Fallen from Grace (5 page)

He forced his gaze back to Rebecca whose arms were crossed, and a pout heavy on her bottom lip. “What did you say?” he asked, still reeling from the past few moments.

“Nothing,” she snapped.

Sweeping his fingers through his hair, he plastered a fake smile on his face as the server arrived with their dinner. Rebecca wouldn’t talk to him; she was acting like a petulant teenager, and he refused to spend his time playing therapist. Instead, he spent it feigning a sudden fake fascination with the pictures and historical pieces mounted on the walls and the vintage tobacco pipes lining the ceiling of the restaurant before inadvertently having an excuse to look at
her
. More than once he caught
her staring at him when his gaze purposely shifted in her direction. His entire body hummed with excitement whenever their eyes locked.

Rebecca was silent as the check was delivered to their table. He gave the server his credit card and she came back moments later.

“It was a pleasure to serve you tonight,” she murmured, causing Rebecca to roll her eyes.

“Excellent service, thank you.”

She smiled, then bit her lip and walked away. He flipped the black book open. “I know you’re upset, but if you don’t talk to me, I can’t-”

His voice broke mid-sentence as the group next to
her
table departed, and the mystery guest was revealed.
Jack.

Judas gripped the pen tightly, and he felt the plastic bend beneath his hostility. He tossed it on the book, then stood and strode to their table.
What is she doing with him
? He was a lying, scheming bastard;
she
was a sweet, beautiful innocent. He could see her pure heart reflecting from heavenly hazel eyes that seemed to reach into his soul and shine light in a place dark and broken. His gaze hardened as he turned to his father, and he heard her gasp.

“Jack,” he greeted coldly.

His father dipped his head, simultaneously closing his eyes, then flashing him an arrogant grin.

“Good evening, Judas. I’m surprised to see you’re still standing.”

Fuck you.
“Are you going to introduce me to your guest?” he asked, glancing at
her
.

She shifted in her seat, then lifted her hand. “I’m Grace Winters.”

Her voice was as sweet as a nightingale, lulling him to think this was all just a dream, but when his hand touched hers, a spark of electricity grounded him firmly in
this
reality.

“
Dr
. Grace Winters,” Jack added.

Judas heard the pride in his voice.
Are they sleeping together
? The thought nearly caused him to expire. “It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Winters.”

“Please, call me Grace.” She glanced sideways at Jack as he continued staring at Judas.

Why was he taunting him?

“Judas Woods,” he said, finally letting her hand go.

“Jack’s son?” she asked with surprise, glancing between them.

Unfortunately.
“The one and only…”

She smiled, and it caused the air in Judas’s lungs to leave his chest in a
whoosh
. She was beautiful, successful, and too good for him.
Definitely too good for Jack.

Rebecca suddenly appeared beside him, and the fact he’d completely forgotten about her only reinforced his theory; he wasn’t a good man. He glanced apologetically toward her. “Rebecca, forgive me for abandoning you. This is Dr. Winters, I mean Grace. And Jack,” Judas added blandly. “Grace this is Rebecca Meyers, a
friend
of mine.” He really wanted to know the status of
her
relationship with his father, but to ask would be intrusive and rude.

Grace smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Rebecca.”

She shifted nervously next to him, standing with her cardigan clutched to her chest and biting her bottom lip. “What kind of doctor are you?”

Though Rebecca’s tone was offensive, Judas turned to Grace. He was also curious to know what field she worked in.

“I’m a psychologist. I have a practice down on Fifth Avenue near Madison Square Park.”

“Of course.” Rebecca’s voice suddenly adopted the same brittle sound it had at dinner earlier. “I know the area.” She turned to Judas, and he could see her eyes filling with tears.

What has happened to her since this morning?

“I’ll wait for you outside. It was nice meeting you,” she quickly added to Grace and Jack, then turned and walked away. Judas knew her rush was to get outside so she could have a cigarette.

“Is she alright?” Grace asked.

His gaze fell on the angel seated on the other side of the square table, illuminated by a votive in a glass holder in the middle, before shifting to the devil dressed in black next to her. “No, I don’t believe she is.”

Jack’s lips twitched as he tilted his head. “Perhaps you should go after her then, you wouldn’t want to miss anything
important
.”

Son of a bitch.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Grace.” Judas smiled.

She nodded. “It was nice meeting you too, Judas. Have a good evening.”

He turned and left before he did what he really wanted to do—
wipe the smug look off his father’s face.

Two days later

G
RACE
W
INTERS
KICKED
OFF
HER
black high heels beneath the table and rubbed her sore feet together; dancing was not at the top of her list of favorite things to do—not even close.

Taking a sip of champagne, she glanced around the secluded Midtown Loft and Terrace event space in New York City. Gorgeous purple orchid centerpieces decorated the middle of two long rectangular tables, and across the bride and grooms table positioned horizontally at the front of the room. White cloth was draped beneath the purple petals and covered with fine china—catered by La Bernadine’s.

Servers were scrambling around the room, clearing the mess and refilling glasses, and an open bar in the corner had attracted several people, but the majority of the party was on the balcony. Chandeliers dazzled the room with a translucent light, and outside you could see the Empire State Building glowing blue.

Grace locked eyes with the bride, her dear friend Alexandre Martin, and they each raised a glass for a silent cheer. Alex took a drink, then laughed as her husband nibbled her neck with a kiss. Grace desperately wanted what Alex had found—someone who adored and cherished her.

Seated to Grace’s left was Congressman Ellis Randall—her
boyfriend
. He was talking to her mother, who had a proud smile curling her red lips. She winked at Grace, and her smile spread to a white flash of teeth and glee. Grace couldn’t help but grin in return as she shook her head. She loved seeing her mom happy, but when she thought about the reason, her smile fell.
Ellis
. She was relaxed and talking to him about their summer home and pointing out how private it was, but what she was really insinuating was that it would be a
perfect
place for him to propose to Grace.

His green eyes fell on her. He was handsome…charming…successful…he fulfilled every quality she could hope to find in a husband, but for some reason she couldn’t imagine marrying him. However, her mother would go code blue if she ever told her the cold truth; she was already planning their wedding. Ellis was her mother’s prime candidate for Grace’s matrimonial bliss, and she hated to disappoint her mother, a woman dying to be a grandmother.

She just wanted to go home, change into her faded gray sweatpants, red and white Stanford Alumni t-shirt, and have a cup of tea with her roommate. He was the best roomie a girl could ask for; dependable, loving and never made her feel bad about eating ice cream at midnight—probably because she always gave him the last spoonful. He was someone she could imagine spending her life with; too bad he was a feline. An orange, fluffy cat named Charlie who drove her crazy the majority of the time; especially when he’d wake her before her alarm went off, meowing and hungry for attention.

Grace took another sip of champagne and thought of a reason she could head out early, and
without
Ellis. Blindsiding her was the desire to see Judas Woods again.
Those eyes.
Chocolate brown and endless—she felt herself drowning in them and wanting to know more about him. She shook the thoughts away as she thought about her mother and how disappointed she would be. Lucky for Grace, it was solely her responsibility to fill the grandchild void.

In a few short months, she would be turning twenty-eight, though she felt a lot older. She’d earned her doctorate at a young age and had been practicing psychology for a few years. It wasn’t as if her profession helped keep her young; she tried to let the problems burdening her patients go at the end of each session— compartmentalizing her work life from her private life—but it wasn’t easy. Anything that plagued her patients plagued her. However, lately things had been going abnormally smooth. There were still a few weeks left of summer, and her patients seemed to be idling in the warm weather and the city’s colorful transition to autumn.

Her practice had a waiting list, and a recent review in the New York Times had earned her a place as one of the Top 100 Psychologists in the country. But as much as she wanted to add a few clients, she just couldn’t. It wouldn’t be fair. She was intelligent and good at multitasking, but this was only her third year practicing. She didn’t need to fail before her career really began.

The room started to thin as people made their way to the balcony where the dance floor was in full motion. Her mother had coaxed Ellis outside, and if Grace left now she could blame it on a headache or an early patient session.
But what about Alex?
If she didn’t say goodbye to her, then she would feel bad. They were leaving on their honeymoon, and Grace didn’t know when she would see her again as they got caught up in their married life.

She saw Alex come inside and grab her decorated chalice off the bridal table.
Perfect!
Grace practically ran to her.

“Hey, I’m heading out.”

Her white dress swished, and her hips sashayed as she turned to look at Grace. “What about your mom and Ellis? They’re out there tearing it up!”

“I really have a headache, but let them enjoy themselves.”

Alex frowned, then gave her a knowing smile. “Okay. How are you getting home?”

“I’ll take a cab.”

“I’ll let them know you left.”

“Thanks, Alex. Call me when you get back, okay?” Grace hugged her skinny little waist and kissed her cheek.

“Of course. Love you, woman.”

“Love you too.”

Retrieving the jacket ticket from her purse, she got her coat and almost made it to the front elevator before she remembered she’d left her cell phone on the table.
Seriously!
Closing her eyes, she chastised herself and even contemplated leaving it there. But the pictures on her phone forced her eyes open—she couldn’t lose them.

Panic shot through her body, making her heartbeat quicken and her eyes fill with tears. Rushing to the table, relief warmed her body and brought a smile to her face when she saw the phone. Some of her favorite memories of her brother, Cade, were on that phone. Irreplaceable memories since he was…

Grace hated the
D
word. One would think a psychologist would have come to terms with her loss, especially since it had happened six years ago, but she was still lost and broken.

She strode to the elevator as her heart returned to a calm beat. Once it reached the first floor, Grace went to exit, but someone ran right into her. She was about to yell, but two large hands abruptly slipped around her waist and moved her out of the way of the closing doors, then set her down next to a frosted glass window.

“Hands!” she shrieked.

The man removed his hands immediately. She smoothed the wayward curls from her face as her heart raced again—worse than it had been at the thought of losing her phone.

“Did I hurt you?” Judas Woods asked, his eyes scanning her body.

She knew he was good looking, but as she looked up at his chocolate brown eyes, she would have to say he’d been upgraded to GQ centerfold gorgeous. His touch had felt so tender for someone his height and build. He was tall, lithe, and the suit he was wearing looked incredible on him. Grace backed away as he kept one arm outstretched and cupped around her upper arm. Finally finding her voice, she said, “I’m fine.”