The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (6 page)

“Perpetually.”
Grace dr
awled out the word
and turned bac
k to her computer
.

Matt’
s blood
boiled. How like her to pass judgment wi
thout bothering to check the
facts. He
turned back
to Jason. “Actually I finished my grad work this past May
and
started my doctoral studies online
.”

Gracie’s mouth flew open, but she quickly snapped it shut
.
The ph
one shrilled, and
sh
e
answered. A minute later, she
hung up
and
face
d
Jason,
her lips curved upward
.

Matt’s heart felt
like it was
ground into the floor beneath the heel of
one of
Dent’s shiny black
shoes. Gracie was
clearly enamor
ed with
him
, and judging by the glint in the attorney’s beady eyes, he was exulting in every minute of her
school
girl
adulation.

“
So what are your plans now
, Matt
?” Jaso
n’s cul
tured voice held a friendliness
which had been
curiously
lacking until he’d learned his relation to Andy
.

“Well, I’m
spending some time with Andy and Trish
while I check out a few
career
options.”

Gracie
turned back to
the computer and type
d
furiously
, pretending not to listen.
But the smirk on her face let him know she heard every word.

“What kind of work are you
looking for
?” Jason continued his probe.

“
Leaving my options open at this point, but I
—
”

Before he could mention
his desire
to open a counseling
practice
,
Grac
i
e let out a snort, then pressed her lips together and pretended to focus on the stack of papers to her left.

If the expression on her face didn’t irritate him so much, it would almost be comical. Her “Dear-John-speech” two yea
rs ago had made it clear
he didn’t meet her high expectations
. Now it was more than obvious that he still didn’t
qualify
and probably never would,
especially since her image of manly perfection had moved in right down the hall.

Jason didn’t respond further. Instead he turned to Grace. “I have
to leave for
a meeting in Morganville
in a few minutes
, and don’t know when I’ll
return
. Just stack
messages on my desk when you leave.”

“Sure.” The light in Gracie’s eyes faded as Jason
strolled to his office and closed
the door.
In a few short word
s, he’d
effectively dismissed them both.

U
nable to endure the hurt inscribed on her face
, Matt stepped down
to the stairwell
, the smell of the
ir
shared
breakfast onl
y emphasizing his thoughts of
Gracie. Sh
e just couldn’t fall for someone like Jason Dent. His polished image—the Armani suit,
Berluti
shoes,
not
-a-hair-out-of-place haircut—
might ooze
money and sophistication, but
it
also screamed control freak.

Mat
t stopped short
and ran a hand through his hair. He had to go back. How could he be so hard on Gracie for running away when he was doing the same thing?

She looked up from her work as he
approached,
a grumpy
expression
on her face. “Did you need something else?”

“I—uh, was wondering if you’d
like
to eat lunch with us
today?
”

Gracie lowered
her gaze and licked her lips
. “Actually I have some errands to run, but thanks for the offer.”

A brush-
off or the truth?

Jason exited his office with a manila folder in his hands,
his dark eyebrows furrowed in a way that made him look ominous.
He made eye contact
with Matt
.
“S
till here?”

Matt
overpowered t
he malicious desire to ask him
the same question. “Yeah
,
A
ndy and I are eating lunch together
.”

The tall dark
hands
ome rested against the counter—
obviously waiti
ng to speak to Gracie alone—
and eyed his
perfectly groomed fingernails.

Matt glanced down at his
raggedy jeans
and
wrinkled
t-shirt, feeling more
out of place
than ever
. How could he possibly compete with the likes of Jason Dent? H
is
rapidly
deflating ego pulled
his head and shoulders toward the
floor.

God
,
help me. You know how much I care for Gracie, but more than my selfish desire to win her heart, help me to want what’s best for her. Even if that means Jason gets her and I don’t.

Matt
made his way
to
the stairs
.
The man
could obviously provide her with a better life than he could ever dream about. And Gracie deserved it. She’d spent her entire existence caring for others, and
it was time she had
someone taking care of her for a change.
Maybe it was best if he just kept his distance.

He
reached the stairwell and
cast one last look at Jason and Gracie
,
now engaged in private conversation
, her face lit up like a Christmas tree
. He halted,
his eyes narrowed and
nebulous thoughts
suddenly solidified
.

Why would a guy like Jason be int
erested in someone like Gracie?

He took in the man
’s too-smooth manner
.
Hmm, o
n second thought, maybe he
should
stick around and make sure Gracie’s penchant for perfection didn’t land her in a heap of trouble.

Matt toyed with the tamale. The food at
Soldano’s
was delicious as always,
as were the tempting aromas floating
around his head in the bust
ling restaurant. Gracie’s dad
w
as good at many things, but
especially excelled
at mouth-watering Mexican food.

No, the problem was defin
itely not the food.
He needed to sort through his emotions and
shake this troubled feeling
, and in addition,
figure out what he was supposed to do with his life.
Maybe Gracie’s response to him—or lack thereof—was God’s way of telling him to move on.

He huffed out a sigh. Why worry about it? God had it
under control. And since when ha
d he become a worrier?
Easy answer.
Any time he was around Gracie
Soldano
. Yet another reason to avoid her
like
the plague.

“S
ure you’re okay,
bro
?” Andy talked
around
a mouthful of fajitas and guacamole.

“Eh, g
u
ess I’m not
hungry.”

His brother’s eyebrows
rose
,
creasing his
for
ehead in
thick wavy lines. He laid down the tortilla-wr
apped fajita
and wiped his mouth. “Okay, spill it. The only time you’re not hungry is when something’s bothering you.”

Matt shook his head.
“P
robably nothing.”

“C’mon, Matt, you know I only have a few minutes. Let it out.”

He
sighed. “What can you tell me about Jason Dent?”

Andy shifted in his seat
, his green eyes darkening momentarily
, and clenched his jaw.
H
olding in so
mething he really wanted to say?
“One of the best defense attorneys I’ve ever seen
in action
.
His confidence level makes him almost unbeatable.
Came highly recommended and
at this point
has done an excellent job for the fir
m, not to mention the town
.”

W
on.
Der.
Ful
. So not only was Jason
an imma
culate dresser
, he was also Mr. Perfect in every other way. How could Gracie
not
fall for him?

“Why do you ask?”

Andy’s question raised Matt’s gaze.
What was it about Dent that made his skin crawl?
“I
dunno
,
s
omething
about him
just
troubles me.”

His brother let out a short laugh and forked refried bean
s into his mouth. “Don’t worry
. All
us
males are bothered by it. We just don’t measure up when we comp
are ourselves to guys like him
.”

Matt
chewed a bite
of
the pork
tamale. Andy had hit the nail on the head. What he was feeling was nothing but the g
reen-eyed monster
.
But his brother
couldn’t be as bothered by
Mr. Perfect as he was. H
e had a lovely wife, two sons, and a beautiful new baby girl waiting for him at home. Meanwhile, Gracie was somewhere
running errands
and con
templating a perfect life with the
perfect man.
He
tossed his fork to the plate,
where it landed with a clatter
, th
en raised fingers to scratch the
stubble on his neck
.

“Man, you
are
bothered. What gives?” Andy studied him.

“It’s Gracie. I think she’s falling for him.”

“Our Gracie?
You really think so?”

Matt
bobbed his head
.

For a long moment, Andy chewed silently, his eyes fixed on nothing in particular. Finally, he shook his head. “
A
h, c’mon, Matt, y
ou know her
as well as I do
. Her career aspirations are too high to be side-tracked by Jason
or anyone
else
.” Andy continued to eat, but Matt could tell his brother was considering the poss
ibility. “Don’t you think I’
d have noticed if something was going on between them?”