Caught Between an Oops and a Hard Body (Caught Between series Book 2) (7 page)

The sensation of eyes drilling a hole into the back of his skull brought him around, and he peered through the trees toward the house.

No, it couldn’t be…she couldn’t be. According to his calendar, Grace wouldn’t be back on the island until Friday, mere hours before Liz’s wedding.

Jim decided he was being paranoid, and as the mid-afternoon shadows moved in, he gripped the handle of his club. “Gentlemen, this conversation is over. Let’s golf.”

He ground his shoes into the turf for what he hoped was the last time, pulled the club back and—

Briiinnng
.

Off-kilter, the head of the club connected with its mark and the ball lobbed fifteen feet down the fairway. Gripping the club in his hand, he jerked around.

Ned Strom, the best insurance agent on the island, grabbed his cell phone off his belt, leaned on his three-iron, and grimaced down at the display. “Sorry. I gotta take this. It’s the old ball-and-chain.”

Jim yanked another ball out of his pocket and tossed it onto the ground. “Rule number two, Ned. No cell phones on the course.”

“I like rule number one the best,” Andy stated.

Jim nodded in agreement and lined up his shot. “No women allowed.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Grace Kincaid watched Liz’s wedding planner climb into the truck with Stone, and made a mental note to stop whatever was going on between the two of them.

She wasn’t so ancient that she didn’t recognize lust when she saw it and her son had been full of it when he’d opened the bathroom door. And while Stephanie Goodwin might be dynamite as a wedding planner, she was not the type of woman Grace wanted for a daughter-in-law. The moment Liz had informed her of her choice, Grace had done her homework and had her checked out thoroughly.

For Liz’s sake, she’d kept her mouth shut, but once the wedding was over, the girl was gone. In the meantime, she had to make sure that her son didn’t get carried away with lust and start believing that it was something else entirely.

Because marriage was not always forever and if she could prevent her own children from marrying the wrong person, then at least she’d have done something worthwhile in her life.

There’d been no mistake the flash of affection on Stone’s face. Or the genuine concern he’d shown for her illness. Maybe it was just sex. After all, her son was a healthy male. Still, she frowned and made a mental note to nip whatever was going on between the two of them into the bud before it got out of hand.

As the truck and its occupants disappeared down the driveway, she turned her attention to the eyesore out her home office window where she saw Harry, Ned, and Andy clustered together like a small pack of beer cans.

Thank God she’d never married any of them. They’d of had her chained to the house, with no thought of her own but what they wanted her to think. Like the empty-headed housewives they’d married.

Then the breeze shifted the leaves on the trees and she saw Jim.

In the scheme of her professional life, Jim’s golf course made not an iota of difference, and yet, she hated it more than the insomnia and the hot flashes that had plagued her since the onset of menopause.

She’d arrived at the estate early this morning, in plenty of time to meet with Liz to finalize the wedding plans, thrilled to be back on Serendipity Island after a month in the studio. She’d even planned for a short nap to get her through the day.

But she’d taken one look at the man sprawled out all over the bed like he owned it, listened to his chainsaw
snore-snort-snore
, and felt her temper spike.

This is what a long term relationship turned into, and it wasn’t anywhere close to the fantasy she promoted on her show.

Life—and living—had robbed Jim and her of the first flush of love, and they’d ended up pursuing their careers instead of each other. And as busy as her life was, she hadn’t given the growing distance between them a single thought.

Until he’d announced his retirement last year and turned into the schmuck who never climbed out of his housecoat unless he planned to hog the bed.

Grace turned her back on the annoying view, brewed a cup of herbal tea, and sat down at the desk to deal with the unopened fan mail. She grabbed an envelope, sliced it open, and scanned the contents.

Dear Dr. Grace,

I’ve watched your show my entire life and believed that there was one perfect man out there for me. When I found him, I married him without a second’s thought. Yesterday, I came home from work and found him in bed with another woman. He says he’ll never do it again. Should I believe him and give him another chance? I still love him and can’t imagine life without him at my side…

“Poor darling,” Grace tsked. A movement near the door caught her attention. She pushed to her feet and raised her voice. “Elizabeth Kincaid. I saw you. You get in here right now, young lady.”

A moment later, her youngest daughter slunk into the room. “I refuse to let your bad mood spoil my good mood.”

Grace glanced at the letter crushed in her hand. “Marriage is hard—”

“I know, Mother.”

She quirked one eyebrow at her daughter’s saucy tone. “It takes two mature people to work at making the right fit—”

“You mean like you and Dad?”

Grace caught herself short, then decided to ignore the comment. “Don’t use that sarcastic tone on me, young lady.”

Liz snorted. “If you want an example of two mismatched people, take a look at dad and yourself.”

And didn’t that just raise her hackles. “Elizabeth Kincaid, you take that back.”

“No, Mother, I won’t. It’s the truth. You go on national TV and spout marriage wisdom like you’re drowning in the perfect marriage. But when was the last time you and Dad spent time alone together?” Liz rolled her eyes. “When you conceived me?”

“Young lady, there is nothing wrong with your father’s and my relationship. We are quite happy. Extremely happy. Ecstatically happy.” Grace sighed at the lie, firmly keeping her game face in place. “Besides, this isn’t about your father and me.”

“Then what is this about?”

“It’s about not making a mistake that’s going to make you miserable for the rest of your life.”

“Well, I guess you should know about that,” Liz responded grudgingly.

Grace decided to ignore that. “I’m only thinking of what’s best for you. You’re so young. You have your entire future ahead of you.”

“
My
future. Did you hear that? I get to decide what’s best for me.”

Grace snorted. “What do you know about this man?”

“Everything I need to know.”

“What about his work?”

“What about it?”

“It starts there, Liz.” Her voice broke and she glanced down at the letter in her hand.

What had she been thinking? Going along with Liz’s choice of men because she was too busy with her show to see to her youngest daughter’s needs first?

Roger Gordon was all wrong for her daughter—rough, earthy, raw. Totally incapable of making a good showing at all the right parties. Why, the man would ruin Liz’s budding career as a prime time newscaster.

Grace decided that there was only one way for her to tell her daughter the problem and it was straight out. “What are you going to do when one of Roger’s groupies ends up in his bed?”

“
Mother
.”

“I’ve seen the man, Liz. Watched how other women respond to him. He’s a walking, talking advertisement for sex. If you want to sleep with him, then fine, have all the sex you want.” There, that was it in a nutshell. She firmed her jaw. “In fact, that’s what I’m recommending to all of my viewers from now on. Forget marriage. Just have sex. If you know what’s good for you, Liz, when you pick him up at the airport, you’ll tell him that the wedding is off and send him back the way he came.”

“Mother, you’re insufferable.”

“Then it’s a good thing I gave birth to you and you have to love me despite my shortcomings.”

“Oooooh, I’m done talking to you until you’ve had some coffee.” She glanced at her watch. “And now I’m going to be late for Roger’s flight.”

She stomped out, leaving Grace alone to contemplate the sickly green liquid in her teacup. She sighed. What she wouldn’t give for a cup of caffeine right this very second. Or chocolate. Or coffee with a spoonful or three of chocolate added.

Maybe this was all her fault. Maybe if she hadn’t been so focused on her career, she’d have done her job proper and nipped their budding romance in the bud before things got totally out of hand.

Now Liz thought she was in love with the man. What did the child know about love, anyway? She was twenty-three years old, still wet behind the ears, still running home to mama with her petty little problems.

With a depressed sigh, Grace randomly selected another letter from deep in the pile and sliced it open.

Dear Grace,

Yesterday was my tenth wedding anniversary and I spent it alone with the kids…

Been there, done that. Grace tossed the note into the trash can beside her desk and selected another letter.

Dear Dr. Grace,

I’m a stay-at-home mom. My husband spends all his time with the boys from work…

This letter followed the first two into the trash.

An hour later, she decided that all of the women who had written to her—all faithful viewers of her show who had once believed in the Cinderella fantasy—were unhappy. They all sounded as miserable as she felt.

Grace swept the remainder of the unopened letters into the trash, sat back in her chair, and wanted to cry.

She was not allowing Liz to waste her life and heart on some man who took her for granted. Who didn’t care whether she ever walked through his door again, as long as someone was there to do his laundry, cook his meals, and share the occasional romantic cuddle in the middle of the night.

No she would not.

She retrieved the letters from the trash and started writing her replies.

Dear cuckolded in L.A.,

Kick the cheating bastard out, then focus on your career. It’s the one thing no one can ever take away from you…

Grace grabbed the next letter.

Dear depressed in Dallas,

What do we need men for anyway? To fix the washer and dryer? To move the piano from one room to another? I say that you hire a man to do these things for you and get rid of the cruel bastard who leaves you to sit home alone on your wedding anniversary. Evil scum…

She was on a roll now.

Dear lonely in Toledo,

Why are you waiting for him to come home when you know he’s not giving you a second thought when he’s out there with his guy friends? Kick back and kick loose and call all your old girlfriends—who are probably in the same boat as you are—and get out and have some fun. I suggest you start at the nearest Chippendales…

Deciding to take her own advice, she reached for the telephone.

She was woman. Let her roar.

CHAPTER EIGHT

By the time Stone drove into town, he couldn’t wait to get his hands back on Stephanie.

She was staring out the window, and he let his gaze travel downward to where her skirt hugged her hips, her legs long and sleek. Into his thoughts crept the memory of those long legs wrapped around his waist and hips, pulling him deeper inside of her.

Man, he was in serious Stephanie-mode. Seriously serious Stephanie-mode. What did that mean? A full blown erection every time she came near? And why the hell couldn’t he get her out of his thoughts?

She’d been soft and welcoming and so warm, he’d never wanted to pull out. And she’d been funny too.

Then in the morning, she’d been gone.
She’d
left him, and now that he knew she was a wedding planner, he realized how lucky he was to escape the matrimonial shackles.

Even if she denied being interested in anything long term.

Even if he was currently in the middle of throwing himself back into the line of fire.

He pulled to a stop in front of the doctor’s office, shoved the gear shift into park, and shifted on the seat so that he partially faced her. “Want me to come in with you?”

She smiled one of her extremely naughty smiles, and shook her head. “No need. What will you do while I’m in there?”

He looked around and spotted a coffee shop across the street. “I’ll be in there when you’re done.” He couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and nudging a stray strand of hair off her cheek. “Are you sure?”

Heat flared in her gaze and his body reacted. “About what?”

He grinned at her. “I can come in and hold your hand and, you know, distract you from your stomach while you’re waiting for the doctor.”

She laughed and swatted his hand away. “Are you kidding? If we’re in there alone more than five minutes, you’ll have all my clothes off by the time the doctor arrives.”

“Five minutes? Hey, we were alone the whole trip into town and you’re still clothed.”

“Only because I’m sitting way over here and you’ve had your hands busy with the steering wheel the entire time.”

He leaned forward, cupped his hand behind her neck, and gently eased her toward him. “Like this?”

She giggled, laid one hand flat on his chest to keep some much needed distance between them, while the other hand clutched the front of his shirt and urged him closer. Against his mouth, she said, “You’re going to get me into trouble.”

“We’ll be careful,” he murmured as he nipped at her bottom lip.

Stone slanted his mouth against hers and proceeded to devour her. Right there in broad sunlight, where anyone could see them.

She made him feel like a teenager again…wild and hot and desperate to explore where this thing between them was going. Except he had to remember it wasn’t anything but a quick affair because they were in close proximity. As his hand slid under her shirt and cupped her breast, she gave a breathy little moan and he groaned in response.

Her breasts were bigger, fuller, softer, and he suddenly wished he’d taken her to bed before making the trip into town.

When she finally pulled back and tugged his hand out from beneath her top, she was grinning with wicked delight and they were both breathing heavy. “Keep that thought in your head,” she whispered. “As soon as we get back to the estate, I’m getting naked and you better join me.”