Once the contract is printed and Ben and Lisa leave her to study the legalities of their agreement, Grace reviews the document, occasionally glancing up to see if she is still alone. She sits in the sleek modern chair, the only piece of furniture on the upper level of the gallery. She can hear Ben in his office across the room, talking on the phone. His voice deep, and powerful, echoes throughout the entire upstairs. With her focus back on the contract, Grace signs it and gets up from the chair. Through the slit in the open door, Grace watches Ben lift his head at the sound of her shoes hitting the floors. She slows her pace and continues to stare as he abruptly ends his phone call.
“Grace?” Ben asks, in a rich, soothing tone.
“Yeah?”
“Would you join me for lunch?” he says, walking out of his office and sliding the sleeves of his sweater up to his elbows. “I was thinking of trying the deli up the street.”
“Umm,” is all Grace can mutter.
“You must be hungry. It is past lunchtime.”
“Actually, I’m not. I ate before I came and I have to get back to babysit my niece,” Grace says, making up the first lie she can think of to avoid flat out declining Ben’s offer.
Ben’s smile fades into a frown as he bends his neck backward. “That is a shame. I will not be back in Ocean View for a few weeks.”
“I’m sorry,” she says, clutching onto the contract.
Ben reaches for the contract and slides it from Grace’s hand, then motions for her to go downstairs. “I’ll hang those when I get back,” he says, nodding to Grace’s work. “Lisa, can you scan this and email a copy to Grace? Is that okay, Grace?” he asks, laying the contract on Lisa’s desk.
“That would be fine.”
“Would you like something from the deli?” Ben asks, turning his smoldering gaze to Lisa.
Grace notices that Lisa is just as taken with Ben as Sara was.
“Yes, please, Mr. McKay,” Lisa says, with a shy, flirty smile.
“Go ahead and write down what type of sandwich you prefer.” Turning, he sits on the edge of the desk. He folds his arms over his chest, narrows his eyes, and sweeps his into a devilish smile. “Are you sure you do not want to join me Ms. Hathaway?”
The grin he wears is playful and for a moment, Grace almost says yes. “I’m sorry. I just can’t. I need to watch Abby.”
“Can I at least walk you out?” Ben says, gesturing his hand to the door.
Grace smiles and nods. Ben rises from the desk and places his warm palm on the small of Grace’s back. When they make it out to the car, Ben opens the door and waits to close it until Grace buckles in.
“It has been a pleasure doing business with you,” he says, leaning on the car door.
Something about him makes her lose the ability to speak. It could be his deep, light brown eyes, or the tiny wrinkles that form on both sides of his smile, or the crease in his forehead as he lifts one of his brows and smirks. He never breaks eye contact with her. Struggling for words, Grace smiles. “You…you, too.”
“Until next time.”
“See ya,” Grace says as she starts the car.
As she pulls away, she watches him in the rearview mirror. He stands with both of his hands in the pockets of his slacks, and Grace swears that he is still meeting her eyes in the mirror.
Several days later, Grace is busy painting in the garage when her phone rings. The number displayed on the screen is not familiar to her.
“Hello?”
“Grace? Ben McKay.” His rich voice sounds tantalizing.
“Oh, hi, Ben.”
“I’m calling to let you know that we sold one of your paintings today. You will never guess which one.”
“Which one?”
“The Eiffel Tower,” he laughs. “I guess someone needed a European escape after all.”
Grace shakes her head with a smile on her face. Gratification fills her chest. It always feels good to her to know that her work is worthy enough to someone for them to pay his or her hard-earned money for it.
“Lisa has a check for you. She’ll be at the gallery until seven tonight.”
“Thank you. I think I’ll wait till tomorrow if that’s okay. I’m working on a new canvas today.”
“Marvelous. I’ll be back in a few days. I’d like to see what you are working on.”
“Ah, okay, I can bring it in.”
“I’ll call you when I get back if that is okay?”
Grace can hear the faintest sound of a woman’s voice calling to Ben in the background. “Okay, sounds good.”
“Talk to you soon then. Take care,” Ben says, suddenly sounding hurried.
“Bye, Ben.” She puts her cell phone back on a wooden workbench, picks her paintbrush up, and continues to work on her painting.
~ ~ ~
A couple of weeks after Ben’s call, Grace pushes the gallery door open with one hand, carrying a canvas painting in her other arm. Lisa immediately rises from her place at the desk and smiles.
“Hi, Lisa,” Grace says, laying the painting up against Lisa’s desk.
“Another one?”
Grace shrugs and cocks her head to the side with a smile reaching her eyes.
“Grace!” Ben says, from upstairs. Next thing Grace knows he is skipping down the stairs with a brilliant smile.
He walks right up to Grace and to her surprise throws his arms around her. “How is my number one selling Ocean View artist?”
Still in shock from Ben’s hug, she is wordless.
“What do you have for me today?” he says, walking around Lisa’s desk, looking down at the painting.
“Another oil,” Grace says, recovering from temporary lack of speech.
“Lisa, water for Grace, please.”
As usual, Lisa immediately rises at Ben’s request and hurries up the stairs to get Grace a bottle of water.
“Another exquisite abstract!” Ben exclaims, as he lifts the painting up to get a better view. “You’re really on a roll.”
Grace smiles. Something about the way he carries himself, so distinguished, makes her feel small in his presence.
With his head, Ben motions for Grace to follow him upstairs. Lisa, with a bottle of water in her hand, stands at the top of the stairs staring at Ben.
“We’re coming up. Just put it on my desk.”
Grace catches a strange look from Lisa as she passes her at the top of the stairs. Lisa lingers until Ben nods at her signaling that she may go back down to her desk. Lisa glares at Grace for a moment before Ben’s eyes fall on Lisa. She quickly changes her sour look to a forced smile.
Ben walks into his office and returns with a hammer in his hand. His lips are tightly pinching two nails. Taking the nails out of his mouth, he hands them to Grace and then hands her the hammer. Her mouth falls open when Ben pulls his shirt over his head, revealing ripped, six-pack abs. Ben’s mouth sweeps into a seductive smirk.
“It’s hot today, huh?” he asks.
Grace places her hand over her still wide-open mouth. He steps inches away from her and places his hand on top of the one that holds the hammer. His eyes are fixated on hers while he slides the hammer from her hand. Grace’s breath catches in her throat when Ben grabs her other hand and turns it over, emptying the nails into her palm.
He hangs Grace’s painting then turns around fixing his eyes on hers. Again, they stand in silence looking into each other’s eyes.
“Are you hungry?” he asks, in a whisper.
Grace shakes her head no, even though her stomach protests.
“When are you going to go on a date with me?”
Grace shakes her head in tiny spurts, “I—”
“Come on, come out with me. We’ll go somewhere nice,” Ben says, walking closer to Grace.
Inches away from her, he looks down with his mesmerizing light brown eyes.
“I can’t.” Grace sighs.
“You can.”
“No, really, I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Lie.”
“What?”
“Just say, ‘Ben, I’m not attracted to you,’” he says as he moves even closer to her.
“That’s not it,” Grace says, staring up at his gorgeous face. Damn he’s good-looking!
“Yeah, I know that’s not it because I know you are attracted to me,” Ben says, as he puts his hands on each of her upper arms.
Grace looks up at him speechless. His boldness and confidence stun her into silence.
He bends down to kiss her, but Grace pulls her head to the side. He stops holding her by her arms and backs away from her.
“I’m sorry, Ben. I just can’t,” she says, and then she quickly turns and runs down the stairs.
A few nights later, Grace is lying in bed when her phone rings. She recognizes that the number is an international one and immediately assumes it is Michelle. “Hey, sis.”
“I hope you are not disappointed that I am, in fact, not your sister.”
“Ben?”
“Hello, Grace.”
“Umm, hi. Where are you?”
“I’m still in London. Did I wake you? You sound fatigued.”
Grace yawns. “Nah, I’m up. I am lying in bed reading.”
“What?”
“Oh, some self-help mumbo jumbo.”
“I see. You don’t strike me as someone who needs self-help.”
“If you only knew.” Grace sighs.
“Tell me.”
“You don’t want to know.”
Ben clears his throat. “I’m quite certain that you are aware of my interest in you, so please, tell me.”
Grace takes a deep breath. “It’s not a pretty story.”
“You sound very troubled. Is there anything you need?”
She smiles at his kindness. “No, I’m okay. I’ve just had a rough few months.”
“A breakup, I assume?”
“That’s the least of what I’ve been through.”
Ben’s voice grows warm. “Did you know that besides being a dashing entrepreneur, I am also an extraordinary listener?”
His words cause her to laugh. “Benjamin McKay, has anyone ever told you that you’re very full of yourself.”
“I know I’m good looking. Do you mean to tell me that when you look in the mirror at that perfect face and those stunning green eyes, that you aren’t acutely aware of your own beauty?”
“Beauty is only skin deep.”
“In your case, Ms. Hathaway, it is much deeper.”
She cannot help smiling. “Are you calling me at ten in the evening London time just to flirt?”
“You caught me.”
“What am I going to do with you?”
“For one, you can go to dinner with me next time I’m in Oregon. Then after dinner we can discuss the rest of the ways you can please me.”
Grace giggles and realizes that Ben has eased some of her sorrow. “I’ve never met anyone like you before, Ben.”
“And I you, Grace. So, tell me what’s bothering you, please. I’d like to become someone you can confide in.”
Grace lies all the way down on her bed while contemplating whether she should open up to Ben. Not only is it hard to discuss, but she is not sure about sharing something so horrific with a man she barely knows. There is something special about him, he makes her want to spill her guts out. The gentle way he speaks to her, the concern running over his tone, it all convinces her to open her mouth and dribble out most of the details of her troubles.
Grace and Ben speak for hours on the phone that night, and the next, and the next…
Ben relentlessly pursues Grace for many months to no avail. Grace’s heart belongs to Ian and dating someone else frightens her too much to spend time thinking about it.
~ ~ ~
Grace sits on the porch with James and Abigail, enjoying the rain that falls lightly from the sky. The cloudy sky rumbles and the cold breeze sends shivers through her body.
“I better get her in. It’s getting cold,” James says, as he lifts Abigail up from the couch.
Abigail waves her tiny hand. “Bye Auntie.”
“Bye bye sweetheart,” Grace says, with a huge grin on her face.
Abigail looks just like Michelle did when Michelle was her age. Grace has always wondered how it was that she was born with light straight hair and her sister had such wild dark curls.
As Grace reminisces about her childhood, a shiny, silver BMW pulls up in front of James’ home. She peers through the raindrops and sees Ben’s tall slender body step out of the car. He bends into his car and pulls out a dozen pink roses. Grace’s heart skips a beat.
Ben runs up to the porch and wordlessly hands Grace the flowers.
“Oh, Ben.”
“I know I’m going out on a limb here, but would you like to go to dinner?”
Grace takes a deep breath and shakes her head.
James creeks open the screen door and pops his head out. “Everything okay?”
“I’m fine. This is Ben McKay, the owner of the gallery where I’ve been selling my art.”
James steps out onto the porch inspecting Ben. He glances down at the flowers in Grace’s arms and returns his scrutinizing gaze to Ben.
“Nice to meet you, James,” Ben says, taking his hand out of his pressed slacks and reaching out to shake James’s hand.
James takes his hand and firmly shakes it, “Hey.”
James looks at Grace with his brows pinched together. She nods and smiles. He steps back into his home. Ben takes a seat next to Grace and raises his eyebrows with curiosity written all over his face.
“I can’t.”
“Why not? You’re not fooling me. I see the way you look at me.”
“I’m just not ready to date,” she says, her eyes focused on the beautiful rosebuds.
“Would you like to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“I’m not going to stop trying.”
“I wish you would.”
“Well, I am not. There is something between us,” he insists.
Grace avoids his stare and looks out at the falling rain.
“I leave for London tomorrow,” Ben says, laying his hand on Grace’s leg.
“For how long?” she asks, turning to face him.
“I will not be back here for at least another month.”
To her surprise, his words sadden her.
“Come to dinner with me. If for no other reason than to say goodbye.”
Grace looks down at her clothes, a pair of loose jeans and a thick, black sweatshirt.
“I’ll wait while you change.”
Grace shakes her head again. He just doesn’t give up. Her thoughts race to Ian. How much she misses him. How much she aches for him, and she concludes that going out with Ben when she still has strong feelings for Ian, would be wrong.
“I can’t go out with you, Ben.”
Ben lets out an exhausted breath and rises to his feet. “You are so stubborn, Grace Hathaway. I have never met a woman who has said no to me. Lisa has another check for you and your wall is almost empty. Can you get more work to the gallery by the end of the week?” he asks, his tone turning businesslike.
“Yeah.” Guilt takes over as she watches Ben rise from the chair and lower his head looking at his fine Italian loafers.
“I guess I’ll see you next time I’m in town,” he says, walking away defeated. He stops at the bottom of the stairs and turns to face her again. “I hope you have a nice evening.”
“Thanks, Ben. Have a safe trip.” Part of her wants to stop him from leaving, run upstairs to throw on a dress, and go to dinner with him, but the part that misses and still loves Ian wins the fight.
That night, lying in bed, Grace is sorry for the way that she treats Ben. Treating her like a perfect gentleman, she should be grateful that a man as handsome as he would even be interested in her. She cannot deny that she is extremely attracted to him a
nd she really is very fond of him. Their many interactions over the past few months have given her a sense of who Ben is, and she likes it. She just cannot get over the feeling that going out with Ben would not only lead him on, but puts her at risk to fall for him. She has no doubt that Ben’s charms would overcome her common sense and that he could easily make her fall in love. She rolls onto her side as the tears build up. Placing a pillow under her arm and snuggling up with it, she muffles her cries until she finally falls asleep.
Chapter 18
Grace’s phone rings and her heart warms when she sees Michelle’s face pop up on the screen.
“Hi, Missy.”
“Hi, sweetie. How are you?”
“I’m okay.”
“No, you’re not. I hear it in your voice.”
Grace places her paintbrush down on the wooden workbench and takes a seat on the nearby stool.
“Are you ever coming home?” Michelle asks.
Grace lets out a deep breath. “Soon. Are you moved back in now?”
“Yeah, I moved my last box last night.”
“How are you holding up?”
“I’m fine, Grace. It was over a long time ago. I should’ve left him sooner.”
“How did François take it?”
“He took it very well. I don’t think he was surprised at all.”
“You two always seemed so happy,” Grace says, still astonished that Michelle and François have broken up.
“It was an act. We played happy. We both hate defeat.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m good. I’m worried about you, not me. When are you leaving for L.A.?”
Grace’s stomach sinks. “James is driving me down tomorrow. We are going to stop along the coast and be there by Monday.”
“I can still fly out tomorrow and be there with you.”
“No, Missy, it’s too long of a flight. I’ll be fine. James and Jaden are coming to court with me.”
“I hope they fry that motherfucker.”
“Me, too.”
“Have you heard from Ben?”
The Falling of Grace (The Falling Series Book 2) Page 20