Trey nodded, his face an unhealthy shade of white.
“Max, let him go,” Grace demanded, adding in a bellow, “Now!”
Max released him and Trey rubbed his neck, coughing in air, a mixture of rage and fear in his expression. Grace shoved Max out of the way and laid her hand on Trey’s arm. “Are you okay?”
“Nice friend you got there, Grace,” he rasped.
“I’m so sorry, Trey,” she said, forcing back tears. “Honestly, I don’t know him very well. I had no idea he’d do anything like this.” She turned to Max. “You need to leave.”
“What about coffee?” Max asked, his expression unreadable.
“Seriously?” Grace snapped. “You just attacked my friend. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Please, Grace. Just give me a minute to explain,” Max requested.
“Will you hit her if she doesn’t?” Trey snapped.
Max swore and advanced on him again. “I would never touch her in anger.”
Grace grabbed Max’s arm. “Stop.”
Again, her heart calmed as soon as she touched him, and she felt like an idiot for thinking Max would hurt her.
“Just one minute, lass.” Max laid his hand over hers. “Please.”
“Don’t, Grace,” Trey warned.
Max scowled at Trey again and Grace sighed. “One minute, Max. Just...um...go stand by your car and let me talk to Trey first.”
Max smiled, released her hand, and backed away from her. He stood by his Mercedes and Grace turned to face Trey again.
“What the hell are you doing, Grace?” Trey snapped. “You’re gonna let that creep talk you into doing something you don’t want to do?”
“Trey. You’re not giving me much credit. I’m just going talk to him for a second and then I’m going home.”
Trey shook his head. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
Grace sighed. “If it’ll make you feel better, you can hang around while I say good-bye, okay?”
Trey reached for his walky-talky. “I’m calling Josh.”
“No,” Grace argued. “Don’t make this a thing. Just give me a minute to get rid of him.”
“You’ve got one minute,” Trey said. “Then I’m taking you home.”
“No way,” she snapped. “Outside of the fact that you don’t own me, I’m quite capable of driving myself home.”
Trey stroked her cheek. “I’m gonna follow you anyway.”
Grace heard a low hiss as she leaned away from Trey’s touch and glanced at Max. His face held no emotion, but his eyes spoke volumes.
Grace pressed her lips into a thin line and turned back to Trey. “Please don’t touch me.”
“Fine,” Trey snapped. “Go talk to the creep, then we’ll head home.”
“I don’t want you to follow me, got it? Seriously, Trey.”
“Grace.”
“I mean it. God! It’s bad enough you showed up here today. What you’re doing is stalking.”
“Public church, Grace.”
“Just go away.”
He raised his hands in surrender and nodded.
Grace made her way back to Max. He picked up her flowers and handed them to her as she approached.
She shook her head. “I can’t take those, Max.”
Max frowned. “Let me explain.”
“Okay. Explain.”
“I didn’t like that he put his hands on you. He was angry and I saw red. You must know I’d never hurt you.”
Grace raised an eyebrow. “That’s not really the point. You hurt my friend, Max. He’s never raised a hand to me, and even when he grabbed my arm, he was gentle. I might not want him as my boyfriend anymore, but he’s still my friend.”
“He was your boyfriend?”
Grace nodded.
Max raised an eyebrow. “So, you broke up with him, then?”
“Yes. When I got home from our trip to the UK.”
He grinned. “After you met me.”
Grace sighed in irritation. “Coincidence.”
“Come have coffee with me. Please?”
“No.”
“You know you want to,” he pressed.
“No. Actually, I don’t,” she snapped.
Max looked genuinely confused. “You don’t?”
“No. I don’t.”
“Why not?”
She frowned. “I don’t know, maybe because arrogance and pride happen to drip off you like oil from a used car salesman’s hair. I’m sure some people might find it attractive, but I don’t. I need to go home. I have a job interview tomorrow and quite frankly, I can do without the stress you’re heaping on me.”
Max frowned. “I don’t mean to add stress, lass. I just want to get to know you. I changed the band’s schedule so there’d be time.”
“You can do that?” She hadn’t meant to sound so interested. The question just slipped out. She shook her head in irritation.
“I’m kind of a big deal,” he joked.
She muttered under her breath, cursing his charm, and guessing there was more truth in his statement than she might want to admit. But she refused to be manipulated. “So it would seem.”
“Please, Grace. Will you just spend a little time with me?” he pressed.
“Why?”
He sighed. “What do you mean, ‘why’?”
“Why me? You must meet a thousand girls a minute being who you are...all of whom would love to jump on the Maximilian train. Naked, even. So, why bother trying to get to know me? I’m a good girl, and nothing you say will change that.”
He dragged his hands down his face. “Oh, I’m bloody well aware of that fact.”
“Well, there you have it. Even you sound pissed off about it. Let’s just call it, okay?” Grace suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying. “I’m going home.”
“Grace, wait, please.”
She turned to leave. “‘’Bye, Max.”
“At least take the flowers.”
She grabbed them and headed for her car, pressing the key fob to unlock the door.
“Grace,” Trey called. “Wait.”
“No! Both of you just go away. I’ll be fine.” She climbed into her car and set the flowers carefully in the back seat. She started her car and secured her seatbelt before hitting the hands-free phone function. “Call Charlotte.”
Charlotte Whitmore was Grace’s childhood best friend. They’d been virtually inseparable since birth, born fifteen minutes apart, but straddling the midnight hour. Their mothers had become fast friends when they met in the hospital. Grace hated that Charlotte lived in Los Angeles, away from her, but more importantly, away from the rain of Washington. Grace detested the heat and avoided California like ice cream would avoid the desert.
“Hi Grace,” Charlotte whispered. “I thought we were Skype-ing later.”
“We are. Do you have a minute now?” Grace backed out of her parking spot.
“Um, yeah, hold on.”
Grace heard the rustling of fabric and then a click.
“Okay, I’ve got about five minutes,” Charlotte said. “What’s up? You sound out of sorts.”
“You’ll never guess what just happened.”
“Trey freaked out again and wants you back,” she deadpanned.
“Sort of, but there’s more.”
“What happened?”
Grace filled her in on the altercation with Trey and Max.
“Shut up. Maximilian MacMillan is there? Fallen Crown’s Maximilian MacMillan? At church?”
“Yep, so’s his brother.”
“Oh, my god...Niall’s there too?” she rasped. Charlotte had always had a massive crush on the drummer, even though she wasn’t the biggest fan of the band. She’d found a bootleg of a couple of Niall’s original songs outside of the band, and had been hooked ever since.
“Yes,” Grace said.
“Okay. Which one’s cuter? It’s the drummer, huh? He’s cuter.” She sighed. �
�He is such an amazing drummer, and his harmony vocals are to die for. Yum.”
“Chuck!” Grace snapped, trying not to giggle.
“Sorry. But you have to tell me, or I won’t be able to go on.”
Grace did giggle then, loving how her friend’s dramatic nature could always joke her out of a funk. “Max is cuter.”
“Nuh-uh, you’re wrong.” Outside of her crush on Niall, Charlotte had a penchant for drummers, no matter which genre of music they played.
“But seriously, I’m freaking out here,” Grace complained.
“Charlotte!” someone called in the background.
“Crap,” Charlotte said. “Sorry, I have to go. I’m a freakin’ princess today, and I have to relieve Britney.”
“You are? Really? Which one?” Grace asked.
“Oh, my favorite,” Charlotte retorted sarcastically.
“Ariel?”
“Stupid, vapid girl who sells her soul to a witch in order to get a guy,” Charlotte complained...again. “Who would be dumb enough to do that?”
“Who indeed?” Grace didn’t want to admit she might be dumb enough...if the guy was Max.
“I’m sorry, Gracie, I have to run, but I promise I’ll call you at eight,” Charlotte said. “We can hash it out properly and ad nauseam then.”
“Okay, ‘’Bye.” Grace hung up and tried to focus on her drive home. Her thoughts kept roaming to Max and the effect he had on her. So much so, she missed her exit.
“Shit!” she snapped, and took the next off-ramp, flipping a U-turn and heading back the way she came. She needed to get her head out of the clouds. “Baseball. I’ll think about baseball. Touchdowns...no, that’s not right. Dang it!”
Since sports were not her forte, she forced herself to sing one of the songs from the weekend set-list and managed to arrive home without any further detours. Now, if she could just eliminate Max from her mind forever, she’d be happy.
MAX WAITED FOR Grace’s ex to leave before climbing into his car and taking off. He let out a series of curses before calling Connall. He hated to do it. Hated that he was admitting defeat, but... desperate times and all that.
“Hey, Max. How did it go with Grace?” Connall asked when he answered.
“It was shite.”
“Uh-oh, what happened?”
Max filled him in on the altercation with Trey, and Grace’s reaction to Max’s defense.
“Wow,” Connall said. “You’re not kidding.”
“The fucker put his hands on her. I don’t know what the hell she expects from me.”
“I think this might be a job for Pepper,” Connall said. “She’s standing here with her hand out for some reason. Why don’t I hand you off to her?”
“Fine.”
“What happened to patience?” Pepper asked. Her ability to read her mate’s thoughts meant she didn’t need to be filled in on Max’s failure. “And before you answer that, I get that you weren’t happy about this guy touching her, but honestly, she’s not going to appreciate you going all Neanderthal on her. Cauld Ane men need to calm the hell down and let us mere women fight our own fights.”
Max frowned. “It’s not like I planned it, Pepper.”
“I know, but I’d venture a guess that what you did do, scared the living shit out of her. If you would have controlled your anger, you’d be having coffee with her right now, not trying to figure out how to fix the mess you made.”
Max hated that she was right. “All right, Mummy, I’ve been adequately scolded. Now, what the hell do I do going forward?”
“Get her siblings and/or the best friend involved,” Pepper said.
“What do mean?”
“You get her brother and sister behind you, and she’ll be more inclined to listen. They’re the real fans of the band, anyway, right?”
“Aye,” Max admitted, irritated again that Grace didn’t fall at his feet.
“Okay, then. Talk to her sister. Sisters know the best way to irritate or impress each other, so I’d start there. Unless you know her best friend. Does she have one? If she has a “Samantha” in her life, she’d be the one to talk to.”
“She did seem to be clinging to a woman’s arm when I saw her at the church, but I didn’t get the chance to meet her...or learn her name.”
“Well, then you’re stuck with her sister,” Pepper said. “But you have to do this, Max. No making Niall be your messenger.”
He bristled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know exactly what that means,” Pepper pointed out.
“Damn it,” he grumbled.
“Yeah, I’ve figured you out a little more than you think, mister. You may believe Niall is the nicer one, but you’re Grace’s mate. Only you will know what to say in the moment to make it right.”
“What if you’re wrong?”
“Oh, I’m never wrong, and I should probably verbally slap you for even thinking that.” Pepper laughed. “But I won’t, because I still love you.”
He couldn’t stop a smile, even if she’d nailed his plan to use Niall as a buffer. “Fine. I’ll figure it out.”
“I know you will. ’Cause if you don’t...”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. She’ll run.” Max shuddered. The thought of Grace not being in his life was not something he could face.
“Okay, our time is done. I’ll bill you for the session,” Pepper joked.
“Thanks, lass. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“Do you want to talk to Con again?”
“No,” Max said. “He’s useless.”
Pepper giggled. “Not at everything.”
Max rolled his eyes. “I’m hanging up now.”
“‘’Bye.”
Max hung up and called his brother. He might not be able to use Niall as his own personal Cyrano, but there couldn’t be anything wrong with him helping.
* * *
The next afternoon, Grace arrived home from her interview to find the driveway packed. Great. Everyone was home. She’d hoped to escape the barrage of questions, but it would appear that wasn’t going to happen. She guided her car to the closest spot on the street and parked.
Grabbing her purse and jacket, she made her way to the door. Maybe if she sneaked inside, no one would realize she was home. The rain was falling in sheets again and the temperature had dropped at least another hundred degrees, if the goose bumps all over her body were any indication. Even though she loved the rain, all she wanted to do right now was pour a big glass of wine and take a really hot bath. Her interview had sucked. She knew she’d bombed it, and she didn’t feel like having her family fawn over her right now.
Grace also couldn’t seem to get Max off her mind. She and Charlotte had sat up talking until well past midnight, and then she hadn’t slept well, which was probably why she’d blown her interview. She was irritable and in an all-around “the world is out to get me” mood. She wanted to throw herself a pity party, table for one. She made a mad dash for the front door and pushed it open.
“Grace? Is that you?” Maggie called.
“No!” Grace called back.
Maggie giggled and came into view from the kitchen. “How was the interview?”
“Don’t ask.”
“Bummer.” Maggie shrugged. “But, you have to change. You’re going out.”
Grace hung her coat in the closet. “Um, no.”
“Um, yes.”
“Mags, please. I’ve had the crappiest day ever and I just want to take a bath and veg in front of the boob tube.”
“No you don’t.”
“Yes I do.”
“No. You. Don’t.” Maggie grasped her arms. “Trust me. You want to change into something ridiculously hot and come out with me.”
Grace frowned. “Why?”
“Because it will cheer you up.”
“I thought you were sick.”
“I’m better,” Maggie countered. “Will you just go get into that blue dress that you spent entirely too much money on and
get your butt down here?”
“It’s way too cold to wear that dress!”
“Trust me. You’ll be plenty warm,” Maggie assured her.
“Why? What did you do?”
Maggie shrugged again. “You’ll see.”
Grace dropped her purse on the floor and advanced on her sister. “Please don’t tell me Trey’s convinced you to trick me into getting into a ridiculously expensive dress so we can bowl or something as inane as that.”
“No. Trey has nothing to do with any of this.”
“Then who does?”
“Grace!” she snapped. “Will you just go change?”
“Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
Maggie crossed her arms. “Why do you always have to ruin everything? Can’t I just want to do something nice for my sister without the third degree?”
Grace felt like a jerk. “Maggie, I’m not really in the mood for anything fun. Can we do it another night?”
“No. It’s all planned.”
Grace let out a frustrated squeak. “What’s all planned?”
Maggie pressed her lips into a thin line and shook her head.
“Seriously?” Grace said with a sigh. “Nothing?”
Maggie shook her head again.
“Max.” Grace wagged her finger at her sister. “Max is up to something, isn’t he?”
Maggie shrugged.
“Fine. But if I hate it and I want to come home, we come home. Capish? I’ll drive.”
Maggie grinned and Grace headed upstairs to change. She refreshed her makeup, pulled her hair away from her face with a clip, and pulled on the dress that had cost her almost a week’s wages. Dark blue, it matched her eyes and complemented her fair skin. The sleeveless dress crisscrossed into a pleated V-neck, but wasn’t so deep that Grace’s ample breasts showed too much cleavage. The back of the dress was longer, falling to her calves, while the front stopped just above her knee.
She’d bought it originally for Kristen’s wedding. Kristen’s only requirement for her bridesmaids’ dresses was the color, so Grace had chosen the one that made her feel the best, and had so many compliments, she’d felt like the prettiest girl in the room next to the bride. She hadn’t had another chance to wear it, and she had to admit, she felt beautiful as she put on her matching twenty-dollar shoes.
She made her way downstairs where Maggie still stood by the front door. “You look hot, sissy.”
Bound by Song (Cauld Ane Series, #4) Page 5