very merry quartet the other day. How'd you meet? School friends?"
Claire shook her head. "No, I met Val and Kennedy at a sip and drip class."
"A what?" Grayson crinkled his nose adorably. Claire glanced away quickly. She did not want to find Grayson March adorable.
"It's a painting class. You get together and paint while sipping wine. Kennedy held it at the Cafe to get some foot traffic. Buzz gave us all tickets one year for our Christmas gifts. I was new in town so I went."
"Do you paint?"
"Not at all." Claire shook her head. "I have a very bad painting of a sunset over the ocean hanging in my bedroom. But I made some great friends. Val owns the card shop across the way. Kennedy and Joy went to school together."
"Kennedy is the chef, right?"
Claire nodded, "And Joy is the one who bakes cookies. She works at a pediatrician's office as a receptionist so the baking is a bit of a sideline for her. We've been trying to encourage her to open her own place, but..."
"The useless fiancée doesn't support it?"
Claire laughed and nodded. "That's about right."
Grayson took a bite of his cookie. "Bummer. She's talented. So you've been friends for..."
"About five years, I guess. Since just after I moved here." Claire sipped her coffee before asking, "And tell me about your buddies? I have to get to know you as well."
"I suppose you do." There was no reason his simple statement should send awareness singing through her blood and images of them getting to know each other in bed spiraling through her head. Heat surged to her face and she took a quick sip of coffee. "Well, none around here. Not yet, anyway. My best buddies are my brothers, I guess. I got down to see them for Christmas and we spent time fishing in the gulf together and just hanging out, horsing around."
"You miss them?"
"A lot." Grayson sighed, shifting back in his chair. "But, I've got a two-year commitment here, so I'll have to make do with seeing them for holidays and vacations at the moment."
"Believe in making the best of it?"
"Something like that." Grayson shrugged, meeting her eyes. Claire found she couldn't quite look away.
"What about your parents?"
"Retired to the beach. They live in Florida, not far from Tampa. Dad is enjoying his retirement, watching the waves and the dolphins. Mom, well, she's the active type."
"She's bored?"
"She's a dynamo. You know that Shakespeare quote: 'Though she be but little, she is fierce.'?"
"Midsummer Night's Dream." Claire nodded, peering at him over the rim of her cup. Handsome and quoting Shakespeare. If she weren’t so determined to hate Grayson, she'd be in real danger of losing her heart to him.
"Mom's the type of woman who can whip up a pie, organize a Boy Scout campout, and umpire a Little League game all at the same time."
Claire laughed. "Sounds like your mom and mine would get along well."
"Tell me about all the O'Shaughnessys I'm going to meet at this wedding." Grayson pinned her with those intense eyes and Claire swallowed hard. Oh yes, it was a very good thing she'd decided to hate him forever.
"There are way too many to go into now. We'll be late for our meeting with the Hendersons."
"Well, we wouldn't want that." Grayson stood. “You’ll have to tell me all about them in the car on Friday.”
“Just four days away.” Claire shuddered. “Don’t remind me.”
Chapter Three
On Friday at mid-day, Grayson found Claire in her office again, pecking away at the keyboard. He grinned and dropped a paper wrapped sandwich on her desk.
"What's this then?" Claire picked up the wrapped sandwich and eyed it suspiciously.
"Lunch?" Grayson answered. "Come on, you can eat on the road."
"Is it time to go already?" Claire moaned and shoved a hand through her hair. She tapped a sequence of buttons on her keyboard and stood. She’d chosen dark jeans, a white shirt topped with a green cardigan today. Somehow, she looked even sexier in her casual clothes than she usually did in her sharp suits. She picked up her small satchel while he grabbed the garment bag dangling from her bookshelf.
Cupid's Coffeeshop Set One: Boxed Set: Books 1-4 Page 11
