15. Grace
15
GRACE
Y vonne’s had been extremely busy for a Wednesday night. I hadn’t been as clumsy tonight as during the last few days, but I still wasn’t thinking clearly. That kiss with Brian was still front and center in my head. For two solid days, I could think of nothing else. I guessed that was a good thing—but also not. I had a hard time paying attention to customers and my surroundings, and I certainly wasn’t sleeping well. I hated sleep anyway—too many nightmares. Andie and I were back in the dorm, and the noise from the girls on our floor was distracting as well. I had taken a late midterm exam this morning, and I knew I hadn’t done well.
My phone buzzed as I was collecting my purse from my locker in the waitstaff lounge. Fran had left a message, and I felt sick that I hadn’t returned her call. I knew she wanted me to attend the banquet, but she also longed to see her dad and me together.
I did want to support her on her big night and hoped she would win that coveted scholarship she so desired. But it would be too painful to see Brian.
His name on the screen had my hands shaking. I debated whether to answer Brian’s call. Maybe he’d changed his mind about us.
I took a deep breath and answered. “Hey.” My throat was clogged with nerves.
“Grace,” Brian said in an even tone, “I understand Fran invited you to the banquet. Are you coming?”
“Do you want me to?” I removed the clip from my hair then combed my fingers through it.
He groaned. “It’s not about what I want. Fran would like you to be there. Don’t disappoint her because of me.” He sounded angry.
I rubbed my hand over the dull pain in my chest, feeling like a selfish bitch. Fran didn’t deserve to be affected by whatever was going on between Brian and me, which was nothing.
“Grace, are you still there?” That raspy voice of his was sending sparks to a place where I sometimes pleasured myself.
“I have schoolwork to catch up on,” I said weakly. “But I’ll think about it. What time is the banquet?”
“Tomorrow night at six,” he said. “If I were you, I would head down first thing in the morning to beat the snow. Oh, and Grace? Fran wanted me to tell you that the attire for the evening is semiformal.”
“Good to know.” I had plenty of dresses from past charity galas that Dillon had hosted to raise money for his shelter.
I was about to ask Brian to recommend a hotel when he hung up.
A silent scream blared in my head.
I went in search of Brittany and Andie. Tonight was one of those nights when we hung out after Yvonne’s closed and chatted to catch up on things.
“Hey, Paul, are Britt and Andie in the library-themed dining room?”
The bartender bobbed his head as he served a patron. “Grace, do you have a second?”
I backtracked. “Sure.”
Paul, a man in his early fifties with salt-and-pepper hair, had worked at Yvonne’s forever and was the sweetest man I knew. He always went out of his way to help any of the servers, mainly imparting his wisdom to us. I wished I had a father like him. My life would’ve turned out so differently if I had. Or if my mother hadn’t left her four children in the hands of a monster.
Paul flashed his hazel eyes at me. “Drew here”—he regarded the man at the bar, dressed in a preppy orange golf shirt and khakis, who looked as if he’d just gotten off a sailboat or golf course—“says that Grace means ‘goddess of charm, beauty, and creativity.’ Is that true?”
I slid between two stools, my forehead wrinkling as I zeroed in on Mr. Preppy, a man in his forties with blond hair and ice-blue eyes. “You’re talking about me?”
Drew gave me a blinding smile, as if he knew me but hadn’t seen me in a long time. “Not at all.” He touched his G-shaped gold-and-diamond earring. “My mother’s name was Grace, so I was telling Paul the meaning behind the name.”
The hackles on my neck shot straight up for a moment as I focused intently on him. That gold Rolex on his wrist spiked my heart rate to off-the-chart levels. But he didn’t look like that homeless man who’d knocked on my window the night I was speeding to rescue Andie. And he definitely wasn’t Zane. Yet I felt like I needed to run from him—and fast.
As difficult as it was, I put a smile on my face. I couldn’t be rude to a customer. “I’ve never looked up what my name meant.”
I found it odd that a man in his forties was wearing an earring in honor of his mother. Sweet but weird. But maybe not if he was a momma’s boy. Then I noticed his dirty nails. Another red flag in my book. A preppy, rich man kept his hygiene in tip-top shape. Or, at least, those patrons who dined at Yvonne’s did.
“Your mother and father must’ve picked the name because of its meaning,” Drew said.
“I mean, you are beautiful.”
“My boyfriend thinks so.” I tossed out the lie in case he was trying to pick me up. Blonds might be my type but not men like him. I liked them tall, broad, and badass. Not lanky and giving off a vibe that made me want to take a shower.
Paul regarded me with a confused expression until a light bulb came on as his eyes widened briefly. “Grace, tell the girls I’m closing up thirty minutes early. It’s inventory night.”
“If you need me, I can stay and help,” I offered.
“Nah, Alex is coming in,” Paul said.
Without a word, I hurried toward the back of the restaurant, shaking off the eerie chills Drew had given me.
My friends were sipping wine when I entered the private dining room, which was adorned with built-in bookcases and eclectic artwork and was one of my favorite places to have a quiet dinner. Duke, Denim, Dillon, and I often arranged to meet here for family meetings.
“What’s that look for?” Brittany asked. “You look?—”
“Weird,” Andie said.
“There’s a dude at the bar wearing a G-shaped earring in honor of his mother, whose name is Grace. Odd, right?”
“Sweet,” Britt said with a shrug.
“No, definitely weird,” Andie added.
Brittany poured me a glass of wine as I sat down. “Tonight, we’re toasting to your freedom.”
“Here, here.” Andie raised her wineglass.
After our glasses clanged and we took a drink, I said, “I have a dilemma.”
Two sets of eyes widened, and I saw the eagerness on both their faces.
Britt and Andie already knew some of what had happened between Brian and me but nothing about our kiss. So, I told them everything since he’d first walked into the gym over a week ago up to his phone call earlier today, including how angry Duke was with Brian. Then I finished by asking, “Should I go to Fran’s banquet or not?”
Britt popped forward, elbows on the table. “You definitely should go. Don’t punish Fran for the tension between you and Brian.”
“So the kiss was that good?” Andie asked.
I touched my lips. “I've never been kissed like that.”
“Not even when you and Dom were seeing each other?” Britt sighed.
I curled hair around my ear. “I had no feelings for Dom. He’s always been more of a friend.”
“I remember Shane Ackerson.” Andie lowered her gaze to her drink. “He was swoony, the hottest boy in high school, and he only had eyes for me. His tongue could do things that I swear I can still feel today.”
Britt’s brown eyes bugged out. “Like?”
As for me, I didn’t have the same reaction. I’d never had the luxury of the high school experience—the dating scene, football games, and cozy nights around a campfire. But I didn’t want to rain on Andie’s parade. She seemed quite happy reminiscing.
I had nothing in my past worth reminiscing about, a big reason why I wanted to live in the college dorm and attend football games and hang out with friends.
Andie swatted at Britt. “I’m not sharing that part. Someone could be listening.” She swung her dreamy gaze to me. “I agree with Britt. You should go to the banquet. And, Grace, fight for what you want. You deserve a man like Brian. It’s time to stop living in the past. Maybe those night terrors you have will subside with a great guy in your bed.”
I hated that she had witnessed my night terrors. But she was right that having somebody next to me helped keep them at bay. Whenever she’d crawled into bed with me after one of my screaming episodes, I finally could fall into a peaceful sleep.
“I’ll think about it. I really don’t want to disappoint Fran.”
“I think you’ve made your decision,” Britt said.
Andie set her glass down. “I’ve come to one of my own.”
Britt and I gave Andie our full attention.
“If Carl Dixon apologizes, I won’t accept it. Only because he won’t mean it. His father is forcing him. And if it’s true that Carl didn’t roofie my drink, then I want to find the guy who did. It’s important to get to the root cause. So I’ve called Kelton Maxwell. I will be helping him with the investigation into Omega House. Grace, you’ve been an inspiration for as long as I’ve known you that women can’t sit idle. We need to fight to stop pigs like Carl and those assholes who roofie drinks.”
I beamed from ear to ear. “That is amazing, Andie. I am so proud of you.”
Brittany grabbed her hand. “Me too.”
It warmed my heart that I had helped Andie, not only by saving her from Carl but by giving her the courage to fight.
In turn, I needed to fight too. Not in the way Andie had spoken of but for the future I wanted. It was time to put the past behind me.