28. Grace
TWENTY-EIGHT
Grace
I woke up from my nap in Dane’s bed, and I saw a face I had not been expecting to see.
“Piper?”
“It’s me.”
I sat up carefully. “What are you doing here?”
“Your man flew me and your brothers out to see you. Emma’s taking care of Maisie and Ollie while we’re gone. How are you, sweetheart?” She was doing her best to stay cheerful, which Piper was skilled at even when things were awful. But I knew my friend, and she was shocked by the bruises and bandages on my face.
“I look worse than I feel.” Though I didn’t feel amazing, that was for sure. My nose and my ribs and head ached. “Seeing you makes everything better. Come here. I’m not going to shatter if you hug me.”
“I know that, babe. Just hate seeing you like this.” She sat beside me and held me close. Comfort spread through my body, making everything ache just a little less.
I couldn’t believe Dane had flown my best friend here on zero notice to see me. Then again…of course he had. It was exactly the kind of thing he’d do, and I was so grateful for it.
I was less excited to see Ashford and Callum, just because I knew they’d be super intense about all this, but it was reassuring to know they were close.
“Do you feel like talking about what happened?”
Piper kept her arms around me as I explained it. I hadn’t told her much about Nina Jamison, but Piper caught up fast.
“So this Vincent guy keeps showing up at Knightly Global hotels,” she said.
“And the rehearsal dinner.”
“Clearly something very shady going on. Dane has no idea what this could be about?”
“None. He thinks his brother could know something, but Kip hates him and won’t tell him a thing.”
“I guess the rich aren’t immune to family drama,” she joked. “Are you sure you want to get involved in that? I noticed you didn’t object when I called Dane your man .”
Her tone was teasing, but there was a kernel of sincerity to her question. And I felt my face heating in response. “You asked me yesterday what I really want. I’m pretty sure I want him .”
Piper bit her lip, eyes shining with excitement. “Yeah? He’s worth breaking your no-boyfriend vow?”
“It wasn’t a vow.” Okay, I’d been pretty dang serious about it. “But I think he’s worth it.”
She shrugged. “Don’t expect me to argue. The man flew me to New York on a private jet. I’d tell you how much free food I ate, but a lady needs to keep some things to herself.”
We both laughed. Then I grimaced. “Ow. My ribs. Don’t be funny.”
“Oops. Sorry. Tell me more about Mr. Hunky McHandsome instead.”
So I did. I told her all about the shopping trip on our first afternoon. Visiting Dane’s mom yesterday morning. Relaxing in Central Park. It was strange to think of how much had happened in such a short time.
Even with the terrible end to the evening last night, this was still the best trip I’d ever been on. Because of Dane.
Piper squeezed my hand. “He really does sound amazing. Good thing, because I wouldn’t give you up for any less of a guy.”
“Give me up? What do you mean?”
“Well, Dane’s not going to hang around Silver Ridge forever, right? He lives here . His mom is here. So if you two really get serious…”
“Who knows what’ll happen,” I rushed to say, not wanting her to complete that thought. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”
But could I see myself moving to New York? Living in Dane’s world instead of mine? Being away from Maisie and Piper and everyone else I considered family?
Dane had said he’d figure out the details of us dating, but what if his solution wasn’t something I could live with?
“No, you’re right,” Piper said. “Forget I said that. I’m just happy you found a guy you can trust, because I know how rare that is.”
“You don’t think I’m moving too fast?”
Piper sighed, getting comfortable against the pillows as she considered my question. “I’m hardly the spokeswoman for falling in love. You know how I feel about that.”
I nodded. Her ex-husband deserved a long walk off a mountaintop for the way he’d treated her.
“I have my son to think about,” Piper went on, “and there are some things I can never risk again. I’m the founder of the Lonely Harts club for a reason.”
“So we can commiserate over our terrible love lives and disappointments.”
She laughed. “Exactly. But sweetheart, that doesn’t mean you should hold yourself back. Trust is scary. But if you’ve found the real thing with Dane, then go for it. I don’t want you to be lonely.”
I heard the echoes of what she’d left unsaid.
I don’t want you to be lonely just because I am .
* * *
Spending time with Piper had been everything I needed. But I still had to deal with my brothers.
After a while, a soft knock came at the bedroom door. Callum opened it and looked in. “Everybody decent?”
“Nope,” Piper said. “We’re having a pillow fight in our undies in here.”
“Thank you so much for that image.” Callum stepped inside. I was surprised that Ashford wasn’t with him, but they probably didn’t want to overwhelm me or something like that.
When Callum got a good look at me, he cursed.
“It could’ve been a lot worse,” I said testily.
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“I thought you being here was all about making me feel better.” Yes, I sounded petulant. But I was just giving back to Callum what he was dishing out to me.
“Excuse me if I’m not thrilled to see my little sister covered in bruises.”
Callum was four years older than me, but the two of us had always been closest among our siblings. Growing up, we’d been united against the two oldest. Callum had a way of making even crappy situations seem fun. Aside from Piper, he knew me better than just about anybody.
But that also meant Callum and I bickered and argued for no reason at all sometimes. Callum had a unique way of driving me nuts, and I knew that I did the same to him.
I loved him fiercely. And if he had been the one in bed all bruised up after being attacked, then I would’ve been pretty pissed off at the world too. My brothers seemed to forget that I was just as protective of them as they were over me.
“Give me a hug already. I got one from Piper. Now it’s your turn. Don’t just stand there like a dumbass.”
Smirking, Callum crossed the room and gently wrapped me in his arms. “The firefighters send their love too. They want to send flowers as soon as I give them Dane’s address.”
“That’s sweet. Could they not spread the gossip all over town that I was in the hospital?”
“Probably too late for that. Dixie may or may not be organizing a fundraiser for your medical bills and a parade for when you’re back.”
I doubted he was even exaggerating. But what could I do but laugh? I loved my neighbors in Silver Ridge. Just like I loved my brothers and my ridiculous roommates. Even when they were over the top.
“I bet her medical bills are covered by a certain billionaire,” Piper pointed out.
Callum scowled as he grabbed an upholstered chair and dragged it closer to the bed. “Least he could do after letting her get hurt.”
I was tempted to roll my eyes, but that would’ve been a lot for my headache. Usually Ashford was the grouchy one, not Callum. “Dane didn’t let me get hurt. He had nothing to do with it, actually.”
“But he didn’t stop it.”
“Dane is protective of me, sometimes annoyingly so, but he listens to me too. He respects what I think and what I feel.”
“So do I!”
“And yet you’re talking over me, once again!” I winced. I hadn’t meant to raise my voice. I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths, ignoring the aches in my body as I calmed down. Callum stayed quiet for once. “I know that you and Ashford worry about me out of love. Probably something to do with how we lost Mom when we were kids. But there’s a difference between caring about me and suffocating me, Cal. I’m twenty-eight years old, and you still see me as your baby sister.”
He opened his mouth, probably to argue, but then thought better of it.
“Last night, I got hurt because I was trying to help someone. A woman I didn’t know. Was that stupid? Maybe. At first, I was angry at myself. I thought getting hurt was my fault.”
Piper frowned, and Callum looked angry again, so I kept going before they could butt in.
“But I won’t apologize for trying to stand up for another person. I was terrified, and I probably could’ve gone about it in a better way, but I didn’t run from that situation. I stayed there and faced it.” A tear slipped from my eye, and I wiped it away. I didn’t want to get emotional right now, but maybe it was for the best. Just so Callum and Piper could see that this came from my heart. “I’m proud of myself.”
“Then I’m proud of you too,” Callum said softly. “I came here with certain assumptions. I should’ve waited to hear your side of it.”
Piper squeezed my hand again. She was still sitting beside me on the bed, and she hadn’t let go during my whole speech. It had felt so good to get all of that out. “Thank you. It means a lot to hear that.”
“At least you got the guy’s first name,” Piper said, “which will help lead the police to tracking him down. And you said there were some security cameras that got certain angles of him too, right?”
“That’s what the NYPD detective told Dane and me. I snapped some photos of him myself and recorded a video, but then the asshole took my phone after he?—”
Wait . The photos on my phone.
Could I still have access to them?
“You don’t have to talk about the attack if it’s too much,” Callum said. But I waved that away. He was reading my silence all wrong.
“I need my laptop.”
Callum took off his baseball cap and ran his fingers through his hair. “Sis, you have a concussion. Aren’t you supposed to avoid screens? And intense thinking?”
The doctor had said those things, but this was an emergency. “My laptop’s in the living room. Ask Dane to find it. He can look at the screen for me, but seriously, just do what I ask .”
“Okay. Geez.”
Callum returned with Dane and Ashford. “Hey, Gracie, how are you feeling?” Ashford asked.
“I’ll give you all the updates later. First, I need my laptop. I have to see if I’m right.”
Dane was carrying my computer under his arm. Piper got up so Dane could take her place right next to me. I recited my password, and he logged in. “What’s this about?” he asked.
“Go to my cloud backup. My photos automatically get uploaded there from my phone.” Same with videos. But I had no idea if the uploading had finished before Vincent took my phone and, most likely, trashed it.
Dane didn’t make me wait long for an answer. A few taps of his finger, and he grinned. “Two photos and a video were uploaded to the cloud last night.” He clicked a few more times. “Looks like you got a clear image of the man. This is going to make a huge difference in identifying Vincent and Lexi, and corroborating your testimony about the attack. We can send these to the detective as well as the private investigator. You did good.”
“I did, didn’t I?” I felt almost giddy with relief. Vincent, whoever he really was, was going to regret ever messing with me.
Dane’s arm snaked carefully behind me, and he kissed me. Not just a quick peck, but a drawn-out moment of his lips caressing mine.
A throat cleared, probably Callum’s, and Dane pulled back, smiling at me with a glint of humor in his eyes. He had kissed me in front of Piper and my brothers. He’d been kissing me in front of other people all weekend, including his family, but Ashford was his best friend. So the significance wasn’t lost on me.
It felt like Dane had claimed me as his. And to my surprise, I was completely on board with that.
* * *
I napped off and on for the rest of the afternoon, then managed to get to the dining room for some dinner. Callum made pasta, and Piper whipped up a salad. Dane had ordered more cheesecake along with the groceries we needed. I ate as much as I wanted of everything and soaked up the presence of so many of my favorite people.
Then after dinner, Dane ran a bath for me in his fancy marble-lined bathroom. He offered to get in with me, but I told him to go spend time with Piper and my brothers instead. I needed a little time to myself to decompress.
But when I emerged wearing a bathrobe, I was glad to find Dane sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for me. He was in a simple white T-shirt and jeans, hair all tousled, and had no right to look that sexy when I was too injured to take advantage of it.
“Did everyone else go to bed?” I asked. The darkness outside the window told me it was getting late, though of course the city still buzzed below us with ambient noise.
“They were passing around my whiskey when I said goodnight. Callum can drink.”
I smiled. “Especially when it’s the expensive stuff and someone else is paying. Was he being nicer to you?” I sat on the edge of the mattress, and Dane scooted closer, kissing my temple so gently I barely felt the touch of his lips.
“He’s not scowling at me as much. Not that I care what Cal thinks, with all due respect.”
“And you and Ashford? You’re good?”
Dane nodded. “He and I talked a lot today. We’re solid. But I don’t want you worrying about that, okay?” He pulled a small gift bag from behind his back. He’d been keeping it out of sight. “Here. I have a present for you.”
“You didn’t have to?—”
He gave me a scolding look, like he was saying, You think I don’t know that?
I reached into the bag and pulled out a small box. It was a new phone. Brand new, the latest model that I never could’ve afforded. I’d bought my last one used, and it was such an old model it was practically a museum piece.
“Dane…”
“Don’t make a fuss about me buying this for you. You agreed to let me pay for everything on this trip, and we’re still on the trip.”
I still wanted to protest a little bit. Simply because I didn’t expect him to do things like this. He had no obligation to swoop in and fix things for me. Yet he kept doing it.
Except now, we were more than friends. More than a weekend fling. So I brushed aside any remaining discomfort and let myself get excited. “Thank you. This is beyond…anything.” I tilted my chin, and he got the message, leaning in to kiss me.
Then he took the box from my hands and opened it. “I picked the powder blue to match the dress you wore to the rehearsal dinner. Because you looked so stunning in that. But if you prefer, we can switch it out for a different one.”
“No, I love this one. I’ll just have to get it set up.”
“All taken care of. Your old number is transferred over. Same with anything that was on the cloud. You were great about backing that up, so you shouldn’t have lost much.”
“How did you manage all that?”
He shrugged. “I’ve got a guy. But fair warning. If you thought I was spoiling you already, you have no idea what you’re in for.”
I put my arms around his neck and thanked him again. For everything.
After putting on a T-shirt, I crawled under the covers. I didn’t want to show it, but I was worn out and didn’t feel so well anymore. I pushed my face into the pillow.
Then I felt warm fingers sliding through my hair. “Do you need a pain pill?”
“I took ibuprofen. I’ll get through it.”
The mattress compressed as Dane lay down behind me. “I knew guys in the Army who’d be whining nonstop in your shoes. You’re tough.”
“My brothers don’t think so. But I told them I don’t regret getting involved last night, even if it drew Vincent’s attention. I think they’re starting to get it.” I’d had that conversation with Callum, and then a similar one with Ashford after we discovered the photos and video were in my cloud storage. Dane had sent the files to the NYPD detective, as well as Teller back in Silver Ridge.
Dane pressed a kiss to the back of my neck. “I know how strong you are. How brave . But I still can’t stand seeing you hurt. It’s…” His hand circled my wrist, not like he was trying to keep me in place, but like he needed to feel anchored himself. “It’s intolerable to see the people I care about suffering and not be able to stop it.”
I knew he was thinking of his mom. When Dane wanted to make something happen, he didn’t hold back, but there were some things that nobody could control.
I pulled his arm forward so it draped over me, ignoring the slight twinge in my ribs. Taking his hand, I placed it over my heart. It beat against his palm. “You’re making me feel better just by being here,” I said.
“I’m not hurting you?”
“I promise, it’s the opposite. I want you close.”
Dane fitted his body against my back and held me. His legs tangled with mine beneath the covers. He’d stripped down to just his boxer briefs, and I felt the hard ridge of his erection as he kept pressing gentle kisses to the side of my face. “Sorry,” he said, pulling back his hips. “Can’t help it.”
“I don’t mind.” I liked knowing how much he wanted me, even if I couldn’t reciprocate right now. “I want to feel all of you. As much as I can.”
He made a growly sound, tongue darting out to suck my earlobe. “You’ll feel all of me again. As soon as you’re better. I know the original plan was for us to head back to Silver Ridge on Monday, but I’d like you to stay here with me for a while. Flying with a concussion could make your symptoms worse.”
The doctor had said something along those lines.
I did want to stay, at least for now. It would be hard to get my work done whether I was here or in Silver Ridge, given my concussion. Same with my volunteer work. If I had to do nothing and heal, I was fine doing it here. So long as I was with Dane.
“I’ll stay for a while. But you don’t need to get back to the ski resort? You said there was a lot to do there. The ski runs will be opening for the season soon.”
“The staff in Silver Ridge is more than able to handle it. I’ll do my part by phone and Zoom. But you’re more important. I plan to be at your beck and call. You’re going to get sick of me.”
“Not likely. I’m pretty wild about you.”
“Good,” he said. “I’m pretty wild about you too.”
But I did miss home. And I hoped I would never have to choose between Silver Ridge and the man I wanted to be with.