CHAPTER TEN
Regardless of how difficult or crazy a day Grace might have had, Mason’s bedtime ritual always settled her down. Tonight, however, she had a feeling nothing was going to stop the flutters in her belly. Because even though she was about to tell Dylan about her past so that he’d understand why she couldn’t date him, it didn’t change the fact that she was still going to be alone in her living room with the sexiest man alive.
She resisted the urge to fix her hair or makeup before going back out to see him, just as she hadn’t allowed herself to stress over her outfit. Jeans and a T-shirt had been perfect for a visit to the aquarium, and they would still be perfect for an honest discussion between friends.
She was surprised to find that Dylan had cleaned up the dining room and kitchen. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“You’ve met my mother, so you should know that no Sullivan ever shirks on cleanup. Are you sure you don’t want me to heat yours back up?”
She shook her head, but picked up her glass of wine before going to sit on the couch. As soon as he sat beside her, she said, “Last night, you asked me why I didn’t want to date you. I know it sounds like a cliché, but it’s not you, it’s me. I met Mason’s—” She shook her head, unable to use the word father. Not when Richard had never been, not for one single second. “I was researching a story about charitable foundations. He is one of the leading experts in family-run charities because he comes from an influential Washington family with legacy money.” The irony still killed her that the family everyone thought was so good, so charitable, had been anything but when they’d learned she was pregnant. “I thought that just because he spent his days giving away money, it meant he was a good person, too. So even though I know how to do really good background research on people, I let the fact that he worked for an organization that helps people in need take the place of actually looking deeper.” She wasn’t proud of it, but she needed Dylan to know something else. “He was so good at sweeping me off my feet, taking me on his private plane and to rooftop dinners just for the two of us that after things ended with him, I swore I wouldn’t let that happen to me again—falling for a pretty face and slick words just because I might be feeling lonely.”
“I’m glad you think my face is pretty,” Dylan said with a small upturn of his lips, “but nothing I’ve said to you has been slick.”
She wanted to believe him, wished it was easy for her to take all the nice things he’d said at face value. “I was never one of those daughters who had to rebel. But once my parents were both gone, I felt so lost—” She stopped herself. “It sounds like I’m making an excuse for what I did, for the choices I made.”
“No, it sounds like you’re human. Like you were hurting and needed someone to comfort you. But he hurt you instead.” Anger flashed in Dylan’s eyes. “What did he do when you told him you were pregnant?”
She hadn’t been planning to go into the nitty-gritty details tonight. Even though she hadn’t given any names, she’d probably already said too much. But after having a glass of wine on an empty stomach, she couldn’t seem to stop. Especially not when Dylan was such a good listener…and the only person she’d ever told about any of this.
“He acted like I’d tricked him. Like I’d done it on purpose to get his money, to force his hand to marry me so that I could live off his family fortune.”
“How could he not know how much you love your work, and that you would never do something like that? That you could never even have it in you to think of it?”
“Probably because he didn’t care about what I did. He didn’t respect my career, or me, either. I would never in a million years want to become a kept woman. Never. But since he didn’t believe that, he told me my trick of getting pregnant wasn’t going to work. When I swore to him that it was an accident, that he knew we had used protection, he didn’t want to listen. And he told me...” Her stomach twisted. “He told me to undo it.”
Dylan’s curse was soft, but powerful nonetheless. “The bastard didn’t deserve you.”
“I know he didn’t. I think I knew it long before that night, actually. We were always alone, just the two of us on a yacht or in a fancy hotel suite or my apartment. I thought it was because he wanted to get to know me better before he introduced me to his friends and family. But what he was really doing was hiding me from them and from the other woman he was actually going to marry—one who was infinitely more appropriate in his world. But I didn’t want to be alone, so I didn’t stop seeing him even though I should have.”
She paused, took another sip of wine to try to steady herself. But it was no use. Not when she had an even worse part of the story to tell.
“I was still reeling from his reaction the next day—and trying to wrap my head around having a baby on my own—when I had a couple of unexpected visitors. His parents didn’t want to risk leaving anything to chance. And, I think they were used to cleaning up their son’s messes over the years by throwing money at them. They gave me the money and tried to act like it was a gift. But I made them tell me, made them say aloud what it was for. They expected me to get rid of Mason and forget I’d ever had anything to do with their son.”
“Tell me his name, Grace.”
She knew she shouldn’t, but since she’d already been crazy enough to tell Dylan this much—more than she’d ever intended to tell anyone—it wouldn’t be hard for him to put the pieces together. “Richard. Richard Bentley.”
His eyebrows went up with surprise even as his gaze simmered with obvious fury. “The former senator and his wife gave you money and told you and your baby to disappear?”
“That’s why I left Washington. Not because they paid me to—I didn’t cash their checks—but because I couldn’t risk letting them or Richard see that I’d decided to have the baby.”
“Do they know where you are?”
“No. At least, I don’t think they do.” She tried to keep the rest from spilling out, but couldn’t. “Richard is having trouble conceiving with his new wife. I’ve seen a couple of news reports online about it this week. Before now, I was pretty positive that Richard and his family thought I was so insignificant, and so lacking in strength, that they wouldn’t bother trying to track me down once I’d left Washington. Especially given that they’d told me that if I tried to say a word against them, their charity—one that helps disadvantaged women, ironically—would be what people sided with. Not a woman who had clearly gotten knocked up on purpose to try to lock their son into marrying her to set her up for life.” She took a shaky breath. “But now that I know Richard might not be able to have the Bentley heir they were all expecting his wife to give them...”
“I can help you, Grace. I can help keep you and Mason safe from them.”
She gave him a small smile to let him know she appreciated his offer even if she couldn’t possibly take him up on it. God, she could only imagine what a mess that would be, especially since she’d seen for herself that afternoon that at least one of Dylan’s cousins ran in the same circles as the Bentleys. Dylan’s family had been nothing but nice to her and Mason. She wouldn’t drag them into her mess.
“When you were talking about sailing through a storm during our interview, I realized that I’ve been there. Finding out that I was pregnant and then realizing that I was going to have to be a parent all by myself has been one of the most frightening things I’ve ever done, but also one of the most beautiful. My parents raised me to be strong, but I was never really tested before and never knew what I was capable of. Or how tough I could really be. Now I do, and I have a plan for how to fight them just in case I ever need to. But thank you for offering to help us. Honestly, it’s enough that you agreed to do this story with me. That already helps a great deal.”
“You’re so damned strong, Grace, that anyone who can’t see it is a total idiot.” Had anyone ever looked at her with such respect and admiration? “But my brother Rafe is a P.I. And Ian is one of the wealthiest men in the world, with business ties to pretty much everyone. My brothers can help make sure nothing ever happens to you and Mason. Let me talk to them. Let us make absolutely sure that your ex and his family aren’t up to anything.” He took her hand in his. “I promise you that they’ll stay totally below the radar. They won’t stir anything up.”
It was so overwhelming, the way he was offering to help in any way he could to keep her and her son safe. “But we—”
She stopped herself before she could protest that they’d only just met. What did it matter how long she’d known Dylan when he was offering to do whatever he and his family could to keep her son safely with her?
“Yes,” she finally said. “Okay.”
“You’ll let us help?”
Utterly overwhelmed with emotion from all sides, she nodded. “I’d appreciate it, actually, not having everything fall on me for once.”
“Thank you for trusting me not only to help, but also by telling me about your past.”
“I couldn’t let you think there was something wrong with you.” Realizing that sounded strange, she quickly added, “I mean, obviously you’ve looked in a mirror, so you know that’s not the problem.” Ugh, that only made things worse, even though he’d smiled when she said it. “It’s just now that you know where I am in my life and where I’ve come from, you can understand why I promised myself that I wouldn’t make that same mistake again. I can’t jump into a relationship right now and don’t honestly know when or if I’ll be able to again. Not now that everything inside of me has shut down.”
“Shut down?” He shook his head. “There was nothing shut down about the kiss we shared last night.”
She knew he was right. There was no point trying to deny it, even if a part of her argument fell apart. “You’re right,” she said, “there wasn’t. But one kiss doesn’t change anything.”
Grace had spent enough time with Dylan in the past two days to know how to read the look in his eyes. Instinct was vitally important to him, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t take time to think things through. Right now, he was processing everything she’d said.
“After what you’ve been through,” he finally said, “I can understand how hard it must be to trust anyone. Especially another man.”
She was surprised—very surprised, actually—that what she’d said seemed to be enough to make him back down from wanting to date her. It was what she’d told herself she wanted, and yet…
“Good,” she made herself say. “I’m glad you understand.”
“After what that scumbag and his family did to you, anyone would be wary and want to take things slow the next time.”
She was with him right up until the end…when he got to slow and next time. “Dylan—”
“If slow is what you need, I can do slow.”
She knew she shouldn’t let excitement flood back through her. Shouldn’t let it push all of the earlier disappointment aside. Especially since Dylan was a champion racer and she doubted there was even a trace of slow in his blood.
Then again, building wooden sailboats by hand was perhaps one of the most painstaking careers he could have chosen. Maybe he could make a promise to go slow and mean it.
Still, she couldn’t just give in like this, could she? Couldn’t let a simple promise that he would go slow be enough to change her mind about everything she’d been so certain about for so long. She needed to be rational. Strong.
“In the past two days, I’ve met your entire family and have spent two consecutive evenings with you. If that’s your version of slow, we both know it’s not a good idea.”
“That’s not even close to my entire family,” he corrected with a grin before sobering again. “I know I’ve pushed you. It’s just—” She knew from the way he was looking at her, his eyes so dark, so intense, that she didn’t have a prayer of being prepared for whatever he was going to say next. “I saw you and I knew.”
“You knew?” She could feel her breath coming faster as she watched the shift happen inside Dylan—from thinking and processing to pure male instinct. She felt as she imagined a lioness would when her mate found her. Hunted—and just as suddenly hungry for him as he was for her. “What did you know?”
He reached for her then, the barest brush of his fingertips across her cheek enough to send her heart leaping and racing. “I knew this.” She watched him watch her, and when she didn’t pull away—Lord, how could she?—he slowly drew his fingers down to the nape of her neck. “I knew your skin would be this soft, this sensitive.” Thrill bumps rose all over her body as he ran his fingertips down from her neck over her T-shirt, then to the bare skin of her arm exposed by the short sleeve. “I knew you’d be this responsive.” Somewhere in there, she reached for him without even realizing it so that her hands were holding on to his waist. “I knew we would fit together this perfectly.”
Grace knew she should find more words, more reasons that she couldn’t do this, but she really, really didn’t want to. Not when it had been so long since she’d felt sensual pleasure. And not when it seemed like forever since she’d felt even the least bit feminine or had thought about anything but her son and her work.
She didn’t see how this could last, how it could turn into something real—how the gorgeous, incredible man from the amazing and famous family could ever look at a normal woman with a ten-month-old child and see a future. But, hadn’t she waited so long to feel this way? Not just a year and a half, but her entire life? For a man who made her want like this, who made her crave with every last fiber of her being?
Last night, she’d let herself have a taste. One perfect, wonderful taste of Dylan. Why couldn’t she have one more? Especially when he was right that she was only human.
Too human to know how to keep resisting him tonight...