17. Grace
17
GRACE
“ I would love to see you and my dad together,” Fran said as we approached our table in front of the stage. “You two deserve happiness.”
I squeezed her hand. “Maybe one day, you will get your wish. Right now, this night is all about you.”
I couldn’t assure her that Brian and I would be an item. Despite our feelings for each other, it was too early for that, and until Brian could conquer his demons about my brother and the bro code, nothing would happen between us.
Nora stole Fran’s attention, and the two began chatting as they sat down. I slid into a chair, leaving the one between Fran and me empty for Brian.
I was giddy inside that he and I had broken the tension between us. Any apprehension I’d had about attending the banquet had vanished. But I had to temper my emotions and not get ahead of myself. For one, I didn’t want to get hurt—and I also couldn’t rush into a relationship. Not that Brian would hurt me, but I didn’t exactly have a stellar record with men.
As for Brian, he was a ladies’ man. During the time he’d worked for the cartel, he was a player, according to Duke. And as long as I’d known Brian, he’d never settled down or fallen in love.
I knew he hadn’t wanted a serious relationship when he worked for the cartel. He followed Duke’s motto that love got a person killed. Argh! I was so tired of hearing that line that I felt ill. But it was a reality, and if Brian was doing business with the cartel again, then he could very well not want me around, afraid I would end up in a car crusher like I had when a deranged enemy of Duke’s had kidnapped me.
Fran placed a hand on my leg, zapping the haze I was in. “You look perplexed. Are you thinking of my dad? Where is he?” She glanced around.
A drone of voices buzzed. People laughed. Others were in deep conversation. Waiters and waitresses were at the ready to serve dinner.
I spotted Brian talking to an older woman by the door.
“Oh, he’s talking to Dean Foster,” Fran said. “By the way, my dad called off the bodyguard. He was just being paranoid.”
I wouldn’t tell her Brian had met with a cartel boss, but it was good to hear that Brian didn’t consider the man I’d seen in his condo a threat to Fran.
“Later, I want to introduce you to my boyfriend, Ryan. Don’t make it obvious, but he’s at the table to my right. Brown messy hair and the bluest eyes on the planet.” She cooed like a girl in love.
I glanced in the direction, trying to be as subtle as possible. “He’s looking over here.”
She turned in the direction.
He gave her an adoring grin and nodded at her.
She sighed. “He has the longest lashes, ones I wish I had.”
I moved wispy strands of her hair off her face. “I’m sure he says similar things about you.”
Any boy would be lucky to have Fran and not because of her long blond hair or sea-green eyes that sucked a person in. She was super-intelligent. Fran McCauley was going places.
Her bubbly friend, Nora, asked, “Fran, did your dad say yes to Italy?”
Fran squealed. “He did.” The two started chatting excitedly about what they wanted to do in Italy.
I couldn’t help but feel a gut-wrenching pang of jealousy. I’d never had what Fran had. At seventeen, I was living as a sex slave in a cage in the middle of nowhere and being tortured night after night.
Don’t go there, Grace.
I bounced my knee, thinking of something good but not in time to prevent the tears from surfacing.
A gentle hand landed on my shoulder before Brian slid into the empty chair beside me and leaned close to my ear. “Thank you for distracting Fran.” He smelled of citrus and spice, warm and inviting, and I longed to have his strong arms wrapped around me.
I felt sick all of a sudden, partly from not eating anything today. Now that my past was making an appearance, I needed a moment to collect myself.
“Excuse me, I need to use the ladies’ room.” I rose on shaky legs, feeling like someone was choking the air out of me.
I’d been doing so well until now. That sense that someone was watching me had waned a bit, but I’d been sideswiped by the combination of all the goodness around me tonight, Fran’s happiness, and the thought of the things I probably could’ve had as a teenager.
With my cell in my hand, I hurried around tables, dodging waiters carrying trays, and rushed out into the hall, clutching my chest, searching for the restroom. A panic attack was about to rain on my parade.
Spotting the sign for bathrooms, I walked quickly down a carpeted hallway, passing plaques and trophy cases.
As I turned the corner, I bumped into a hard chest, and my phone dropped from my hand before I stumbled backward.
The young stranger with dark eyes caught me. “I am so very sorry. I didn’t see you.”
I smoothed my hands down my dress. “My fault.”
He bent down, picked up my phone, and gave me an apologetic grin. “Are you okay? You seem rattled.” His honey-toned voice was soothing.
“Just having a bad night.” I took my cell from him, my gaze landing on his antique gold college ring with an onyx gemstone.
He appeared to be in his early twenties. I studied him for a long beat, my mind going to places it shouldn’t, and that panic attack that teetered on the edge ramped up.
Sweat coated my skin. My palms were sweaty, and I was trembling.
John’s son, Zane, would be twenty-three, and he would have dark hair and eyes.
I studied him as though I were dissecting a squid in biology class. College Boy had dark hair styled perfectly and shorn around the ears. His brown eyes weren’t cold and calculating like John’s had been.
“Miss?”
I blinked several times. “Nice ring.”
“Oh,” he said. “Thanks, I graduated last year from Boston College.”
He seemed like he had money and came from a good home. I should stop freaking out. But the hairs on the back of my neck were standing at attention. Maybe it was because of the way he kept staring at me like he knew me. Or it was merely due to the panic attack from a past I was trying to erase.
“I should return to my friend,” he said. “Are you sure you’re okay, Grace?”
“You know my name?” Fingers of panic clutched my throat.
“Excuse me?” he asked.
I ground my teeth together. “You said my name.”
He cupped my elbow. “You look pale. You should sit down.”
I jumped away and stumbled, horror careening through me. “Did you or did you not say my name?”
“I guess I did,” he confessed. “I heard someone at my table talking about you.”
“Grace.” Brian’s voice drifted into my ears. “What’s going on? Is this guy bothering you?” He sounded angry, trudging toward me with his fists clenched.
The young guy held up his hands. “Just trying to help her. She looks pale.”
“Thanks,” Brian said to the guy. “I got her.”
I glared at the retreating college grad. There was something weird about him, but maybe I was reading too much into it.
“College guy,” I called. “Who’s your friend?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Ryan Montgomery.”
“Ryan is the boy Fran likes,” Brian mumbled as he placed a hand on my lower back.
I sighed heavily, sagging against Brian. I was losing my marbles.
“You do look as white as a ghost. Are you feeling okay?”
“I need to eat. Give me a minute. I also need to use the bathroom.”
I dashed into the ladies’ room to check my makeup and take a moment for myself. My brown eyes were dull. Strands of my hair were falling out of my updo, and my complexion looked as though I’d just returned from the dead.
“What’s happening to me?” I asked, eyeing myself in the mirror. “One day everything is normal, and the next I’m in a full-blown panic attack.”
I rubbed my chest, blowing out a breath. After I patted water on my face and left the ladies’ room, Brian was waiting for me, leaning against the wall, looking as handsome as ever in his blue suit, gold tie, and white shirt.
He gave me a blinding smile that sent shivers of delight through me, erasing any sign of my paranoia. “You okay?”
“Hungry.” I couldn’t bring myself to tell him why I had freaked out. He would worry, and he needed to be fully present for his daughter tonight.
He stuck out his elbow, his vibrant green eyes dancing with pleasure. “Shall we head in, then?”
A surge of adrenaline coursed through me as I clung to his arm, my skin prickling with goose bumps. As he enveloped me in his protective grasp, a calmness draped over me. It was a web of safety that I desperately needed.
Halfway toward the dining room, he stopped abruptly, looked both ways, and then did something I wasn’t expecting.
His lips were on mine before I could blink. The kiss was tender at first until he pushed his tongue into my mouth and pulled me against his extremely hard body. Then he kissed me more thoroughly than he had in his condo, if that was even possible.
I clung to him as though he was my lifeline, matching his every move, pouring my heart and soul into the kiss. Nothing mattered in that moment, not even the horrors of my past. Brian was beginning to make me believe in a happily ever after that I’d felt certain I would never have.
He broke the kiss and pecked me on the nose, eyes, forehead. “You’re gorgeous, strong, resilient, and whatever is going on in your head, know I’m here for you.”
I craned my neck upward, confused. “Why would you think something is bothering me?”
He half smiled, giving him a boyish look. “I know you, baby girl. You might be hungry but…”
“So you kiss me to take away my demons?”
“The kiss was something I had to do.” He chuckled. “But if it helped, I could do it again.”
I busted out laughing, and it felt freeing.
“After we return to Boston, why don’t we have dinner like you suggested?” he asked.
“Like a date?”
His fingers danced along my cheek. “If that’s what you want to call it. And before you ask about Duke, I’ll handle him.”
“No argument out of me.” Once again, I was over the moon. But I didn’t want to celebrate yet. The way the night was going, my emotions were on a roller coaster ride. I gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. “I accept your invitation.”
He tucked a wispy hair behind my ear. “I’m not about to piss off your brother. So we do this right.”
My heart rammed against my chest, and a smile broke free. “Ever the gentleman.”
When we finally returned to our seats, I felt like I was walking on air, that maybe I had a future that was bright and sunny instead of dark and dreary. That maybe Brian was my knight in shining armor.
An hour later, after my belly was full and my heart was beating steadily, I felt somewhat human as I looked around the room. During dinner, I had learned from Fran that the college grad I’d met in the hallway was Josh Kinley. He was Ryan’s mentor at the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
I had intended to apologize to Josh for being rude and weird, but he’d left halfway through dinner.
Dean Foster, a woman in her late forties, walked up to the podium on stage. “Before I bring up Mr. Taylor from Banyan Energy, I want to say thank you to all the students, guests, and parents for making this night special.”
The voices died down as parents, teachers, and students focused on the dean.
She adjusted the mic. “The students work hard year-round on their studies, projects, and volunteer work with the community. I’m extremely proud of every one of them. But tonight, we honor those on the science track who have built projects that could impact the world one day. So, Mr. Taylor”—she glanced at a sharply dressed bald man standing off to the side—“you have the floor.”
He crossed the stage, carrying three yellow envelopes that he placed on the podium. “Thank you, Dean Foster. I’m overly impressed by each student who submitted and presented a project yesterday. All of you have worked tirelessly, and your dedication shows in your projects.” He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. “Unfortunately, we can’t hand out scholarships to everyone, but we have decided to award three talented students. Two of them will receive partial funds to offset their college tuition while one will receive a full scholarship to a university of their choice.”
Fran was holding her breath, attention glued to Mr. Taylor.
“I’ll announce the partial scholarships first,” Mr. Taylor said.
Brian rubbed his daughter’s back. “Breathe, sweetie.”
She grabbed his hand and gazed at her dad. “I’m so nervous.”
Watching the exchange between father and daughter had envy filling my veins. I’d never had a doting father, a protector, a man who would die for his children. At that moment, I despised my dad more than I thought possible for the way my life turned out.
“Mr. Caleb Bradshaw.” Mr. Taylor swung his gaze around the room.
“He’s good,” Fran said. “His project on bacteria analysis to reduce energy costs at wastewater plants is brilliant.”
Miss Amara Francis was the next name announced.
Fran shuddered, staring at the stage.
“Sweetie, I’m a strong man, but my hand is numb,” Brian said.
Without relinquishing her hold on her dad, she nodded, seemingly not caring one bit about how hard she was squeezing.
“I would like to take a moment to say a few words about the winner of the full scholarship before I announce the name. This student has one of the most brilliant minds that I’ve come across in a long time. Her project is one that has the potential to impact the energy sector, reducing emissions and providing cost-effective solutions to produce energy.” Excitement wove through Mr. Taylor’s tone.
Fran briefly regarded Brian with wide eyes. “Do you?—”
Brian gestured for her to pay attention to Mr. Taylor.
“It is my honor to award this scholarship to Francine McCauley,” Mr. Taylor said.
Fran slapped her hands over her mouth as the crowd erupted with applause. I clapped, too, since I couldn’t be happier for her.
Brian rose and helped his daughter to her feet, beaming with pride.
Fran is a wonderful human being and deserves the best , I thought.
As Fran walked up on stage like she owned the world, Brian’s eyes were moist with tears.
Whether it was the electric atmosphere, the love for his daughter pouring off him, or the weird emotional state I was in, I knew Brian was my future.