by Lori Foster
His black hair was wind tossed and his equally dark eyes were smiling. He wore a white polo shirt with an open collar that showed a generous amount of sexy chest hair and contrasted sharply with his tan. The shirt was tucked neatly into faded, snug-fitting jeans.
Ben grinned, showing a dimple in his left cheek and strong white teeth. “Hi Gracie.”
“Ben.” At this rate, Grace expected to burn herself up with embarrassment. “If you’ll just turn your back, I’ll escape to the…” She drew to a verbal halt, unwilling to admit that her clothes were scattered over Noah’s bedroom floor. “I’ll dash down the hall and dress.”
“I dunno,” Ben teased. “I’m awful curious now. You say you’re wearing Noah’s underwear?”
Noah, the rat, just grinned. “She looks real cute in them, too.”
“S’that right?” Ben started toward the sofa.
Grace’s heart did a somersault at his feigned approach. “Ben Badwin, you turn your back right now!”
Ben stopped and turned to Noah. “She’s screeching. I never heard Grace screech before.”
“Yeah.” Noah nodded, watching Grace thoughtfully. “But then, she’s had a rough night.”
“Noah!” The two of them together were enough to fluster any woman.
He winked at her. “Get your mind out of the gutter, honey. I was talking about Agatha firing you.”
“Oh.”
Ben nearly strangled on his laughter this time.
“You think it’s funny,” Grace challenged, still cowering behind the furniture, “that I’m without a job?”
Ben’s expression froze comically. “You mean the old witch really did fire you? You’re kidding!”
“She really did,” Noah told him, then he walked to Grace. “Come on out, Grace. Ben won’t peek.”
“Scout’s honor,” Ben agreed, and he finally turned his back.
Grace scooted out and felt Noah’s hand on her backside as she did so. She glared at him, and he said, “Just helping.”
“Yeah, right.” She turned to march down the hall. “You both need a swift kick.”
As she headed into Noah’s bedroom and closed the door hard, Grace also thought how similar the brothers were—in looks and in warped senses of humor. Before she’d finished pulling on her wrinkled, damaged skirt, which thankfully still had a button at the waistband, she was smiling.
Chapter Seven
Ben waited until he knew Grace was almost out of sight, then he peeked. He just couldn’t help himself. It was enough of a shock that Noah was apparently interested in Grace, even sexually involved with her. But it was doubly intriguing to think of Grace bouncing around in boxers.
He’d only gotten a glimpse of her bare legs, her voluptuous body buried beneath one of Noah’s white shirts, when Noah shoved him.
“You told her you wouldn’t look.”
“Yeah, well, I was never a Scout.” Ben eyed his older brother. “What the hell’s going on, Noah?”
“I told you all of it last night.”
“You sure as certain didn’t tell me about Grace. I remember she stopped by—I wasn’t too drunk to recall that.” He propped his hands on his hips. “But now I’m wondering if she ever left.”
“None of your business, Ben.” Noah strode toward the kitchen and placed a door key on top of the fridge. Ben followed him.
“She’s a nice girl.”
“Real nice,” Noah agreed. Then, with the gravity so much a part of him, he added, “Grace is unlike any woman I’ve ever known.”
Ben pulled out a kitchen chair and sprawled into it. “You got anything to drink?”
“Didn’t you have enough last night?”
Grinning, Ben said, “I had too much, if you want the truth.”
Grunting in agreement to that, Noah asked, “Want me to put on coffee?”
“Yeah, and make it strong. I’ve still got something of a hangover, so maybe the caffeine will help.” He rubbed his temples. “Remind me never to drink with you again.”
“Ditto.” Noah went through the cabinets while Ben considered the situation.
He studied Noah, and noticed that he looked more relaxed now than he had in recent months. Even after getting rip-roaring drunk, he looked…more peaceful.
He also looked bigger. His brother was a prime specimen, a fact that made Ben proud. But now he looked…enormous. “Is it my imagination or are you getting bigger?”
Noah shrugged as he measured coffee into the strainer. “The last few months I’ve spent more time in the gym, taking out my frustrations on the heavy bag and anyone who’d volunteer to spar.”
“Sexual frustration?” It was a rhetorical question because Ben had warned Noah all along that Kara wasn’t the type of warm, open woman a man wanted to be tied to. Not that he was an expert on marriage, and not that he was in any hurry to leg shackle himself. At a tender twenty-nine, Ben figured he had years before he had to worry about it.
But he knew damn good and well that, if he ever did marry, it’d be to a woman who gave him one hundred and fifty percent—in bed and out.
“It doesn’t matter now.” Noah spoke in an offhand manner that didn’t fool Ben at all.
His suspicions grew. “What did you mean about Grace being different?”
His back still to Ben, Noah grumbled, “What is this? Twenty questions?”
“Just curious.”
“Some things aren’t any of your damn business.”
“So you got something private going on with Grace?” That goad got to Noah, and he turned to Ben with a fierce frown.
“Grace is genuine. Up front.” His frown turned thoughtful, and he folded his arms. “You know, I almost want to say fearless, but that’s not the right word.”
“What about honorable?”
Noah paused, then nodded sharply. “Yeah, that suits Grace.” He grinned. “And she’s protective.”
“Of you?”
Noah dumped water into the coffeemaker, switched it on, and then pulled out his chair. “Yeah. It’s the damnedest thing. Grace doesn’t mind giving me hell, but she takes exception any time someone else tries to.”
“She’s the mothering sort.” Ben had noticed that about Grace almost from the moment he’d met her.
He could still recall the day Grace had sought him out. She’d met Noah from working with Agatha, and when Agatha had confided that another grandson had been discovered but not claimed, Grace’s sense of fair play had been outraged. She’d looked him up and presented herself at his hotel, and Ben had thought she was about the sweetest thing he’d ever met. Guileless to the point of leaving herself vulnerable. Ben felt protective of her, and strangely, she’d acted protective of him.
Ben had picked up on that right off.
He sometimes had the feeling that Grace wanted to protect and nurture everyone. It was an integral part of her nature.
Noah said, “She doesn’t seem to realize that I don’t need coddling, that I can take care of myself.”
Ben lifted his brows. “Coddling is nice every now and then. My mother loves to coddle.”
“Yeah. Brooke is great.”
Ben nodded. Unlike Noah, he’d had a wonderful mother to take care of him while growing up. Ever since they’d learned of Noah, Brooke had been trying to mother him, too. He’d resisted her efforts.
Evidently, he wasn’t resisting Grace.
Of course, Grace could be pretty determined once she’d made up her mind. Grace thought that Noah had missed out on a lot because of his upbringing. Ben, however, hadn’t missed having a father at all; if anything, he felt disgust for the man who’d provided his seed and nothing more. Because of that, Ben was very careful about taking risks. He never had unprotected sex and thought men who did were unconscionable.
“It’s no wonder Grace seems different to you,” Ben said finally, “considering the type of women you knew growing up.” From everything Ben had learned, prostitution, drug addiction, and other forms of desperation had colored the li
ves of most of the young ladies Noah had associated with before meeting Agatha. It made Ben sick at heart whenever he thought of the environment Noah had grown up in.
And it made him beyond thankful that they’d finally met, that he now had a brother who seemed a part of him. Noah was, without doubt, the finest man Ben knew.
The coffeemaker sputtered to a halt and Noah stood to fill two mugs. “It’s more than that. You’re right that Grace isn’t anything like those women. But she’s not like the women in her social circle either.”
“You mean Agatha’s social circle?”
Noah handed him a steaming cup. “Whatever. I don’t know any other woman who would have put up with cheese sandwiches for dinner while wearing my boxers.”
Ben laughed so abruptly, he nearly spit his coffee across the table.
And then Grace marched in.
She’d brushed out her long hair and put on her ruined skirt and shoes. She still wore Noah’s white shirt, hanging loose over the skirt to mid-thigh. It was an odd, mismatched outfit, yet it somehow looked adorable on her.
She folded her arms over her ample breasts and looked at both of them before settling her gaze on Noah. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to borrow your shirt. I need to have it dry-cleaned now anyway, and I need it to cover my ruined zipper. And I’ll need a bag or something to carry my pantyhose and my sweater home. There’s no way I can wear them.”
“What about your bra? Are you wearing it?”
Ben sat back to enjoy himself. He’d never known his brother to deliberately embarrass a woman before. Just the opposite; Noah had a gallant streak toward women and kids that ran a mile wide. But Ben had to admit, flustering Grace was downright fun, so he didn’t blame Noah much.
Grace’s jaw dropped, then snapped shut. She set her mouth in a mulish line, but she didn’t take the bait. With slow, precise enunciation, she said, “I’m going to call a cab.”
Noah sat up straight. “Hell no. I’ll drive you home.”
“I don’t need you to drive me home, thank you very much.”
“I’m doing it anyway.”
“Noah.” She glanced at Ben with what looked like an apology for Noah’s bad manners. Ben winked at her.
Grace sighed. “Noah, you have company.”
He scoffed. “It’s just Ben. He doesn’t want you to take a cab either.”
Luckily, to Ben’s way of thinking, Grace didn’t ask him to verify that. Personally he didn’t know what Noah had against a cab, but he didn’t want to disagree with him and he didn’t want to get pulled into their squabble.
“I’m ready to go and I’m not a child,” Grace stated. “I can make it home in a cab just fine.”
“No.”
Grace looked distinctly stubborn about it. “Yes.”
Noah looked more than stubborn. “No way, Grace.”
They made an amusing couple, to Ben’s way of thinking. Noah needed someone like Grace. She was a woman who wouldn’t be pushed around but who would put herself in the line of fire to protect those people she cared about. Her feminine strength was a match to Noah’s strong, take-charge personality. And Grace—well, bless her heart, she didn’t hesitate to speak her mind. Noah always did appreciate an honest woman—and as to that, so did Ben.
Noah’s phone rang, making it impossible for Grace to continue to argue. Noah shoved himself out of his seat and snatched up the receiver from the wall. Since it was on the opposite side of the kitchen, he had his back to Grace. He barked, “Hello?”
Grace glared at his back, and for a moment there, Ben thought she might actually stick out her tongue. But she showed great restraint and instead dropped into the seat he’d vacated.
She picked up Noah’s coffee cup without realizing how telling her actions might be and took a sip.
She immediately plunked it back down and shuddered. “Good God, who made the coffee? It’s awful.”
Ben toasted her. “We were both in need of the caffeine kick.”
Grace’s expression softened as she pushed the cup out of reach. “Feeling the effects of last night’s drinking binge?”
“When I first woke up this morning, I thought my eyeballs had fallen out. It’s taken me all day to begin feeling human again.”
Grace smiled. “Hopefully last night taught you something.”
Ben scrutinized her, appreciating how she looked in Noah’s shirt. “Yeah, it taught me that all the fun happens after I leave.”
She blushed and frowned at him at the same time.
Noah’s voice rose, drawing their attention. “For the last time, it’s not my problem, Andrew. No, and that’s final.” He hesitated and then growled, “I told you, I’m fired, so there’s nothing I can do. Call Agatha and tell her what’s going on. She’s the one who hired the new chef, anyway, not me.”
Grace looked at Ben, appalled, and Ben winced. “Trouble at the restaurant?”
“I was afraid of that.” Grace watched Noah with a worried frown. “Agatha insisted on hiring a new chef. I interviewed him last week, and I told Agatha he wasn’t the most even-tempered man I’d ever met.” She glanced at Ben. “He was actually a rude, snooty jerk. But Agatha only cared about his reputation with food, not his personality. It sounds like he’s ready to start work.”
Ben grinned. “Perfect timing on his part. He’s arrived right in the middle of chaos.”
Grace didn’t see the humor in the situation. “Agatha needs Noah, but he’s right that she lords his interest in the restaurant over him. I don’t know what to do.”
Ben propped his elbows on the table and regarded her. “Do? You were fired too, Grace, so it seems to me it’s not your problem.”
She shook her head. “I know how you feel about Agatha, Ben. But you’re all family. It’s not good to have this level of discord.”
“Agatha thrives on discord.”
“She’s afraid of losing control.”
Personally, Ben didn’t think Agatha Harper was afraid of anything, but since he knew Grace was fond of her, he held his peace. “I have a suggestion.”
“On how to patch things up?”
He snorted. “Hell no. I meant that I’m leaving in just a few minutes anyway. I have some things to do, and if you want, I’ll give you a ride home.”
Noah hung up the phone in time to hear Ben’s comment. “I’m driving her home.”
Grace stood. “No you’re not. You need to go to the restaurant.”
Noah glowered down at her. “Like hell I will. I don’t work for Agatha anymore, so it’s not my problem. Let her deal with it.”
“This has nothing to do with what’s happened between you and Agatha.” She touched his chest and gave him a solemn look. “You’ll go for all the employees who are loyal to you, all the friends you’ve made there. You owe it to them to explain things, Noah, to help them understand.”
Noah’s frown darkened even more. It was an interesting thing to watch, because Grace didn’t back down one bit. If anything, she stepped closer to Noah. She lifted her hand from his chest to his jaw.
Ben watched in awe.
“Think about it, Noah. Do you want any of them to act so stupidly that they get fired by Agatha, too? You told me Andrew was perfect for the job as maître d’, and that he’s supporting aging parents as well as his own wife and kids. And you said Enrique was thrilled to be hired as the entertainment, that he saw this as his chance to settle down.”
Noah made a rude sound. “Yeah, well, I’d like to reevaluate that assessment. Enrique is a hound dog who’ll probably always run around.”
Grace seemed to be considering that comment, though Ben doubted she understood Noah’s sentiments. Finally she shook her head and went on with dogged determination.
“Well, then, what about Greg and Dean and Michael? They’re working their way through college on tips. If they get in trouble, who else will hire them for so much money, and work around their school schedules, too?”
Noah rolled his eyes and looked at Be
n. “Did you know Grace was such a pushy broad?”
Grace let loose with an indignant gasp.
“Yeah,” Ben said, grinning at her, “I’d gotten that impression. At least over things she considers important.” And Ben had no doubt that Grace considered Noah very important. She didn’t want him to have any regrets.
Grace turned away in high dudgeon, ready for a grand exodus, and Noah pulled her back around and into his arms. Ben watched with interest as Noah treated her to a very passionate kiss that had her groaning softly, then clutching at him.
Deciding he was too young and too single to witness such outrageous displays of affection, Ben gave them privacy by walking out of the kitchen. He was still a little staggered by the idea of Noah and Grace as a couple. And he couldn’t help but worry about Grace. As Noah said, Grace was unique and needed special care. He hoped Noah remembered that.
But the idea was growing on him. They complemented each other, and it was plain that Noah found Grace very sexy. Ben had never seen his brother look at Kara the way he looked at Grace.
Two minutes later Grace and Noah joined him. Noah’s smile was the epitome of male contentment, and Grace was warmly flushed.
“She’s going to ride home with you,” Noah announced.
“And,” Grace muttered, “Noah is going to go to the restaurant and smooth things over.”
“A compromise?” Ben asked, and damn if he didn’t feel almost as satisfied as his brother. Grace was not only a gentle, intelligent woman, she was also a reasonable, calming influence—just what his brother needed right now after all the hell he’d been through.
Except that Noah claimed he was done with the idea of matrimony. And Grace, with her big heart and bigger innocence, was definitely a marrying-type woman.
Ben frowned in concern. He didn’t know how it’d all work out, but he trusted Noah to do what was right. And in the meantime, he’d just enjoy the show.
Grace was relieved to have made it to Ben’s truck without running into anyone besides Graham. “I appreciate the ride,” she told Ben.
He pulled out into the traffic and nodded. “Not a problem. I was heading out anyway. I just stopped by to check on Noah, to make sure he hadn’t continued drinking this morning.”