Irresistible Lies (6 page)

THE NEXT DAY at work flew by in rush.
Grace worked hard to keep all her clients happy, and that meant putting off
some of Jamie’s emails.

He called around noon.

“Did you get my message about the
mailers?”

“Yes, Jamie. I got your message.”

“Why didn’t you get back to me?”

“I was about to. I was busy with another
project.”

Didn’t he realize that he wasn’t her only
client? She couldn’t tell if he had no idea how an agency worked or if he was
just trying to mess with her.

“We are good to go on them,” she said. “I’ll
have a draft to you tomorrow.”

“Okay, good. What are you doing tonight?”

Was he going to ask her to dinner again,
or was he going to drop another project on her that would require her to stay
late? She hesitated before answering. “I’m going to dinner with Charlie since
we had to reschedule last night.”

“Interesting.”

“I don’t see why.”

“Where are you going to dinner?”

“Why?” She was immediately suspicious,
even though his tone was light.

“I’ve been reaching out to a lot of the
local restaurants around here, trying to get the owners to sell the beer,”
Jamie said. “If Charlie is taking you to dinner somewhere, the place must be
good. I should add it to the list to check out sometime.”

It was a decent explanation, but she
wasn’t entirely convinced it was the truth. Still, there wasn’t any harm in
telling Jamie. What was he going to do, show up and ruin their date?

She wouldn’t exactly put it past him.

“It’s called Riverside Café,” she told him.
“Really cute place, American cuisine. Charlie knows the owner, Joe, so he may
be able to hook you up. I can talk to him about it tonight.”

“That would be great. Thanks, Grace.”

“No problem.”

“I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Okay, talk to you soon.”

She didn’t hear from Jamie the rest of the
day, and she was able to get a good deal of work done. The local paper picked
up a press release she had written, and they were going to do a story on one of
the wineries she represented. Her client was ecstatic when she heard the news,
so Grace was feeling pretty good about herself by the time 5 o’clock rolled
around.

She drove home to change into something
date-worthy, although her options were kind of limited by what was in her
closet. She had plenty of work clothes—pants and a-line skirts in every
neutral color, button-down blouses and pointy high heels—and tee shirts
and jeans for the weekend. In college she was never one to wear sweatpants to
class, and the only time she wore a tee shirt was when she was going to bed.
Becoming a mother had changed her personal style dramatically. When she didn’t
have to go to work, all she cared about was comfort.

That had become a problem recently, now
that she was dating someone. She had no flirty dresses, dark skinny jeans or
strappy wedge sandals, the kind most women her age wore to nice restaurants. Borrowing
from Caroline’s closet could be difficult with the major height difference
between them.

For the millionth time she reminded
herself that she needed to go shopping. It never worked out because there were
so many things that took precedence over buying date outfits, like rent, food
and the clothes Jake seemed to be growing out of by the day.

Maybe she could talk to Charlie about
giving her a raise.

Or maybe not. She would never have the
guts, especially now that they were dating.

Grace finally settled on a gray skirt from
her closet and borrowed a ruffled, pink spaghetti strap blouse from Caroline’s.
She paired it with a black cardigan and black heels.

“Not bad,” Caroline said when she came out
of her room. “You look like a sexy librarian.”

“Thanks, that’s what I was going for,”
Grace said.

“Mommy, you look beautiful,” Jake said
with a smile that made him look just like Jamie.

“Thanks, baby.”

“Have a great time and be home before
curfew,” Caroline said, winking at her.

“Be home before curfew,” Jake repeated.
“Okay, mommy?”

“Yes.” She kissed him on the cheek. “And
you be good, okay?”

“I’m always good. Aren’t I always good,
Aunt Caroline?”

“The best.”

Grace saw the headlights outside and
hurried down to meet Charlie. He was right on time as always. She slid into the
passenger seat of his pristine BMW, and he gave her a quick peck on the lips.

“Hello, gorgeous.” His eyes lingered on
her cleavage and she pulled on her shoulder straps self-consciously.

“Hello, yourself. How was your day?”

“It was okay. Busy, busy.”

They spoke about the office on the short
ride to the restaurant. Charlie was having a problem with one of his account
managers, who was slacking off on some important projects. Grace listened
sympathetically and tried to be encouraging, not wanting to speak badly about a
coworker, especially one who was her senior.

Charlie finished his rant when they pulled
into the restaurant parking lot, and he came around and opened her door for
her. She held his arm lightly as they walked in and were seated by the hostess
without a reservation.

The place wasn’t that crowded, but that
was only because it was a Tuesday night. On the weekends, reservations were
required.

They were seated at a table in the corner
with a great view of the whole restaurant, and the waitress poured them glasses
of water and lit the candles in between them. With the low lighting, Grace
thought it was pretty romantic. Charlie had taken her here once before, and it
was quickly becoming her new favorite restaurant. She didn’t eat at nice places
very often with a four-year-old, so their dinner dates were a treat for her.

“I was just thinking that this...” Charlie
drifted off, his face falling.

“What?” Grace whipped her head around to
see what Charlie was looking at, and her heart skipped a beat. She saw Jamie
exiting the kitchen with a man in a chef’s jacket that she recognized as Joe,
the owner.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Charlie
demanded.

“I... I have no idea.” She felt her face
burn, and she kicked herself for telling Jamie the name of the restaurant when
her instincts had told her not to.

Jamie saw them and pointed them out to Joe,
who smiled. The two made their way to the table, Jamie grinning like he had just
won a prize.

“Hi, Grace.”

“Hi, Jamie. What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to introduce myself to Joe.
Remember? You suggested I speak with him.”

Charlie frowned at Grace, and her mouth
fell open. “I didn’t mean tonight.”

“It’s so good to see you, Charlie.” Joe
was all smiles, the way he always was. He was a great chef and a shrewd
businessman, which is why he got along so well with Charlie, who always used
the Riverside Café for his business lunches. “Your appetizers are on the house
tonight. What can I get for my favorite customers?”

They fell into light conversation, and
Grace took the opportunity to stare daggers at Jamie. “What are you doing?” she
hissed under her breath at him.

“I would love to stay and have dinner with
you!” Jamie said, his voice loud enough for Charlie and Joe to stop their
conversation and look at him. “Thanks for asking, Grace. It’s so nice to be
treated like such an important client.”

She saw a range of emotions flicker across
Charlie’s face, but he settled on acceptance. “Of course, we would love if you
joined us, Jamie. Please, pull up a chair.”

Joe headed back to the kitchen to get
started on their order and the waitress came and made a place for Jamie at the
table. He was seated next to Grace and on the opposite side of Charlie. She was
acutely aware of how close to her he was.

“So, Bradden,” Jamie said once he was
settled, “How long have you and Grace been seeing each other?”

“A few months,” he answered, reaching out
across the table to take Grace’s hand. “But we have known each other for years
now.”

Grace was blushing.
Why was she blushing?

This whole situation was a nightmare.

“How nice,” Jamie said. “Grace and I dated
for over two years in college.”

“Yes, well, it’s not a competition,” Grace
said with an awkward laugh.

“Do you have a girlfriend, Jamie?” Charlie
asked.

“No. I’m still waiting on the one.” He
winked at Grace, and she looked away. “Has Grace ever told you about her
college days?”

“Jamie...”

Charlie ripped a piece of bread in half
rather forcefully. “No, she hasn’t.”

Jamie grinned. “You would hardly recognize
her. Nothing like the proper little businesswoman she is today.”

“Jamie, stop, you’re embarrassing me.” Did
they have the heat up in here or something? She shrugged out of her cardigan, a
nervous sweat coming over her.

“She was always incredibly beautiful, of
course, just like she is now. I had to practically fight guys off when I took
her out.”

“I know the feeling,” Charlie said grimly.

“She was always a lot of fun to hang out
with,” Jamie continued. “A bit of a party animal and definitely a shopaholic.
That’s what she used to call herself, a shopaholic. When she saw a handbag she
wanted, she would get so excited and talk about it for weeks while she was
saving up to buy it. It was the cutest thing.”

“Grace isn’t like that now,” Charlie said.
“She is responsible with her money. She knows what’s important.”

That she did. She hadn’t purchased a
pricey handbag since her son was born.

Her
son.

Grace felt fear wash over her. What if
Charlie mentioned something about Jake? She hadn’t told him that Jamie was her
son’s father. She hadn’t even told him that Jamie didn’t know she had a child.

She had to get them out of here.

Jamie kept going.

“I wouldn’t call it irresponsible. It was
what made you happy, right Grace? Like you, Bradden. I saw your BMW out there
when you pulled up.”

Charlie looked uncomfortable. “And what do
you drive, Castleton?”

“A truck. It’s great for hauling things at
the brewery.” He buttered his bread calmly, feigning innocence. “What does your
BMW do?”

Charlie sputtered. “Is that a serious
question?”

“Just wondering what responsible reason
you bought it for.” Jamie smiled a cheeky smile that Grace knew all too well,
and she couldn’t help but laugh.

Charlie shot her a disapproving look, and
she stopped.

Bad Grace. Bad.

“I wouldn’t compare a car to a handbag,”
Charlie said.

Jamie shrugged. “To each his own.”

Were they fighting over her? Or cars and
handbags? Grace was really confused.

The waitress served their appetizer, fried
calamari. Jamie leaned over Grace for the sauce and placed his hand on her
knee.

She gasped and looked at him, and he
merely raised an eyebrow. She didn’t say anything, even though he didn’t move
his hand. Charlie noticed nothing amiss.

“So, this is your date night restaurant,
huh? Nice place.” Jamie inched his hand slightly up her thigh under her skirt,
and she remained frozen in her seat.

“We like it,” Charlie said. “It’s Grace’s new
favorite restaurant.”

“Really?” The hand kept moving. “Italian
restaurants used to be your favorite.”

“Used to be,” she said quietly, biting her
bottom lip as the hand reached the top of her inner thigh and froze.

“Right.” He smiled knowingly at her. “I
guess Italian restaurants in Virginia aren’t as good as the ones in New York.”

“Yes.” She was paralyzed in a state of
indecision. Part of her craved his touch, and she wanted to drag him out to the
parking lot and make out with him like they were in high school. The other part
of her wanted to smack his hand away.

Before she could make up her mind, Jamie
slipped his hand out of her skirt and placed it back on the table.

He rose. “Well, I’d better get going.”

“You’re leaving?” She looked up at him,
confused and a little disappointed.

“Yes. It was good seeing you both.”

Charlie looked more confused and
uncomfortable than Grace had ever seen him. “We haven’t even ordered yet.”

“I thought you were going to eat with us,”
she said.

“Don’t worry, Grace. You don’t have to
miss me. I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”

He leaned down, dropped a quick kiss on
her forehead and turned and left.

Charlie’s jaw clenched, and Grace’s mouth
flew open.

“Who the hell does he think he is, kissing
my date?”