by Andre, Bella
“I’ll take them both.”
Besides, even though being able to put money away for Mason was hugely important, wasn’t feeling like a sexy woman again—and proving to herself that her ex hadn’t stolen that from her—also something she should have prioritized long before now?
Which was why, when a luxurious lingerie set also caught her eye on her way to the register, she added it to her pile of goodies. Because really, what good were the gorgeous dress and perfect shoes if what Dylan found when he stripped her out of them at the end of their date wasn’t just as pretty?
Her entire body flamed at the thought, already revving with anticipation of her date with Dylan. A date that suddenly felt as though it couldn’t come soon enough.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Dylan’s mind had been blown by Grace from the start, but when she opened the door for him the following night, he swore his remaining brain cells actually melted inside his skull. If he could have thought clearly, he might have been able to stop his hands from grabbing, his mouth from devouring. But he didn’t have a prayer of doing anything but kissing her until he’d managed to have at least a tiny part of his fill.
“I’m torn, Grace. So damned torn between staying right here to strip that beautiful dress off you and taking you out to show you off.”
The way she smiled up at him only made it harder to think straight. “You look really good in your suit, too.”
Mason crawled over then, grabbing fistfuls of Dylan’s dark slacks to pull himself up. “I didn’t forget about you, buddy,” Dylan said as he lifted Mason into his arms. “I’m just having a hard time dealing with how stunning your mommy is.” When Mason babbled something unintelligible, Dylan nodded. “You’re right, I don’t stand a chance of ever getting used to how beautiful she is, so I should stop trying.” He kissed Mason on the forehead. “And since my mom will never forgive me if we don’t bring you over, especially since she bought out the entire toy store downtown to spoil you rotten tonight, I guess that means we should head out.”
He grabbed Mason’s baby bag in his free hand and worked to get a grip on himself while Grace picked up her small gold purse from the entry table. She was halfway to the Jeep when she looked over her shoulder and said, “You should know that I was just as torn when I saw you standing on my front step.”
Just like that, any control he’d managed to regain shattered.
* * *
Adam’s date for the evening—a brunette that Dylan hadn’t seen before tonight—looked anything but pleased by the way his brother’s jaw dropped when the two of them walked in. Grace’s beauty was only more stunning because she didn’t seem to be aware that she turned heads everywhere she went. No wonder that prick who’d gotten her pregnant had wanted her. Rage wasn’t something that came easily to Dylan, but ever since she’d told him what her ex and his family had done, fury kept rising up in him again and again.
Grace turned to look at him with concern on her beautiful face. “Is everything okay?”
“Not just okay,” he told her as he cupped the nape of her neck and drew her mouth to his. “Perfect.”
Kissing her here, with everyone’s eyes on them, was a blatant signal to all the other men in the room. She’s mine, was what he was telling them all. All mine.
He loved that one kiss was all it took for her eyes to go hazy with desire. So much desire that she whispered, “How long do we have to stay?”
He brought her mouth to his again before saying, “Thirty minutes. Forty-five tops. We’ll do the rounds, make Adam’s restoration pitch, and then we’ll—”
His brother and his date interrupted them just then. After Adam made the introductions, he told Grace, “I hope you’re planning to stick around, because I’m not sure I’ll be able to scrape my brother off the floor if you don’t.” He didn’t give Grace time to adjust to the weight of his comment, just asked her what he could get her to drink from the bar.
“A glass of white wine would be lovely.”
“Your dress is gorgeous.” Adam’s date hadn’t been able to take her eyes off Grace, either. “So are your shoes. I’ve got to know, where did you pick them up?”
Grace smiled at the woman. Dylan didn’t get the sense that she noticed the other woman’s envy at all—probably because she didn’t see herself as someone of whom another woman would be jealous.
“A fabulous store downtown called Indulgence.”
The name pricked through Dylan’s brain. “Mia’s best friend owns that store. Colbie Michaels. Actually, Colbie Bryant now that she’s married our friend Noah.”
“Wow, that’s amazing,” Grace said, smiling even wider now. “She was so nice. And I could have easily bankrupted myself in her store.”
“Mia said her stock was great, and I can see she wasn’t kidding.” He’d also heard from both Mia and his brother Rafe that Indulgence sold some seriously sexy stuff beyond dresses and shoes. Had Grace bought anything else?
Dylan couldn’t wait to find out, after he finally had a chance to strip her out of her pretty new dress.
By then, Adam’s date had pulled out her phone and looked up the store’s website. “Oh my God, Indulgence is having an evening sidewalk sale. Tonight only!”
Dylan could barely hold back his grin as his brother returned with their drinks, a glass of wine for Grace and beers for each of them. He’d been thinking a little karmic payback was in order for the way his brother had been so pleased to walk in on them in the boathouse a couple of days ago.
Adam turned to his date with his most charming smile to hand her a glass of champagne, but she was already saying, “I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay.”
He frowned, still holding out the glass of champagne for her. “Why not?”
She looked a little guilty for a moment before she shrugged. “You’re a great guy, but I think we can both already tell that we just don’t have the kind of spark that would last beyond a night or two. Not like Dylan and Grace,” she said with a nod toward the two of them. “Anyone can see that they’re the real deal. You and me, we’d just be a fling. I’m sure you’d be a great one-night stand, but I’m thinking it’s time to start holding out for Mr. Right instead. I’ll see myself out.”
She was gone so fast she nearly gave his brother whiplash. “What the hell happened while I was getting everyone drinks?” Adam asked them.
Dylan finally lost the battle with his laughter. “Trust me, you don’t want to know. It will only make you feel like less of a man than you already do. So, who do you need Grace and me to talk to?”
He had to admire the way his brother pulled it together so fast. Adam had always been good at compartmentalizing. Work rarely bubbled over into the rest of his life. And emotions never tangled with sex. Although, Dylan figured it was a big part of the reason why his brother’s date had decided a dress sale would be a better way to spend the night.
Making the rounds ended up taking more than forty-five minutes, but Dylan greatly enjoyed listening to Grace talk about the history of the Maritime Museum and the important part the building had played in shaping the Seattle waterfront. He could see light bulbs going on over the heads of the board members as she spoke so eloquently about the history all around them. No one had ever made Adam’s job of pitching for an historic renovation so easy.
“You’re amazing,” Adam said as he led them over to a gray-haired couple standing by the corner window.
“Once Dylan told me what you were trying to do, I have to admit I studied up a little.”
“A little?” His brother was full of admiration. “You could write a book on the place.”
Dylan thought he saw a light bulb go on over her head then. “You’re right—there are so many interesting stories about this building and the men and women who have come through here over the years. Romantic ones, too, like Mr. and Mrs. Callam meeting and falling in love here.”
“When I get the project,” Adam said, “I’m going to push for you to do a companion book.”
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“That sounds amazing,” she said, but he could see that the lingering connection with his brother worried her, too. Because for all that she might want to believe in honesty, in romance and lasting love, her brush with the Bentley family had taught her just the opposite.
It was up to Dylan and his family to give her back her faith in truth and love again. Fortunately, if anyone could do it, the Sullivans could.
Dylan’s cell phone rang with Rafe’s ring tone, a call he’d been waiting for.
“Is it your mother?” Grace immediately asked.
Knowing what a big deal it was for her to leave Mason with anyone, he gently stroked her cheek. “It’s Rafe. And even though I’m sure Mason’s doing great with my mom, why don’t you give them a call while I talk to my brother?”
“And here I didn’t think I was being nearly that obvious.”
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to know your kid is safe. My mom used to check in on us a half-dozen times when they’d go out. Granted,” he said with a grin, “that might have been because we had a history of doing things like jumping off the roof and starting huge bonfires in the backyard.”
Her easy laughter warmed him as they both drew out their cell phones and headed to the deck that faced the water. While she called his mother to check in, he dialed Rafe. Unfortunately, everything his brother told him over the next several minutes made the fury that he’d barely shoved down earlier rise up again. Hotter than ever.
Grace’s smile was a mile wide when she turned to him after they’d both hung up just seconds apart. “Look at the cute picture your mom took of Mason playing the piano. Doesn’t he look like such a big boy? And so proud of himself for making music all by himself.”
Looking at Mason’s innocent face only made Dylan’s gut twist tighter. “Rafe just confirmed for me that you weren’t the only one, Grace.”
She looked up from her phone. “I wasn’t the only one what?” But before he could explain, understanding dawned. “Rafe has checked into my ex and his family, hasn’t he?” Pain flashed across her face, clearly illuminated by the nearly full moon above them.
“Rafe found just what we thought he would.” Dylan hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her all night, but now, when he drew her against him, even while the attraction was still pulsing, this embrace was simply to reassure both of them. “More women. Many women.”
“Did he…does he have any other children?” He could see one thought moving quickly to the next. “Does Mason have any half brothers or half sisters?”
“No. At least from everything Rafe picked through, it looks like none of the other women were as strong as you. They all took the money and did what the family wanted them to do.”
He could see her heart breaking for all those other women in pure empathy. “They were probably too scared not to.”
It was amazing that she didn’t see the other women as weak. He also knew that she was right—pressure that strong from such a powerful family would break nearly anyone. But not her. Not his Grace.
“Why didn’t I see it? Why didn’t I see through him? Through the fancy dates where he never let me meet anyone? Not his friends. Definitely not his family.”
“For as much as I despise the guy,” Dylan said softly, “the truth is that I’m glad you trusted him. For long enough, at least, to create Mason.”
“Richard and his parents have no idea about all the joy, all the wonder that they tried to destroy because my bloodline wasn’t pure enough for them. And now I hope—I’ve been praying, actually—that they never do. That they never change their minds and decide to come for Mason after all.”
“Rafe says there’s no indication that they’ve been looking for you or Mason, or that any of them have scheduled trips to Seattle. He also said that he and Ian checked in with Smith—our cousin has repeatedly turned down the Bentleys’ offers to invest in his movies because they always seemed smarmy to him.”
She was clearly very glad to hear both of those pieces of news, but he could also see that when she looked back at the party, still in full swing, it was the last place she wanted to be. “I know I just got off the phone with your mother and we were planning to stay out later for our first official date, but—”
“I want to be with Mason now, too.” He needed to hold both of them in his arms tonight and give thanks that he’d found them—and they’d found him. “We’ve spoken to more than enough people on my brother’s behalf tonight. Let’s go get your son and go home.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
They spent nearly an hour at Dylan’s parents’ house playing with Mason while he showed them the new toys Claudia had picked up for him. Max Sullivan was there, too, and though he was a man of few words, Grace could easily see how much he enjoyed her son as well.
Surprisingly, by the time they got back to her apartment, Mason was still awake. Not so surprisingly, he was in Dylan’s arms, laughing at one of his silly faces. She’d never had a first date like this one, where they almost hadn’t made it out of her apartment in the first place because they were so tempted just to jump each other instead. And she’d never spent so much time with any of her dates’ families, either. But instead of feeling like Dylan’s family were intruding on her time with him, she’d had a great time with Adam at the museum and then with Claudia and Max at their house.
“Your dad reminds me so much of mine. A man of few words, but all of them wise. Or funny,” she added with a grin. She’d felt so safe with the Sullivans. Safe and—though she’d only known them a short while—appreciated. “Do your parents know the whole story about my ex, too?”
Dylan shook his head. “Only my brothers know. I was afraid that if I told my parents—”
“They’d end up worrying too much about us,” she finished for him. “Now that I’m a parent, I get it. No matter how much you try to tell yourself that everything will be fine, you can’t stand the thought of your own child ever getting hurt in any way.”
When Mason wiggled, Dylan put him down on the floor, where he immediately crawled over to the coffee table to pull himself up.
“Look at you,” she said. “What a big boy you’re turning into.” She turned to Dylan. “Why don’t I brew us some coffee?”
But Dylan didn’t reply. Instead, he was staring at Mason in amazement.
When she turned back, she saw that her son’s little fingers were gripping the edge of the coffee table. Mason had a look of great concentration on his face, and Grace held her breath as he suddenly let go of the table and took one wobbly step and then another. Halfway into his third step, he fell with a plop onto his bottom.
He looked up at her and then Dylan as if to say, Did you see me? Did you see what I did?
She was laughing and crying at the same time as she swooped him up into her arms. “You walked!”
“You’re amazing, kid,” Dylan said, as much awe in his voice as had been in hers.
She had rained kisses over her son’s entire face by the time he wiggled back down to the floor. He pulled himself up on the side of the couch and then, with a shove, propelled himself forward again.
Without thinking, Grace reached out to hold Dylan’s hand. Or maybe he was the one who reached out for her. Either way, all that mattered was that he was here to share this milestone with her, and that he was as amazed by it as she was.
“We have to call your mom, have to take a video and email it to her so that she can see what Mason is doing!”
Dylan didn’t seem to think it was at all strange for her to think of his parents when she and Mason had only just met them the week before. Probably because he knew his mom would go crazy over this news.
He filmed first Mason alone and then both of them when Grace held out her arms and Mason walked into them. She was so happy, even though she couldn’t stop crying. But it was okay. She knew Claudia would understand, because Dylan’s mother had likely cried tears of joy at all of her children’s first steps.
Finally, Mason stayed on his bo
ttom and started yawning and rubbing his eyes. “Looks like it’s time to finally wind down for the night.” It had been an incredible evening, and she knew she shouldn’t be disappointed that it was over. “I should get him changed and into his jammies and then read him his usual bedtime story.”
“My nieces and nephews tell me I do a pretty good job with bedtime stories,” Dylan offered.
She was sure she’d never smiled so widely before or felt so happy in all her life. “In that case, we’ll be right back.”
* * *
Dylan’s voice was so soothing as he read to Mason that Grace felt her own eyelids grow heavy. And maybe she would have fallen asleep if she hadn’t been so totally sure that tonight was the night.
From their first kiss—heck, from the first time she’d set eyes on Dylan, if she was being totally honest with herself—she’d been on the verge of giving herself to him. And every time they were together, she moved closer to that daring tumble.
But when he’d rejoiced with her over Mason taking his first steps?
No woman could have resisted a man like that.
Though Mason began to make cute little snoring sounds partway through the story, Dylan didn’t stop reading. With his attention on the book, Grace took the opportunity to feast her eyes on him, and to marvel yet again not only at how good he was with her son…but also at the precipice on which they stood tonight.
Soon the book would be put down, Mason would be in his crib, and there would only be the two of them.
Finally, Dylan shut the book and looked down at the little boy sleeping so trustingly, so peacefully, in the crook of one of his strong arms. When Grace saw the emotion in his eyes, she felt her own grow wet.