Falling Into Grace (12 page)

“I was on her case, and she took a liking to me. Her son made Richard the proposal, and I kind of agreed to it.”
Don’t ask me any more questions, please
.

“I guess I can’t ask her name because of all the privacy laws, but what is her son’s name?” Her and her damn questions.

“I’m not allowed to say. He wanted the donation to be anonymous.” I am such a bad liar, and I am pretty sure she will see right through this.

“Well then, I guess you will have to tell me all about it when you get back. I was wondering what you were doing next Friday night?” I can’t believe she bought it!

“Let me check my book. You know, I am such a busy woman, I have appointments lined up for days. Yeah, you lucked out. I’m free. What’s up?” My sarcasm has come back as well this week.

“Aren’t you just so funny? I have a gala to attend Friday night in the city. I was wondering if you wanted to be my plus one?” She pauses, waiting for my answer.

“I have to see if I can get a babysitter. I’m sure my mom would love to watch the kids, but I have to see how the kids take me going away this weekend. If it’s good I’ll be there. If they aren’t good, I won’t leave them again.” I’m such a buzzkill sometimes.

“Han, I totally understand. I got two tickets, so if you bail, I’ll make Kevin come with me, but I will be at your house Thursday afternoon. I hope you’ll be up for some company for the weekend.”

“I’m sure Kevin would like that, and of course I’m excited for you to come for the weekend,” I tease. Poor Kevin; he is always our backup on everything. “All right, Bec, I have to get going. The car should be here soon to pick me up.”

“Be safe, Hannah. I love you, and call me when you land.” Overprotective as usual.

“Love you too, Becca.” As I hang up the phone, I see a black Range Rover pull into my driveway. It’s show time. I take a deep breath and walk to the front door. When I open the door, I see Grant about to ring my doorbell. Shit, why is he here?

“Hello, Mr. Grace,” I say, trying not to seem surprised. Be cool Hannah.

“Hannah, you look lovely today.” I remind myself that I need to stay focused on being professional and do my job.

“Thank you.” I turn and start to gather my things. I catch a glimpse of him again and think he looks good today. He isn’t in the normal business attire I’m used to seeing him in. Today he’s in a T-shirt, jeans, and flip-flops. His aviators are hanging from his necklace.

“Hannah, don’t worry about that. I’ll have Sam get it.” Before I know it, a man is taking my suitcase out of my hand and taking it to the open trunk.

“Thank you,” I mutter as he walks away. I grab my purse and continue out the door. I run through a mental checklist as I lock my door to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything. I think I’m good; I finish locking the door and follow Grant over to the SUV. Sam is waiting with the passenger back door open. Grant stands to the side and lets me in first. I slide to the other side. I need distance between us. This weekend nothing will happen. I will not let myself be put in that kind of position. He gets in, stretches his long legs, then sprawls his arms across the back of the seat.

Turning to me, he asks, “Do you want to stop for coffee?”

“No thank you, I’m fine, but go ahead if you would like to stop.” He grins at me. This is going to be a long weekend.

“So, Hannah, tell me about yourself,” he says as he leans into me. Why do we have to do this?

“Why don’t you tell me about yourself?” I say, turning the tables.

“Answering a question with a question. I like your style, Hannah.” I smile and roll my eyes at him. “What would you like to know?” He’s playing my question-with-a-question game.

“What do you do for a living?” I do want to know this; it has been bothering me ever since he donated $40 million to the hospital. He looks me in the eye.

“I do a little bit of everything.” What’s that supposed to mean, a little bit of everything?

“You’re being vague, Mr. Grace.” I smile at him. He places his hand on his chin like he is thinking.

“I have my hand in many cookie jars. I own hotels, I own companies, I like to buy companies and sell them. I like to build things. I like variety.”

“It seems you keep yourself busy with all your cookie jars. I just have one last question for you. You made a generous offer to the hospital. Why did you make another generous offer on the contingency that I would go home with your mother?” I feel the need to know the answer. He is looking out the window. I wait.

“Well, Hannah, first, please call me Grant, and second, I saw how you were with my mother. She is a hard woman to get along with and the two of you bonded immediately. I have never seen my mother so comfortable with someone who wasn’t family. I knew it would make her happy to have you accompany her back to her home and to feel secure that someone was there whom she could trust.” He looks at me tentatively, trying to see my reaction to his response.

It was exactly what I wanted to hear. All about his mother; she is the reason I’m going on this trip—to make her feel secure, not to fool around with her sons. I smile while leaning my head to the right. He smiles back and touches my hand. I let his hand sit over mine for a moment before I withdraw my hand from under his.
It was just a nice gesture
, I tell myself as I look out the window.

“Is there anything else you want to know about?” I hear him say. I look at him and shrug my shoulders.

“What do you want me to know?” I like playing this game; let’s see what he thinks I want to hear. He smiles at me, wanting to play the game too.

“I really am a boring man, Hannah. I travel way too much, I’m never home, and my family is always annoyed with me.” OK, he is telling me everything I already know.

“How about you, Hannah? You’re still a mystery to me.” I laugh.
Me, a mystery
?

“I’m a boring person much like you. I work, I go home and take care of the kids, and that’s about it.” He looks at me, puzzled. Then I see him looking at my hand.

“And what about your husband? What does he do?” Oh my God, he doesn’t know. I never told him the truth. What does he think? That I like to cheat on my husband? I did tell him I was married. I slapped him once and pushed him away the other time. I get nervous and feel like I have to hide my hand to protect Chase. I never thought I would be saying these words to another man.

“Chase was into building; he was creative in that way.” I stop. That’s all I say.

“We are similar, I guess.” He looks like he wants to ask me ask me a question, but isn’t sure how to.

He pauses, before asking, “Has he changed jobs? You said he
was
into building.” His eyes soften like he feels bad for asking the question. He can probably see the hurt in my eyes. I look down at my hands.

“He passed away last year,” I say in a half whisper. I have to force the words out. I know he can relate with the death of his father at a young age, but I don’t want his understanding, and I don’t want his sympathy. He touches my hand again, and I feel relieved he’s not going to say anything else. We ride the rest of the way to the hospital in silence, with his hand over mine. This time I don’t bother to move my hand away. I like this side of Grant.

The driver pulls right up to the front doors. I can see another identical SUV already parked out front. The driver gets out and opens my door for me, and Grant walks around and offers his hand. I smile and take it as he helps me out. As we walk side by side into the hospital, I see a camera crew waiting at the door.

“Fuck,” I hear Grant growl. He ushers me in, and we dart to the stairs.

“What was that about?” He is already on his phone.

“Derek, we have a situation at the hospital. I thought you told me you took care of this.” He pauses. I can tell he doesn’t like what he is hearing.

“Well, fucking take care of it!” He sounds so angry. He puts his phone away and takes my hand, and we run up seven flights of stairs. I can keep a steady pace, but he is taking two steps at a time and I’m
exhausted. I stop when we get to the seventh floor to catch my breath. He laughs and kisses my cheek before he opens the door. I blush and don’t care that he is seeing it. It’s not like he can tell why my cheeks are flushed. I did just run up seven flights of stairs! Plus he now knows my secret, and he has been sweet to me since I told him. I head to the nurses’ station, where Michele and Richard are waiting for me.

“Director Winterfield, we have an issue at the entrance. Can we use the ambulance exit?” Grant is standing next to me, and he wastes no time solving the problem downstairs. Richard nods and picks up the phone to make a call.

“I’ll have the SUV’s leave and come back through the emergency room entrance. I don’t need this all over the news.” He picks up his phone and makes a call as he heads into his mother’s room. Why are photographers watching him?
I have to Google him
, I think. I’ve never heard of him, but why would I? I bet Becca knows about him. She knows about everyone.

“Hannah, we are all set.” I hear Michele talking to me, so I look up.

“Are you ready for this?” she asks.

“As ready as I will ever be,” I answer back, smiling. I get a wheelchair and head into Mrs. Grace’s room. She looks good, wearing a matching velour jumpsuit, it’s light blue and makes her eyes look even bluer.

“Oh, Hannah, it’s good to see you.” She walks over and hugs me. I lightly hug her back, not wanting to hurt her.

“Are you ready to blow this Popsicle stand?” I say, turning the wheelchair around for her to climb in.

“Am I ever,” she is laughs as she climbs in. Aiden comes over and helps ease her into the chair.

Grant hangs up the phone. “We are all set to leave out the back entrance.”

I scan the room to see if she forgot anything. Shane is holding her bags, and John is holding onto a cart that has a few floral arrangements.

“OK, let’s go.” We head down the hallway and into the elevator. It’s crowded with all of us in there. I navigate my way through the hospital, looking around suspiciously to see if anyone is looking at us. I head to the ambulance entrance, and we are good. There is no one around. The drivers hop out of the SUV’s and open our doors. Aiden, John, and Shane get into one. I help Mrs. Grace into the other. I help her get her seat belt on, and she smiles at me. It’s a smile I hadn’t seen on her before. She looks truly happy. Grant walks around to the other side of the car and opens the door for me. I give him a small smile as a thank you. He closes the door and walks around to get in the front. The driver has a heavy foot and drives like a bat out of hell, the other car keeps the same fast pace.

CHAPTER TWELVE

I
t’s a short drive to the airport. We pass the departure terminals and drive into an entrance marked private. As the gates open, I see a plane in the distance. Of course we are flying private. What other way would Grant fly? It’s probably the best way for Mrs. Grace to travel. Only the best for his mother. I guess I must look impressed, because Mrs. Grace grabs my hand.

“This is the best way to fly, my dear.” She rubs my hand with hers. I give her hand a playful squeeze as we pull up right in front of the plane. The driver gets out and opens my door. I slide out and walk around to help Mrs. Grace. As I get around the SUV, I see all four of her sons at her door, easing her out of the car. John has one arm and Grant has the other. Shane leads the way up the stairs of the plane. Aiden spots behind her. I follow behind. Aiden turns around and offers his hand to help me up the stairs, and I graciously take it.

The plane is beautiful. It is decorated in all cream leather and teak wood. Mrs. Grace takes a window seat, while I sit across from her. Only a small table separates us. Grant quickly steps in front of Aiden and takes a seat next to me. Aiden smiles at me and sits next to his mother. He stretches his legs out, and Grant kicks him.

“Hannah dear, would you mind changing seats with Grant? They need more legroom than we do.” I smile and get up. Grant looks at me and slides behind me, touching my sides and brushing his body against mine. I can feel the pull again. I look at Aiden to see if he
notices, and he does. I settle into my new seat, and place my feet in between Aiden’s under the table. I give him a little nudge for fun. He gives me one of his sexy smirks. The captain comes on to announce we are ready for takeoff. I’m a ball of nerves, and I don’t know if it’s because of the flight or this weekend. I fumble with the lap belt as I put it on.

“Are you nervous, Hannah?” Mrs. Grace asks, looking at me with concern.

“A little, I suppose,” I say. For the first time, I feel shy around them. They are all family, and I am an outsider.

“I am too, dear. I don’t like to fly. It helps if you hold someone’s hand.” She winks at me and takes Aiden’s hand. Aiden holds his other hand out to me. I place my hand in his. It’s warm and makes my hand look so small. Grant takes my other hand and places it in his lap before taking his mother’s hand. We sit as if we are in prayer as the plane takes off. It’s nice, and I feel almost part of the family.

Once we are up, I feel more relaxed. I let go of Aiden’s hand and make eye contact with him. I could stare into his eyes for hours. Grant lets go of his mother’s hand. Aiden looks at his mom and winks at her, not letting go of her hand. I try to release my hand out of Grant’s, but he holds on. This is uncomfortable. I look at Aiden and he can sense my uneasiness. He opens his water bottle and takes a drink, then sets it on the table. When it falls over, we all jump up. The flight attendant quickly comes over and dries up the water. I sit back down and place my hands in my lap.

I mouth the words
thank you
to Aiden. He smiles at me.

“Aiden, would you please let me through? I have to go to the ladies’ room.” Mrs. Grace stands, and Aiden and Grant do the same. So do I.

“Tori, do you need help?”

“No, Hannah, I think I can get along on my own.”

I watch her walk down the small aisle into the restroom.

I’m all by myself with them. Luckily, Shane leans over the aisle.

“So how old are your kids?”