Her Forever Hero (Unexpected Heroes) (25 page)

Grace practically floated to the car, and the ride to Billings was a damn sight more than pleasant, with Cam’s fingers trailing across every surface of her body while his lips did wonderful things to her neck.

When the car stopped, Grace sighed in disappointment. There was now work to do, and she couldn’t so easily drift off into fantasyland with Cam. She had to focus and be attentive to her bride-to-be.

“Drop the sulky look, Grace, or your client might think you don’t like your job,” Cam said with a laugh as he escorted her from the car.

“I normally love my job,” she said with a mock glare. “But because of you, all I can think about right now is sex—sex in all sorts of places.”

She felt a measure of satisfaction as his lips pressed together. For the next few hours he’d be focused on the unseemly thoughts and images dancing in her sex-mad brain, and his pants would stay far too tight.

“You go enjoy the open bar while I speak with the lovely bride-to-be,” Grace said.

“Was that sarcasm I heard in your tone?” Cam whispered in her ear.

“Be a good boy and you’ll be rewarded.” Grace patted his cheek, then walked away, putting a little extra wiggle in her hips. She didn’t even have to turn around and look to know his eyes were glued to her.

That was the power of a woman knowing she was wanted. Grace ignored any lingering doubts—she was determined to hang on to her happy thoughts. She wasn’t sure what the future held, but who was? Life happened and things got in the way of the best of intentions.

If she simply chose to focus on the here and now, she would be much better off.

“Grace, I’m so glad you’re here. You’ll finally get to meet my James,” Kitty said in her squeaky voice, a voice that was already grating on the remnants of Grace’s nerves.

“I was beginning to think he was a myth,” Grace told her with a forced smile.

“Oh, you’re so silly. He’s running late, so enjoy the party. After all, you’re throwing it.” Kitty threw back her head and laughed at her own stellar wit.

“Thank you, Kitty. Is there anything else you need right now?”

Kitty tilted her head as if she really had to think about that for a few moments. Grace wanted to grit her teeth. Of course there wasn’t anything the spoiled heiress needed, because Grace was excellent at her job and she’d made sure the party was planned down to the last detail.

“I’m good for now. I’m going to go talk to my parents.”

She didn’t give Grace a chance to respond, just turned around and fluttered away. Why Kitty had insisted that Grace attend the party as a guest instead of just sitting in the background, running the event, Grace didn’t know, but what her clients wanted, her clients got.

“Let me guess,” Cam whispered in her ear, making her jump. “Your bride-to-be?”

“Yes, my bride-to-be,” she said, wanting to kiss him when he handed her a glass of wine. “I will need about ten more of these to make it through the night. I’ve had some difficult clients before, but she has got to be the most spoiled one I’ve ever had to deal with.”

“Weren’t the two of you friends at one point?”

“No, just acquaintances,” Grace said. “I only agreed to do this wedding because her parents are powerful figures in the community and if I make their princess happy, it will lead to other lucrative jobs.”

“Why do this to yourself? Why not do something less stressful?” Cam asked as he led her to a corner of the room where they could talk more privately.

“Because I love planning parties and making someone’s special day even more special. It’s the career I’ve chosen.”

“Then be choosier with your clients, Grace. You can afford not to take every person who walks through your doors.”

“That would demonstrate a poor work ethic, Cam, and as it is, I live in Sterling, Montana, where there don’t happen to be a lot of parties going on.”

“My dad throws a few,” he reminded her.

“And I love that I get to plan those from now on, but still, that’s not enough. I need to stay busy or I’ll go insane, especially with this embezzlement case up in the air.”

“We will get to the bottom of this, Grace. I promise you.”

“I have no doubt about it, Cam. You’re a miracle worker, and at this moment that’s exactly what I need. Now that I’ve decided to pull my head out of . . . the sand, I can see that I’ve been foolish to wait as long as I have. It’s a good thing I have a dynamite attorney on my side.”

“And a world-class lover,” he said, leaning down and kissing her.

“Aren’t you the one who kept wanting me to talk about the case endlessly?” she asked him. “And now you’re trying to change the subject.”

“I can’t discuss a case with you while you’re wearing that dress. There’s a time for business and a time for pleasure,” he said, kissing her briefly. “And tonight is most certainly a time for pleasure.”

Although Cam would have liked nothing more than to hide away in the corner with Grace for the rest of the evening, he couldn’t do that to her. This was her event, one that she had been working hard on, and he wanted to see her shine.

“If we don’t sneak out from behind these strategically placed potted trees, I may have to find the nearest balcony,” Cam told her after giving her what he promised himself would be the last kiss of the party.

“Now that you got me back here, though, I really like it,” she said, making his knees a little weak.

Since she’d stopped fighting him during the last few days, they’d made love enough times to begin appeasing the ache he’d built up after not having her for years on end—but he still wanted her, still needed more. And when she was in seductress mode, his powers of resistance were minimal.

“I need alcohol,” he growled, and pulled her away from the corner before he changed his mind.

“Stop,” she said, and the panic in her tone made him do what she asked immediately.

“What’s wrong, Grace?”

“My parents are here. Of course they’re here, but I . . . I just don’t want to see them,” she said as she looked around her, searching for the nearest exit.

“Do you want to leave?”

“Yes,” she said with a nod, then shook her head. “No. I’m not going to run from them, and I’m not going to be chased out of my own event.”

“Good. Because you are strong and beautiful, and no one should ever chase you away from anything. You are so much better than either of your parents could ever be. Don’t forget that, and don’t let them alter how you feel. Sure, an engagement party for people you don’t really like isn’t an ideal way to spend an evening, but I’ve had worse dates.”

Cam hid the smile he was feeling when Grace turned to glare at him. “Not the worst date? Definitely damned with faint praise,” she growled. “Is my company not so pleasant this evening, Cam?”

“Hey! I know a loaded question when I hear one. Uh-oh . . .” Cam had made eye contact with her father. “We’ve been spotted.”

Cam felt the tension vibrating through Grace’s body, but he was impressed with how well she was holding herself together. She’d picked up her poise from years of living in a house with no affection, no genuine emotion. How sad that she’d had to put on an act for so very long.

“Grace, I was worried when I couldn’t find you,” Victoria said, and she air-kissed her daughter’s cheek.

“It’s not that big a party,” Grace said with a smile in place.

“Don’t act so modest, Grace. This is a beautiful party. You’ve done well,” Donald said before he leaned in and actually let his lips make contact with her cheek.

“I’m not being modest. I’ve planned parties on a much larger scale than this one,” she told her parents.

“That’s not being very professional, Grace. I wouldn’t speak about other clients while at an event for one who is paying you well now,” Victoria said while patting her hair and looking around to make sure no one could overhear them.

Cam said nothing while this little exchange was taking place, but he noticed that Victoria Sinclair was dressed to the nines in a beaded blue gown that hugged her curves and flared below her hips. Diamonds hung around her neck and dripped from her ears—a shining statement of financial worth.

She was polished and composed and . . . fake. She was everything Grace wasn’t, and not in a good way. Grace tried to hide who she truly was, but she couldn’t. She was able to put up walls, but Cam had figured out ways to tear them back down.

Her father was beset by pride, but he was quiet and more difficult to read than his wife. The small talk between parents and daughter was awkward, impersonal, and loveless.

“You’re being quite rude, Grace. Who is your date?” Victoria asked, and she focused entirely on Cam.

“You remember Camden Whitman, don’t you?” Grace’s arm tightened around his waist as if she were afraid to let him go and possibly hug her mother.

“Oh, Cam! It’s been so long,” Victoria gushed. “And you’ve grown into quite the handsome young man.” She gripped his free arm and squeezed before leaning in for him to kiss her cheek.

Cam performed the obligatory gesture of socialites before leaning back and pulling Grace closer to him with one arm while sticking out the other and shaking Donald’s hand.

“We’ve been away from Sterling for a long time now. I hope your father and brothers are well,” Donald said.

“Yes, they’re quite well.” He didn’t add anything more. Why should he? These people didn’t really care. This was just meaningless chitchat to pass the time until they could get away from each other—civilization and its discontents.

Cam had attended many events like this one, and it never failed to make him appreciate where he’d been privileged enough to grow up. Sterling was a great community with honest people who had real emotions.

“How long have the two of you been seeing each other this time around?”

Before Cam could say anything, Grace answered.

“We aren’t dating. Cam was just kind enough to accompany me this evening.”

“Oh . . . with his arm wrapped around you, I just assumed . . .” Victoria let the sentence trail away.

“As you know, we’ve been friends for a very long time,” Grace said.

Cam knew she didn’t share personal information with her parents, but he still felt slightly annoyed that she’d denied they were a couple. Hell, they’d just been off in the corner making out. If they weren’t a couple, he sure as heck didn’t know how to describe what they were.

The need to make this woman care about him was almost consuming him, and that wasn’t something Cam was happy about. Yes, he loved Grace. But she shouldn’t make him forget anything and everything else other than her.

It scared him. And it made him want to retreat, especially while he was standing in front of her cold parents. No. He shouldn’t be thinking that. If anything, Grace needed him now more than ever.

He wouldn’t abandon her, not this time.

“I see that Olivia is motioning for us. You two have a lovely evening.” And just as quickly as Grace’s parents had arrived, they took off.

“I’m sorry. They aren’t the most pleasant of people to visit with,” Grace told him as she pulled her arm from him.

He reached for her again, but she stepped back.

“Your parents have always cared above all for themselves,” Cam said. “It’s such a shame.”

“Isn’t it ridiculous that I even care?” She laughed but he couldn’t miss the pain.

“No. Even if your parents turned out to be serial killers, you would still feel something toward them. No matter what they’ve been, they gave you life, and that makes you feel a certain . . . I don’t know the right word . . . obligation, maybe, to love them.”

“Yeah, something like that,” she mumbled, but Cam knew he needed to change the subject.

Before he got the chance, Kitty approached. “I’ve been looking for you, but we keep getting stopped,” the young woman said with her ever-present giggle.

“Is everything okay, Kitty?” Grace had turned back into event planner extraordinaire.

“Of course, silly. I want you to meet James.”

The man stepped forward from behind a small crowd of people and both Cam and Grace froze in shock.

“It’s been a long time, Grace.”

Cam was locked there, for once in his life not knowing what to say. Grace managed to speak first.

“Jimmy?”