“Haven’t proven that yet.”
“Oh, but you have. Over and over again.” She pressed her hands on his chest, looking up into his eyes. “You’re one sexy wall-removing…” She scraped her hands down his chest. “Puppy-saving…” Lingered over his abs, tracing the muscles. “Family-finding…” Reached his zipper and dragged it down. “Gourmet-cooking…” And pushed his jeans over his hips. “Great, great, oh, very great…man.”
He wanted to laugh, but her first touch made him hiss in a breath and push her back down on the bed, kissing everywhere he could get his mouth as she helped him finish undressing. Her hands were magic. Her mouth was fire. Her skin was like silk and her body as womanly and warm and inviting as he’d imagined.
“I have a condom,” he muttered into a kiss, working his way down her bare stomach, lost in the sensation of her skin against his mouth.
“We can use it…in a minute.” She pushed him further, opening herself to his hands and mouth, rolling under his touches and kisses, whimpering as he easily brought her to a climax that just made him need to be inside her even more.
“Gracie. Gracie.” He whispered the nickname into her damp skin as he pressed kisses on her hips and navel and suckled her breasts.
She could barely moan in reply, clutching his shoulders in desperation. “Please, Alex. Please.”
With every breath labored and dragged out, she caressed his body as he sheathed himself, her touch making heat pool low in his back and deep in his belly. Need built and blinded him, making him close his eyes to focus everything on how incredible she felt.
When he settled on top of her and she wrapped her legs around his hips, he opened his eyes, his pounding heart jumping when he saw the tears spilling from the sides of her eyes.
“Gracie.” He touched a tear, stilling the steady rocking of both their bodies. “Why are you crying?”
“I…can’t explain it,” she said gruffly. “I don’t want to.” She gripped his hips and guided him to where she wanted him. “Just make love to me, Alex. Fill me up with all your passion and intensity and let me be…”
“Graciela.” He breathed her name as he entered her, the sweet satisfaction of the first stroke of their joined bodies like hot cream melting all over his body.
Her next breath caught in her throat as her eyes closed and her fingers tightened on his shoulders and her legs gripped him like a vise.
They moved in harmony, in a perfect rhythm that kept building to a boil that he couldn’t contain. She lost control first, biting her lip as she peaked, pulling him along, helpless from the pleasure of it all and blind with sweat.
As he fell over the edge, he murmured her name, her new name, over and over, squeezing her body, utterly lost for what felt like an eternity, until he let go and dropped next to her, spent and satisfied.
Time passed. Pulses slowed. Bodies cooled. And when he opened his eyes to look into hers, Alex really did see someone completely different. Beautiful, at peace, and satisfied…but different.
“Hey.” He slid off her and touched her cheek, still damp from sweat and maybe those tears. “I got to be the first man to make love to Graciela Bonita Hunnicutt.”
She stared at him, but her eyes dimmed a little for the first time since she’d come running across the square.
“You okay?” he asked, pulling her against him.
“I am. Better than okay. Just…” Her voice faded.
“Just what?”
“It’s like starting all over again, you know? Like when I would go to a new home, and I was so hopeful, and then…”
“What’s starting all over again? This new name? This new information about your family?”
She gave him a wry smile. “This new man,” she said softly. “This wonderful man who is going to make me want everything and then…”
“Gracie. I’m all in. Long haul.”
She breathed a sigh. “Too good to be true.” She stroked his beard, holding his gaze. “That’s the story of my sad life.” She smiled. “What’s yours?”
He thought about it for a moment, lost in her eyes. “I came in second.”
“Is that…” She glanced down at their bodies, still pressed together. “A bad dirty joke?”
That made him chuckle. “No, it’s the story of my life. Second best. Second to John, always, in birth, in life, in school, and in my father’s eyes. Second in my class in France, too.”
“I thought you never lost at anything.”
“It’s not about winning or losing. It’s…just what happens to me.” He smiled. “But it won’t happen with Scooter and Blue, I promise. You think things are too good to be true, and I think I’m second-best, but together?” He squeezed her against him completely. “We are unstoppable.”
On a long, sweet exhale, she curled into him. “You are great, Alexander. In every imaginable way.”
* * *
Grace opened her eyes at the sound of Alex’s soft snore. No, that was Jack, but Alex was sound asleep next to her. Before they’d both crashed, he’d opened the door to the living area to make sure the puppies knew they were close by, so it was easy to hear the noisy one.
She stayed still for a moment, looking around her room for the first time since she’d learned her real name. And all she wanted was…more. Now that she knew a little bit, she wanted to know more.
With a quick look at Alex, she slipped out of bed silently, grabbed a pair of sleep pants and a tank top, then tiptoed out of the room. Glancing at the crate, she saw Bitsy and Jack rolled into a ball, almost making one dog. But Gertie was standing, looking sad and needy.
“Okay, baby,” Grace whispered, quietly unlatching the crate to grab the little puppy. Bitsy stirred and opened her eyes, but she must have decided sleeping on Jack’s belly beat a visit with Gracie and closed them again.
Taking Gertie, Grace slipped down the stairs, feeling a pang of guilt when she realized the most important event in her life was in four days and she was spending hours in bed.
“Well, I needed that,” she rationalized to Gertie. “All the deliveries are tomorrow, then the setup, then the final touches.” With the exception of a few phone calls, and maybe one more meeting with Cassie, they were just about ready to roll. Friday and Saturday would be crazy, though.
So it wasn’t work that took her into her downstairs office. Setting Gertie on the floor with a quick check to make sure there was nothing the puppy could chew or choke on, Grace walked to the window that offered a breathtaking view of the vineyard.
Why would Celia run away from here? Leave her parents and home, take a small child? And never come back or contact them? Were there answers anywhere?
She glanced around the office, cursing the day she’d cleaned out the old file cabinets, not that interested in the former owners.
Sitting at the desk, she opened her laptop and opened Google, forming her search words.
Celia Hunnicutt…Bitter Bark, North Carolina.
The first and only thing that came up was a news story from the Bitter Bark Banner that a local teenager had been arrested for drunken driving.
The wild child.
She googled George and Bonnie Hunnicutt, and in addition to small bits of news about Overlook Glen in the local paper and small wine periodicals, the only real information was in their obituaries. She pored over every word of those.
Neither mentioned a daughter or granddaughter, no relatives at all, in fact. Bonnie died eight months after Bib, also of cancer.
During that eight-month period, Grace had been searching for a winery to buy. Was that how Bonnie located her? Some connection in the winery world? Then how long had she known that Grace Donovan was Graciela Hunnicutt? Who told her?
“You left me.”
Startled at the voice, Grace turned from her laptop to see Alex standing in the doorway, wearing nothing but unbuttoned jeans. “You were asleep and I…”
“Want information more than you want…”
“I want both,” she assured h
im, looking at his bare chest and abs and that trail of dark hair that led down to his zipper.
He pointed to the laptop screen. “Obituary? Smart place to start.” He came around the desk, slowing his step to reach down and pet Gertie. “What did you find out?”
“Not much. Not enough. It’ll never be enough. I need to know how Bonnie found me, how she knew I was looking for a winery, and why, oh God, why didn’t she contact me in person?” She heard the ache in her voice, felt it deep in her chest. She’d just buried that pain in the euphoria of finally knowing her real name and the bliss of sex with Alex. But it was back, and it was real.
Instantly, his strong hands were on her shoulders, turning the chair at the same time he sank down to crouch in front of her.
“Honey, at some point in your life, you’re going to have to let go.”
She stared at him, knowing he was right but that he was asking the impossible.
“We’ll keep researching and looking, but once you know all you can know, you’re going to have to accept what you don’t know and not let it define you.”
“How can I do that?” she asked on a ragged whisper.
“I’m not sure, but I can tell you this, you don’t have to do it alone. I’m right here.”
She pressed her hand on his face, stroking the soft whiskers of his beard. “Why are you doing this for me?”
“Why would you even ask that?” He gave a soft laugh. “I like you. I like us. I like holding you and sleeping with you and cooking for you and watching you…bloom. Do I need more reason than that?”
She shook her head, then gestured toward the computer. “My mother was arrested for drunk driving at sixteen.”
He rolled his eyes. “You told me that Ruth said you were more like your grandmother than your mother. She was a wild teenager, thankfully.”
“Thankfully?”
“The result of her wildness is you,” he said, leaning in for a kiss. “And I couldn’t be happier about that. And someday, you’ll stop questioning and searching and doubting and realize that you are right where you’re supposed to be, and you’re who you’re supposed to be. And then, Graciela, you’ll be free.”
“I want that,” she said, gripping his arms to underscore the statement. “I want that so much.”
He kissed her again and pulled her out of the chair. “Come back to bed,” he said, wrapping her in an embrace. “We’re just getting started together.”
She practically melted at the thought and followed him back to bed.
Chapter Twenty
By one o’clock on Sunday, Alex was so deep in the zone that he didn’t even hear Grace come up behind him in the kitchen and wrap her arms around his waist. But that pulled him away from the tartlet shells in the Blodgett oven, and he turned in her arms, meeting the gaze of the woman he’d spent every waking and sleeping minute with for four days. He fell right out of the zone and into her mesmerizing blue-green eyes.
“We are one hundred percent ready outside,” she announced. “Tables are set and scaped, the flower wall is ready for photos, and the name cards are hanging on the find-your-seat tree. Want to check it out?”
“Yes.” He gestured for one of the three cooks he’d hired for the event to watch the shells, wiped his hands on his apron, and headed out with her. He stood in the open French doors that led to the terrace, letting out a soft, “Oh wow,” at the sight. “Gracie, you knocked it out of the park.”
“I had a lot of help from Cassie, I have to say. But I’m really proud of the tablescapes. I think they’ll do your food justice.”
“I know they will.”
They walked through the tables hand in hand, stopping to fix a wineglass or straighten some silverware.
“Oh my gawwwwd!” They both turned at the sound of a female squeal, laughing when they saw Cassie’s face as she stood in the doorway to the terrace. “Grace! Alex!”
Her arms were loaded with dress bags and a small suitcase, her hair up in a knot on her head, nothing but joy on her pretty face. Alex honestly couldn’t remember seeing his little sister quite this happy.
“This is a-freaking-mazing!”
They hustled over to her, Alex taking her armloads of stuff while Grace slid in for a big hug. “You had so many wonderful ideas,” Grace said. “I think this is the prettiest wedding set I’ve ever seen.”
Cassie pulled back and scanned the whole area again, her eyes welling up. “Oh man, I wish Dad was here.”
The words caught him by surprise, choking him. “Yeah, me, too, Cass.”
She reached up and hugged him, nearly knocking the dress bag out of his hand. “He’s here in spirit, Alex,” she whispered. “And I don’t think he’ll mind that Mom’s new husband is walking me down the aisle for a surprise wedding, do you?”
Alex almost answered truthfully. Nico Santorini would have blown like a torched flambé if he’d known another man—who was now married to his Katie—was giving away his only daughter.
“Have you asked Daniel yet?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.”
“Are you a hundred percent sure that’s what you want to do?”
She didn’t answer for a moment, but blinked hard enough for a tear to threaten.
“I’m going to take that as a no,” Alex said, setting the dress bag on the closest chair and reaching out to hold his sister. “Are you just super emotional, or are you upset about something?”
“I wish he was here,” she said, fighting a sob. “I can’t believe I’m getting married and he’s not here.”
Alex squeezed her again, holding his sister tight until he swallowed the lump in his own throat. “Let me do it, Cassie.”
She eased back and looked into his eyes. “Walk me down the aisle?”
“Please, let me do it for Dad.”
She threw her arms around him. “I would love that, Alex. And since you already know, I won’t have to make up some lame excuse to get Daniel away from Mom and…” She kissed his cheek. “You’re the most like him of anyone in the world anyway.”
The compliment warmed him, and after one more hug, he let go, turning to Grace, who’d watched the whole exchange and looked as teary as Cassie.
“Not you, too?” he joked, dabbing at her cheek.
“I’m fine,” she said, looking from one to the other. “Jealous as hell, but fine.”
He opened his arms wide and pulled them both in for a bear hug. “Listen, my girls. You need to dry your eyes. This is a huge day for us.”
They both laughed, looking up at him.
“You,” he said to Cassie, “are going to be the most breathtaking bride whoever walked down the aisle on her brother’s arm. Your joy will be palpable, and our honored guests will be able to see exactly what their own wedding will be like. Also, you’re tying the knot with an awesome man, and I will expect to be Uncle Alex soon.”
Cassie giggled, obviously relieved and happy with her decision.
“And you…” He turned to Grace. “Are going to orchestrate the most incredible, jaw-dropping, flawless event in the long and wonderful history of Overlook Glen that will no doubt result in you landing a celebrity wedding that turns this place into the number one venue in the state of North Carolina.”
She beamed at him. “I believe I will. And you?”
“I am going to…” He looked from his sister’s deep, dark eyes into Grace’s haunting turquoise gaze. “Prepare a feast worthy of you two amazing, beautiful ladies.”
With another hug and a cheer, they set off to do all that and more.
* * *
From the moment the first of the Kilcannons, Mahoneys, and the rest of the Santorinis arrived, Grace felt like she was wrapped in a cocoon of love and protection, sharing secrets and inside jokes with extended family, and no matter where she turned or what she needed, someone was there for her.
This must be what having a family is like.
Well, duh, it was, but the constant sense that there was a
net to catch her if she fell was utterly foreign to Grace Donovan.
But not, she thought as she approached Gramma Finnie and Yiayia in the reception area, for Graciela Bonita Hunnicutt.
“Hello, ladies,” she said, reaching out to them. “It’s our other power couple of the day.”
Yiayia gave a loud laugh and elbowed her best friend. “Did you hear that, Finola? We are a power couple.” Then she frowned. “I wanted to bring Gala and Pyggie, but Alex said there were only four dogs allowed today. Why does Jelly Bean get special treatment?”
Because of the surprise wedding. “He’s babysitting the puppies,” she answered smoothly, sliding a hand around one arm of each lady. “Let me take you to the cocktail bar.”
“Oooh, a cocktail bar,” Yiayia teased. “Fancy.”
“It is. Alex thought of it, of course.”
Yiayia broke into a slow smile. “Of course he did. Isn’t my grandson wonderful?”
“And she means Alex, lass, not John.” Gramma Finnie squeezed Grace’s hand with her narrow little arm. “Not that John isn’t wonderful, because he is. But he’s not for you, and you should forgive us for not seein’ that from the start.”
Grace just laughed, looking from one to the other. “Nothing to forgive. You two are awesome.”
Yiayia slowed her step, narrowed her eyes, and slid her arm free as she openly studied Grace. “You’ve changed,” she announced.
A soft flush rose to her cheeks. “Have I?”
“Everything about you is softer.” Yiayia put a hand on Grace’s cheek. “Is it love? Or just really good sex?”
“Agnes!” Gramma Finnie choked, and that flush on Grace’s cheeks burned deep and hot.
“It’s…”
Alex came up behind her, sliding his hands around her waist and leaning in to whisper in her ear. “Scooter and Blue have arrived,” he said. “The tour buses just pulled into the side lot.” He added a kiss on her cheek. “It’s show time, Gracie.”
A million chills cascaded over her as she tilted her head, turned a little, and let their lips brush.
“Does that answer your question, Agnes?” Gramma Finnie asked.
Three Dog Night (The Dogmothers Book 2) Page 21