Her Texas New Year's Wish

by Michelle Major

“Of course I was coming back.” He looked genuinely surprised. “I told you I’d be here to help.”

  “Give your brother a break,” Mariana said with a gentle tsk. “He’s here now.” Her knowing gaze met Grace’s across the table. “When the three of you are finished here, I’d love to get your thoughts on some of the grand opening events.”

  Grace pushed back from the table. “I actually have a meeting scheduled with Ellie to finalize plans to put a link for the hotel on the town’s website.”

  “Smart plan.” Nicole gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

  Jillian’s lips pursed but she didn’t say anything or try to one-up Grace, which made Grace suspicious. “Jay and I can take care of whatever Mariana needs,” Jillian offered, then rolled her eyes when Grace gave her a shocked look.

  Grace could feel Wiley’s gaze on her but purposely didn’t make eye contact with him. If Jillian was being nice enough to give her an out, Grace must not be doing as good a job at hiding her feelings as she hoped.

  She thanked Nicole and Mariana for lunch, then hurried from the restaurant and out the hotel’s front entrance, not even bothering to grab her purse from the office. She needed fresh air and a few minutes to gather her thoughts.

  Wiley was back. She shouldn’t be surprised. He had told her—and clearly his siblings—that he planned to return before the opening.

  She just wished she could turn off her feelings for him as easily as he seemed to be able to manage it.

  The afternoon was cloudy, and a brisk breeze whipped down the town’s main street, making her regret the choice to rush out without a jacket. At least the cool air felt good on her heated skin.

  “Grace.”

  Her stomach pitched and tumbled at the sound of Wiley’s voice behind her. She turned, forcing a bland smile on her face as he jogged toward her.

  “Hi,” he said, and lifted his hand as if to reach for her but then lowered it again. He searched her face as if he couldn’t quite understand why she wasn’t greeting him with more enthusiasm, but Grace had finally gotten her body and heart under control, even though it felt like it was shattering inside her chest.

  “How was your trip home?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Home,” he repeated with a frown. “You mean back to Chicago?”

  “Your home,” she said, nodding. “I hope it was productive.”

  “We closed the deal. The firm is now the counsel for the largest plexiglass manufacturer in the US.”

  “Congratulations.” Grace made a show of checking her watch. “I need to go. I don’t want to be late for my appointment with Ellie.”

  “I’ll walk with you,” he offered.

  “No.”

  His frown deepened. “What’s wrong, Grace? Is it your leg? Are you doing too much? If you need a break, I can talk to—”

  She held up a hand, hating that her body responded to his offer of support. Hating that she didn’t trust that he wasn’t being kind to make certain she didn’t cause trouble for his family. As much as she wanted to deny Jake’s suspicions about Wiley’s motives, his lack of communication had made her doubt everything she felt for him.

  “I don’t need you to talk to anyone on my behalf. I can manage my life and my career on my own, Wiley. I’ve been handling things just fine without you here.”

  “I know you can manage on your own,” he said gently. “But I want to help, Grace. I care about you.”

  “Right.” She bit off the word and forced her voice not to tremble. “We’re friends.”

  “More than friends.”

  “Friends,” she repeated, because if she allowed herself to entertain the thought of more, she’d be a goner for sure. “That’s all.”

  “I don’t understand. I missed you, Grace. Every moment away from you was—”

  “Don’t.” Don’t say sweet things. Don’t look at me with confusion and pain in your eyes.

  She swallowed, knowing she needed to be able to mutter more than one-syllable words at him. She needed to end this. The torture of being so close and yet feeling so far away from what she wanted her life to be. “I had some time to think about the future while you were gone, Wiley. I wasn’t distracted by—” she waved a hand in his general direction “—by anything. The truth is we agreed what was between us would be temporary, and it’s better that it end sooner rather than later.”

  A muscle jumped in jaw. “Better for whom?”

  “Me,” she whispered. “Both of us, I’m guessing, but I have to think about myself and my future. I can’t... I won’t put you ahead of me. Do you understand that?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t understand anything apparently.”

  “We’re friends,” she repeated. “That’s all we were ever meant to be.”

  He stared at her long and hard like he wanted to argue. A piece of her wanted him to argue. She wanted him to fight for her, but she should have known better. Grace wasn’t the type of woman that men fought for. She was a woman who fit herself into the compartment the people in her life needed her to be in.

  But no more.

  “Welcome back, Wiley. I’m sure your brothers and sisters will be thrilled to have you here again.”

  Without waiting for his response, she turned and walked away.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I’m mad at you.”

  Wiley continued to stare at the basketball game playing on the television of the sitting room in his suite at the ranch, ignoring his sister’s arrival.

  “Really mad,” Nicole said, walking into the room and picking up the remote from the side table. She pushed a button, and the TV went dark.

  “Big brothers are supposed to make sisters mad,” Wiley said. “It’s part of the job description.”

  “Do you want to know why?” She sat on the chair next to the sofa.

  “Not really.” He took a long pull on the beer he’d been nursing for the past hour. “You know I was watching that game?”

  “What was the score?” she demanded.

  He shrugged. “One of the teams was winning.”

  Nicole’s mouth curved into a smile. “Yeah, you were real invested in the game, Wi. Seriously, we need to talk.”

  “Not in the mood,” he told her. Since Grace had basically broken off their temporary relationship in the middle of the street two days ago, Wiley hadn’t been in the mood for anything. He’d kept himself busy and tried not to think about Grace, which was virtually impossible, especially when she seemed to be involved in almost every last-minute detail of the hotel’s grand opening.

  He’d found himself following her scent through an upstairs hallway yesterday until he’d heard her voice in one of the guest rooms, discussing something with Jillian and Jay. Wiley had ducked into a housekeeping closet when they came out to avoid being spotted. As he stared at shelves filled with crisp white linens and tiny bottles of toiletries, he’d realized how bad off he was with missing her.

  Unlike him, Grace didn’t seem the least bit affected by their breakup, if that’s what he could call it. She appeared completely focused on making sure the grand opening went off without a hitch. Despite his heartache, he was so proud of her for the leadership role she’d taken on and the way her confidence had bloomed. He only wished he could share in the success with her.

  “What did you do to Grace?”

  Wiley sucked in a breath as he straightened. “Nothing. Not one damn thing, Nicole.”

  “It’s obvious she’s hurting.”

  “Not to me,” he countered.

  “Then you’re a bigger fool than I suspected. Even Jillian is being nice, so you know Grace must be really upset. I thought you liked her.”

  “I did. I do.”

  “Then why dump her, Wiley? Especially right before the opening. I understand that commitment isn’t your thing and being back in Chi
cago probably had you missing the city, but—”

  “You have it wrong.” He pointed the tip of his bottle toward his sister. “I was the dumpee in this situation. Grace broke up with me.”

  “Impossible,” Nicole said immediately. “Women don’t break up with you.”

  “I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

  “What did you do?”

  He placed the beer bottle on the coffee table with distinct thud. “Nothing.”

  His sister’s blue eyes narrowed. “Are you sure?”

  “How could I have done anything?” He lifted his hands, palms up, and didn’t bother to hide his frustration. “I was working around-the-clock in Chicago to salvage the deal. There was no time for anything, not that I would have wanted it, anyway. I missed her.”

  “Did you tell her that?”

  He nodded. “Right in front of the hotel when I got back. Just before she cut me off at the knees.”

  “And she gave no indication of being unhappy while you were away?”

  “I don’t know, Nicole. I was away. Maybe her brother convinced her not to trust me. Maybe she realized she doesn’t want to deal with the complications of our family.”

  “Grace isn’t the type to shy away from things that are hard,” Nicole reminded him. “In fact, we all keep forgetting she’s wearing the boot, because she doesn’t let it slow her down one bit.”

  “She’s amazing,” he murmured. “Probably too smart to want something long-term with me.”

  “I don’t believe that.” Nicole tapped a finger against her chin. “You two were the worst-kept secret in town. Everyone could see she was crazy about you. Did she say anything when you talked to her during your trip that would give you a clue—”

  “We didn’t talk while I was gone.”

  Nicole’s mouth dropped open. “You were in Chicago for nearly a week.”

  “I’m aware.”

  “How could you not talk to her?”

  He shrugged. “It wasn’t purposeful. I was busy.”

  “Not an excuse.”

  Agitation rolled through Wiley like a tidal wave. He didn’t want to think that he was at fault. How could that be? No, he hadn’t told Grace how he felt before he left. But she had to know, or at least have an idea. He’d never devoted so much of himself to a woman before. In fact, it had scared the hell out of him, especially when he returned to Chicago and saw the mess his firm had almost ended up in because he’d been distracted by his family and Grace while in Texas. Guilt had eaten at him, which was part of the reason he hadn’t done the best job of communicating while he was away. But still...

  He stood from the sofa and paced to the edge of the room. No way would he believe that he was the reason she’d broken things off. That simply couldn’t be the case.

  “I did call, Nicole. Or I tried.” He heard the edge in his voice but regaining control was the last thing on his mind. He had to understand why she’d ended things between them. He had to know if there was a chance at winning her back. “We had trouble connecting because of how much I was at the office. It wasn’t like I slept with her and then took off without a backward glance.” He cringed when Nicole sucked in a harsh gasp, realizing exactly what he’d just blurted. Wiley would give anything if he could take the last ten seconds back.

  “You slept with her?” Nicole moved to the edge of the seat, looking like their mother used to when she wanted to throttle one of the boys for making a stupid mistake.

  “Forget I said anything.” He shook his head. “I’m not thinking clearly, obviously. I shouldn’t have—”

  “She’s our employee,” Nicole reminded him through clenched teeth.

  “Yours,” Wiley countered. “Not mine. My relationship with her has nothing to do with the hotel.”

  “Does she know that?”

  He opened his mouth to answer then shut it again.

  Nicole’s eyes widened. “Did she tell you about her ex-boyfriend?”

  “The one who cheated on her?” Wiley nodded. “That has nothing to do with me, either.”

  “How much did she share about their breakup?”

  “She didn’t need to explain much. He cheated. End of story.”

  “Wiley.”

  “Stop sounding like Mom,” he told her. “Your tone is freaking me out.”

  “I did Grace’s reference check at Cowboy Country,” Nicole said quietly. “The story she gave me about how things ended there was a little convoluted. I spoke with her boss in Horseback Hollow. Grace was an exemplary employee, just like she is for us. But when she discovered that her boyfriend was cheating on her with another coworker, there was a bit of a scene.”

  “What kind of a scene?” Wiley asked, even though he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.

  “I only heard the details because the amusement park manager felt bad for Grace and wanted her to get the position in the training program. Apparently, the whole thing blew up at an employee picnic. The ex very loudly blamed Grace. He made it known that he was cheating because Grace lacked—” she made a face “—spark in the bedroom.”

  Wiley breathed out a string of curses that would have horrified his mother. “She doesn’t lack spark. Grace is the sparkliest damn woman I’ve ever known.”

  “Too much information.” Nicole stood, making a show of covering her ears. “I don’t want to talk about you and Grace and sparks. But think of the timing, Wi. The two of you...” She shrugged. “Took things to the next level and then you left town and didn’t call her.”

  “I called. We just didn’t get to talk.” He cursed again because he hated knowing that he’d made Grace doubt anything about herself. Making love to her had been the most wonderful time of his life. Not that he had any intention of discussing details with his sister.

  “Maybe you should try talking to her again,” Nicole suggested gently. “If you really care about her.”

  “I care.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I more than care about her.”

  “You can say the word.” Nicole crossed to him and patted his arm. “It won’t burn your tongue to speak it out loud.”

  “It might,” he muttered, then sighed. “I love her, Nicole. I’m in love with her. I didn’t expect it, and I’m not sure I want it.”

  His sister squealed with delight. “I knew it. We all knew it. Ashley, Megan and I knew it before you did. We’re so much smarter than you.”

  He pulled away, although he couldn’t help the way his mouth curved. “Why do you all have to keep pointing it out? I should mention it’s annoying. If you’re finished gloating, can we talk about how I’m going to fix this?”

  “Do you want to fix it?”

  He thought about it for a long moment. Although he expected panic to rise up inside him, instead he felt a sense of peace settle in his chest. “Yes.”

  She inclined her head. “Why do I think there’s a ‘but’ coming?”

  “More like an ‘and,’” he admitted. “I need to figure some things out. I haven’t done a great job of making her feel like she’s a priority for me, and Grace deserves that. I want to give her that, Nic. I don’t want to mess it up.”

  “What if Grace says no? Will you go back to Chicago?”

  He shook his head. “My time in the city is finished. No matter what happens with Grace, I’m moving to Texas. Our big, crazy family used to feel like something I needed to escape. It didn’t feel like I could have my own life when I was just one of the Fortune brothers.”

  “You’ve always been more than that,” his sister said quietly.

  “Took me a bit of time to realize it.” He grinned at her. “It really grates on my nerves that my baby sisters are so smart, but you’re right. I’ve had a great life in Chicago, but it’s never been home. Home is where family is, and I want to put down roots in Texas. I want this place to be my home.�
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  * * *

  Grace climbed the stairs leading to Roja’s banquet room on Tuesday morning, trying hard to control the nerves fluttering through her chest.

  Callum had texted her last night, asking her to arrive at the hotel early the following morning for a private meeting. With less than a week until the grand opening, she couldn’t imagine why the head of Fortune Brothers Construction would want to take time out of his busy schedule to meet with her, unless he’d found out about her relationship with Wiley.

  After their breakup, Grace had done her best to go back to business as usual at work. It wasn’t easy, because her body and her heart seemed tuned in to his presence like a radio dial. If he was anywhere nearby, awareness shivered across her skin, and it was difficult to draw a steady breath.

  Yesterday she’d overheard Nicole tell Mariana that Wiley had gone to Austin for business. Of course, it was silly for Grace to be disappointed that he hadn’t said goodbye to her. She’d told him she just wanted to be friends, but they both knew they couldn’t go back to simple friendship after what they’d shared.

  She’d walked away before she was tempted to ask Nicole how long he’d be gone and what his plans for the future were. Anything Grace heard was bound to hurt, since she understood his future wouldn’t involve her.

  The timing of this meeting seemed a bit of a coincidence, and part of her feared that the Fortunes would blame her for Wiley leaving again. She knew he would never try to put her in a bad position or do anything that might jeopardize her job, but after the way things ended in Horseback Hollow, it was difficult for her to trust that. She’d thought her future at Cowboy Country was secure until Craig had publicly humiliated her.

  Her anxiety went into overdrive when she turned to find Callum seated at a banquet table along with Nicole and Kane. It felt like Grace was facing the Fortune tribunal.

  “Good morning,” she said, clearing her throat when the words came out sounding like a croak.

  “Hey, Grace.” Callum and his cousin stood as she approached. “How are you doing?” Callum glanced at her leg. “Damn, I’m sorry. I figured there’d be more privacy up here, but we probably should have met downstairs. I keep forgetting about your injury.”