Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (6 page)

They rang the taxi company again. Delayed. Busy.

‘
Far out
,’
Grace said.

‘
I
’
ll drive you. We
’
ll park in Nick
’
s spot. He
’
ll be cruising with one of his bimbos anyway. I
’
ve gotta get to the tourism dinner
,
too
,’
Kate said.

As they drove into the city
,
Grace
’
s phone beeped with a text message.

‘
Perhaps he
’
s cancelling
,’
Grace said.

‘
Does he have your mobile number?
’

‘
Jules gave it to him to call me
,’
Grace raised both her eyebrows to Kate.

‘
Of course she did.
’

‘
Oh
,
it
’
s Joy checking in with her nightly message.
’

‘
Does she still text you every night?
’

‘
Yeah
,
she thinks I can
’
t take care of myself properly.
’

‘
Where did she get that idea? If there
’
s anyone who can take care of themselves
,
it
’
s you
,
Gracie.
’

Joy was Grace
’
s older sister by almost a decade. Married with five children
,
Joy felt she had to mother Grace and check in with her each night. Grace relished the messages. She loved how Joy and her husband
,
Vince
,
had made Grace a part of their life. Even Vince
’
s family treated Grace as one of their own. Still
,
she did not have time to dwell on them tonight.

The digital clock in the car read eight eleven when they pulled up outside the restaurant thanks to Kate
’
s inside lane undertaking.
‘
Here we are
,
at last.
’

‘
Oh
,
that was quick
,’
Grace
’
s palms were still sweating.

‘
You were busy texting Joy
,
time flew by. Come on
,
Grace
,
enjoy yourself
,
please. You will be okay and I
’
m sure you
’
ll still be breathing in the morning.
’
 

‘
Katie
,
you know I love you. You
’
re my best friend and you look sweet tonight in your little black dress with the cute lacy arms.
’

‘
You
’
re stalling
,
Grace. Here
’
s a thought. Imagine marrying this guy and then your name will be Mrs Millionaire. I
’
m sure he
’
s the man of your dreams.
’
She leant over Grace
’
s torso and released the door handle as Grace sat there like a statue. Kate was as calm as a stagnant pond when it came to dating
,
Grace didn
’
t know how she managed it.
‘
Think of them as a potential friend. Now get out.
’
She shoved Grace out of the car.

Grace
’
s mobile rang. She recognised his number from his previous call and said
,
‘
Hi. I
’
ll be two seconds.
’
Silence.
‘
Hello?
’

‘
Yes
,’
Jock said sternly.

‘
Are you there?
’

‘
Yes.
’

‘
We had trouble getting a taxi. Do you want to come out and meet my friend?
’

‘
No.
’

Oh dear.
‘
Where are you? At the bar having a drink?
’

‘
No
,
I
’
m sitting at the table waiting for you.
’

‘
One minute
,’
Grace hung up.
‘
He doesn
’
t sound too happy. He could be ticked off because I
’
m a bit late.
’

‘
Don
’
t be ridiculous
,
how stupid is that?
’
Kate scoffed and this time successfully pushed Grace out of the car.

‘
Don
’
t be so rough. The heel of my boot almost came loose. Kate
,
I have a terrible feeling you shouldn
’
t have let Jules give him my number
,’
Grace said into the car as her friend pushed the button to make the window go up and waved as she drove off.

Her life had been turned upside down in the last few hours. Today
,
when she met Kate for a coffee
,
she would not have dreamt she would venture out on a blind date to Aria. The last thing she thought of as she entered the restaurant was how Kate had pleaded with her to go until
,
pathetically
,
she had relented.
 

8

‘
Good evenin
g
,
ma
’
am
,’
said the maître de who greeted her at the door.

‘
Hello. There
’
s someone waiting for me. Jock Saunders.
’

‘
Yes
,
ma
’
am. May I have your name
,
please?
’

‘
Grace Rose.
’

‘
Welcome to Aria. Please follow me
,
Ms Rose.
’

Grace noted the crisp
,
white tablecloths with the elegant settings. The attention to detail was simple yet impeccable. Then there was the view out to the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The harbour water cradled the two iconic landmarks that were equally regal and grand. They were lit with innumerable surrounding lights and stars. The magnificent sight caused emotion to swell within her and almost made her forget about her nerves. Almost.

As she walked towards the table where Jock waited
,
Grace felt lightheaded. And were those stars swimming in front of her eyes? Her legs almost gave out. Fortunately a chair appeared catching her at the table in a timely manner. She wiped her right hand down her thigh on her jeans in case she had to shake his hand.

‘
Hi. I
’
m Grace
,’
she said with a smile.

‘
Jock
,’
he said as he half stood up
,
shook her hand then sat back down again. He stared into the distance past her.

‘
Gosh
,’
she said smiling.
‘
The taxi didn
’
t turn up and we called a dozen times. Well
,
more like three. Finally my friend drove me into town which was kind of her. Here I am at last.
’

Jock looked straight past her and drank some water.

How rude.
She wondered why she hesitated at getting up to walk out. Could he be put out by her eleven minute tardiness? This was one of the busiest cities in the world.
People are occasionally late
,
you know?

‘
You
’
re not mad
,
are you?
’
How ludicrous would that be?
‘
Sorry again I was late
,’
she smiled.
‘
Anyway
,
I –
’

‘
You said 8 P.M. It
’
s quarter after.
’
Jock super emphasised the
r
in quarter and after. Quarterrr. Afterrr. Then he pulled back the sleeve of his shirt
,
looked at his watch and then continued to not look at her.
‘
I give anyone five extra minutes and then I leave. You
’
re lucky I even called you.
’

What am I doing here with this tool?
Pleasant thoughts of murder flooded Grace
’
s mind as she dreamt of how to end her friendship with Kate.
Stabbing? Ooh no
,
too messy. A quick gunshot straight to the heart.
One problem
,
Grace didn
’
t have a gun. Hmm. She would have to revisit those thoughts
,
for now
,
she had a job to do.

How am I going to get out of this?
She would work it out.

In a matter of a millisecond it all became clear. He was an egocentric
,
millionaire IT professional who had been seconded by an Australian firm. He brought with him world-class abilities in new and unseen technology
,
according to Kate. His ego must have been the size of the harbour bridge
,
no
,
the harbour itself
,
no
,
Australia.

‘
Well
,
well
,
well
,’
Grace said for the sake of filling the quiet. She looked chic and she would not waste the rest of the evening with a burger meal under a tree somewhere. She would enjoy this game and win it.
What is the most expensive item on the menu?
She would ensure he paid before she gave him a good slap upside the head.

‘
I
’
ll have a glass of chardonnay
,’
she said to the waiter hanging around their table.
And a double shot of tequila. Two could play this game.
‘
It was actually eleven afterrr when we pulled up out the front though it took me a few minutes to get inside. The maître de was busy
,
there goes another couple of minutes.
’
She threw her hands in the air as if to say
,
‘
Go figure
’
. She took a long look at him now. Not surprisingly
,
her nerves had disappeared.

Good looking?
He had grey
,
narrow eyes with heavy eyelids and a protruding jaw line. His teeth were crooked and he had one of those small
,
thin mouths. She knew he worked out because his tight
,
turtle-neck jumper showed every ripple of his over-exercised physique. Perhaps he thought wearing a top two sizes too small for him would make her swoon. He was wrong. It was his aloof manner and icy attitude that made her want to swoon all the way out the restaurant
’
s door.

What an ugly man
.

Her drink arrived.

‘
It
’
s your first week here
,’
she said as she took a gulp of the wine.
‘
You
’
re not even going to celebrate with a glass of our best?
’

‘
I
’
m in training.
’

‘
Welcome to Australia
,’
she said as she finished the second half of the glass.
‘
Hope you don
’
t mind if I do?
’
As if she cared what he thought.
‘
Another
,
please?
’
She called to the waiter.

They were both still sitting there in silence when the menus arrived.

‘
Too late to back out now
,’
she raised her eyebrows at him and picked up the menu.
‘
What
’
s the fish of the day?
’
she asked the waiter.

‘
Coral Trout
,’
he said.

Nice and expensive.

Dinner was long and arduous. Time had not stood this still since before the dawn of creation. Seconds ticked by like minutes and minutes like hours as Grace listened to Jock
’
s endless list of achievements. How he had graduated the top of his class at university
,
how he was in training and therefore couldn
’
t taste even one drop of wine
,
how he ran five times a week and weight-trained another three days
,
with one day off
,
how he had a personal trainer and how his ex-wife was a neurotic
,
high maintenance
,
prima donna who spent all his money and had refused to have his children.
I
’
m sure she would have found his charming demeanour ghastly
,
too.

Grace gazed at the view again and again. She had the seat facing towards the harbour which surprised her. With his charming personality
,
he was the type who would have taken the best seat at the table. She figured he mustn
’
t have been interested in the view. It was his first time here
,
too.
What is wrong with this guy?

She counted each individual blind on all of the verticals on all of the windows in the restaurant.
Twenty-four
,
twenty-five
,
twenty – argh. Start again.

‘
Sorry
,
did you ask me something?
’
Grace asked.

‘
No. Did you hear what I said about my last marathon?
’

‘
No. Oh
,
hey
,
is there anything you wanted to know about
me
?
’

‘
Oh?
’

He looked at Grace as if he
’
d been asked to solve the most difficult nuclear equation ever presented to mankind to save the world.
‘
Ask me a question. There must be something
,’
she said. Silence ensued.
I need to plan an escape.

He stared across the restaurant
,
perhaps looking for inspiration from the vertical blinds
,
too.

‘
Are you on the pill?
’

‘
WHAT?
’

‘
Are you on the pill? And when was the last time you had unsafe sex?
’

‘
You
’
ve got to be kidding.
’

‘
Oh
,
I also need to know when you last had a HIV test.
’

OMIGOSH.
She had heard it all now. She knew that no other date would ever be as painstaking as sitting through this never-ending night with Jock the jock. She would have derived more pleasure if she stayed at home and endured scratched arms from cutting the cat
’
s toenails.

‘
You
’
re quite a tight little package
,
aren
’
t you? I didn
’
t have a good look when you came in because I was ready to leave but now I
’
m lookin
’,
I
’
m seein
’
you
’
re a hot piece. Do you mind standin
’
up and doin
’
a spin for me so I can check you out?
’
he said with a dead-pan face as he made a rotating motion with his hand.

‘
Yes
,
I mind.
’

‘
Y
ou wouldn
’
t have worn those jeans if you didn
’
t want me looking at yourrr ass
,’
he said in a drawling
,
not to mention drooling
,
accent.

‘
Are all Americans this charming?
’
Grace asked.

‘
You bet
,
honey.
’

It was rhetorical
,
you idiot.
She took another gulp of wine.

‘
I think you
’
re cute even though you were late. And I have forgiven you considering we are going to make mad
,
passionate love all night
,’
the American stated.

Grace spat her wine out on the table. Other patrons stared. A waiter rushed to her aid.
Not on your life.

‘
I
’
m off to the ladies room
,
excuse me.
’
She snatched her handbag from under the table
,
planned to pick up her coat from the front desk and head home. She detoured via the posh bathroom and was shocked to discover Jock was waiting for her right outside the door.