“Who?”
“Grace. My Grace…”
He stills, blowing out a deep breath. “Oh, fuck,” is his only response.
Oh, fuck is right. It’s been two years, but I’d know those eyes anywhere.
Grace
It was him. GOD, after all these years, it was really him.
I race through the long hallway to the elevator and pray I can hold it together until reaching my car. My heart thuds against my chest as I run for my life.
STOP BEING SO DRAMATIC, GRACE! I chastise myself and force my movements to slow, getting into the elevator and smiling at the lady perched on a stool running the elevator service tonight.
When we get to the ground floor, a security guard insists on escorting me to my car and smiles sweetly when I thank him, locking myself in.
Only when he walks away do I let the true internal freak-out take over.
This is your fault, you idiot! You knew he’d be here! His team is the main sponsor! He’s a celebrity in this town!
I should have left after the band announced his name, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from him. The second he stepped onto the dance floor, I stopped breathing. He is still the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. Watching him on television is nothing compared to seeing him in person. He’s taller, broader, and more muscular than he was. His dark hair is longer, but his eyes… his eyes cannot be denied. They are still the most piercing blue topaz I’ve ever seen in my life. And until they landed on me, they were glowing.
Tonight was a huge night for me, for the gallery. My job was simple yet so important. It was the chance for me to impress some of the wealthiest patrons of the city and dazzle them with my knowledge of the art on display.
I did a damned good job, too, until the dancing started. Then I sunk into the closest corner and watched the man who stars in my dreams take the dance floor. Envy rushed through me seeing him with Bizzy.
I know they are only friends, but I wished it were me in his arms as he laughed and spun her around the room. He openly shared his close relationship with Lizbeth Hastings, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise to see them together.
I read online that she recently married his brother, and by the looks of the man wrapped around her on the dance floor, they are very much in love.
My mind wanders to Nick again, wondering if he has a woman in his life. From what I saw, he was alone tonight, but that doesn’t mean anything. Men like him have women flocking to them. Rich, famous, successful… it’s the perfect combination for a Miami socialite to latch onto.
He was opposite of me in every sense of the word, but I still found myself drawn to him. But what about now? Would we have chemistry? Are we even compatible?
Then again, I haven’t seen him for two years—two long, agonizing years. It seems I’ve lived a lifetime since he walked away from my apartment that night.
That night… memories swarm my head, and the fee
lings come crashing back to me. Images of a younger Nick Bennett pop into my mind, and I’m transformed back to the twenty-two-year-old girl who’d had the best date of her life and the promise of more to come.
Time doesn’t matter. The puttering of my heart tells me as much. It’s amazing what the mind suppresses and how, with only one glance, all the feelings return.
The touch of his hand on my cheek, the brush of his lips, the cocky wave as he left…
I lay my head on the steering wheel and try to calm my panting breaths.
Tears sting my cheeks as I start the car and force myself to drive home.
Pain sears in my chest as I remember the way he looked at me the last time I saw him. Then the sound of his messages for three weeks after I went home. His voice changed with each message, going from concerned and sweet to finally resignation.
I thought a quick text would help explain I was in the middle of a family situation. It was a stupid move and a lame excuse, but at the time, it seemed like the best course of action.
I never heard from him again.
Chapter 2
Nick