by Toni Aleo
I do. “I think it’s charming.”
“That’s why you’re so special.”
He kisses my nose, and my eyes fall shut as we sway. I try to shut out his sweet words and love affirmations. They are just too good to be true. He’s too good to be true, and to be honest, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. He saw Shea and me get into a fight the other day, and I fully expected him to hightail it out of there. Instead, he played the neutral party. He talked us through the problem—Shea ate my last box of KitKats. Shea apologized, and then James made us hug it out. Afterward, James took me to buy a bulk supply of KitKats. When I told him I was going to get fat, he told me he didn’t care as long as I was happy.
Who the hell says that?
“I love this song,” I say as Tricia Yearwood sings “To Make You Feel My Love.” I sigh dreamily. “I love the movie too.”
“What movie?”
“Hope Floats.”
I feel his brows pull together. “This wasn’t in that.”
“Yes, it was. The Garth Brooks one, though.”
“Oh, you’re right. I think I dig this version better.”
“Me too,” I agree, moving my nose along his jaw. He tightens his grip on me as we sway. I love the strong beat of his heart.
“You make this party, and this place, ten times better. Pretty sure you are the most gorgeous person here.”
I flash him a wide smile as I shrug. “I don’t know. Jackie is giving me a run for my money in that two-piece evening gown. I didn’t even know they made those.”
He doesn’t look away, even though Jackie is near us. He could turn and drink in her beauty, but his eyes stay on me. “She doesn’t come even remotely close to you.”
I slide my hands up his arms, wrapping them around the back of his neck. “Awkward, my ass.”
“I don’t feel awkward with you,” he admits softly. “I feel good.”
He leaves me breathless, and it makes me so mad that I can’t control it. Again, my heart speaks from inside its box before my brain can stop it. “Me too.”
We stare into each other’s eyes for what seems like forever. When his hand comes up, cupping my cheek, I lean into it, a contented grin on my face. He draws in a deep breath and then whispers, “Grace, I—”
“James Justice!”
I jump at the interruption as James looks to the left to see an older man coming toward us.
“Boy, you owe me a drink.”
I watch as recognition fills James’s eyes and a wide grin takes up his face. “Bryan! How are you?”
He lets me go to hug Bryan tightly.
“Good, boy. Man, you look great. You’ve been hitting the gym?”
James laughs. “A bit. You’ve lost weight.”
“A bit. That niece of mine told me I can’t die.”
“Well, she’s onto something. We’d all miss you.”
Bryan’s loud laugh makes me jump once more. He’s so full of life, and it matches his wide stature. He isn’t overweight by any means; he’s just jacked up. Pretty sure he could bench-press me. With one hand. “She’s back from New York where she sang on Broadway. Crazy, huh?”
“I never have gotten to meet her, but you’ve always told me she’s amazing.”
“She is, and you should have gotten with her when you had the chance. Now her heart’s all cut up from some douche who didn’t deserve her. Hated that guy.”
James laughs softly. “While I’m sure sorry that happened to her, I have to say I’m glad I didn’t take you up on your offer. Then I wouldn’t have met this lovely lady.” He reaches for me, pressing me into his side. “Bryan Fisher, my girlfriend, Grace Adler.”
Bryan holds out his hand to me, but then his brows draw in. “Adler? Any relation to Shea Adler?”
I nod, grinning. “He’s my twin.”
He slaps his leg dramatically, his loud country accent spreading over me like honey. “Well, hot damn, she has to be a good one, then. Shea is the best man I know. Aside from James, of course.”
James chuckles as I nod. “They’re both pretty great.”
“They are, and boy, are you gorgeous. I wish y’all nothing but happiness.”
“Thank you,” James says, but I don’t say anything.
Usually, when someone cheats on me, it’s anything but happiness. I want what Bryan speaks of, but it just isn’t in the cards for me.
“Well, I’ll let y’all get back to it. Want to make a tee time for Wednesday?”
James nods. “I’ll email you the details.”
“You’re the best. See you. Nice to meet you, Grace.”
“You too,” I say as Bryan walks away. “He’s nice.”
“He’s a hoot. Great guy. He begged me to date his niece for years,” he says with a laugh.
“Why didn’t you?”
He shrugs. “Don’t get me wrong… She’s stunning. I’ve seen her in passing, very pretty, but I didn’t see her as mine. You know when you know.”
I blink. “But you see me that way?”
“Every time I close my eyes,” he says, pressing his nose to mine, his bottom lip touching my top. My heart does a flip, smacks into my ribs, and then falls flat on its back.
Okay, heart, get back in your box and stay there.
No.
Damn it.
“I want to leave.”
He raises his brow, his eyes filling with worry. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, I’m fine,” I say, trailing my hand down his chest before cupping his junk between us. “I just want you more than I can even fathom right now.”
He swallows hard and then nods. “Then, we need to go.”
May 18th
“So you need me Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday?”
James nibbles at my ear as he surfs the channels. We’re sitting together in my recliner even though Shea’s is open. James said he wanted to be near me, and I don’t hate sitting in his lap. “I need you every day.”
I roll my eyes with a dramatic sigh. “James.”
“Yes, baby. Put on a pretty dress and be ready for really boring charity events.”
I close my planner. “You do a lot of these?”
“I do. I love supporting kids and their families with cancer, and then MADD. Since, you know, that’s how my family died.”
I press my lips together. Every time he brings up his family, it hurts. I can’t imagine not having my mom and dad. Or Shea. “I hear you, and I’m there.”
“Pretty dress?”
“Always. Something tight on my boobs.”
“Awesome. Good looking out,” he says, nipping at my neck.
I giggle as I lean into him, wrapping my arms around his chest in a tight hug. He holds me just as tightly, resting his head on mine as he continues to flip through the channels.
“I feel we should watch SportsCenter or at least this week’s Survivor.”
I shake my head against his. “We have to wait for Shea for Survivor, and I don’t want to watch SportsCenter ’cause he’ll make me watch it later.”
He lets out an annoyed breath. “Fine, how about SVU?”
“Well, see… Usually, I’d say yes. But I started an episode, and Shea got invested, so I need to wait for him.”
I can almost hear him grit his teeth. “Fine, let’s watch 24.”
I press my lips together. “Yeah, I don’t like that show. It’s Shea’s.”
“Well, please tell me what we can watch without Shea, or is Shea’s, or anything that deals with Shea.”
I side-eye him. “Do I hear a bit of frustration in your voice?”
“Yes, I want to watch TV with my girl. But everything is off-limits until Shea gets here.”
“Hey, he was here before you,” I snap, and I imagine he’ll snap back. This is destined for a fight, and when he throws the remote down toward the end of the recliner next to our feet, I’m ready. I turn to face him, and his eyes burn into mine. Then he reaches out, taking my face in his hands before kissing me hard on the
lips. I try to resist—I’m supposed to be mad here—but it’s hard when he kisses me like this. I fall into the kiss in seconds, our tongues moving together and causing my body to burn up with lust.
When he pulls back, he runs his thumb along my bottom lip. “You are absolutely right. He was here before me, and I love your relationship with Shea. I’m jealous, not because you two are so close but because I don’t have that with a sibling. It’s special what y’all have. I would never ask you to choose me over your brother. Don’t think that.”
A silence falls between us as we stare into each other’s eyes. My earlier conversation with Shea comes back to me like a lightbulb over my head, but I quickly shut off that light and stuff it back into the lockbox where it belongs. I don’t want to feel what my heart keeps making me want to feel. That will only mean total and utter heartbreak in the end.
James moves my lip with his thumb as he whispers, “The thing is, baby, I want to watch a show with you. So pick something before I give up and take you to bed, where I ravish you for endless hours.”
I just blink. I want to pinch James to make sure he is real, but that would be silly. He is. I know he is, which is a problem. Go with what you know. “I feel like if I choose a show, I’ll miss out on ravishing sex.”
He shrugs. “This is true.”
“So, I think I’m gonna pick the ravishing.”
His lips curve before he nips at my nose. “I figured you would.”
“But instead of the bed, I think this is a nice spot.” Before he can comment, I climb into his lap, straddling him and taking his mouth with mine. His lips move with mine as his hands squeeze my ass firmly. Heat gathers between my legs, and I rock into his thick bulge. But to my dismay, the front door flies open and in stomps Shea.
“Dammit,” I say as Shea’s eyes meet mine.
“Hey! Bedroom only!”
“Eh, shut up. Passion happened,” I say as James chuckles, turning me around and pulling me down into his lap.
“Well, throw some cold water on your boyfriend ’cause I need to talk,” he sneers, and I groan. His Boston accent comes out full force when he is upset. He falls into his recliner as James wraps his arms around me.
“Later.”
“You bet your sweet ass,” I mutter, and then Shea glares at us.
James looks at me and then Shea. “Wait. Do you want me to leave?”
Shea shakes his head. “No, you’re fine,” he grumbles, shaking his head. “Get this shit. I’m at the rink, and I’m talking with my buddy Anderson. He’s screwing one of Jackie’s friends. We actually met them together at a club.”
“Yes, unfortunately, I wasn’t there,” I say dryly. “I would have stopped that.”
His look shuts me up. Man, he’s mad. “Apparently, Jackie is telling her friend that we’re practically engaged.”
“And here we go,” James whispers in my ear, and I have to hold in my laughter.
“How in the hell does she confuse fucking with marriage? Two totally different scenarios. Option one is where I fuck and leave—and hello, we’re fucking. Option two is where I don’t ever want to leave her side because I love her and I want to make love to her. Jackie is not option two.”
Shea widens his eyes in horror, and I’m trying really hard to pay attention, but all I can think is, Heart, stay in your box and don’t get any bright ideas.
“I’ve been completely honest with her, and she’s going around telling people I love her and we’re gonna be together forever and all this other shit. Can you believe that?”
“Well, you guys have been dating for over two months,” I supply, but he shakes his head.
“I knew from the rip she wasn’t the one, and I told her that. She knew.”
“Well, has something changed?”
“No. Nothing, sis. It’s the same dance. I call, we fuck, I leave. Or she comes here, sucks me off, and leaves. We don’t text, we don’t cuddle, nada. Fuck and done.”
“You took her to the charity event,” James mentions. And boy, if looks could kill…
“Because I needed a date and she said she’d suck me off in the limo.”
“You sound like a total asswipe right now,” I say, glaring at my brother. “I get that she’s just a fuck buddy, but at least treat her with some respect.”
He blinks at me. “I did before she decided to spread a whole fuckton of lies about me. I have been honest, and I have been real with her. I made sure she was satisfied, and we were okay, but not anymore,” he says. His face is so red. He hates being lied to, and most of all, he hates being made to look dumb. “Grace, she said she’ll be moving in here by the end of the month!”
I balk at that. “Whoa, no. This is my place.”
“Exactly!”
James looks at me with concern in his eyes, and I shrug. “So you’re gonna break it off with her?”
“Absolutely. I am.”
“Wonderful,” I groan, letting my head fall back against James’s chest. “Just wonderful.”
“What?” James and Shea ask at the same time.
“Not to sound selfish and only worrying about myself, but she’ll fire me as soon as you break up with her.”
“No, she said she wouldn’t,” Shea insists.
I shake my head, but before I can disagree with him, James says, “No, she will. She’s catty like that. If she truly believes y’all are destined for marriage—and I can guarantee she does—she’ll fire Grace to get back at you.”
Shea falls back against his recliner. “Why did I even hook up with this chick?”
“I think it was the boobs,” I offer.
“Or the ass. He’s an ass man.”
“Yes, you’re right. It’s the fake ass.” I flash James a wink as he laughs. “Can’t you find a real ass? Usually they’re attached to nice, sweet girls.”
Shea doesn’t laugh. He looks stricken. “I’m sorry, sis.”
I wave him off, hoping to alleviate some of his distress. “I’ll figure something out. Hopefully I can find a place to hire me until I can start my own business.”
We sit in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. Until James says, “Why don’t you just start your own business?”
I glance over at him. “Because you need capital, and I don’t have that.”
“I’ll give it to you,” he says without hesitation. “I’ll fire Jackie from doing my stagings in favor of you, and I can get you plenty of charity benefits to plan. It could be very successful for you.”
Why does this guy continue to leave me speechless? “James, be real.”
“What?”
“You don’t give a girl you’ve only known for a little over a month the capital to start a company and then throw her all of your business. That’s insane.”
He doesn’t seem to agree. “Of course you do. You’d do anything for the person you love.”
My jaw drops. For real, drops, and if it wasn’t attached, I think it might have hit the floor. James’s eyes widen, which means I heard him wrong. Right? Right. Holy mother of all things holy! “Excuse me?” I squawk out.
He blinks. “What?”
“I should go,” Shea says as he gets up. “This is obviously a moment.”
We both ignore him as I ask, “What did you say?”
“About what?”
“Oh, dude, just own up to it,” Shea says as he rushes off, but I don’t see him go. I can’t look anywhere but into James’s eyes.
“You know about what,” I say, getting up and gawking down at him. “What do you mean ‘You’d do anything for the person you love?’ What does that mean? Are you talking about me?” With each word, my voice gets higher. My chest feels as if it’s caving in on itself, and I really don’t know what the hell is happening here.
He pushes the recliner down, standing up with his hands out to me. “Calm down. You’re shaking.”
“Yes, because I’m pretty sure you just said you loved me, and that can’t be. We’ve only been together a month. We’re just f
ucking—”
“Oh, come on, Grace,” Shea yells from the other room.
James points to where Shea’s voice came from. “Seriously. You know we’re more than fucking. We’re option two.”
“Whoa,” I say, panic attacking me from the inside out. “We are not option two.”
“Yes, we are,” he says simply, and I shake my head.
“No, it’s been a month, James. We are only dating.”
“No, we’re together. I asked you to be my girlfriend. That means we see if this works so we can be more.”
“No. It’s so you don’t fuck anyone else but me.”
“Grace! Come on.”
“No, for real. You haven’t even tried to put it in my ass. You’re supposed to want to put it in my ass.”
“What in the hell?” he says around his laughter. “What does that have to do with it?”
“Guys like you want anal sex.”
“Guys like me? What the fuck?” he yells, his brows touching. “But also, I grabbed an ass cheek once, and you freaked, saying, ‘Keep it out of my ass, buddy’—”
“So! You’re supposed to ignore that and try to do it anyway!”
“Are you fucking insane?” Shea calls, and I glare down the hall.
“Shut the hell up, Adler!”
I look back at James, and he’s scrutinizing me. The way he should because I’m shitty. “Wow. You really don’t know how to be loved, do you? To be respected.”
My lip starts to wobble. “I’m not lovable.”
“You are,” he insists, taking a step toward me, but I step back.
“I’m not.”
His eyes darken as the tears spill down my cheeks. He crosses his arms over his chest. “When you said you’d been fucked over, I didn’t think anything of it. But man, Grace, you weren’t kidding.”
“You deserve better.”
“I don’t give a fuck what you assume I deserve, because I want you.”
“You shouldn’t—”
“But I do, because I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment you puked all over the side of the condo. I just didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to lose you.”
“Good call, man,” Shea hollers.
This time, it’s James who yells, “Dude, shut up!”