Before Karen could respond, the front door opened and two laughing voices trailed in. Grady and Olivia, Melanie presumed.
Jace pulled Olivia into a quick hug the second she emerged from the foyer. When he released her, he asked, “Is my brother taking good care of you and my niece- or nephew-to-be?”
Olivia’s wide-set blue eyes beamed with happiness. Placing her hand on her flat stomach, she said, “He is. Though he acts as if the baby will be here tomorrow instead of in August. He’s gone a bit overboard on the baby books.” She tucked a loose strand of long, dark brown hair behind one ear, saying, “Don’t get him started tonight, or you’ll learn more about the birthing process than anyone—including me—ever needs to know.”
“What? I can’t be excited?” Grady asked as he stepped through the archway. “Not a damn thing wrong with being prepared.”
John and Karen joined the mix, giving hugs and asking questions. Melanie was too stunned by the resemblance between the Foster brothers to move. Her gaze flipped from Jace to Grady and back again. If she had bumped into Grady on the street somewhere, she would’ve known in a heartbeat that they shared the same gene pool.
They were close in height and build, had the same hair and eye color, and jeez—their voices were almost carbon copies of one another. There were differences, though. Jace held himself in a relaxed confidence, while Grady’s stance was focused and watchful. Grady wore his hair shorter and less shaggy than Jace did, and somehow Jace’s features were a tad gentler than his brother’s, his jaw a smidge less angled.
While the differences were minimal, and there wasn’t a reasonable explanation as to why, she found Jace the more attractive of the two.
Jace, apparently noticing that Melanie hadn’t budged, beckoned for her to join them. Okay. She could do that. They were just people, for crying out loud. Pasting on a smile, she firmed her shoulders and pushed herself forward.
Grady’s gaze found her. Smiling broadly, he said, “You must be Melanie. Sorry my dimwit brother didn’t introduce us, but I’m Grady and this is Olivia.”
“I kind of figured,” Melanie said, returning the smile. “And wow. I’ve never heard anyone refer to Jace as being dim-witted. He’s the man-who-can-do-no-wrong at the Gazette.”
A rumble of laughter erupted from Grady. He gave her a wink. “Before too long, you’ll know all of Jace’s stories. Then you can blow his cover wide open at work.”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Jace said, coming to Melanie’s side and wrapping his arm around her waist. “Remember I know all of your stories, too. And unlike you, I have a medium in which to share those stories with a much larger audience.”
Grady laughed again. “Uh-huh. You do that, bro.”
“Is that a dare?” Jace asked good-naturedly. “Because if it is—”
“How old are you two?” Melanie interrupted, loving the back-and-forth between brothers. “Eight? Ten? Because I know two men in their thirties are not about to double dare each other.”
Grady and Jace grinned at each other and shrugged. “Nothing wrong with a good double dare,” Grady said. “Besides, he’s used that same threat for years and has never followed through. Can’t say I’m all that worried.”
“Is that so?” Jace punched his brother lightly on the shoulder. “But you’re not thinking about the Valentine’s Day piece that your lovely wife has already agreed to. Who knows what type of interesting tidbits I could drop into that?”
Melanie’s lips twitched when Grady sent her a pleading look. “Yeah, but you’re not thinking that you need Melanie’s approval first. That is what you said, right?” Jace narrowed his eyes in mock annoyance and nodded. Angling his arms across his chest, Grady continued, “Seeing as she’s sure to side with me, I’m still not worried.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake. Melanie’s right. You’d never guess that you two are grown men.” Karen’s firm voice also held a noticeable tinge of amusement at her sons’ antics. “Knock it off or there will be no dessert for either of you. Now, though, let’s go eat dinner.”
Everyone began to drift toward the dining room. Olivia sidled into place next to Melanie, saying, “They go at each other like that all the time, but it’s how they show their love.” She shrugged. “In truth, they’d do just about anything for each other.”
“I caught that,” Melanie said. “And I know Jace worries a lot about Seth. Grady probably does, too.”
“We all do,” Olivia said. “But he’ll be home by early June. We’re all just counting the days and keeping him in our prayers.”
They reached the dining room, and Olivia went to take the seat next to her husband. The center of the table was filled with bowls and platters of food. Pot roast and all the fixings, from what Melanie could tell. Jace stopped next to her, leaned over and kissed the top of her head in full view of the rest of his family. All of a sudden, every eye was on her. On them.
Jace didn’t seem to notice. It bothered Melanie, though. She’d never been comfortable with public displays of affection, and Jace seemed to thrive on them. Besides which, she’d barely met his family, so a kiss—even one similar to that you’d give a child—flustered her. She sent him a scathing look, hoped he got the message and followed him to the table.
Soon everyone was chattering about one topic or another as they ate. Jace extracted information from Grady and Olivia about their relationship for Melanie’s benefit. She knew he really wanted to include them as one of the couples in the feature, and honestly, she no longer objected. Not only did she like Grady and Olivia, but come on, she’d already slept with Jace. Losing the bet now seemed inconsequential to the possibility of losing her heart.
Oh, hell no. She hadn’t just thought that, had she?
Yep, she had. She blinked, grabbed her water glass and took a long swallow. Was she really falling for the Jace Foster, playboy extraordinaire? Every logical and anal-retentive gene in Melanie’s body screamed “No!” but her heart begged to differ.
“You okay, Mello Yello?” Jace asked from her left side. “You look a little pale.”
“Yes, fine. Just enjoying this fantastic dinner,” she said brightly. “It really is wonderful, Karen. I wish I could cook like this.”
Karen beamed at Melanie. “Thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying the meal. Though, if you ask John, he’ll tell you I couldn’t boil water when we were first married.”
“True enough,” John piped in. “And I was equally as useless in the kitchen. We ate a lot of cereal and frozen dinners back then.” He grinned at the memory. “One day, I came home to find Karen sitting in the kitchen, crying her heart out with a pile of cookbooks surrounding her.”
“I found out I was pregnant with Grady that morning,” Karen explained.
“And she had it in her head that unless she learned to cook that day, she was doomed to being a horrible mother.” John leveled his gaze with Karen’s, and Melanie knew he was seeing her as he had back then. Young and scared, and probably so very beautiful. “So we learned how to cook together, and by the time Grady came along, no one was starving in this house.”
Melanie couldn’t stop the rush of gooey, sentimental emotion from sweeping in, nor could she stop herself from saying, “I think that’s the most romantic story I’ve ever heard.”
Jace started in surprise next to her, but wisely kept his mouth shut. If he hadn’t, she probably would’ve kicked him in the shin.
“Well, John has never been a flowery, poetic man,” Karen said. “But don’t let that fool you. This man is a romantic through and through.” She nodded at her sons. “He’s passed that trait on to our boys. All three of them.”
Grady and Jace fidgeted in their chairs at the same instant, which caused everyone else to laugh, including Melanie. She liked this family. A lot, even. And she wouldn’t mind having the opportunity to spend mor
e time with them.
Suddenly, the atmosphere grew heavier. So heavy that Melanie could almost feel the weight of the air pressing against her skin.
“Okay, so I heard from Kurt about the drunk-driving article. About Cody’s article,” Jace said quietly. “He wants me to make a couple of small changes, check a few of my facts, but other than that, he’s approved the article to run. It should be in next Monday’s edition. I need to know if any of you are having second thoughts.” His gaze swept the table, landing on his parents first but stopping on Grady and Olivia. “If so, this is the time to tell me.”
Melanie had no idea what article Jace referred to, but she also wasn’t about to ask. Not when everyone looked so somber.
Olivia blinked rapidly, as if trying to hold back a sudden onslaught of tears. “I haven’t changed my mind, Jace. I meant to thank you right off. The… What you wrote about Cody is beautiful and perfect and… Well, what I mean to say is thank you. Just thank you.”
“We all feel the same, son,” John said. “We’re damn proud. I hope you know that.”
Jace coughed to clear his throat. When he spoke, there was a thick quality to his voice that hit Melanie hard. “It was something I had to do. For all of us.”
Without knowing why, she reached under the table to grasp his hand, to offer him comfort. He squeezed back. Everyone stayed quiet for a few minutes, then Grady broke the silence by asking Melanie, “Have you seen the article?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t…I don’t know what this is about.”
“I haven’t told her about Cody,” Jace said. “I thought everyone should meet first.”
Grady nodded, looked at his wife. “You okay if I do this?”
“Yes,” she said softly. “Talking about him is good.”
So Grady shared a story that broke Melanie’s heart into pieces. About his and Olivia’s son, Cody, about the tragic car accident three years earlier that had stolen the child’s life and how Jace had written an article that was part human-interest, part informational, but that his goal was to “get people to think.”
Would this man ever stop surprising her? Somehow, she didn’t think so. The real question was whether she was capable of giving what he seemed to want from her.
She didn’t know. But maybe she was ready to find out.
Jace watched Melanie fish her keys out of her purse, hoping she’d invite him in but not about to ask. The evening had gone well, and he knew his family adored her. Even now, his mother was probably talking his father’s ear off about someday grandbabies and how she’d worried that Jace would never find a woman he’d want to settle down with.
Or maybe not. Maybe his mother had always known it would take a special woman to steal his heart. A sarcastic, quick-witted woman who had no inkling of what she did to him, of the beauty she held. A woman like Melanie.
And she had liked his family. He didn’t have to guess on that one; she’d told him straight out during the ride to her place. She’d also agreed to use Grady and Olivia for the article and had suggested they consider using his folks, too. Their story had really gotten to her.
So, yes, the night had been pretty damn perfect.
Melanie unlocked the front door and pushed it open. He watched her back straighten and go rigid before she faced him. Uh-oh. An edge of worry sank into his gut.
She gave him a determined, hell-hath-no-fury type of look. “So, I’ve been thinking about what you said at the Breckenridges’.” Her nostrils flared, showing a hint of her temper. “You cannot simply decree we are dating and make it so. You are not king.”
“Whoa there, Mel.”
“No.” She inhaled a sharp-sounding breath. “You whoa and let me speak. I should have said this earlier.”
Hell. He’d hoped that tonight might have helped her see him more clearly. Now he had to wonder if she was about to give him the boot.
“We are two people, Jace. Two. And that means that I get a fifty-percent vote in anything to do with us. But you seem to keep forgetting that.”
Us? Maybe this wasn’t going where he thought. Smiling, he gestured for her to continue.
“Unless I am somehow mentally or physically incapacitated or I tell you otherwise, you don’t get to make decisions for me without my involvement.” Putting her hands on her hips, she narrowed her eyes. “Does this make sense to you?”
“Yes,” he said, readily admitting she had a point. Even that he might have pushed too hard. But damn, it seemed senseless waiting for her to come around to what he already knew. “I tend to see what I want and go for it,” he explained. “And it isn’t as if you’re the most forthcoming woman I’ve ever met. You tend to make me a little crazy.”
“The feeling is mutual.” She continued to stare at him, as if waiting for him to say more.
He racked his brain, trying to figure out what. Oh. “I’m, ah, sorry for decreeing that we were dating?”
“Are you asking me or telling me?”
“Telling! I’m sorry I played king. Totally sorry.”
Her stance softened a minute amount. “Apology accepted. Now—”
“Right. Go on in and lock up.” He said the words fast, not wanting to actually hear her telling him to get lost. He’d see her tomorrow. He could—would—fix this then. “I…I can’t leave while you’re standing outside this time of night.”
She blinked. “What?”
Confused, he gave himself a second to consider why she might sound annoyed. But then he got it. She’d just freaking told him to stop making decisions for her, and what did he go and do? Yeah. He told her what to do. Cringing, he backed up a few paces. “I need to know you’re safe before I leave. That’s all I meant.”
Comprehension flickered into being. “Did I ask you to leave?”
“No.”
“Then why are you leaving?”
“Because you’re, ah, angry with my kinglike attitude?” Whipping his fingers through his hair, he tried, oh, how he tried, to figure out what the hell was happening now.
“I’m not mad, Jace. Just setting some ground rules.” She rolled her bottom lip into her mouth. “We can date, but we take this one day at a time. One step at a time.”
A whoosh of relief, so strong it nearly knocked him on his ass, came over him. “I’m good with steps,” he said, going for calm, cool and collected. Inside, though, there was a friggin’ band playing and cheerleaders swishing their pom-poms in the air. “Does that mean I’m invited in?”
“For a man who’s spent most of his adult life seducing women, you’re pretty clueless about females, aren’t you?” Before he could respond, she pivoted on her heel and walked inside. Over her shoulder, she said, “Yes, you’re invited in. I’m going upstairs to take a long, hot bubble bath. Perhaps you’d like to join me?”
She didn’t have to ask him twice.
Chapter Ten
Slightly past eight the next morning, Jace, wearing yesterday’s clothes, padded barefoot into Melanie’s kitchen to start a pot of coffee. He’d showered, but he’d have to go home for fresh clothing before their lunch date with Loretta and…what was his name? Oh, yes. Wade.
But he decided he’d wait and see if Melanie would join him. He had this notion of showing her his house, of all the work he’d done to the place. But at the moment, the lady was still curled up in bed, fast asleep. Good, he thought as he filled the pot with water. She needed her rest.
They’d kept each other awake long into the night until, somewhere around three, exhaustion had claimed them both. He woke with Melanie’s head on his chest, and her hair, soft and fragrant, clouding around him. He held her for a bit, waiting to see if she’d wake. She hadn’t, so he figured he’d shower, find his way around her kitchen and bring her breakfast in bed as a small example of th
e wooing he’d promised her.
Then he’d tell her the truth about “Bachelor on the Loose.” He wanted her to know that he wasn’t that guy, for his sake as much as for hers.
Another thought occurred and he groaned. Based on their conversation last night, he should come clean about the background search he’d instigated on David Prentiss. Jace hadn’t heard anything yet, but he’d put in the request over a week ago. It probably wouldn’t be too much longer.
How steamed would she be? Anxiety bubbled through his veins. Plenty steamed. The question was, would she forgive him? Would their “take this one step at a time” agreement hold through the storm? Hell if he knew.
His gaze landed on her laptop, which she’d left on the kitchen table, and an idea struck. Going with it, he powered on the computer. Fixing this was simple. All he had to do was send another email to the investigator, this one stating that Jace had changed his mind. If he never received any information about Melanie’s father, then he wouldn’t necessarily have to share his well-intentioned lapse in judgment.
Okay, a fine line, but an acceptable one as far as Jace was concerned. Or if he did give in to his need-to-share-all complex, then at least Melanie would know he’d listened to her and had acted accordingly. Yeah, either way it went, he’d come out better by stopping the investigation before it got started.
As soon as the laptop was ready to go, Jace pulled up his email provider’s website, typed in his username and password, and hit Enter. Scanning his in-box, he expelled a sigh of relief when he didn’t see an email from his contact. Awesome. Luck was on his side today. He composed the email quickly and hit Send.
There. Done.
Much more relaxed, Jace poured himself a cup of coffee before sitting down again at the table. Might as well go through his other emails before preparing breakfast. He wasn’t much of a cook, but if Melanie had eggs and cheese on hand, he could make a fairly decent cheese omelet. And toast. He could definitely manage toast.
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