Grace's Fake Groom

by Francesca Lane

  “Grace.”

  Her name on his tongue spilled over her. She couldn’t breathe. Or was she holding her breath?

  His mouth reached hers at the same time that firm, strong hands embraced her face, his fingers tangling with her hair. A quiet gasp escaped her. She allowed him to mold her into him, his kiss urging her to stop the clamor between them. She rested her palms on his sculpted chest, his heart beating furiously as dizziness overtook her.

  What were they fighting about again?

  He released her, his voice soft but filled with emotion. “Maybe this … this scheme wasn’t such a good idea.”

  She stepped back, wholly breaking free from him. He watched her beneath heavy eyelids. And though she would prefer not to notice, his jaw had begun to do that clicking thing—as if her proximity had caused him certain stress.

  She found the edge of the countertop behind her with her hands and clung to it. He was right. This whole thing was an all-around bad idea … a really bad one. Papers could be written on the stupidity of this idea, of the difficulty of sustaining such a ruse!

  Still, how easy would it be for them to completely extricate themselves now?

  “I apologize for how this is turning out,” Chase said. “I should never have brought you into my troubles.”

  As the heat faded and reality washed over like cold sweat, she understood what he was trying to say. He had no feelings for her, other than as an employee. Maybe a polite friend—or one that offered occasional “benefits.”

  Grace pushed aside the memories of the taste of his lips on hers, shucking off the heat that those thoughts brought to her insides. She had no right to think of him as anything more to her than … a business partner. That had always been their agreement.

  She turned away from him, her mug of coffee staring back at her forlornly. “No apology necessary,” she said. “We’re partners and this morning just got out of hand. That’s all.”

  He groaned and turned her around by her waist.

  She flashed her eyes at him and took a step back only to ram her rear end into the kitchen counter. “Don’t you have a lunch to get ready for?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Are you always this combative?”

  “Me? I’ll have you know that my mother called me a peacemaker in this family.”

  “Really.”

  She tilted her head to one side, reality coming back into view. “How about you? How would your mother react to you coming on to your clients?”

  A beat of silence dropped between them. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He dipped his head low until their mouths were inches apart. “Don’t ever mention my mother again.”

  She shrank back, taking in the wildness of his eyes, pupils dilated. Was it from the kiss that lingered—at least it had lingered for her—or because of something else? “You never mention her.”

  “She doesn’t deserve mentioning.”

  “Because she wouldn’t approve?”

  Those eyes of his narrowed now. “Because she left my dad and me years ago. I haven’t seen her since I was three.”

  Grace let out a gasp. “No.”

  His gaze hardened further, that familiar click in his jaw reappearing. “Don’t feel sorry for me.”

  “She abandoned you?”

  He pressed his lips together, not meeting her eyes this time.

  She reached up and touched the thick pad of his shoulder. “That’s truly awful. I’m sorry, Chase.”

  His cheek twitched. “My father means everything to me, Grace.” He ran a hand through his hair, a rare sign of his guard down. “Nothing else matters.”

  His expression flashed from heavy emotion to stoniness in a moment’s time. He stepped away from her and she knew. He did not trust women. His mother had made sure of that. By the looks of things—by the casual flirtation with clients—she doubted he would ever change.

  To keep her hands busy, Grace cupped the mug of coffee. It had grown cold. “I know about the emails,” she blurted.

  “The what?”

  The deepness of his voice, overly calm, caused a ripple of fear to snake through her. She questioned her decision to spill her findings at this particular moment. She rubbed her lips together before saying, “The ones questioning your billing practices.”

  His jaw clicked. He stared her down. “What questions about my billing practices? Who sent them?”

  Shoot. Perhaps she hadn’t thought this out well. She did not want Chase to know Mick had been forwarding his findings to her.

  “That doesn’t matter,” she said. She took a sip of the cold coffee and tried not to grimace. “I’m just saying I know now why you don’t appear to trust women much, and I guess Kate didn’t exactly help you in that department.”

  He met her statement with silence, the kind that echoed.

  “I mean, since she called you out on over billing your clients …”

  “That’s enough,” he snapped. He grabbed his keys from the island. “I’ve got somewhere to be.”

  She watched him turn and stride toward the front door, then stop and pivot toward her. “You know, my father told me that you reminded him of my mother, but I didn’t see it. Now I do.”

  Then he walked out the door, slamming the screen door behind him.

  Ten

  Chase drove his Range Rover onto the freeway onramp at too high of speed. His surroundings were invisible to him, his mind consumed with … his stupidity.

  He ran a hand through his hair and grunted, then merged into the fast lane.

  Why had he thought anything would ever change?

  His cell phone rang. Judith. He punched the answer icon on the home screen of his dashboard.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, good morning to you, too.”

  He grunted a response.

  “Everything going swimmingly, I see.”

  “If you mean I’m stuck in hell, then you’re getting warmer.”

  “Ha! That was a good one.”

  He scowled. Good thing he’d had someone to confess the truth to. Judith knew about his planned engagement-turned-marriage and didn’t judge him for his decision. At least not outwardly.

  “Did you want something?” he asked.

  “Well, yes, now that you ask.” She chuckled. “I was calling to make sure you connected with Marjorie Winslow. I made a big deal about how I was going to interrupt your honeymoon to connect you.”

  “I’m on my way to meet her now.”

  “Good. Now, do you want to tell me why all the bitterness? I thought your scheme was working for you.”

  “Hasn’t been what I expected.”

  Judith scoffed. “What did you expect? For Grace to give you all the benefits of marriage without the commitment?”

  “Ouch. You make me sound like a jerk.”

  She chuckled a second time. “You do have a reputation, you know.”

  “I wasn’t talking about sex.” He’d be lying, though, if he didn’t admit, at least to himself, that he had entertained that thought on more than a couple of occasions. “On another matter, Grace mentioned something about me overcharging clients. What’s she talking about?”

  Judith sighed into the phone.

  “Judith?”

  “I wasn’t going to mention this just yet, but since you asked, I’ve ordered an audit of our billing files.”

  “You … what?”

  “Hush now. Don’t worry. My auditor is quite discreet. If he finds anything, I’ll be the only one who knows about it. And you’ll be next, of course.”

  “He won’t find anything wrong. You should have talked this over with me, Judith. You know that I always review invoices.”

  “Wouldn’t you prefer that I present you with all the facts first?”

  “Are you saying Kate is behind this? That she did something to turn my clients against me?”

  “For a smart man, you can be quite dumb sometimes. Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” She huffed a breath that sounded like a weary sigh. “Cha
se, you crossed one too many women, I think.”

  He gripped the steering wheel. He’d lost his mind—he must have to have allowed this insanity to stretch over so many days, weeks. It was time for him to take the reins of his business, his life—no matter what his father’s will might say. “I’ll be back in the office tomorrow.”

  “How do you plan to do that?”

  “After lunch with Marjorie, I’ll drive straight home. Grace can … she can ship my things to me.”

  “I don’t think—”

  He hung up on Judith mid-sentence, not interested in her reasons why his coming home right now would be a bad idea. He’d had enough. No more thinking. It was time for doing, though the strategy had yet to be nailed down in his mind.

  One thing he was sure of—true love and all that sort of garbage was nothing but a fairy tale. A multi-million-dollar industry for storytellers. It had nothing to do with real life. Nothing.

  His cell phone rang and he scowled. Judith on the line again. She’d saved his hide more times than he could count, which meant she could do him in for good—if she ever really wanted to.

  But would she do that to him?

  Reluctantly, Chase punched the answer button on his dash.

  “You are not going to ask that poor girl to send your things. Understood?”

  By the tone of Judith’s voice, he could tell he very well may have pushed her as close to the edge as he dared.

  “Tell her in person, Chase.”

  He hesitated. Instinct made his spine like a rod. If this were anyone else in his office, he’d send them straight to the unemployment office.

  But this was Judith. She was a tiger … and he a ball of string.

  “Don’t be so quick to write people off, Chase. You’ve been doing this since you were young.” Her voice softened. “Constantly steering clear of sticky situations means you’ll never have a chance of landing well.”

  Her gentleness, usually reserved for her children and grandchildren, surprised him. He swallowed back any thought of a retort.

  Judith sighed into the phone. She sounded weary, and the thought that she might not be around forever startled him. “So you will go back to the house first?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good. Now, before you hang up on me again, Kate called the office for you.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Said it’s important that you call her back. I played dumb, of course.” She paused. “Did you really block her number on your phone?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Well. Can’t say that I blame you.”

  He grinned at this.

  “Anyway, you might want to give her a call, if nothing else, to lambaste her for her backhanded ways.”

  “You want me to tell her that?”

  “Not really.” Lingering fatigue tinged her voice. “Just find out what she wants and get rid of her. Think you can handle that?”

  “I can.”

  “All right then. Goodbye, Chase.”

  He sat in silence, chagrined at the schooling he’d just received. Or rather, annoyed with himself for allowing Grace to mess with his mind so spectacularly.

  Chase could feel that familiar clicking of his cheek, the pain of it crushing his jaw. His father had let himself go all in when it came to love with Chase’s mother, and what had that gotten him? A heart full of scars. And now he was losing his mind.

  For the first time in weeks, Chase considered his relationship with Kate. She’d come on to him first, telling him she was meant to have him. At first, he thought her a tease … but then he fell. Hard.

  He had his own scars to prove it.

  He groaned, called up Kate’s contact number, and hit the green button.

  “Well, well, well. I had a feeling your minion would pass along my message.”

  “Kate.”

  “How’s the wife?”

  “Great. What can I do for you?”

  “Not interested in chitchat. I understand that. Well, then, I’ll tell you what I want: I want Mayer.”

  He chuckled. “Good luck with that.”

  “Oh? Haven’t you heard? He only wants bonafide family men and women to represent him. Guess that counts you out.”

  Chase wagged his chin, groaning. “Kate, I’m on my way to meet a client. I don’t have time for your games. As you know, I am a married man now.”

  “A fake married man.”

  “That’s your opinion. Grace is …”

  “Yes?” The tone in her voice teased, like she was a feline ready to pounce on some unsuspecting rodent.

  “She’s a special woman,” and she’s mine, he almost added.

  “Special or not, she’s not your wife and I have the proof.”

  He slowed behind a truck that had decided it was cool to crawl in the fast lane. Chase bit back a growl, switched on his blinker to change lanes, all the while wondering what Kate was yapping about.

  He changed lanes and punched the accelerator. “I don’t know what proof you think you have, Kate, but an entire ship full of people could tell you that Grace and I were married. You missed a fantastic crab appetizer, by the way.”

  She shot off a tinkling laugh that would make bunnies scatter. “Oh dear. That.”

  “Yes, that.” Why was she annoying him now?

  “That, my friend, wasn’t legal.” She paused. “You did know that, didn’t you?”

  Chase swallowed. Marriage license—check. Judge officiant—check. Willing bride. A slight grin reached his mouth. Check.

  He had no reason to question the legality of his marriage to Grace.

  “Are you finished?” he asked. “Even if you aren’t, as I told you, I have no time for this garbage.”

  “Hm. You don’t know. What a shame.” She pushed out an overly dramatic sigh. “You were in international waters at the time of your ‘I dos’. So the whole thing is washed up—excuse the pun. Then again, of course you knew that.”

  “I’ve got to go.”

  “I see I’ve taken you by surprise. You can trust that what I’m telling you is true, Chase, but should you want verification of my findings, give Judge Cape a call. I’m sending him an email about this … right now.”

  Chase licked his lips, seething. “I’m quite sure you are wrong, but if by chance there is something to what you said, I’ll get it taken care of. So I suppose I should be saying thank you.”

  “You should also be saying bye-bye to Mayer. The minute he learns you faked your marriage to the pretty new recruit in the law office, he’ll dump you as his representative. He is an upstanding business owner, you see.”

  “And the minute he learns you’ve been fabricating invoices with my firm’s name on them, he’ll block your calls too.”

  Her voice turned to ice. “You’re grasping. Nothing you can prove.”

  “Watch me.”

  Chase expelled a groan and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He’d have to call Judge Cape to see if there was anything to Kate’s claims, but no matter the outcome, he had suddenly been reminded why he and long-term relationships didn’t mix.

  As he sped along the freeway toward a potential client—a client he would acquire by his own doing—he knew his dalliance with Grace, or whatever it was they had going, was over.

  Grace sat on the floor of her bedroom, searching the space around her for any idea of what the key she’d found might open. She didn’t hold out much hope for a conclusion, but it kept her mind off of her scuffle—and that embrace—with Chase.

  She replayed the way he had spun away from her and slammed the door on his way out. Her hands began to sweat and Grace shook her head, quieting a curse that formed on her lips.

  She had known better than to believe that love could happen with a man who had a bad reputation the size of Texas. Kate had walked out and taken clients with her. Why would Grace think she was any different? That she could somehow tame the beast with a history like his?

  She let out a garbled sigh and lay down
on the floor. Zeke trotted over and began to slobber over her, his spit stinky and hot.

  “Stop it, Z. Can’t you see me wallowing here?”

  Zeke licked her nose and she swatted him away, swallowing back laughter. At least she could still laugh.

  Her pup crawled up onto her chest, turned in a circle—which wasn’t all that comfortable for her—and settled onto her stomach.

  She sighed, aimlessly petting the puppy that had found her when all was about to fall apart. The corners of her mouth tugged low.

  Grace had let her guard drop and all Chase had done was kick it the rest of the way to the ground—and then run after the next cute thing to cross his path. She still couldn’t believe he sat in her father’s chair and made a date with another woman, albeit a client.

  Even if their marriage was fake, that took a lot of … guts.

  And then … he compared her to his mother!

  A knock on the door interrupted her mangled thoughts and she sat up, sending Zeke clamoring to the floor. He whined beside her. The knock came again. Had Chase left without his key?

  She jogged to the front door and flung it open.

  Wren stood on the front porch, her arm outstretched with a pitcher. “Lavender lemonade! As promised.”

  The cherry-cheeked woman’s smile countered Grace’s sour mood. She forced a smile upon her face so Wren would not think to ask probing questions that could be impossible to answer.

  Grace accepted the pitcher. “Thank you,” she said. “Would you like to come in? Or we could sit on the porch under the umbrella, if you’d like.”

  “Oh, my, it’s getting a bit blustery. If your beloved doesn’t mind, I would prefer to come inside.”

  Grace opened the door wide. “Not at all.”

  Wren followed her into the kitchen where Grace retrieved two glasses from a cupboard. She held one up in front of her guest. “Will you join me in a glass?”

  Wren shook her head. “Oh, no. That’s for you and Chase.” She surveyed the living room. “Is he here?”

  “No, not at the moment.” Grace took a sip of the lemonade, hardly tasting it.

  “Well, I’m sure he’ll be back soon. I’ve seen how he dotes on you.”

  A sudden thought pushed its way into Grace’s head. “Can I ask you something?”