"What are you doing?" I whirl at the sound of his voice and cringe inwardly.
"I was just going to leave."
He cocks a sleepy brow and shuffles to me, takes the note out of my fingers and reads it, his eyes hardening as he raises them back to me.
"Is that what it was, Grace? A hot affair to cross off your bucket list?" His voice is soft and raspy from sleep, but his eyes are narrowed on mine.
No! That's not all it is! I want to yell those words at him, launch myself in his arms and ask him if I can stay another night, or if we can continue seeing each other after this weekend, but I know that's ridiculous.
"I had a lovely time," I reply, and lift my chin. "But I really should get home and start preparing for my classes tomorrow. I have work to do."
"Of course." He pushes his hand through his hair in agitation. God, just leave, Grace! Why did he have to wake up and make it so damn uncomfortable?
"Can I talk you into breakfast at least?" He's polite again, and is careful not to touch me, and I feel more foolish by the minute.
"Oh, no, thank you. You've been more than generous." I hope the smile I give him looks more genuine than it feels as I stand on my toes and kiss his cheek. "Take care, Jacob."
He brushes his knuckles down my face and smiles softly. "You, as well, Grace."
I grab my bags and hurry out of his room and down to the lobby, praying that I'm able to keep the tears at bay until I'm on my way back home.
The valet is quick to fetch my car, as there aren't many customers at barely six o'clock in the morning, and I make my way down the mountain, wondering if I did the right thing. Should I have stayed for breakfast?
No, that would have just been awkward. I can't have him thinking I'm getting attached and making assumptions. It was just a weekend fling, after all. There were certainly no promises made from either of us that we'd continue seeing each other after last night.
So why does it feel like my heart is being torn out of my chest?
chapter 9
~ JACOB ~
Three fucking days. She's been gone for three days and I'm moping around like a lost puppy.
It's bloody horrifying.
I take a sip of cold tea and motion for Babs to send over a fresh cup. I'm sitting in the restaurant, my laptop open in front of me, and I can't bloody focus.
I can't stop thinking about Grace.
"Here you go, boss." Babs winks and replaces my cold tea with a fresh cup of hot water and Earl Grey on the side.
"Thank you, Babs."
"Need anything else?"
I shake my head and wave her off. She shrugs and walks away and I stare out the window at the people skiing down the hill, others riding up the lift. It's late afternoon and I've been sitting here since this morning.
I'm supposed to be looking over reports from my financial adviser, but I gave up long ago.
When I first read the note Grace left me that morning, her standing there all rumpled from a long night of sex, I was tempted to shake some sense into her and convince her that I wanted to keep seeing her.
But her note, her words, her body language were clear. It was a weekend fling for her, and nothing more, and as much as it bruises my ego--and my heart--it's something I just have to learn to live with.
But fuck me, I miss her like mad.
A single woman is seated across the room from me. Her eyes survey the room and stop when she sees me. She looks me up and down and then offers me a cocked brow and a half smile. My gut rolls.
A week ago I would have charmed my way into the beautiful woman's bed. Now, after Grace, the thought repulses me.
It all comes back to her. Her scent in my sheets, making it impossible for me to sleep at night, yet I've forbade housekeeping from changing them. The reminder of how she looked on her knees in my shower every time I step inside it. Grace, making me laugh my ass off as I taught her to ski on my hill.
Fuck, I need her like I need to breathe.
My decision made, I snap my laptop shut and shove it into my briefcase, grab my coat, and stride into the lobby and straight to Jeanette.
"I need Grace's address, please."
She tilts her head and says, "You know that's a violation of privacy law."
I slap my hand on the counter and lean over it menacingly, baring my teeth. "I'll bail you out of jail, Jeanette. Give me the bloody address."
She shrugs and pulls up the information on the computer, writes it down, and passes it to me. "Hold on."
She disappears into her office and then returns with a scarf. "Grace left this here. You might as well return it to her."
"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"
"It was yours to figure out, Bax. But I'm glad you finally did, because you've been prowling around here, snapping at anyone who dares look at you sideways all week." She laughs and shakes her head. "Love is wasted on the young."
"I never said love . . ."
"Call it what you want." She waves me off and returns to her computer. "Just go get your girl."
I hop onto the desk and lean over to lay a smacking kiss on Jeanette's cheek, then jog out to the valet. "I'll need the SUV, please."
"Sure thing." The attendant leaves to fetch my car and I check my watch. It's after four. She should be home from school by now, shouldn't she?
My car arrives and I make my way carefully down the narrow mountain road. If I fall over the embankment, I'll never get to Grace.
I finally pull up to her small house in a quiet, well-kept neighborhood and cut my engine, watching the house.
I've turned into a bloody stalker.
I shake my head as I climb out of the car and make my way up the sidewalk to her front porch. I ring the bell and wait. The house seems to be still. Maybe she's not home yet? I ring the bell again and hear footsteps in the house, then an angry meow and a loud thud.
"Motherfucker!"
chapter 10
Grace
This has been the day from hell. I really need to climb into bed and stay there before I break a bone or knock myself out.
I gently touch my cheek and wince as the pain shoots through my head. I pull into my driveway and frown when I see Hannah's car also sitting in the drive. She's never usually home at this time on a weekday. As Cunningham Falls' newest OB/GYN physician, she works long hours.
Sometimes I forget I even have a roommate.
I trudge through the snow up to my porch and trip on the top step, sending me headlong into the door. I barely catch myself with my hand, but still manage to scrape my palm.
"Fucking A, this day sucks," I mutter between clenched teeth, and push my way inside.
"Grace?"
"Yeah, it's me." I toss my keys onto a table by the door and toe my boots off before walking into the living room. "What are you doing home so early?"
"I just ran home to change my clothes," she replies as she smooths her red hair into a ponytail. "I had a messy delivery."
"Gross, I don't want to know." I shake my head and drop onto the couch.
"What happened to your cheek?"
I shrug one shoulder and don't answer her.
"Grace, let me look at that."
"It's just a bruise."
"No, it's not. There's a cut there, too. Come here."
"If I move I'll probably end up flat on my ass for the fourth time today, and I just don't have the energy to get back up."
"Come on, friend." Hannah helps me to my feet and leads me to her small bathroom. "I'm just going to clean it up a bit. It doesn't need a bandage."
"It hurts like a bitch."
"I'm sure it does. How did it happen?" She dampens some cotton balls with peroxide and dabs the cut. I suck my breath in through my teeth. "Sorry," she murmurs.
"It doesn't matter how it happened."
"Wow, you've been a bitch to live with all week, Grace. Wanna talk about it?"
I hang my head in my hands and sigh deeply. "I'm sorry, Han. I don't mean to take my mood out on you. J
ust kick me and tell me to stop being a bitch."
"I'd rather talk with you about what's wrong. This is so unlike you."
"I can't always be Miss Roses and Sunshine," I snap and then slap my hand over my mouth in horror. "Jesus, I'm sorry!"
"See? Bitch."
"I kind of miss Jacob."
"He's right at the top of that mountain," she reminds me, and points toward Whitetail Mountain.
"I know."
"So go up there."
"No, it was just a weekend fling."
"Right." She shakes her head and puts the peroxide back under the sink. "I think you should try dating him, but I don't have the best track record when it comes to men, so you can take that advice or leave it. I do know this: do what makes you happy because, girl, you're miserable. And you don't deserve that."
I wrap my arms around the pretty redhead and hug her close. "Thank you for being the best roomie ever."
"You're welcome. I'd suggest a nap, but that blow to the head looks like it could have resulted in a concussion." She narrows her eyes and peers deeply into my own eyes. "Look up at the light." I comply and sit patiently as she looks me over.
"There are benefits to living with a doctor."
"I'll send you a bill," Hannah murmurs with a grin. "Nope, no concussion. You should take a nap."
"Good idea. You headed back to work?"
"Yes. I have one other woman laboring and a few more appointments this afternoon."
"Ugh, I don't know how you can work around all of those bodily fluids." I shiver and follow her out of the bathroom. "See you later."
"Bye!"
Meow. Slater, Hannah's old cat, winds his way between my legs, purring and begging to be picked up.
"You're going to trip me one of these days, you little terrorist." I pick him up and nuzzle his head and carry him into my bedroom with me. I quickly pull on an oversize T-shirt and climb into bed. Slater joins me, purring happily as I drift off to sleep.
Dingdong!
I wake up and look about the room groggily. There are two kinds of naps, the kind where you wake up refreshed and rested, and the kind where you wake up with dry mouth, drool on your cheek, and not entirely sure what year you're in.
This nap was the latter.
The ringing persists, so I throw the covers back and stomp out of the bedroom, not even bothering to pull on some yoga pants.
I'm not going to actually open the door. It's probably a salesman. We definitely need to buy a No Soliciting sign.
Just as I'm crossing the living room to look out the peephole, Slater runs right into my legs, tripping me, and I fall flat on my ass.
Again.
I pound the floor with my fists and scream out, "Motherfucker!"
My ass hurts, my head hurts, and my heart hurts, goddamn it!
I hang my head in my hands and battle the tears that want to come. I'm so frustrated. Why can't I be graceful? Why am I such a damn klutz?
The door opens and I feel the rush of cold air on my bare legs, before it closes and I'm suddenly lifted off the floor by strong arms.
"What happened, love? Are you okay?"
I look up into worried bright green eyes and am mortified to feel a tear slip down my cheek.
"No, I'm not okay," I whisper. Jacob sits on my couch and keeps me cradled in his lap.
"Did someone hit you?" His voice is suddenly hard as steel as his eyes roam over my face. He raises a hand to touch my cheek but I flinch back. "I'll kill whoever did this to you."
"I ran into a door," I reply with embarrassment. "No need to become homicidal."
"Talk to me, darling. What's wrong?"
"Why are you here?"
"In a minute." He pulls his knuckles down my uninjured cheek. "First, tell me what's happened."
"It was a horrible day. The kids were loud and crabby. They didn't want to listen. One of them dumped my potted plant onto the floor in a temper tantrum. I walked into a door and did this." I point to my cheek. "My car's battery was dead when I got in it to come home, so I had to wait for roadside assistance to come help because most everyone had already left for the day, and I freaking miss you like crazy, and I probably just scared the shit out of you because everyone knows it's relationship suicide to say something like that when you're not even in a relationship."
"Take a breath, my love." His lips twitch as he soothingly rubs my back and my bare legs. "Do I need to remind you that I came to you, not the other way around? So I guess we can say that I missed you, as well."
"You did?"
He nods. "That is a bugger of a day that you've had."
"Aye, 'tis."
He chuckles softly. "I'm not a Scotsman, darling."
I shrug and smile softly. "So, why are you here?"
"You left your scarf at the lodge," he replies, and pulls my scarf out of his coat pocket, handing it to me, and I'm instantly mortified.
"Oh, thank you." I turn to move out of his lap, but he holds me firm.
"And, more important, I wanted to talk to you about the other morning."
"You did?"
He nods and watches me with sad eyes. Sad?
"Did you really only want a weekend fling, Grace? Is that all it was to you?"
I look down at my lap, but he tilts my chin back to meet my gaze. "No," I whisper.
"Then why did you say that? Why didn't you wake me and talk about where to take this next?"
"Because we didn't make any promises to each other, Jacob, and we'd just barely met."
"Yet I feel like you know me better than anyone else in my life." His voice is calm and sure and unapologetic.
"You're a British knight who owns half of that mountain, and I'm just a schoolteacher."
"Say that about yourself again and I'll take you over my knee, love. You're not just anything."
I gape at him and then frown in confusion. "I just don't see how it can work."
"Let's look at it this way." He kisses my fingers and instantly ignites sparks in my belly. I bite my lip and watch his eyes soften. "I've been quite miserable without you these past few days. I miss your laughter, your quick wit, and I miss sleeping next to you, sweet Grace. I don't make a habit of spending the night with women, and I don't want to spend the night with any woman but you."
"I've missed you, too," I admit softly. "I can't concentrate, which is probably why I've been extra clumsy." I comb my fingers through his hair. "I like you very much."
"Well then, it seems to me that there's no reason for us to not see each other. You can come to me on the weekends and I can come down here during the week when you're in school."
"You'd do that?"
"Until I talk you into moving in with me, absolutely." He winks and then sobers. "We can take our time learning each other, darling. I'm looking forward to it."
"Hmm . . . learning each other, you say." I take his face in my hands and nuzzle his nose with mine. "What did you have in mind?"
"You want a demonstration?"
"Absolutely. Studies show that it's easier to learn by doing than by telling. And I know from firsthand experience that you're an excellent teacher."
He grins wolfishly and lays me back on the couch.
"You're wearing nothing but knickers under that shirt."
"Indeed," I reply with my best British accent imitation. "I am wearing knickers under this shirt. Should I be wearing trousers?"
"I love your smart mouth, darling." He chuckles and pulls my panties down my hips, off my legs, and throws them onto the floor. "What's under here?" He lifts my shirt to find me braless. "Were you in bed, my love?"
"I was napping."
"Mmm . . ." He pulls a nipple into his mouth and gently sucks while tweaking the other between his fingers. My back arches up off the couch. "I'm sorry I woke you."
"I'm not."
He kisses up my neck as I feel him shifting, pulling something out of his wallet, and then tossing his wallet onto the floor.
"You're wearing entirely too
many clothes."
"Maybe you should take them off for me."
I tug the hem of his T-shirt up over his head and drop it over the edge of the couch before gliding my hands over every inch of smooth skin and hard muscle. "I love your body."
He groans and buries his face in my neck, kissing and biting up to my ear.
"Take my trousers off, darling."
I grin and pop the button on his jeans, slide my hands into his underwear, cup his ass in my hands, and push his pants down around his thighs. His cock springs free.
"Oh, someone's happy to see me."
"I'm bloody ecstatic to see you, love."
I take the condom out of his hand and sheathe him myself, then take his heavy fullness into my hand and guide him to my opening.
"This has to be slow, Grace. You're so fucking small. I couldn't stand it if I hurt you."
"You won't hurt me, babe."
He kisses me hard as he slowly pushes inside me. When he's seated fully, he braces himself on his elbows at either side of my head, his hands bracing my head. He's panting, doing his best not to move quite yet.
"You feel amazing, Grace."
"God, so do you." He begins to move, slowly at first, but before long his thrusts speed up. He hooks one of my legs over his shoulder, opening me up farther so he can go deeper, and we both sigh in pure bliss.
I feel myself contract around him as the energy makes its way through me. I tighten my grip on his shoulders and bite my lip as I come apart beneath him, rocking my hips quickly, insistently.
"Ah, Grace, you're taking me with you, love. Fucking hell, I'm coming." With a growl, he rests his forehead on mine and clenches his eyes shut as he finds his own release.
"I'm so happy that you came to find me, Jacob."
"Always, darling." He kisses my cheek and smiles down at me. "Shall we continue our lesson in the bedroom?"
"Aye, we shall."
epilogue
Seven months later . . .
How was your last day of class, darling?" Jacob meets me outside of the lodge and hugs me as soon as I climb out of my new car. He said that I needed a new one, and surprised me with it last month.
I kept insisting the one I had was fine, but when the battery died for the fourth time, he insisted.
And I must admit, it's not bad driving a Lexus. It's quite nice, actually.
"It was . . . long." I laugh and hug him back as he lifts me up off my feet and kisses me soundly. "I'm ready for summer."
"Excellent. You can move in with me now."
I shake my head and prop my hands on my hips, but he pretends he doesn't see it and leads me through the lobby of the lodge, past a waving Jeanette, to his suite.