Holly stood and accepted the hand he offered her. She noticed his grip was firm, but not overbearing, and honestly, he wasn't at all the monster she'd expected to walk out of the back office. "Call me Holly, please."
"Perfect. Holly it is then." His face lit up in the happiest smile she'd ever seen and something about it warmed her. He was…kinder than she expected, and she found herself disarmed at his friendliness. "I've got my stuff with me so we can just head right out to eat. Want me to drive?"
She hadn't thought about them carpooling, but she guessed it made sense rather than them both driving separately out to the river. "Uh, sure. That's fine."
"Great. I just got a new car, and the wife rarely lets me drive it unless I'm at work. Gives me a chance to show off," he joked, and Holly couldn't help but laughing even though the wife he was talking about was…Jane. Oh, God. This really is awkward.
When they got outside, Grady raved about his fancy new red Porsche and explained to her at least thirty different features on it that she didn't fully understand. Honestly, it was sweet to see his excitement. She couldn't imagine how Sam and Grady could have ever been enemies, because, honestly, he seemed like a great guy.
Definitely a bro and kind of simple, but still…sweet.
"You look deep in thought over there," Grady noticed, turning into the parking lot of the restaurant and guiding his car into an open spot. "You've barely said a word the entire drive over. I'm blabbering on and on over here."
He chuckled, but then he turned to her and looked expectant, clearly wanting an answer.
"Oh," Holly cleared her throat. "Honestly, I'm a little caught off guard."
Grady tilted his head to the side, but said nothing, waiting for her to continue.
"Sam…well, he just painted a much different picture in my mind about who you were," Holly tried to explain herself as diplomatically as possible.
"Ah," Grady said, nodding his head as if he understood now. Unbuckling his seat belt, he leaned in a little closer. "Look, here's the fact. I fucked up. I really hurt my brother. I want to make up for that now. I want us to all be friends." Grady picked up her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Clearly you mean a lot to him and that means a lot to me."
"Is that why you asked me to plan this party for you? To mend fences?"
Grady tipped his chin down, and she wasn't sure, but it looked like tears were welling in his eyes. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to mend fences for what I did to Sam, but…I'm going to try. I fell in love and followed my heart. Is that really so wrong?"
Holly searched the young doctor's face, a look of earnestness and sincerity apparent. Could she really argue with his logic? His delivery—sure. But his heart? "That isn't…no."
He let go of her hand and climbed out of the car, coming around to her side of the car and opening the door for her. He offered her his hand again and she accepted it. "Just give me a chance to prove I'm not the monster Sam thinks I am," he asked. "Let me prove it to him."
Walking toward the front of the restaurant, Grady offered Holly his arm, but she declined. It seemed too weird still, even though he was being so kind and such a gentleman.
"I'm not the one you need to make it up to," she reminded him. "You and Sam are going to need to work things out on your own."
Grady nodded. "You're absolutely right. I plan to do that, too."
The hostess seated them at a table overlooking the river and they each scanned through a menu. He told her about the charity dinner—a fundraiser for the local high school baseball team—that he was sponsoring and why it meant a lot to him. He and Sam had both played sports growing up, and it had been something that had bonded them once upon a time. They'd both been on the baseball team and, once upon a time, they'd bonded through the sport.
"Grady, I have to tell you something," Holly told him over their main courses. "I ran into Jane the other day."
A grin crossed his face, then he nodded quickly. With a swipe of his napkin across his mouth, he cleared his throat. "She told me about it. I hear it didn't go very well."
"Not at all." Holly wasn't sure if she was relieved that he knew, or that she felt guilty now for never mentioning the run-in to Sam. "I'm sorry I said you and Jane weren't invited to the wedding. I really didn't know either one of you. Of course, you can come."
Grady put his hand on his chest. "That means a lot to me," he replied. "But I'll have to check with Jane because I think it'll be a little difficult to convince her to come at this point. I'd love to be there though. It's been really wonderful getting to know you."
Holly couldn't help but feel the same way, and it made her think of her sister, Suzie. She wondered what it would be like to have her sister at her own wedding, and whether or not she and Suzie would be having lunches like this one day. It just felt so nice, to be close to a sibling again, even if Grady wasn't her sibling. He instantly felt like a brother, and she appreciated that about him so much.
"I'm going to talk to Sam about getting back together with you," Holly assured him. "Maybe convince him to go get drinks. Just the two of you."
"I would love that," Grady exclaimed, leaning forward against the table. He placed a hand on Holly's. "Holly, you don't know how much that would mean to me. I understand you barely know me, and you most certainly don't need to be helping me like this, but just know that I really do love Sam. I love my whole family. I want to reunite all of us after what I did."
His answer warmed her heart. "I'd love to see that, too."
Honestly, as much as she had agreed to this fake wedding and marriage to get under Sam's family's skin, being able to help them repair their relationship sounded so much better. If she could do that? Well, that's what an actual good wife would do.
"So, what else do you need for the dinner?" Grady asked, letting go of her hand and picking his fork back up. He took another large bite of his lobster roll. "How can I help? It's only a week away, so I know it's crazy to throw together at the last minute."
"Well, we're going to do it at your house, so the venue is set. I just need to set up decorations and a caterer and bartender, and then…really, that's about it. You've already taken care of the invitations. Everything is mostly ready to go after that."
Grady nodded. "Perfect. I don't have time to do all that, and with Jane's condition, I don't want to put it on her."
"Jane's condition?" Holly furrowed her brows, confused as to what she was missing. "Oh my God, is Jane pregnant?"
He paused mid-bite, wide-eyed. "Shit. I wasn't supposed to say anything." Swallowing, he shook his head. "Uh, crap. We're really not ready to start telling people."
Holly pulled her fingers across her lips like a zipper being closed. "My lips are sealed. I won't say a thing until you guys make the big announcement."
Grady looked beyond relieved. "Thank you."
"But, can I just say…congratulations! That's so exciting. You're going to be a father!"
His face beamed with the joy he was clearly already feeling at the news. "I know. It's literally crazy. I can't believe it, but that's life. You know?"
She did know, because her life had been just as much a whirlwind the last few months. Hell, she was getting married to her high school crush after pining for him for ten years. And here she was with her fiancé's arch nemesis—who also happened to be his brother—and she felt totally comfortable and disarmed. Everything was just beyond odd.
"Grady, I'm excited to get started on your dinner," she told him, taking a sip of her wine.
He nodded, smiling his dashing Wylde grin. "We're going to do big things together, Holly."
An unsettled feeling crawled through her, but she tried to push it away. "To the fundraiser," she said, raising her glass in toast.
"To us," he replied, clinking her glass in response.
Chapter Twenty-Three
"Absolutely not." Sam shook his head adamantly. "There's no chance I'm going to do that."
"Sam. You're the one who asked me to take on this project."
Holly propped her hands up on her hips and tilted her head as she stared him down, certain she could change his mind. They were standing on opposite ends of the kitchen island at their house the following morning preparing breakfast. "This was your idea."
"Yeah, for you to work with my brother. Not me. I'm not going to have anything to do with him."
Holly sighed, spreading some smashed avocado on a piece of toast. "It's one dinner."
"With my ex-fiancée and my brother?" Sam scoffed, shaking his head for the tenth time in the last few minutes since she'd brought up the topic. He poured himself a cup of coffee into one of his branded Wyldefire Whiskey mugs. "There's zero chance I'm doing that."
"Then I'm going without you," she dared him, wondering how he would feel about her having dinner with Grady and Jane on her own. Honestly, it didn't sound that pleasant and she really, really hoped he called her bluff because it was the last thing she wanted to do. She still hadn't seen Jane since the incident in the coffee shop and she knew she needed more of a buffer than just Grady there between the two of them after that fiasco. If anything happened, Grady would take Jane's side—as he should, since it's his wife—but that still left her in awkward no man's land by herself without Sam. Plus, she could just see the smirk on Jane's face now at thinking Sam had stood her up.
No, Sam had to come with her.
"Alone? The three of you? That will be awkward," Sam echoed her thoughts then took another sip of his coffee. "Well, have fun."
She balked. "What? You're seriously going to let me go alone?"
Sam reached over and grabbed one of her pieces of avocado toast and took a big bite. Chewing thoughtfully, he swallowed. "Can you do the job for my brother without this dinner happening?"
"Yes, but that's not the point," Holly chided, batting his hand away from her second piece of avocado toast. "The point is that you two are brothers and this feud has been going on long enough. It's time to mend fences."
"Don't you think that's my choice? Not yours?" Sam questioned, finishing up the last of his coffee. "You haven't had to live through what they did. You didn't experience the pity and sad looks and last year and a half of 'Oh, poor Sam' comments from everyone in town. You didn't have your very own sibling betray you in the most personal way possible."
Holly thought through his words for a moment, and she had to admit that he had a point. But, she still felt the need to push the two of them together. The Grady she met yesterday was a great guy and Sam deserved that in his life again. At least, he deserved it more than the pain of this betrayal he was hanging on to.
"You're not wrong," she told him reluctantly. "And I'm sorry if it feels like I'm pushing. I don't mean to. I just think that if there is something I can do to fix your relationship with Grady, I want to do it."
Sam's jaw tensed and he shook his head. "I'm regretting pushing you into this job now."
"Well, you did and now here we are." Holly placed a hand on his. "I just want to help."
"I'll think about it, but I'm not making any promises, okay?" Sam said, kissing her forehead. "You're really too much sometimes. No wonder I'm falling for you."
Holly felt heat flood in her cheeks. "You mean that?"
He nodded, cupping her face in his hands. "I don't want to lose you, Holly."
She slid her arms around his waist, wondering where those words were coming from. "I'm not going anywhere."
Sam visibly swallowed hard, and there was something on his face that said he didn't believe her. Some fear or doubt that she couldn't seem to erase with her promise. She'd never seen it before and she didn't know where it had come from or why it was there now.
It scared her for whatever was coming next.
Chapter Twenty-Four
"Knock, knock." Ruby tapped on the wood paneling of Holly's office door.
Holly's smile spread wide across her face at the sight of the young girl who she had taken on as an intern in the recent weeks. She was a hard worker and learning the business of event planning as quickly as she could. Even with only a few weeks under her belt, she was already proving to have a natural talent in the business.
"Hi, Ruby!" she greeted her, admiring the young girl's bright pink hair that had been purple last time she'd seen her. "Nice hair."
"Thanks," Ruby replied, running her fingers through the ends of her curls and tossing them over her shoulder. "Thought it was time for a change."
"It looks lovely on you. I always love seeing how often you change your hair color."
Ruby laughed, a tiny chuckle that was so cute and sweet that Holly wished she could bottle it and sell it. "You could set your watch to it, I do it so often."
Holly grinned, placing her pen down on the desk in front of her where she was working on her calendar. "What brings you in today? I don't have you scheduled for work today."
"Not today," Ruby confirmed. "I actually wanted to ask if you needed help with Grady's dinner. Grandma Willie told me you were running the event for the River Ridge High Baseball team."
"Actually, I could use some help with that if you want a few extra hours." Holly opened up a drawer in her desk and pulled out the coordinating file that said Wylde, Grady on top. "Most of the prep work is done, but there's a lot of day of assembly and coordination that will need to happen."
Ruby nodded, stepping forward and taking the file from Holly's extended arm. "I'm happy to take point on this if you want to step back entirely. I know this must be…difficult."
"What?" Holly's brow furrowed. "No, I'm fine."
"Really? Isn't it…I mean, I just…I'm surprised you took this job to begin with." Ruby shuffled her feet uncomfortably, her black and white striped skirt swishing around her legs. "It's kind of weird."
Holly chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment, wondering how to explain the situation. Truthfully, she didn't really understand it herself. How she had gotten suckered into the job, and now how she actually liked the job. It was a weird transition and process that she'd accidentally found herself in.
"It's a little odd, understandably…" she began, trying to pick her words carefully. "But I'm doing this as a favor for Sam."
"For Sam?" Ruby sounded incredulous.
She nodded. "He personally asked me to do this for Grady after Grandma Willie asked him."
Ruby's eyes suddenly softened with understanding and she smiled. "Ah. Grandma Willie is behind this. Now it all makes sense."
Holly frowned. "What does?"
"Grandma Willie has her hands in everything. There's nothing that happens in this family that she isn't orchestrating. If two family members aren't getting along, you better believe she's trying to get them back together." Ruby let out a small chuckle. "So, this makes complete sense now. It's a ploy to get Sam and Grady talking again. She's using you."
Holly huffed. "Excuse me?"
"Oh." Ruby suddenly looked serious, probably realizing she had sounded offensive. "I didn't mean that like it sounded. We all get used by Grandma. That just means you're officially part of the family now."
Holly didn't know how to respond to that one, so she said nothing. Honored? Flattered? Angered? Hurt? Her emotions were all over the place.
"One word of warning though," Ruby continued. "Watch out for Grady."
"What?" Holly snapped out of her thoughts about being Grandma Willie's play thing and turned her attention back to Ruby. "What do you mean?"
"He's not the nicest guy." Ruby shook her head. "I know you want them to be friends, and I know Grandma does, too. But, Sam might not be wrong in keeping his distance."
"Wow." Holly wondered how Grady's cousin and brother could think so differently of him than the impression she'd gotten of him at lunch the other day. Were their opinions just based off of his actions with Jane?
"Anyway, I'm going to get to work on this," Ruby said, holding up the file. "I'll let you know if I have any questions."
"Thanks, Ruby." Holly said her goodbyes, then returned back to the work she had been doing before Rub
y had gotten there. She couldn't help but let her thoughts get distracted back to her conversation with Ruby though. She kept wondering what Ruby had meant and who Grady was behind the dazzling gentleman that she'd seen the other day.
Chapter Twenty-Five
"Everything looks amazing, Holly." Grady turned his bright blue eyes in her direction and cast her a sparkling smile, lifting a glass of champagne toward her. "Cheers."
She felt a blush creeping up her cheeks, heat searing her skin. "Thank you. You really have to thank your cousin, Ruby. She took point on a lot of the execution of the plans for this event."
"But they were your plans," Grady clarified, stepping closer to her and gesturing around them. "Look at what you put together."
Holly took in their surroundings, trying to see everything through his eyes. Guests weren't due to arrive for another fifteen minutes or so and everything was ready and waiting for them to show up. Caterers were finishing plating the hors d’oeurves, decorations were all set, and the place looked quaint and cutesy baseball themed. Seating was ready for the entire team and their family and friends, plus possible donors. Valets were ready outside to park guest cars. There was nothing she hadn't thought of.
He was right, and she loved that he was making her take a second to really appreciate her own work. So often she would get wrapped up in the negative and forget to take the time to praise herself and focus on the positive. She needed that reminder every once in a while.
"Thank you," she replied sincerely. "It really did come together wonderfully. You're going to have an amazing event."
"Because of you," he replied, grabbing a glass of champagne off a bartender's nearby tray and handing it to her. "Here. Toast with me."
"What are we toasting?" She accepted the glass. "Tonight's event?"
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