Grace Anne (3 page)

“The guy downstairs told me that
you were up here and that, since it was Saturday and I knew that you lived here,
he thought you wouldn’t mind me coming up. And I didn’t tell him anything
different.” He looked around the room as he stepped further in. “Nice place.”

Her mind raced to try and remember
if anyone had said she lived here. She couldn’t remember anyone letting it slip
and was sure he’d lie his way in. She wanted to toss him out on his ear, but in
all honesty she was a little afraid to get too close to him. It wasn’t that she
was afraid he’d hurt her, she was afraid of what she might do to him.

She’d tried hard to forget the way
he’d felt against her. And more, to forget how long it had been since anyone
had held her, really held her. She didn’t get a lot of time to date and she
figured that if one man could make her feel things that…well, she decided to go
out with the first man who asked her just to get back into practice.

“I want you to leave, Mr.
Cunningham. I have plans today and dealing with you is not on the list. And don’t
come back. I’ve told you numerous times I’m not going to—”

“I just want to have a
conversation with you. We were…interrupted the other day and I still want you
to consider the offer I’m giving you. You’re keeping me from the project I have
to finish and I’m trying to be nice.”

She laughed. Before she could say
anything a boy walked into her apartment. “Dad, I have to go to the bathroom. And
you said you’d be right back.” He looked from his father to her, then back
again. “Please? I have to go really bad.”

“Trace, this is Miss Waite. This
is her place; you’ll have to clear it with her.” Michael looked at her with a
smirk. “If she doesn’t let you use her bathroom, maybe you could go…I don’t
know, pee in the alley.”

She wanted not only to smack his
face, but to knock that knowing grin off of it. She counted to ten and then
smiled at the boy. “Come along, Trace. I’ll take you. Maybe while we’re gone
your father will go down to his car and wait for you. I’m sure he’s wasting his
time here. In fact, I’m positive that he is.” She led him down the hall and
thought about how much he looked like his father.

Michael really was a beautiful
man. Dark hair that was just a bit too long to be conservative and then there
was the slight curl at the ends. His son, Trace, had the same dark tone, but
his was curlier and longer than his dad’s. They were both tall, though Michael
was considerably taller at more than six and a half feet. And he was muscled. When
he’d pulled her against his body she’d felt every one of them. Christ, she
thought as she led the boy back to the door, she really did need to get laid.

She found him sitting on her
couch. Drinking her coffee. When she and Trace came down the hall again and
walked in he stood, but didn’t apologize for making himself at home. She didn’t
know whether to smack him upside the head or…she wanted to smack his head, she
decided. She walked to the door and picked up her keys.

“I’m leaving, Mr. Cunningham. And
I’d very much like it if you left now so that I can lock up. As I’ve said, I
have plenty of things to do today and you’re not—”

“I’m getting a bed today,” Trace
said quickly. “My old one broke and I’ve been saving my money to get a big one.
I’ve been saving my allowance for over a year. Why don’t you come with us? You
and Dad can talk and I can get my bed.”

She looked at Trace. A bed? It
seemed much too close to her own shopping today for her to think he hadn’t been
told. She thought about Carol. “Did you ask Carol what I was doing today?” She
didn’t believe him when he shook his head. It was the smile, she decided. “She
didn’t tell you I was bed shopping too?”

“No. Are you?” She nodded before
she could stop herself. “Good, then we’ll all go together. It’s Trace’s
birthday. He’s nine today and you wouldn’t want to disappoint him on his big
day, would you?”

“I thank you, but…I’m sure your son
has a day planned just for the two of you.” And if not, she certainly wasn’t
joining him. “I have a lot of errands to run as well. Then I have to go to the
grocery store and—”

“My cake is at the store too,”
Trace told her excitedly. “We’re gonna pick it up and take it to my grandma’s
after we’re done. Will you come to my party? You can be my special date. Grandma
said every man needs a special date.”

“I don’t…Mr. Cunningham, please
tell your son that this isn’t a good idea. You and I…well, we have a history
that we…I don’t think this is a good idea.” She wanted to tap her foot while he
seemed to think over his answer. When he finally did answer she was sure this
was going to be the worst day of her life.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea. We
can talk about the building and I can help you both test out beds. I think you
should have yours tested well, don’t you?”

Yes, she decided, she was going to
smack him. She looked down at Trace who had the most puppy dog look on his
face. She knew she was lost. She looked back up at Michael and frowned. “No
business. None. And the first time you mention it, I’m gone. It’s my first free
Saturday for over six months and I don’t want to talk business. Not that you
could talk me into selling anyway, but no business. Is that clear?”

“Crystal. And for the record.” He
was suddenly in front of her. “I don’t like being told what to do—in the
bedroom or out.” This last part he whispered near her ear. It was everything
she could do not to moan. And when he stepped back she nearly reached for him
to steady herself. She was going to get laid if it was the last thing she did
and it was not going to be this bastard.

Chapter 3

Michael was enjoying himself. He
hadn’t expected to. In fact, he’d about decided that when they’d both came down
from the hallway he was going to tell them something had come up. But her
telling him what he was going to do made him feel a little vindictive toward
her. And when he’d crowded her in the hallway he realized that he might have
bitten off more than he could chew.

And Trace was having a great time.
He had a way about him that Michael could see in himself. The kid was a charmer
all right, and Michael loved it. The few times he’d turned to her for advice, she’d
talked to him as though he was on her level and not some stupid kid who she
didn’t have time for. The two of them were having a lot of fun. With each other
anyway.

Grace ignored him. Well, as much
as he’d let her. He had no idea why he baited her, but he enjoyed watching her
bite her cheek. He knew she was doing it because Trace had told her that she
was going to wear a callous there and then she’d looked like the elephant man
like he’d seen on television. Michael had burst out laughing, which had earned
him a glare and he was sure a few hundred dirty names in her mind. And yet,
nearly three hours later, she was still with them.

“I’m going to get the blue bed
with the race car. It’s not too much and I’ll have enough left over to get the
curtains I want too.” Trace looked longingly at the bunk beds before he
continued. “And I’m going to get the matching blankets, and the lamp for my
desk.”

She glanced at the bunk beds too. Michael
was about to tell his son that he’d pay the difference when she stepped in. He
was suddenly very glad he’d brought her along.

“That’s a good choice. Of course,
you managed to save over a thousand dollars in such a short time, right?” Trace
nodded and glanced at the bunk beds again. “Maybe you could, I don’t know,
borrow the money from someone. I’m betting you’ll get a few bucks at your party
today, and you’re not really that short, are you?”

Michael could see the joy leap in
Trace’s eyes, but he didn’t jump at the idea. He’d heard them talking about how
much money he’d had to spend and the difference between the bed he was getting
and the one he wanted was huge. Over a grand difference.

But Michael liked the bunk beds
better too. They were wooden, solid oak that had a dresser under one end and a
desk the other. The second bed, the lower one, jutted out from under the first
in an L shape. It was well made, practical, and the perfect thing for a kid’s
room. Hell, he wanted Trace to have them as well and was just on the verge of making
the offer when Trace turned to him.

In ten minutes of wheeling and
dealing, they had a deal. He’d work for the difference by keeping his grades up
and his room clean. And, in exchange, Michael would foot the difference. In
less time than it took them to pay for Trace’s new bedroom set, Grace had
finished up her own purchases.

Trace got the bedding for each bed
and he’d even gotten himself a couple of really “coolness” rugs to set by his
bed. Michael was impressed. He wasn’t sure that at this boy’s age, he might
have been a lot more impulsive with his purchases. He even offered to pay him
interest on the loan he was fronting him. He, of course, told him if he made
his payments on time, then he’d be fine. For now. They were coming out of the
store when Grace turned to him finally.

“Mr. Cunningham, it’s been very
lovely spending time with your son, but I have to get some things done. You two
have a very nice rest of the day.” She even held out her hand as if he would
take it and then go away. He smiled at her and she took a step back.

“You’ve been invited to spend the
day with us. I’m pretty sure that we had more plans, don’t you think, Trace?” He
knew he was being a bastard, but he found that he didn’t want to leave her just
yet and, apparently, neither did his son.

“I want you to be my date, Grace. Please?
It’ll be fun. All my uncles will be there and my aunts. Besides, you were sure helpful
when I needed it. I have to repay you now. Besides, you hanging with us made
that weird sales lady keep away. She was all over Dad the last time we were
here.”

Michael could feel the flush on
his face at the boy’s comment. The sales person had been right there with them
the entire time. She’d even offered to give him her phone number—several times.
Then this time there had been an occasional question answered and Grace had
made sure that the answers had been directed at Trace. Something else he’d
enjoyed, her putting Trace above their differences.

“Trace, I don’t think your
grandmother meant for you to bring a complete stranger to her house. You and
your father go and have a grand time. I’ll just go on from here and—” She put
out her hand again just as his phone rang. It was his mom. Michael handed the
cell to his son and watched Grace shift on her feet and glare at him.

“That was my grandma,” Trace said
as he handed the phone back to Michael. “She said you come on with us and that
there will be plenty of food. And she said for you to tell Dad to behave
himself. I don’t know why she said that, but she said he’d understand.”

Michael threw back his head and
laughed. “Yes, I understand. Shall we, Grace?” He waved her toward his car.

“May I speak to you? Privately,
please?” She didn’t even open her mouth, her teeth clenched so tight he was
sure she was going to do permanent damage to them. She told his son to wait
right there, please, and not to move. He walked her to the limo and watched her
bend over and climb in. He knew that he’d have that memory burned in his mind
for months, if not years to come. She started in on him the moment the door was
closed.

“What the hell do you think you’re
doing? I want you to back off. I’m going to ask you once more to leave me
alone. I don’t know how many ways I can—”

He yanked her to him and silenced
her with his mouth. Christ, but she was made for kissing. When she moaned and
touched her hand to his shoulder he shifted them so that she was sitting nearly
on his lap. Lifting her leg, he pulled her onto him and tightened her to his
groin. This time the moan came from him. He had never wanted anyone like he did
Grace Waite. When a knock at the window stopped him from laying her back over
the seat and taking her, he smiled when she whimpered as he pulled back. Another
knock, this one harder, had him sitting her on the seat next to him and
reaching for the controls.

“It’s raining. Can we go to the
store now or are you guys not finished talking?” Trace stuck his head in the
window and looked at Grace. “She looks weird. Is she all right?”

“Yes. She was just showing me how
much she wanted to come with me. Climb on in, buddy, before you get soaked.”

Michael could tell by the look on
her face that she’d gotten the double-entendre. And he was reasonably sure that
he was going to pay for it too. He leaned back into the seat and told his
driver to take them to the store on Tenth. They were gliding into traffic when
her phone rang.

~~~

She didn’t want to answer the
call. She wanted to berate the man sitting next to her and then go home. He’d
made her feel things that…well, she was sure she’d never felt things like that
before. She decided not to think about those things when she answered.

“You fucking cunt. Do you think I
can’t get to you all the way up there in New York City? I can. I will. And the
rest of your family will be dead too.”

She didn’t remember her phone
being taken away from her. She could hear shouting, but none of it registered. She
only knew that someone had found her. Grace tried to pull away from the man who
held her and the little boy she’d scared, but Michael kept dragging her back.

“Grace? Grace, tell me…Trace, give
me a bottle of water for her.”

She looked up at Michael.

“What is it?” he asked her.

“Nothing. It was…people like to
make comments on the type of clothing I sell all the time and sometimes
they…this is Trace’s day. I’m not going to worry about a small-minded person
when he has so much to celebrate.”

She hoped that he’d understand she
wasn’t going to talk about it in front of his son and though he didn’t ask
again, she knew that he was far from satisfied. She leaned her head back
against the seat and thought about what she had to do now. Now that someone had
found her, found her after all she’d done to ensure they wouldn’t, she would
have to bolt again.