Beyond Bliss (24 page)

It was a rhetorical question, so he didn’t respond.  She wasn’t going to be pleased with his next bit of news. 

“Makes sense.  My family will be there too.  We can kill two birds with one stone.”

Her horrified look was back in full-force, and he tried not to laugh.  She pointed her finger at her office door.  “Out!”

“But baby—“ he started.

“No!  No more.  I can’t look at you right now or Liz is going to have to bail me out of jail for aggravated assault.”

Wisely, he rose from the chair.  As he made his way to the door, he kept his mouth shut, but right before he opened it, he turned around.  “Hope you can look at me in a few hours baby, because we’re going out to dinner with my little sister.”

He quickly left the room and shut the door behind him.  When he heard a low scream followed by a heavy thud against the door, he silently patted himself on the back for his prudent timing.

Chapter Twenty-One

She actually enjoyed dinner.

For the most part.

Lucas didn’t have any pictures of his family (that she could see) in the penthouse, but she’d conjured images of perfection.  She’d stiffly walked into the restaurant, expecting to be sized up and found lacking by a towering, reed-thin blonde in Barbie doll sized clothing. 

After all, that’s exactly what had happened the first time she’d met Zach’s sister.  She was rich, cold, and beautiful and had no need or desire to get to know Sophie.

That had been the sum total of her expectations, and she’d silently fumed the entire ride to the restaurant, the dread in the pit of her stomach resisting his attempts to cajole her out of her dark mood.

But Grace Sinclair had defied her expectations and then some.

For one, she stood a few inches taller than Sophie, but she was anything but towering.  She certainly wasn’t reed-thin or dressed in miniature sizes either.  Her figure was definitely on the fuller side, but her shape was impossible to make out in her baggy clothing.

Sophie hid her dismay at Grace’s outfit behind a bright smile, feeling like a first class hypocrite.  Liz would have a field day with this one if she thought I was bad. 

After two decades of reluctant study under Liz’s critical eye, she could tell the knit and material of the younger woman’s black pants was expensive, but they were too baggy—likely several sizes too large, making her appear larger than she probably was.  Her instant recognition of Grace’s top wasn’t due to her fashion savvy.

She remembered gasping out loud at the ridiculous price tag on the very same shirt while browsing J.Crew’s website during a Liz-imposed bout of online shopping.  The shirt was made of a soft gray cashmere, but again it looked like Grace had gone several sizes up.  That, combined with the crew neck, pockets, and casual cut of the garment, made it look like a sweatshirt.  The way the shirt made her gray eyes seem brighter was the only redeeming quality. 

No one would have guessed that the shirt was nearly six hundred dollars on sale.

Despite the pricey attire, she found Grace approachable and down-to-earth.  When they’d entered the restaurant, she’d had eyes for no one but her big brother. Her excitement was palpable as she raced over from the cocktail bar, purse and drink forgotten, before throwing her arms tightly around Lucas.  When she finally released him, the hero worship she felt for her older brother shone clear and unadulterated in her eyes, and bittersweet warmth tightened in Sophie’s chest. 

She’d often wished for another sibling, and even though Liz was as close to her as any blood sister could possibly be, the bond between siblings was unmistakably unique.

The warm feeling evaporated immediately however, when Grace finally turned to her, a carefully guarded look in her eyes that had now turned to frost. 

Sophie smiled tightly and extended her hand.

“Sophie Harlow.  It’s so good to meet you,” she said cheerfully, the tone false to even her own hers. 

Lucas looked at her quizzically, before turning back to his sister to make introductions. 

“Grace, meet Sophie.  Sophie, Grace,” he said simply, motioning from one woman to the other. 

Grace gave her a funny little smile, but shook the proffered hand nonetheless. 

They were seated within minutes, courtesy of Lucas’s frequent patronage of the small Italian restaurant nestled in the heart of Tribeca.  It wasn’t until after the maître’ d escorted them to a medium sized round table, in a semi private room shielded from the rest of the establishment, and Grace excused herself to use the ladies’ room, that Sophie turned on Lucas.

“What was that about?” he asked.

“It would have been nice if you’d given me more warning than a few hours,” she snapped back.

He rolled his eyes at her, having heard this several times already.  “It’s fine.  Relax.”

“Easy for you to say.  She’s your sister,” she sulked.  “And she clearly didn’t want to meet me.”

This time, he frowned at her, disappointment evident in the way he tightened his firm lips.  Ordinarily, she would have focused on the perfection of those lips and how they drove her crazy, but the unsettled feeling in her stomach grew even rockier. 

A look she’d seen all too often on Zach’s handsome face when she did something to cause him displeasure.

Like wearing a white sundress to a yacht party after Labor Day.

The memory, and how she’d apologized for something so trivial, so meaningless, all the while the bastard was cheating on her caused her blood to heat.  Anger throbbed in her veins until she was certain she was going to explode. 

She stood abruptly and pushed out of her chair, ignoring the napkin that fell from her lap to the floor. 

“Look Sinclair, I honestly don’t give a shit what anyone thinks about me. If your sister loves me, great.  If she hates me, too bad.  I don’t care how many zeroes and commas you’ve got in the bank, you don’t control my life.”

Lucas sat back in his chair, his jaw clenched with something in his eyes that looked suspiciously like…anxiety?

But Sophie was on a roll now, and she ignored his expression.

“What you see is what you get.  If you don’t like it, you can toss yourself off Mount Everest.  You might get to call the shots at work, but if you think you can do that with the rest of my life, you’ve got another thing coming.  Coercing me into unplanned family dinners at the last moment, answering my phone, inviting my mother for God’s sake, and shaming me into feeling like I’m doing something wrong when I’ve done nothing at all is your problem, not mine.  Please tell Grace I’m sorry I can’t stay, and do me a favor and think about what I’ve said.  If this concept is too hard for you to wrap your Neanderthal brain around, then my feet are going to walk a hell of a lot further than that door right there,” she fumed as she spun around to turn her index finger towards the door of the restaurant and made to grab her bag. 

The last thing she expected to see were Grace Sinclair’s cool, gray eyes sparkling with amusement as she brought her hands together in a sharp clap. 

Her cheeks went hot, and she immediately looked away from the other woman.  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, moving to make a quick escape.

“Please don’t leave!”

She halted and managed to look at the other woman.  “Sorry?”

Grace’s full lips twitched at both corners, until she finally started to laugh uncontrollably. 

“This is priceless.  Oh my God, Lucas, you better not screw this up.  If you bring a bimbo around after this, I’m never letting you hear the end of it.”

What just happened?

Sophie’s brows drew together in confusion.  “Huh?”

Grace stopped laughing enough to motion Sophie to her chair.  “Please have a seat.  If you don’t want Lucas around for dinner, he can go forage for food elsewhere.  But you are my new best friend.  I’ve never seen anyone, much less a woman he’s dated, stand up to him like that.  Well-deserved or otherwise,” she giggled. 

Words bled together in her mind, but she could only respond with “We’re not dating.”

The younger woman raised her brows knowingly.  “Uh huh.”

“I’m a lawyer.  He’s retained me to do some work for his company.”

Grace clapped.  “I love this.  She doesn’t even want anyone to know she’s with you.”  She turned to face her brother and her face sobered.  “I’m serious, thank you for coming to your senses.  And if you fuck this up,” she warned, “I’m telling Mom that you came close to not diluting our gene pool, but you screwed it up and instead you’ll end up giving her grandchildren with a baby momma called Bambi.”

“You got it all wrong, sweetheart.  Bambi’s mine, Gracie,” a smooth, deep voice drawled from behind her. 

Grace froze for a few seconds, until red flushed her cheeks. 

Lucas took advantage of Sophie’s confusion by setting both hands around her waist and pulling her backwards so she sat in his lap.

Sophie looked from Lucas to Grace to the man standing behind her in confusion.   He smiled easily, ignoring the stony expression on Grace’s face as he slid into the chair directly across from her. 

Her gaze landed back on Lucas when she felt his warm lips press against her ear as he responded to her earlier words, his voice low.  “Your warning is duly noted, baby.  I’ll do my best, but let me just remind you that I can keep you sore for days—and you won’t be able to walk very far when I’m done with you.”

Sophie squirmed in his lap, suddenly uncomfortable as his words evoked vivid images in her mind. 

Lucas tightened his arms around her before he let out a sharp laugh.  “Might as well relax honey.  We’re just the opening act compared to them.  Welcome to the Grace and Sean show, otherwise known as Mortal Combat, part two-hundred.”

She wondered at the bizarre statement, but she flinched from the intensity of Grace’s glare at her brother.  “You didn’t say anything about inviting reptiles to dinner.”

“He didn’t,” Sean responded, unfazed.  “Invite me that is—,” he clarified.  “I invited myself when I heard he was going to see you tonight, brat.  Was hoping for a repeat of Thanksgiving dinner.  My hair never felt softer after I washed all the pitcher of sangria out of it.  I think you might be onto something there Gracie.”

She’d stepped into a parallel universe, she was sure of it.  She was sitting in a five star Michelin restaurant, sitting on the lap of her wealthy lover while his younger sister and best friend took potshots at one another.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw their waiter standing discreetly against the wall, nearly hidden by shadows.

She cleared her throat and tried to pull off of Lucas’s lap, but his hold didn’t budge. 

“Let me go,” she whispered urgently.

“Never,” he vowed, in a voice just as low. 

She turned her head, narrowing her eyes at him, but he kept his expression bland. 

“I need to go to the bathroom,” she tried.

“Liar.  You went right before we left the apartment.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him when he’d started to track her bathroom habits, but that was a conversation better saved for when they were alone. 

His mask started to fade when she turned a sweet smile on him right before he yelped and drew his hand back, dislodging her from his grasp.   She slipped easily off his lap and sat in the chair across from his. 

It had been an underhanded move, pinching him, but there was no way she was going to sit on his lap during the entire dinner in a public restaurant, and she had no doubt that had been his exact intention. 

Grace paused in the middle of the steady stream of insults she’d been trading with Sean to look up.  “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing,” he answered, but his eyes were intent on Sophie and full with the promise of retribution.

She fought a shiver and she focused her gaze on the waiter who’d appeared out of nowhere and was now droning through the chef’s specials. 

Dinner was delicious, and even though Sophie found herself thoroughly charmed by Grace, it was impossible to relax.  Several times, she’d caught Lucas staring at her, his gaze dark and sensual. 

She was made of stern stuff, but she wasn’t made of stone.  By the end of dinner, it would be a miracle if she didn’t melt into a puddle of hormones. 

And each time he smirked at her, she knew he was aware of the effect he had on her. 

Thankfully, the banter between Sean and Grace kept her somewhat distracted. 

Grace was witty, funny, and sweet to everyone at the table—except Sean.  She ignored him for the most part, but Sophie found his reaction even odder.  She didn’t know Sean that well, but from most of her interactions and observations, Sean appeared to be a laid-back, charming flirt. 

That Sean had apparently exited the building, and in his place was his evil twin brother.

Sophie learned Grace was nearing the end of nursing school, and they spent some time trading war stories while Sean and Lucas discussed a lucrative potential new deal. 

Grace’s stories definitely had her beat.

After one such story, this one involving a sex toy and two residents from an assistant living home, her stomach lurched.  She smiled weakly, and attempted to change the subject.