Boycotts and Barflies (27 page)

“Hmmm. Michael,” Grace responded to her name.

“They do that all the time.” Ryan laughed.

“I need more socks,” Michael moaned.

“OK, here,” Grace replied.

Their silly conversations continued on and off for another ten minutes. Meg  grabbed the camera so she could snap a picture of the two of them. As she lined  up her shot, that’s when she heard it.

“I love you, Michael,” Grace said as clear as day.

Meg froze  and looked at Ryan, who had a similar expression of shock on his  face. They both held their breath and waited to hear Michael’s response.

“I love you too, Grace,” he said as pulled her tighter to him.

“Oh, Ry,” Meg sighed. “Do you think they’ve told each other yet?”

Ryan laughed. “Not while they were awake.”

Meg got up off the couch and snapped a picture of the two love birds, forever  memorializing the moment when they first admitted their love to each other— even if it happened while they were asleep. The  flash of the camera made them  start to stir. Meg dashed back over to the couch with Ryan and gave him a kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Meg. More than you know.”

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Vaguely aware of the noises around her, Grace opened one eye to find

Michael’s face right next to hers on the pillow. His arm was wrapped tightly  around her while they stayed toasty warm under the blanket. Grace glanced  over at Meg who gave her a strange smirk from across the room with Ryan. She  looked back at Michael who was now beginning to wake up. She brushed his  bangs out of his face, and kissed each eye lid.

“Wake up. All we need is our moms finding us sleeping together. They’ll have  the church picked out by morning,” Grace teased.

His eyes opened and he smiled. “I’m comfy here; I’m not moving. Let them find  us,” he said as he nuzzled Grace’s neck.

“Boys! We need to get going,” Liz said loudly from the next room. Both Grace  and Michael shot up off of the couch and stood next to each other, but with a  safe distance between them as to not  call too much attention to themselves.

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Grace quickly ran her fingers through her hair before Liz and Susan turned the

corner.

“How was the movie?” Susan asked, her eyes darting back and forth between  the two of them, looking for any evidence of a romance between them.

“Good. I fell asleep for a bit.” Grace yawned as she stretched.

“Well, you two did look rather … comfortable there on the couch,” Liz said,  making the same face Michael made when he was being coy.

“Come on,  Mom. We’ve bothered the Parks enough for one day. Let’s go see  how much damage Dad’s done to the house by now.” Michael laughed as he  gently moved his mother toward the door before she could say anything more. He glanced back at Grace and mouthed “I’ll call you” and gave her a wink that,  of course, Susan noticed.

The door no sooner shut behind the three of them before Susan pounced. “Grace Park, you’d better start telling me what the heck is going on between  you and Michael. And for the record, that man is  most definitely not gay. He,  he’s … I think, he’s in … lo  ”—

“Dad! Help.” Grace screamed, interrupting her mother’s comments that were  getting way too accurate.

Henry came into the kitchen, joining Susan in the doorway, and before she  could say another word, he planted a big kiss on her, complete with a dip and  everything. Susan stood there stunned for a second by her husband’s amorous  behavior, until Henry pointed over her head at the mistletoe and grinned. She  blushed and followed him into the other room,  completely distracted from her  previous chain of thought.

“I’m going to bed after all this excitement,” Meg said as she danced up the  stairs.

“I’ll be right there. I’m going to clean up the family room.” When Grace turned  to grab the bowls of popcorn, she heard a soft knock on the door. “I got it,” she  called to Henry and Susan who were already on their way upstairs.

She peeked out the window and was surprised to find Michael standing on the  porch. “Miss me already?” Grace teased as she opened the door. He stepped  inside and closed it behind him.

“No, I forgot something,” he said as he glanced in the other room.

“What?” Grace asked. She hadn’t noticed his phone or anything lying around

when she started her cleaning. She looked up at the grin on his face and waited

for his answer.

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“This,” he whispered as he leaned over and took her face into his hands, placing  a gentle kiss on her lips that caught her so off guard, it nearly made her knees  buckle. “Good night, sweetheart,” he whispered as he turned and walked back  out the door, chuckling.

Grace stayed a second, frozen in the doorway, looking just as stunned as h er  mother had a moment ago. When she heard the horn honk as he drove away, it  broke Grace from her trance. She waved and then slowly closed the door.

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The next morning, Grace woke up to find Meg already downstairs chatting  away with Susan over some donuts. “Good morning,” she grumbled as she  reached for the coffee pot. “So what’s the plan for today?” Grace paused and  plucked a donut from the box, then took a bite.

“It’s Christmas Eve, silly. There will be a houseful of people here tonight, you  know that.”  Susan laughed. Christmas Eve meant Susan’s annual Open House,  also known as the longest evening of Grace’s year. This was the night when the  who’s who of Spokane would parade through the house for some food and  eggnog. Grace’s old teachers, neighbors, people from high school, and basically,  anyone she would hope to never cross paths with again would be sitting in her  home, and she’d have to get them refreshments and make irritating,  meaningless small talk.

“We have to go shopping,” Meg gasped, breaking Grace out of her sulking.

She was on her feet and quickly rinsing her dishes in the sink before Grace  could even respond.

“Why in the world do we have to shop now?” Grace grumbled, snatching  another donut out of the box before Meg put it back on the counter.

“Do you have a Christmas gift for everyone on your list?”

Grace began to check off the names in her head: Meg, Susan, Henry, Michael …

Uh-oh. Michael’s gift was sitting in the apartment back in Portland.

“You’re right. Mom, will you be OK without us for a bit? We’ll go fast, I

promise.”

Grace chugged her coffee and shoved the donut into her mouth as she ran up

the stairs. They didn’t waste time showering. Instead, they simply threw

baseball hats on their heads and flew out the door.

Grace called Michael from the car, explaining that they had to run out and do some last minute shopping. It sounded like he and Ryan were doing the same  207

thing. Not surprisingly, he informed Grace that they were invited back over to

her parents h ouse tonight and that Liz had offered to come early to ‘help set

up.’

With a grin on her face, Grace told him they’d see him back at the house and,

for the first time in years, she was actually looking forward to one of Susan’s

parties.

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Two hours later,  an exhausted Grace and Meg returned home with great gifts  for Michael and Ryan. Meg, of course, went with a sentimental gift. Grace,  however, went for a gift that she hoped would be useful and make him smile. They hurried upstairs to wrap their purchases and then showered so they  would be ready to help Susan if she needed them. It was just before noon when  the girls reappeared in the kitchen.

“Put us to work,” Grace said, rolling up her sleeves. But Susan just laughed and  waved them away. “I won’t be needing you. I have some helpers of my own  coming this year,” she said with a grin. Right on cue, the doorbell rang.

Grace opened the door and squealed at the sight before her. “Aunt Evelyn,  Uncle Frank!” She screamed as she rushed out onto the porch to hug them. “Come in!”

“Grace, you get more beautiful every time we see you,” Aunt Evelyn said

sweetly as Grace slid her coat off her shoulders and hung it in the closet. “You

are absolutely glowing, child.”

“Thank you,” Grace said shyly, trying not to make eye contact with her aunt.

Evelyn was even more observant than Susan, if that were possible. There

would be no hiding the source of her glow once Michael arrived.

“How are things at the hospital, Uncle Frank?” Grace asked as he put his arm

around her and together they walked inside to where Henry was hiding out in

the family room.

“Same as always: busy.” He grinned.

Grace wasn’t blood related to Evelyn and Frank, but she still referred to them

as her aunt and uncle because they were like family; she had known them since

she was a little girl. Her parents met them at a charity fund raiser years ago

and they’d become fast friends. Since then, they’d always spent the holidays

with Grace’s family if they were in  town.

Frank was an ophthalmologist at one of the area hospitals and they were very

well off. They lived in a huge house on ten acres, up in the mountains. They

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very kind and two of the most breathtakingly beautiful people on the planet. Susan was always commenting on how they looked younger and younger

every time she saw them, and Grace had to agree. It had been at least two years  since she’d seen them, but they looked exactly the same.

Grace went back into the kitchen and found Evelyn and Susan up to their  elbows in potatoes and peelers. “Aunt Evelyn, did you meet my roommate,  Meg?”

“Very nice to meet you, dear. How are you enjoying Spokane so far?”

Evelyn asked with a kind smile.

“I’m having a wonderful time but the mountains are wreaking havoc on my cell  phone reception. Are you sure we can’t help with something?” Meg asked as

she looked at the pile of potatoes before the two older women, but both of  them smiled and waved the girls off.

Meg took a seat at the counter and was telling Evelyn about some of the quirky  clients she had designed for when the doorbell rang again. When Susan and  Evelyn exchanged a knowing smirk, Grace knew who it was before she even  opened the door.

“I’ll get it …” she said loudly in her mo ther’s direction. Grace took a deep breath  and opened the door.

Liz and her husband, Michael Sr., were standing on the porch, with Michael and  Ryan a few steps behind. “Hello, dear,” Liz said as Grace opened the door. She  gave Grace a tight hug as she walked through the door and right into the  kitchen where she was welcomed by Susan’s happy laughter.

Mr. Andris, Michael, and Ryan stepped inside, but they stayed in the foyer with  Grace rather than bravely follow Liz when they heard the women chattering in  the kitchen.

“May I take your coats?” Grace held her arms out, but both Michael and Mr.  Andris shook their heads. Michael took his father’s and Ryan’s jackets and

hung them in the closet himself.

“You must be the lovely Grace. I’ve heard so much about you. Actually my wife  hasn’t stopped talking about you … and my son since she came home last  night,” Mr. Andris said with a laugh. Grace’s face turned bright red, just  imagining what Liz might have said about her.

“Oh, goodness. Sorry, Mr. Andris. She and my mother, I think, misunderstood  some things yesterday,” Grace tried to explain as Michael watched her dying of  embarrassment before his father.

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“First of all, call me Michael. That should be easy for you to remember,” he said  with a sly glance at his son, who was beaming. Mr. Andris watched Michael  stare at Grace for a moment. “Secondly, I don’t think my wife and Susan were  too far off.” He gave Michael a fatherly pat on the back and strolled off to find  Henry and Frank. Ryan headed into the kitchen where Grace could hear Meg  introducing him to Evelyn.

While everyone else was occupied, Michael came over and swept Grace into his  arms. “Hello, beautiful,” he said in that silky voice that made her heart race. “Hey, you,” she replied as she laid her hand on his cheek. He had just bent

down to place a small kiss on her lips when they heard a noise.

“Eh-hem!” came a voice from behind Grace. She jumped and landed as far away  from Michael as possible only to find Meg and Ryan, grinning from ear to ear. “What? Is it ‘scare the living crap out of Grace’ day or something?” Grace  grabbed her heart as it thumped wildly in her chest.

“Evelyn would like to meet your ‘friend,’ as they keep referring to Michael.

I’d get it over with before the three of them have any more time to gossip. But  you may want to wipe that bit of gloss off your lips, Michael,” Meg teased as she  pointed at his face.

Michael quickly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smiled at Meg, and  bravely headed off into the kitchen.

Please, God, just let them behave, Grace prayed as she stood next to Michael in  the doorway of the kitchen. “Aunt Evelyn, this is Michael. Michael, this is my  Aunt Evelyn, and you remember my obnoxious mother from  yesterday.”

Grace glared at Susan, who looked like the cat that swallowed the canary as she  sat on her barstool across the kitchen.

“Michael, it’s so lovely to meet you,” Evelyn said as she shook his hand, her

eyes never leaving his face except to glance in Grace’s direction, which  instantly made her stomach flip with nerves. “I can see why she’s so taken with  you,”

Evelyn whispered quietly enough for only Grace and Michael to hear. Then

with a wink, she returned to her friends at the other end of the kitch en.

Well, that was relatively painless, Grace thought, and then it happened …

“Oh, Grace, before you and Michael leave, will you both do me a favor?”

Susan asked as she kneaded the bread dough on the counter.

“Sure, Susan, what can we do for you?” Michael  asked, eager to score points

and help out where needed.

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An evil grin danced across her face. “Look up.” She pointed a dough-covered finger over their heads. There, perched in the doorway, was a freshly hung piece of the most annoying, parasitic, green plant known to mankind, or at least to Grace: mistletoe.

“Damn it,” she groused as she banged the back of her head on the door jamb

repeatedly.

Michael, however, must have found the whole thing amusing, because he was

grinning. He grabbed Grace by the waist with such force that not only did it

make her gasp, but also the other three women who were staring at them from

the other side of the kitchen.

With a sinful smile, he placed his hand on Grace’s cheek. He slid his hand down across her shoulder, slowly leaving a fiery trail with his fingers as he worked his way down her arm, her elbow, her wrist, before final y resting at her fingertips.

Grace was holding her breath, not sure what was going to happen next.

She heard a small squeak from their audience, as they too held their breath in anticipation. He winked and then lifted Grace’s now completely limp hand to his lips, gave it a tender kiss, and then placed it back at her side.

“Ladies,” Michael said with a nod of his head,  then placed his hand on the small of Grace’s back and led her out of the doorway.

Even in her breathless state, she heard the kitchen erupt into girly squeals. Grace flopped into a nearby chair and sighed. “Great. Now I think my mom and my aunt have a crush on you too.”

Michael laughed out loud, unaware of the effect his little display had had on them— or Grace.

“Come on, let’s find Meg and Ryan and get out of here,” he said with a smile.  They headed upstairs, only to find their friends flipping through old  photo albums in the guest room.

“Let’s get out of here. I need to hide from my mother for a while.” Grace laughed as she snatched the album of her toddler years from Meg’s prying hands.

“What do you want to do?” Ryan asked curiously.

Then it hit her—the only thing to do on a snowy day. “Let’s go sledding!”

Grace squealed as she ran off to put on warmer clothes.

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They bundled up, borrowing some clothes from Henry’s dresser for Michael and Ryan, and came bounding down the stairs like a herd of elephants.

“Bye, Mom. Going sledding!” Grace shouted as they ran past the kitchen.

Susan just shook her head and laughed. “Haven’t heard that one for a few years. Have fun, kids! And don’t be too long. Our guests will be arriving soon,”she yelled out the door after them.

Grabbing a bunch of inflatable tubes from the garage, they headed out into the woods for an afternoon of fun.

The snow was perfect for sledding. Grace led the gang to the hill that she used to spend hours on every weekend as a kid. Somehow, the hill didn’t seem as big and daunting as she had remembered it; but then again, it had been ten years and she was a bit bigger and older now.

Michael and Ryan constructed huge snow ramps so they could hit them at full speed and make their sleds sail through the air, landing with a thud yards away from where they left the ground. Michael, of course, won every race, but Grace won the distance contest. By the time they wandered back to the house, there were new cars in the driveway.

Grace looked back at everyone. “It starts.” She waved her hands at the festively illuminated house.

They managed to sneak in without Susan seeing  them. Henry caught them on the stairs and told them to hurry up and shower and then get back downstairs as soon as possible or Susan would come looking for them.

Everyone’s clothes were soaked, so Grace suggested Michael and Ryan jump in the showers first  and she’d dry their clothes while they were doing that. Then the guys could go downstairs and mingle while she and Meg got ready.

Grace found a towel for Michael in the linen closet and sat on her bed while he went into the bathroom to shower. She heard the water turn on and tried to busy herself instead of sitting there, imagining the very naked—very yummy—man who was on the other side of her bathroom door.

As she dug through her dresser, looking for something to wear tonight, Grace heard the creak of the  bathroom door open behind her. She was expecting him to fling the clothes out onto the floor. But when she didn’t hear anything hit the ground, she turned to find Michael standing in the doorway, with just a towel wrapped around his waist and a pile of clothes in his arms.

Stay right where you are, Grace! Not another step! she screamed in her head. 212

“Toss them on the floor, I’ll get them in a second,” Grace said breathlessly,  turning her attention away from his god-like  form and back into the dresser  drawers, trying to ignore the way her stomach was wildly fluttering. Breathe  and don’t look at him. Don’t look at him!

“I can’t just throw them on the floor. Here.”

She could see him walking closer out of the corner of her eye and panic started

to set in. Shoes … something and something else … shoes and a bunch of

crap that doesn’t matter … shoes and … Oh, who cares about shoes, really?

Grace looked up into his playful eyes and felt all her willpower fading away

with each step he took toward her. He stopped inches away, his smoldering

eyes making her heart thump wildly in her chest.

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Chapter 17

Grace scurried out of her bedroom, her face still flushed from seeing Michael,

nearly naked, pre-shower. With a shaking hand, she knocked on Meg’s door

and, after an extended pause, it opened a crack, just enough for Meg to stick

Ryan’s clothes out. All Grace saw was Meg’s bare, pale arm as she dropped

them into her arms.

“Thanks,” Meg’s muffled voice said as she quickly slammed the door shut. Weird, she thought to herself.

She tossed the pile of clothes into the dryer and turned it on high.

Shamelessly, Grace hid in the laundry room, hoping to remain undetected by  Susan and her loony guests. As she watched the timer countdown to zero, she  opened the door and took the warm pile of clothes out, spreading them out on  top of the dryer before it could chime and give away her location.

Grace easily sorted through the shirts and pants, but then she was faced with a  major dilemma, who wore the boxers and who wore the boxer briefs. As she  stood in the laundry room, she held the identically sized men’s undergarments  in her hands, giggling as she tried to imagine whose ass went in which pair. For some reason, Ryan struck her as more of a boxers guy so that was her best  guess, but she figured she’d ask before handing the clothes back to Meg.

That was if she stuck more than her hand out of the d oor this time.

Meg ushered Grace into her room and took Ryan’s clothes from the pile in her arms. He confirmed the boxers were his when he stuck his head out of the

bathroom door. Grace quickly exited the room before she saw more of Ryan

than she had intended.

Before Grace walked in her own room, she gave a quick knock on the door, not wanting to walk in on Michael in any state of undress. Cautiously, she pushed open the door and glanced around the room, but he was nowhere  to be found. Where the hell could he have gone with no clothes?

“Michael?” she called softly.

The bathroom door flew open revealing Michael in her baby blue bathrobe with tiny yellow rubber duckies printed all over it.

“You look very manly.” Grace laughed  and whipped out her phone to snap a picture of him in his hilarious outfit.

“Ha ha. If you want to see manly, I’ll show you manly, Grace,” he threatened as he started to loosen the belt on the robe.

The devilishly naughty part of her wanted to call his bluff and let him drop the robe and show her the goods, but the sensible side of Grace kicked in. If he does that, it is all over, and the point of no return will be upon us. Her face turned red at the thought of being flashed by the perfect specimen of a manbefore her.

With her heart racing, and before he could intentionally or unintentionally have a wardrobe malfunction, Grace thrust his clothes at him, hoping he wouldn’t see how much her hands were trembling.