She laughs. “You don’t even know what it is, and you’re ready to follow.”
“It doesn’t matter as long as you’re the one doing the showing.”
Chapter 28
Grace
I’m supposed to stretch every thirty minutes while I’m painting, but I never remember. My full bladder is what pulls me from the piece I’m currently working on. I grab my phone and run to the toilet in our room. I’m a creature of habit, and even though there’s a toilet in the sunroom floor, my feet gravitate to the one I’m used to.
Relief floods me as I empty my bladder, and now I can pay attention to something else. Like my phone, which has been on silent all morning. I have several messages, but Kyle’s is the only one I really see.
Kyle: Good morning, sweetheart. You looked so peaceful and so beautiful sleeping; I decided not to wake you up. I kissed you, though.
I smile at the image his words conjure. I visualize him kissing my forehead in the semi-darkness of dawn before tiptoeing out of the room.
Me: Morning movie star. Thanks for the kiss, even though I can only imagine it.
I’m surprised when a response comes less than five seconds later. That means he’s on a break.
Kyle: You won’t need to imagine it when I come home.
Me: You’re a flirt, Kyle Bryce.
Kyle: Only with you, my love.
Me: How did I get so lucky?
Kyle: That’s my line.
Me: Lol
Kyle: Have to go back on set. I’ll see you later.
Me: See you later.
My conversation with Kyle leaves me with a big grin on my face. I turn my attention to the other messages. A link from my mom. I ignore that. We can’t continue like this. She sends me websites where Kyle is mentioned, and I ignore her messages. I can’t stand it, but short of blocking her, I don’t know how else to make her stop.
I smile when I see a message from Isla.
Isla: I know you’re painting. So reply asap when you see this. If you see this. Can we go out for lunch? I have news.
I laugh, and excitement courses over me as I try to guess what kind of news she has.
Me: Yes of course.
Isla: Yay, she’s out of the cave. Can we meet at one? The Friendly Coffee House, downtown?
Me: I’ll be there.
I finish up my business in the bathroom, wash my hands and head downstairs to let Maria know that I’ll be out for lunch.
“I’m meeting Isla for lunch; you remember her?” I tell Maria, wanting to talk to someone. It’s half-past eleven, and I’ve been holed up in my studio for hours. As much as I’m an introvert, I crave human interaction sometimes.
“Good for you. It’s nice to go out,” she says with a smile. “Chris will keep me company at lunchtime and Carlos if he agrees to come in. He likes eating outside amongst his beloved plants.”
“I don’t blame him. It’s beautiful outside.” It’s easy to forget the rest of the world when you’re in Kyle’s house. It even ceases to exist.
I chat with Maria for a few more minutes and then return to the sunroom to wrap up a few things. At noon, I go to our room to get ready for the day. A shower and clean clothes later, I’m ready for my lunch date with Isla.
Outside, I find my car sparkly clean and in good shape. I haven’t used it in almost two weeks, but Carlos clearly takes care of it. I tell him thank you as I’m driving through the gate.
LA traffic doesn’t care for the time, and it takes me longer than I’d anticipated to get to the coffee house. I’m lucky to get parking in front of the building. As much as I love locking myself in my cave to create art, it feels good to be outside with the sun warming my bare arms.
The scent of chocolaty coffee hits my nostrils as soon as I enter. I let out a sigh as other tantalizing smells tease my taste buds, like the smell of baked products. I spot Isla and make my way to her at the far end of the room.
“Latecomer,” she says as she stands to hug and kiss me.
“I’m sorry. Blame it on the traffic,” I tell her.
She gives me a naughty look. “You sure it’s not lover boy who made you late?”
I laugh. “Lover boy is at work.”
A server comes to take our orders. We both ask for salads and coffee. When she tosses her blonde mane to one side for the third time in a time span of fewer than three minutes, I know something is up, and it’s huge.
“Okay, spit it out,” I tell her.
She grins. “Mark proposed, and I said yes!” She shouts the last part so that half of the people in the coffee house hear her news.
A cheer erupts and people tell Isla congratulations. I’m grinning as I’m listening and watching the show. Trust Isla to do things in her own flamboyant way, including telling her best friend her news.
“Oh my God, finally!” I tell her when the furor has died down.
“I know,” Isla says, her face flushed. “You’ll never believe his reason for taking so long to propose. Turns out the idiot hates—no, detests—big weddings. So he kept putting it off.”
I let my face fall dramatically. “Your wedding was my one chance to be a maid of honor.”
She reaches out and rests her hand on mine. “Never fear. You’ll still be my best maid. Only we’ll do it in Vegas. That’s what Mark and I decided.”
I grin. I’m so happy for her. Mark and Isla were made for each other. “I’ve never been to a Vegas wedding.”
“There was one before our time at the station,” Isla says. “One of the guys and his wife got married in Vegas, or so I heard.”
“I heard about it too, and now it’s your turn. I can’t believe you’re going to get married.” I’m beyond myself with excitement, and I have so many questions. “Are you inviting other people?”
The server brings our food, and another follows with our coffee. We continue with the conversation as though there hadn’t been an interruption.
“No, it would defeat the purpose of going to Vegas if we invite a crowd. However, you and lover boy are invited.”
I frown. “Can you stop calling him that? It’ll stick.”
Isla pouts. “You’re no fun. I won’t mind if you come up with a nickname for Mark.”
“You know I wouldn’t. I’m far too respectful.”
Isla smiles at me fondly. “Yes, you are. Let’s talk dresses now. I was thinking of getting a simple strapless ball gown-like dress … pink. I don’t want white.”
I roll my eyes. “And here I was thinking you were a traditional sort of girl.”
She ignores me and continues as though I haven’t spoken in between mouthfuls of her sandwich. “And the same for you. Just a slight variation or maybe even the same. We can even pretend we’re having a double wedding.”
I laugh. “You’re crazy, but I’ll be happy to wear whatever you want.” Since we met, Isla likes to joke that we’ll have a double wedding. I’m glad that is one dream of hers that is not coming true.
We make plans for the wedding, and by the time we part company several hours later, I feel as if everything is set. I can’t wait for Kyle to get home so that I can share the news with him.
To my surprise, I see his car as I’m parking mine, and joy envelopes me. I hurry into the house. I find him in his office, seated at his desk, staring at the computer screen.
He pushes his chair back and smiles at me. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”
“What a nice surprise to find you home.” I cross the room and go straight to him, plopping down on his lap and wrapping my arms around his neck. He smells so good. I kiss him, and we kiss deeply for the next couple of minutes, forgetting all else but each other.
I finally draw back and grin at him.
“That’s my favorite kind of welcome home,” Kyle says. “How was lunch with Isla? Maria told me.”
“It was fun and newsy.”
Kyle frowns. He looks so cute when he’s frowning. “Newsy?”
I kiss his nose. “Yeah. She’s getting
married in Vegas, and I’m her best maid. You’re invited too.”
“Oh wow! Good for them. I haven’t met Mark, but I’m sure he’s a good person,” Kyle says.
“He is, and they’re made for each other. He’s able to handle Isla’s brand of craziness.”
He laughs and leans forward to kiss me, slipping a hand under my neck.
“So, will you make it?” I ask him, drawing back to look into his face.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Anyone who is important to you is important to me.”
I tear up at the simple declaration. It means everything to me to hear him say that. “Thank you.” I’m a little choked. A tear escapes my eye, and Kyle brushes it away gently with his finger.
“We’ll use my private jet to fly to Vegas and then back. I’ll have my pilot fly them wherever they want to go on their honeymoon.”
I’m at a loss for words. Then I shake my head. “You can’t do that. It’s too much.”
It dawns on me how shortly we’ve been together, yet he wants to do all that for my friends.
“I want to. I told you. The people who are important to you are important to me. Besides, since we’re invited, I’d like us to go in comfort. Oh, and I have an agreement with one of the nicest hotels in Vegas. Just let me know how long they want to stay for.”
“Thank you,” I tell him. “I’ll ask her right now.”
I call Isla and put her on speakerphone. “Hey, about to be married lady,” I tease her when she answers the phone.
“You’ve got that right,” she says laughing. “Mrs. Cole. Arg. I’m not too sure about Mark’s last name. I think I might just stick with mine, and don’t tell him I said so.”
Kyle and I exchange looks of amusement.
“Anyway, I’ve told Kyle about the wedding, and he says congratulations.”
“Tell him I said thanks,” Isla said.
“He also said he’ll fly us there in his private jet and organize our stay. He wants to know how many days you guys will stay so that he can book the rooms.”
There’s silence from the other end until I worry that Isla has disconnected the phone. “Isla?”
“Oh my God,” she finally says. “I want to say yes so badly, but it’s too much.”
I laugh at that. One of the things that drew me to Isla and deepened our friendship was Isla’s honesty. One thing about her is that what she says is what she means.
I turn to Kyle, and he gestures at me to tell her to agree.
“He won’t take no for an answer,” I tell Isla.
“In that case, the answer’s yes, and I think I’m going to die before the weekend arrives. I’m going to get on a fucking private jet,” she yells. “Tell him thanks a million from Mark and me.”
“You can tell him yourself. You’re on speakerphone,” I tell her.
“I’m going to kill you, Grace. I just embarrassed myself,” she says.
“It’s fine, Isla, and you’re very welcome,” Kyle says, laughing.
Chapter 29
Kyle
I’m excited for the weekend, even if Vegas is one of my least favorite cities. Ethan drives Grace and me to Isla’s place, where we’re picking her and Mark up. When Ethan parks the car, Grace waves Isla over, and we both get out of the car.
The two women hug while Mark and I introduce ourselves and shake hands.
“Congratulations,” I tell him.
He grins and inhales deeply. “Thanks. I can’t believe that it’s finally happening. In a couple of hours, Isla is going to be my wife.”
I can understand the mixture of feelings. It’s a huge commitment, but from what Grace has told me, they belong together. They’ll be all right, and if things go well, we won’t be far behind in joining them.
“Thanks so much for this; it came as a shock to me,” Mark said. “It’s extremely generous.”
I wave a hand away. “You’re welcome.”
I hug the bride-to-be, and while Ethan stows their luggage in the trunk, we pile into the car. The excitement in the car is almost palpable. Mark and Isla hold hands the entire way. I can’t wait for that day when Grace will become mine permanently.
My plane is parked at a private airport twenty minutes away, and when we get there, the process of settling in takes all of five minutes.
“A dream come true,” Isla says, leaning back in her seat.
We all laugh, and Grace reaches out to squeeze my hand. I’m glad that I’m in a position to be able to do this for people I care about. Unfortunately, I have so few of them. My chest squeezes as I think of my parents, especially my mom. I’ve been thinking of her a lot lately. Missing her.
The flight attendant serves us the champagne I had requested. We toast to Mark and Isla’s wedding.
“I could get used to this,” Grace says to me, and I laugh because of all the people I know, my lady is the least likely to get used to the celebrity lifestyle. She’s solid like that.
If I lost everything I owned, Grace would still be by my side, and it would not be a hardship for her. We’ve known each other for less than two months, but it feels as if we’ve been together for years. She really is my soul mate.
We arrive at the airport in Vegas at noon in time to relax and get ready for the ceremony at three o’clock. I booked us three suites so that the bride and groom can get ready for the ceremony separately. It’s clear that Isla and Mark want to be alone together, and we all go to our suites.
“The view,” Grace says, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window and looking out.
I go and stand behind her and rest my hands on her hips. “Vegas is beautiful,” I admit.
I drop my mouth to her neck to plant kisses on her skin. “How can you smell so good all the time?” I murmur.
Grace giggles. “You smell good too. Manly.”
I bring my hands to her belly and slip them under her blouse to touch her skin. She inhales deeply as I rub circles on her skin before moving higher to cup her breasts. Her breathing goes heavy as I tease her nipples over her bra.
“I love how responsive you are to my touch,” I whisper into my ear.
“You turn me on so easily,” Grace says, her voice husky.
“I want to fuck you while you’re looking out at the view of sin city.”
Her breath hitches. “Yes.”
I want to undress her slowly, but all those plans fly out the window. I’m pretty sure I’ve ripped some of the buttons off her blouse in my haste to get it off. She helps me pull down her pants and her panties. I unbuckle my belt and pull down my pants and boxer briefs, before taking Grace into my arms.
I lower my head to take a nipple in my mouth while teasing the other one with my fingers. “You’re so beautiful.”
She threads her fingers through my hair, and her moans fill the room. I drop to my knees, spread her legs and bury my head into her pussy. She smells of arousal and sunshine.
“I love how you taste,” I tell her.
She pushes my head back between her legs. Yes ma’am. I continue devouring her pussy and lick off all her juices as they seep out of her.
“More,” Grace demands, and I push two fingers in and continue flicking her clit with my tongue.
I lick and suck and pump her with my fingers until she explodes in a climax. Meanwhile, my cock is jerking up and down crazily, demanding attention. I get to my feet and gently turn Grace around. She lays her palms flat on the window and angles herself to ease my entry.
I slam into her as we both look out at the city below us. This is a moment I’ll never forget. Grace cries out as I thrust into her, and in seconds, we’re both climaxing. It’s the fastest for me, but the thrill of feeling displayed like a fish in a bowl while at the same time protected from view is a definite climax-inducing experience.
“That was hot,” Grace says when it’s over.
“Hotter than hot.” I pull her into my hands and hold her close to me. “I wish we were the ones getting married.”
She stiffens i
n my arms.
“It’s a joke.”
Her muscles relax. I pull back to stare into her eyes, and she smiles at me. I don’t ask her the question on my mind. Is the thought of being married to me so frightening? Has she not thought about it even once?
Instead, I plant a kiss on her mouth and head to the bathroom. Everything in Vegas is over the top, and the bathtub is no exception. It’s massive and inviting, and after I fill it with water, Grace and I slip in and relax as bubbles form around us.
“This is real luxury,” Grace purrs as I soap her back. “Thank you for bringing us.”
“You’re welcome.” She’s seated between my legs and facing away from me. I’m glad that she’s enjoying the experience.
None of the women I’ve ever dated were even remotely appreciative of any lengths I went to in order to please them. As far as they were concerned, they were entitled to it. It’s a new experience being with a woman who appreciates me and doesn’t take me for granted. I want to take Grace and bottle her up, the way perfume makers bottle special scents. I wasn’t joking when I told her that I wished it were us getting married. If I thought she would say yes, I would ask her in a heartbeat.
After our bath, we order room service, and while waiting, we relax in the living room clad in the hotel bathrobes.
Grace chuckles as she reads a message from her phone. “It’s from Isla. She says she’s never leaving this hotel.”
I laugh. “I know a screenwriter who came to Vegas to visit and decided he wasn’t going to leave. He still lives and works from here as far as I know. He’s holed up in some hotel somewhere; I don’t remember which one.”
Grace stares at me in wonder. “I couldn’t afford to live here.”
“Soon, you’re going to be rich enough to live anywhere in the world you want,” I tell her. I’m excited about her solo show, and I cannot wait to see the reception Grace’s work receives from the art world.
She stares at me blankly. She really has no concept of how talented she is, and that’s part of the fun of this.
“The solo show. I predict that not one painting will remain on those walls,” I tell her. I’ve told my art collecting buddies, and they can’t wait to sample her work. They’ll love it. I know that Greg is working furiously to build up excitement for the new artist. I’ve been keeping my excitement from Grace, and I’ve also resisted begging her to show me what she’s done so far. I don’t want to pile any pressure on her.
One Hot Secret: A Second Chance Romance (Love on Fire) Page 17