Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Grace took an extra cold shower to douse the horny flames raging her body.
She’d been two seconds away from swinging on Tarzan’s vine.
Her inner Aunt Betty flag was flapping in the wind.
She wasn’t here to hook up with Sam. She’d been meaning to gain insider tips on how he ran his business.
Hell, he’d been her target from day one, and now she was damned if she didn’t want him to hit the bullseye.
She needed to get them both out of the room, and preferably, wearing clothes.
She took her time getting ready, applying a little makeup and slipping into a sundress after she had dried her hair.
The heat from the morning sun had been almost unbearable, and she wouldn’t risk looking like a drunk raccoon if the festivities were outside.
Wearing more than a slip of material would be like torture.
She walked out of the room to find Sam on the bed, leaning against the headboard, reading the book she’d given him at her house.
His hand rested on his stomach.
“Good book, right?”
“I….” He glanced at her and then back to the pages. “You might be on to something about making this required reading.”
Grace grinned, and estimated by the number of pages what scene he might be on.
She’d read it plenty of times to have the whole thing memorized.
Within the first few pages, the heroine had met the hero in the bar and he’d given her an orgasm without breaching the barrier of her clothes.
Sam hadn’t even gotten to the good stuff.
“Any man who can produce pleasure without getting naked needs to be cloned.”
Sam chuckled and set the book on the nightstand. “I bet you’re starving.”
He had no idea. Her gaze went to the bulge in his jeans, and her mouth watered. “I could eat.”
“Let’s go.” He stood, then grabbed his wallet and the room key. “We’ll probably get scolded since we missed the group breakfast.”
“Take it like a champ that scored the winning touchdown.” She smiled as they headed for the elevators. “They all believe you did.”
The elevator doors slid open. Sarah and Richard stood inside. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was giving him her back as he pleaded behind her. His words were cut off when he realized the elevator had stopped and they were standing there.
“We were just coming to find you.” Richard said.
“Sorry.” Grace smiled like a woman who’d been up to no good. She had. “I made him lose track of time.”
Sarah’s gaze narrowed as she dropped her stance, placed her hand around Richard’s waist, and leaned into his side. “We know how that is, don’t we, babe?”
Sure she did. What had Sam seen in Sarah? They stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the lobby.
“What’s on the agenda today?” Sam asked and rested his arm around Grace’s shoulders. She pasted a smile on her face and hugged his waist.
“We have tux fittings in an hour, and Sarah is going with the girls to pick up their dresses,” Richard answered.
It was hard to imagine Sarah mixing up the two men.
Grace could tell them apart, and she’d known one for an entire day and the other in passing.
Richard oozed a calm persona, one that it would take a lot of prodding to piss off, whereas Sam was nothing if not passionate.
They were as different as granny panties and a thong.
“Grace, you should go with them,” Richard prodded.
Sarah’s mouth parted before she narrowed her eyes up at Richard.
Grace should go if for no other reason than to aggravate the one woman who’d cheated on Sam.
Maybe rub her nose in the fact that she’d lost out.
Still, the idea excited her about as much as watching old men play chess.
No, thank you. Grace had already been crowned queen and taken Sarah’s king.
Checkmate, or was it considered game, set, match? It didn’t matter. Grace was winning.
“That’s okay. I’ll just hang out by the pool and work on my tan. After last night, and the morning we had, I’m as spent as a cowgirl riding bareback for a month.”
“You did whistle Dixie.” Sam leaned down and kissed her lips.
“Bring me back a black cowboy hat for my ride tonight.”
“You don’t want white?”
Grace ran her palms over Sam’s biceps. “Honey, we both know I’m not an angel.”
The elevator opened, and Sam escorted Grace out and toward the restaurant.
“She’s a tacky two-bit whore,” Sarah whispered loud enough for Grace to hear.
“Look who’s talking.”
Anger welled up in Grace’s stomach. Cuss words lingered on her tongue.
Her Quinn-like inner demon was ready to take flight.
The bitch had some nerve. Grace spun around, ready to pounce.
Sam’s arm tightened around her waist, and he turned her back toward the restaurant, laying his arm tightly over her shoulder.
“Ignore her,” Sam whispered into her ear.
“I’ll meet you outside in an hour,” Richard called after them.
Sam raised his hand in an acknowledgment without looking back.
Grace spotted several ghosts in the dining area. A smile split her lips as her mind raced with all kinds of new ways that she could help the bride remember the special event.
Sam pulled out a chair for her to sit and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “What’s that look for?”
“I’m imaging the wedding pictures when I drown her in a vat of orange Jell-O after sending all of the hotel ghosts to terrorize her.”
“There’s never a dull moment with you.”
“What are you going to tell you parents about us? I assume they’ll eventually be showing up.”
“They’ll be showing up in a couple of days. I guess we really should get our story straight. I’m sure the guys are going to grill me too.”
“You could always tell them I’m a streetwalker you picked up at the airport. Sarah already thinks I’m one.”
“She’s one to talk, jumping from one brother’s bed to the other. Shit like that should be illegal. Besides, no one would buy that version. I own a successful dating agency.”
The waiter appeared, took their order and quickly left. The morning breakfast crowd had thinned out so their conversation was somewhat private.
“How about telling them I was a client?”
He shook his head. “That would make you seem desperate. They’d never buy it, at least the guys wouldn’t.”
“You could always tell them that we met when you called Linked Inc.”
Sam’s eyes widened, almost as if in horror. That was an interesting look that needed exploring.
“That one would never fly either. They’d never believe I’d call a psychic.”
“Why wouldn’t they believe you called a psychic?” She asked as if she hadn’t heard all of the reasons why people didn’t believe in her and her job.
“They just wouldn’t.” He said and quickly changed the subject. “How about a friend of a friend?”
She’d let it slide for now. The waiter appeared with their drink orders, and she took a sip of her sweet tea. “Do we have any friends in common?”
Sam sipped his hot coffee as an elderly female ghost floated to the table wearing a flowered dress. Tell them you met through Aunt Annie.
“Aunt Annie said we can use her as how we met.”
Sam spit his coffee, quickly grabbed a napkin, and wiped at his mouth.
“You look surprised.” Grace grinned and removed her elbows from the table as food was placed in front of both of them.
“Did you just say Aunt Annie?”
Grace glanced up at the woman. “Yeah. Flowered dress, round face, nice smile. She looks….sweet.”
“Don’t let her looks fool you. That woman could have been one of your relatives.”
“Aw,” Grace said and smiled at the lady. “I like her already.”
“Well, you should. You both have something in common.”
Grace let her eyes slide over the woman’s features and apparel to see if she could spot what he was talking about. Nope, nothing in appearance. “You’ll have to fill me in because I don’t see it.”
“Neither of you like Sarah.”
Grace chuckled as Annie held up a locket that was resting around her neck.
“You really are a psychic?” He asked.
“I really am.” Grace tried to use her pleasing tone that her momma taught her, but her answer probably came out more Quinn style. He’s allowed to be a skeptic. She reminded herself. Most people are.
“I didn’t mean…”
“It’s okay.” Grace gave him a reassuring smile. “She’s showing me her locket. Is that significant?”
Sam cut into his omelet and lifted the bite to his lips. “I bought her a new one to replace the one that was stolen.”
“One was stolen?” Grace asked him and looked up at Annie. “I’m sorry.”
“It was my fault,” Sam said, taking another bite. He didn’t elaborate until he swallowed. “She insisted on giving me a graduation party, and one of the people attending, stole it.”
“Did you ever figure out who took it?” Grace asked.
“Nope, but the entire wedding party was there that night,” he said, clearing his throat.
They ate a hurried breakfast, in easy banter, after that conversation.
A few of Sam’s other dead relatives floated around the dining room, but after the look he’d given her upon hearing about Annie, he might have busted a blood vessel knowing other relatives had shown up.
Maybe ghosts at weddings weren’t as normal for everyone else as they were for Grace’s family.
Sam held her hand as he walked her back into the lobby where his brother and the rest of his groomsmen were waiting. He slowed and pulled her into his arms, smiling down at her face. “What are you going to do today?”
“Maybe hang out by the pool, take a nap, or talk a cowboy out of his hat.”
Sam’s lips twisted into a smile. His eyes sparkled as he stared at her. “I’m sure that wouldn’t be too hard, but don’t bother. We can pick one up in town tonight after dinner. I thought it would be nice to show you the town since you’ve never been here.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” she grinned.