Embracing Her Heart

by Melissa Foster

  “Hey, M,” Grace said. “What are you doing here?”

  Morgyn grinned. “You left the party with a very hot, very available man last night. Brindle said she’d kick my butt if I didn’t tell her all the details.”

  It was bad enough that Grace had kissed Reed and hadn’t slept worth a darn. Did she have to face an inquisition, too? “Where is Brindle?” She leaned closer to the mirror as she applied eyeliner.

  “She left the party with Trace last night,” Sable explained. “Right about now she’s either having an orgasm, going down on Trace, or they’re breaking up again. It’s a toss-up, really.”

  Grace finished putting on her makeup and stalked into the bedroom. She took the script from Sable’s hand and set it on the nightstand. “I noticed you weren’t here when I got home last night.”

  “The party ran late,” Sable said as her gaze slid down Grace’s body. “Whoa. Looks like someone got a taste of the sausage buffet and wants seconds. You look hot!”

  Grace felt her cheeks flush and glanced down at her gray stretchy miniskirt and pink short-sleeve sweater. “It’s comfortable.”

  “It’s fuckable,” Morgyn said. “And those are killer ankle boots. I bet they cost you a pretty penny.”

  “They’re nothing special,” Grace lied. They cost a bundle and she usually only wore them on special occasions. While she wouldn’t exactly call seeing Reed a special occasion, it was something.

  “You definitely dressed for Renovation Man,” Sable said.

  Grace didn’t want to talk about why she’d picked out her outfit. It was none of their business that she’d woken up hot and bothered, taken a cold shower, and still felt his lips on hers. Or that she remembered how much Reed used to love when she wore her short cheerleading skirt.

  “Hey, I don’t blame you,” Sable said. “That guy can hammer me anytime.”

  “Sable!” Grace pointed to the hallway.

  Sable laughed. “Don’t worry, sis. Sisters before misters and all that. I’d never go after your man.”

  “So, it wasn’t just a hookup?” Morgyn sat up next to Sable. “You and Reed Cross?”

  Ignoring Sable’s smirk, Grace said, “No, not me and Reed Cross. He’s a friend. I knew him in high school.”

  Morgyn tucked her hair behind her ear, gazing innocently up at Grace. “Oh. I just assumed that since you two were inspecting each other’s tonsils in the creek you knew him more intimately than that. My bad.” She pushed to her feet, all innocent eyes and sisterly tease. “From the look in your eyes, either you have no recollection of kissing him, or you thought we hadn’t seen you.”

  “I…” Remember every blessed second of his hot mouth on mine. She cleared her throat, struggling to push those memories aside, and said, “We were pretty good friends.”

  A knock sounded on the glass door that led to the deck, and all three of them looked at the curtains.

  “Mom and Dad are with the dogs and Brindle’s with Trace,” Morgyn said. “My guess is that your pretty good friend is here for a pretty good booty call.”

  “Oh my God, you’re as bad as Sable,” Grace said, and tore the curtains back. Her stomach flipped at the sight of Reed’s boyish smile and his unmistakably manly physique. What was it about a man with a tool belt that made women go stupid?

  Sable pushed past her and pulled the door open. “Hello there, Reno Man.”

  “Sable,” he said casually, his eyes never leaving Grace’s. “How’re the Montgomery girls this morning?”

  Grace’s pulse raced beneath the heat of Reed’s stare. She couldn’t spit out a single word. Her mind had taken a journey back to the creek, revisiting their first kiss in forever.

  “Some of us are functioning better than others,” Morgyn said as she slipped out the door. “I’ve got to run. I’m going to the fair with Haylie and Lindsay.”

  Haylie was Chet Hudson’s younger sister. She was a single mother and the administrator for the new community center, No Limitz. Lindsay was Sophie’s younger sister, which made Grace wish Sophie were there instead of in New York. Sophie had been there for her long before Reed had entered her life. She’d helped pull Grace through the ups and downs of childhood, through Grace and Reed’s breakup, and during every life-changing event ever since. Sophie would talk her out of this ridiculous infatuation, or whatever it was that was driving her to act like a teenager with a crush on the bad boy.

  Sable crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, watching Grace and Reed as if they were there for her entertainment.

  “Sable, don’t you have something better to do?” Grace asked with a not-so-subtle glare.

  “What could be better than watching something a decade in the making come to life?”

  Reed pushed a hand into his tool belt and withdrew a big bag of M&M’s. “Grace, I assume this is still your breakfast of choice?”

  “You remembered?” she said too breathily.

  “You’re hard to forget.”

  “Okay,” Sable said flatly, pushing from the doorframe. “This is way too mushy for me. I’m outta here.”

  Reed stepped aside to let Sable pass, his gaze still locked on Grace, making her more nervous than it should. She dealt with all sorts of people in her job, from the wealthy to the famous. How could a small-town guy like Reed make her mind turn to dust? She glanced down at her fingers absently tearing open the bag of goodies, and her heart thumped a little harder.

  Oh yeah, that’s how.

  He knew her better than she knew herself. He’d assumed she’d want to see him, when although she’d dressed the part, she’d been debating until the moment she’d seen his handsome face. The face that starred in her naughtiest fantasies and kept her from ever letting go with another man.

  One look was all it took, and then there was no question. She wanted to see him. Heck, she wanted to kiss him. She shoved a handful of chocolate into her mouth to quell that urge and held out a few for Reed. “Want some?”

  “Yes,” he said evenly. Then his eyes smoldered, dark as night and hot as fire, and he added, “But not what you’re offering.”

  She laughed, and it broke the tension building up inside her. “Why are you so set on this?”

  “I’m not set on anything. But it’d be a waste to ignore our chemistry. Don’t you think?”

  She’d gone without chemistry for a very long time. So long, she barely remembered how to spell it. Ignoring it was not an option. But she and Reed spelled heartache, and she liked living in her lonely bubble without any new slashes through her heart. Okay, maybe she hated that lonely bubble, but she definitely liked safeguarding her heart. “What I think is that we barely know each other anymore.”

  Reed stepped closer with a wicked look in his eyes.

  “Why are you always invading my personal space?”

  “Because there are some things that don’t change, like your reaction to my being close to you.” He paused long enough for the space between them to ignite.

  Grace stood firm, refusing to admit defeat by her weakening knees.

  “I’m going to venture a guess that other things haven’t changed either,” he said in a low voice. “You were never one for flings and always one for knowing what was next on your agenda. You’re probably thinking about how you’d like to see if we’re still compatible, but you’re only here for a visit and then what?”

  “I’m here for only three weeks, Reed. Like I said before, this can’t lead anywhere.”

  His lips curved up in a cocky smile, and his fingers brushed the back of her hand. “And like I said, I can think of plenty of places this can lead.”

  “Holster your hammer, playboy.”

  “I’m no playboy, Grace. Never was, never will be.” He leaned closer, his minty breath filling her senses. “But you already know that.”

  “I knew that before, but I have no idea what your personal life is like now.”

  “Then it’s time we changed that. Go out with me.”

  She glanced at his too
l belt. “You’re working, and I have scripts to read through.”

  “Tonight, Grace. We always wanted to go to the fair together. Now we can.”

  “Grace!” her mother called from the yard, where she and Grace’s father were working with the dogs. “Come see how good the pups are doing!”

  Had they been watching her the whole time? Grace took a step away, and Reed put his hand on her arm, his invitation hanging between them like the apple in the Garden of Eden.

  “Tonight, Gracie,” Reed said, as if it were already decided.

  She sighed, knowing she didn’t stand a chance of turning him down. “Okay.”

  “I’ll pick you up at seven.” His gaze coasted down her body, bringing rise to goose bumps. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and said, “Something else hasn’t changed. I still love your legs.”

  And you still make them weak as noodles.

  She kept that tidbit to herself as she went to join her parents. Reba and Dolly bounded toward her, and she crouched to love them up. They were all snarfs and slobbery kisses.

  “Hi, darlin’,” her father said as she rose to her feet and he embraced her. Cade Montgomery was careful by nature, meticulous and detail oriented like Grace, Pepper, and Amber, and when it came to his daughters he’d always been a tad overprotective. Not overbearing, just stern enough to set guys in their places before they took any of them on dates. “You look nice. Do you have plans?”

  “Just working, making phone calls. You know, the norm.”

  “I thought you gave up M&M’s for breakfast,” her father said, motioning toward the king-size bag in her hand.

  “Oh, um…I did, when I’m in the city. But here, you know.” I’m hoping chocolate will make me forget how much I want Reed. “Nostalgia, I guess.”

  Her mother made a hm sound. “You and Reed looked pretty friendly. He’s a nice man, Gracie.”

  Grace sighed, feeling the age-old guilt that had plagued her as a girl when she’d hidden their relationship from her parents and friends. “Yes, he’s very nice.”

  “You know, you’re here for three weeks,” her mother said as she tossed a ball for the dogs to fetch. “That’s long enough to go on a few dates and have some fun. You never know what might come of it.”

  “Mom, I’m not moving back.” Her mother was always trying to get Grace and Pepper to move back home. She’d given up on Axsel moving back, at least for a few years. According to her mother, he was still sowing those young-twenties wild oats.

  Her mother shrugged. “A mama can hope. What’s so bad about living here, anyway? You could do theater right here in town, where the people who love you could be part of it.”

  “Mom.” Grace shook her head, unwilling to have this discussion again.

  “Marilynn, if you’re not careful, she’ll stop visiting,” her father warned. He smiled, and it brightened his blue eyes. “And, Grace, you can’t blame your mother for trying. She misses you.”

  “I know, but I’ve got a life in New York and an amazing career.” Even if it drives me batty most of the time and sucks away my free time. It’s what she wanted, what she’d chosen. What being a top producer required. “I’ve moved past community theater and small-town productions. You know that.”

  “I’m proud of you, honey,” her mother said. “You had a dream when you were just a girl, and you followed it. But what if you miss out on the best dream of all by living your life in a cycle of work? You’re always saying the men in the city are too prissy or materialistic. I thought spending time with Reed would be a refreshing change.”

  The single men Grace knew were exactly as her mother described, or worse. The actors were divas, and often worse than the actresses. She knew it was a gross generalization to say “men in the city,” but she worked in the arts, and meeting men outside of that industry was difficult when she worked most of the time.

  “Then you’ll be happy to know that Reed and I are going to the fair together tonight.”

  Her mother’s eyes widened, along with her smile. “Really? That’s wonderful!”

  “Don’t start planning our wedding, Mom. We’re going as friends, and that’s all we’ll be when I leave and go back to the city.” Her cell phone rang, and she pulled it from the pocket of her skirt, glad for the excuse to end the conversation. “It’s Sophie. Excuse me for a sec.”

  She walked away as she answered, speaking quietly into the phone. “Your timing is perfect.”

  “I got your message. Sorry I didn’t call back earlier, but Brett and I were…working out.”

  “You forsook my despair to get down and dirty with your husband? Now I know how far on the totem pole I’ve fallen,” Grace teased. Sophie was eight months pregnant. She and her husband, Brett Bad, had built a house in Oak Falls, where they planned to return and spend Sophie’s maternity leave. Her family was throwing her a baby shower next weekend, and Grace was looking forward to seeing her.

  “Hardly. You’ve always come after sex with Brett.” Sophie laughed. “Oh my gosh, that sounds so dirty, like you come after we have sex!”

  “Listen!” she said between giggles. “Be serious, Soph! I have a problem.”

  “Okay…” Sophie laughed again.

  “Sophie, please. I have a feeling my dry spell is in jeopardy. Not that that’s a bad thing, but I’m going to the fair with Reed tonight.”

  Sophie squealed.

  “You’re not helping!” She paced the grass a good distance away from her parents, watching them play with the dogs. Her parents enjoyed their lives so much, sometimes Grace wondered if her mother was right and she was missing out on living her own. Sophie’s recent free fall into matrimony and impending motherhood had also piqued those worries.

  “Oh, come on, Grace! You need sex before your girly parts close up, and you have never gotten over Reed.”

  “But—”

  “Before you try to deny it, remember I was with you when you got your tattoo, and I know the name of your vibrator.”

  Aw, shit.

  “Uh-huh. Mr. Greedy. If you think I don’t know that’s Reed, you don’t give me enough credit.”

  Grace squeezed her eyes shut. “I wasn’t going to deny it. I know I’ve never gotten over him, but…” She glanced up at the porch and said, “The shirtless heart stealer is hard at work…looking hot and talking sweet and cocky.”

  “Just the way you like ’em,” Sophie said.

  “Mm-hm. I swear, when I first saw him I was thrown right back to that lovesick teenager.”

  “Of course you were. I wish I could have been there to see it. What did you tell me about Brett? To sleep with him and get him out of my system? It didn’t work for me, but it was good advice. Maybe you should sleep with Reed and see if it sucks.”

  “If the way he kisses is any indication, he’ll still fuck like a sex god.”

  “You kissed him? And I’m just now hearing about it? I want all the details!”

  Grace told her about the creek party and the way his kisses consumed her to the point of not being able to think. “He’s still my greedy boy, Soph, only everything feels magnified. And the way he talks…I swear his voice is pure seduction.”

  “Remember how he used to look at you? You’d melt every time.”

  “The way he looks at me now is that look on steroids.”

  “Oh shit,” Sophie said just above a whisper. “You don’t stand a chance.”

  “I know. And he brought me M&M’s. I don’t trust myself, Soph. I wish your baby shower were today, so you could chain me to my bed or something.”

  Sophie giggled. “I’m sure Reed would be more than happy to help you out with that.”

  A shiver of desire tickled up her spine. “That’s what I’m worried about. Did you not hear me say I don’t trust myself?”

  REED SPENT THE day trying to focus on the porch renovations and not watching Grace, who had decided to park her gorgeous ass on a lawn chair in the yard and work in the sun. Needless to say, it had taken him twice as long as i
t should have to get through his tasks. When he’d wrapped up there, he’d come back to his place and spent a few hours working on his own kitchen renovations. He’d gotten a bargain on the old house overlooking the creek, and though he still had some work ahead of him, the four-bedroom house already felt like more of a home than his house in Michigan ever had, which wasn’t saying much. Something was still missing, and no matter how much he fixed it up, he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

  After a quick shower, he threw on a white T-shirt and jeans, pulled on his boots, and headed out to pick up Grace for their date. As ridiculous as it seemed, he’d missed out on doing so many things for her back in high school that he was excited about finally picking her up for a proper date. He stopped for flowers on the way and had a fleeting thought about the guys she probably went out with in the city. He gripped the steering wheel tighter and wondered if he should have worn a button-down shirt. He hated button-downs and wore them only when he absolutely had to. He parked in front of her parents’ house and rubbed the scruff peppering his cheeks. He probably should have shaved, too.

  The front door opened, and those thoughts went out the window as he stepped from his truck, taking in Grace’s insane figure in a pair of black skinny jeans, what looked like ankle-high biker boots, and a black silky top. Holy shit, she was hot as fuck.

  And she was ripping him off.

  “What are you doing?” he called out to her as he came around the truck and joined her on the walkway, holding the flowers behind his back. Man, she smelled incredible. “Get back in that house, woman.”

  “Excuse me?” she said with wide eyes.