You Complicate Me Page 5

  Grace dropped her forehead to his shoulder. “Why do I keep embarrassing myself in front of you? This has never happened to me with anyone else! Why you?”

  His sigh ruffled her hair, sending a shiver that was entirely too pleasant down her spine. “Well, if it makes you feel better, at least you’re not the one tenting the sheet.”

  She lifted her head and glanced down at what was indeed an impressive tent. “Oh, wow.” She hoped her tone wasn’t too reverent. It would add insult to injury to let him know how long it had been since she’d been greeted by morning wood.

  He obviously misunderstood her tone and rolled his eyes. “Don’t sound so surprised. I’m a guy, and it’s morning. And as if that wasn’t reason enough alone, I woke up with a beautiful woman on top of me and her hand down my pants.”

  Her mind raced. Just how far down his pants had her hand been? Had it been wrapped around the hot, hard length now tenting the sheet? Did he realize she’d been dreaming about him while she blindly groped him?

  Did he really think she was beautiful?

  Focus, damn it, she thought, giving herself a sharp mental slap. He’s going to be your brother-in-law, you shameless slut, she chastised herself. Stop molesting the man.

  Grace fidgeted again, carefully lifting her hips off his, but she still wasn’t able to put more than an inch between their bodies. “I really am stuck.”

  He lifted his head to glance over her shoulder. “It’s the blankets. They’re all tangled around your legs.”

  When she began to squirm again, he deftly rolled over her and pinned her wrists above her head. “You really need to stop moving,” he murmured.

  Grace went still, though not because he’d told her to. With Nick’s lean, muscled length stretched out on top of her and his mouth only a heartbeat away from her own, she couldn’t form a single thought that didn’t end with him sliding that impressive erection into her. She simply closed her eyes and struggled to control her ragged, shallow breathing as his hands smoothed their way down over her hips and thighs, untangling the sheets that shackled her to him.

  “There,” he said after what felt like an eternity. “You’re free.”

  But he made no effort to release her and she made no effort to escape.

  “Nick,” she whispered, staring up into the depths of his beautiful, unfathomable eyes.

  “Grace.”

  “I’m taking a break from men and dating,” she said, the words sounding insincere even to her own ears.

  His gaze dropped to her mouth. “I don’t get involved with complicated women.”

  She nodded. “I’m very complicated.”

  “I noticed.”

  Slowly, as if they had all the time in the world, he lowered his head.

  And that’s when her phone blared her cousin’s ringtone, which just happened to be Disturbed’s Down with the Sickness.

  Note to self: cancel phone service. Immediately.

  Nick practically leaped off her in a move so quick and dramatic it would’ve been comical if she wasn’t so turned on.

  Grace snatched her iPhone off the nightstand. “What?” she grumbled when she answered.

  “Where the fuck are you?” Gage snarled.

  “Good morning to you, too, sweetheart.”

  From his position across the room—Jesus, if he got any farther away from her he’d be in another room—Nick shot her a questioning glance. She lifted her chin in defiance. She didn’t owe him any explanations. Let him stew about who her sweetheart might be.

  “I’m serious, Gracie,” Gage said again, sounding incredibly tense. “I need you here. Your mother is trying to set me up with housekeeping.”

  Grace rolled her eyes. “Do you mean she tried to set you up with a housekeeper? You’re so dramatic.”

  “She’s tried to set me up with five housekeepers in the past two hours,” he said through obviously clenched teeth. “That’s statistically significant. I’m pretty sure I’m not being dramatic when I say housekeeping.”

  “Well, what do you expect me to do about it?”

  “When you’re with me, she focuses on you and why you aren’t dating, trying to get remarried, or pregnant. When I’m by myself, she’s totally focused on me.”

  “And here I thought you might actually miss me. You just want to use me as cannon fodder.”

  “So? You do it to me all the time.”

  It was true. She’d often thrown Gage under the proverbial bus a time or two (or ten) to get her mom off her case. She supposed she couldn’t fault him for wanting to do the same. “You could always tell her you’re gay,” she suggested.

  She could almost hear him grinding his teeth. “Then she’d just try to set me up with maintenance.”

  That was true, too. Her mom didn’t discriminate. Gay or straight didn’t matter. She was an equal-opportunity hopeless romantic who wanted everyone involved in a committed relationship.

  “Well, hang in there, you big wuss. I’ll be there in…” Grace trailed off, glancing back at Nick.

  “If we eat breakfast and get on the road in the next hour,” Nick answered, “we’ll be there by lunchtime.”

  Gage must have heard him, because he growled—yes, growled like a rabid wolf—in her ear. “Damn it, Grace, are you late because you’re holed up in some hotel room having sex with your future brother-in-law?”

  She frowned. No way in hell was she explaining herself to Gage, of all people. “Well, when you put it like that, it sounds dirty,” she said primly.

  “I swear to God, if you don’t get here soon, I’m leaving. Grace, I’m not kidding—”

  Well, as much fun as the conversation was, Grace was over it. She made a crackling noise in the back of her throat. “What was that, Gage?” Crackle, crackle, crackle. “You’re…breaking up…can’t…hear…need…talk…”

  And with that, she disconnected the call and dumped the phone unceremoniously onto the bed next to her.

  She glanced back at Nick, who was staring at her, hands on hips, with an expression that said he was about two seconds from darting from the room like Bambi. Oh, boy. This conversation had the potential to be all kinds of awkward. Should she apologize for groping him in his sleep?

  But he hadn’t seemed to mind, she reminded herself. That much had been obvious, what with the tented sheet and all.

  Did he think she was mad at him, or something? Oh, God, he wasn’t going to apologize to her, was he? Surely he wasn’t stupid enough to think he’d taken advantage of her. Or worse yet, that he’d led her on in some way. Ugh. That would be beyond humiliating.

  He opened his mouth, paused, then closed it with a snap before ducking into the bathroom without a word or a backward glance.

  She stared at the closed door in shock for a moment, then rolled her eyes. So they were skipping the awkward conversation and traveling right into the lovely land of denial. Awesome.

  If ever there was a clearer illustration of why she was off men, Grace certainly couldn’t think of one. There wasn’t one of the bastards alive who could communicate worth a damn.

  Chapter Nine

  Grace had had no idea the landscape in Indiana was so diverse. After what they’d seen on their drive so far, she assumed the entire state was nothing but corn fields and pig farms. But before long, corn fields started morphing into gently rolling hills and lush green woods, complete with fragrant pines and mature oak trees the likes of which Angelenos such as herself could only dream about.

  One huge breakfast—Nadine was probably rethinking her all- you-can-eat home fries policy right about now—and an abnormally silent car ride later, Grace and Nick arrived at the resort where they’d spend a week up to their necks in family activities before the big event.

  At the end of a tree-lined gravel lane about a mile off the main road, the River Oak Resort and Spa sprawled across what looked like acres and acres of lightly wooded landscape. The structure itself looked to be the love child of an old Southern plantation and the fancy hunting cabin
her dad and his old war buddies rented every year during elk season in the Rockies.

  The resort’s website boasted a par-three golf course, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, horseback riding, and croquet, of all things, in addition to a full-service spa and a small casino. The resort’s grounds also had private cabins surrounding the fully stocked lake. All in all, the place had a little something for every kind of guest, including wedding planning services for people who weren’t old enough to buy their own beer, apparently.

  Nick seemed thrilled to hand the keys over to the valet. She was pretty sure he’d spent the better part of their drive silently cursing the slow-as-Christmas Ford.

  God knew he hadn’t spent any time talking to her.

  She was so irritated with him she didn’t even protest when he grabbed her bags and his. Telling him she could carry her own luggage would mean talking to him, and if he wasn’t talking to her, she’d be damned if she was going to talk to him.

  She refused to dwell on how immature that sounded, even in her own head. Or on how easily he toted her bags and his, muscles rippling gracefully with each movement. Bastard.

  Grace forced a smile for the older gentleman who held the door for her as she entered the lobby. Nick, right behind her, thanked him. As usual, his voice caused her nipples to perk right up. How the hell did he do that?

  The desk manager smiled warmly as he checked them in. “I hope you enjoy your stay,” he said, then made arrangements for a bellman to deliver their bags to their rooms.

  She and Nick mumbled something that sounded vaguely like thanks before going back to studiously ignoring each other.

  A shriek sounded from the top of the winding oak staircase, catching Grace’s full attention.

  “Nicky!” the woman shouted again, waving her arms like a crazy person fighting off imaginary bats.

  Grace turned and glanced at Nick, brows raised, but he didn’t notice. He was too busy grinning and moving toward the stairs. Toward the woman.

  She was, Grace noticed with no small amount of distress, the kind of woman who inspired loathing and fits of jealous rage in other women. Her hair, which trailed down to the middle of her back in soft glossy waves, was so black it looked blue under the lobby’s soft, incandescent lights, and bounced wildly as she moved, making it look like she’d just stepped out of a Pantene commercial.

  She looked to be about five-eight, weighing no more than 110. Grace could hate her for that and the hair alone, but there was also the woman’s face to consider. It was a perfect oval with nice high cheekbones, a little button nose, and a rosy pair of Angelina Jolie lips.

  And she was running toward Nick as if she intended to grab him and never let go. Worse yet, Nick didn’t look the least bit appalled by that prospect.

  The mystery woman took the last three stairs at once and bounced into Nick’s waiting arms. Grace heard a snarl, almost as if a feral cat had been turned loose in the lobby. It took her a moment to realize the ugly sound had come from her own throat.

  The woman tightened her grip around Nick’s neck. “What took you so long?” she asked. “I thought you’d never get here!”

  He chuckled and shook her from side to side as he hugged her, earning a little giggle that ended in a snort. Even that little foible was charming.

  Okay, this woman had to go.

  “We ran into some trouble on the road,” Nick said, setting her away from him with a playful shove.

  “We? Who’s we?” she asked in her sweet soprano.

  Finally seeming to remember that she was in the room, Nick turned to Grace. “Grace, I’d like you to meet my little sister, Sadie. Sadie, this is Grace. Your future sister-in-law.”

  And once again, Grace felt like the biggest bitch in the free world.

  Sadie turned a huge, warm smile on Grace. “Oh my God. I’ve heard so much about you, I feel like I know you already.”

  Air wheezed out of Grace’s lungs as Sadie grabbed her and hugged her with a surprising amount of strength for such a willowy girl. Grace’s wide eyes flew to Nick pleadingly.

  Nick gently pried his sister off Grace. “Let her breathe, Sadie.”

  With her space no longer invaded, Grace gave Sadie another once-over. This time, she was more objective, knowing the woman wasn’t Nick’s friend with benefits or something.

  Upon second glance, Sadie was no less enchanting. She shared a perfect olive complexion with her brother, but her eyes were a little bluer than Nick’s, less oceanic, more navy. Lovely, nonetheless.

  Hell, she looked as if little woodland creatures helped her get dressed every morning. Grace would love to hate her a while longer, but the completely open smile on her face made that difficult. She could totally see why her brother was in love with Sadie.

  “I’m glad to meet you,” Grace finally said, surprised to find she meant it.

  Sadie bounced a little on her heels. “It’s so good to finally have someone my age here to talk to about the wedding and everything.”

  Wow, Grace thought. Either that was the best compliment ever, or Sadie was really clueless enough to believe they were part of the same generation. Meanwhile, standing next to Sadie made Grace feel like an AMC Pacer parked next to a shiny new Lexus.

  “I’m happy to help with anything that needs done,” Grace offered. Even if being around you for extended periods of time could be devastating to my self-esteem.

  “Who else is here, Sadie?”

  “Well, we purposefully kept the guest list pretty small. It’s family only. Michael’s here, of course. And his parents, his grandmother, his cousin—though I haven’t met him yet…”

  Grace resisted the urge to snort. Gage was probably hiding out in his room. The wuss. He was a doctor and Grace was shocked he’d made it through internship into residency, given his general disdain for people.

  “…and on our side…” Sadie paused and rolled her eyes. “Aunt Lucille is here.”

  Nick jerked back. “How the hell did you do that? As far as I know, she hasn’t been out of Jersey in thirty years.”

  “Nickel slots in the casino,” Sadie said dryly.

  “I guess that’d do it,” Nick replied, nodding his head.

  “Oh, and there was also one…unexpected guest,” Sadie added, shooting Grace what could only be described as an apologetic look.

  Before Grace could question her, someone behind her cleared his throat and said, “Hello, Grace, darling.”

  At that moment, Grace understood what people meant when they said their blood ran cold—because she suddenly felt as if she’d just mainlined ice water.

  Turning slowly on her heel, she came face-to-face with the last person on the face of the earth she wanted to see. “Hello, Brad,” she said quietly.

  Chapter Ten

  No way had this guy been married to Grace.

  Had she taken pity on the poor bastard, or was her self-esteem so low she thought she couldn’t do better?

  Nick wasn’t sure which possibility was more disturbing. What he did know, was that doucheBrad had been one lucky SOB.

  Brad was about six inches shorter, 50 pounds lighter, and ten years older than Nick. He was also as beige as a guy could get. Plain features, light brown hair and eyes, wire-rimmed glasses, Brooks Brothers suit. He was willing to bet the guy drove a white BMW and the only exercise he ever got was a round of golf at some uppity country club that wouldn’t have Nick for a member.

  Brad licked his lips nervously and took a step closer to Grace. Nick barely resisted the urge to grab him by the collar of that boring beige suit and toss him out on his boring beige ass.

  “Grace, can we speak in private for a moment?”

  His voice held a trace of an English accent that even Nick had to admit made him sound smart. Classy, even. It made Nick hate him just a little more. He’d struggled for years to get the Jersey out of his own voice and despite his best efforts, every now and then, it still slipped out.

  Grace lifted her chin in a defiant look Nick was quick
ly becoming familiar with. He relaxed a little. Grace was going to flay the guy alive. Nick almost wished he had some popcorn so he could sit back and enjoy the show.

  “No, Brad, we cannot speak privately. I’m here for my brother’s wedding. You were not invited. You need to leave.”

  Sadie cleared her throat. “Well, that’s what I told him. But he says your mother invited him. I haven’t had time to ask her about it yet, though.”

  Grace’s chin hit her chest and she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Seriously?”

  “Quite,” Brad said, pushing his glasses up with his index finger. “I let your mother know my intentions, and she was kind enough to invite me to the ceremony and all preliminary activities.”

  Grace sighed. “What do you want, Brad? What intentions could you possibly have for me?”

  He brushed an invisible piece of lint off his suit jacket and looked her dead in the eye. “I intend to win you back.”

  Grace blinked twice, very slowly, before saying, “No, really. What do you want, Brad?”

  “Honestly, Grace,” he said, sounding a little deflated at her immediate dismissal. “I’ve realized I never stopped loving you. I want you back.”

  Come on, Grace, Nick silently urged. Tell this idiot you wouldn’t take his sorry ass back if he was the last guy on the planet. Tell him to get lost.

  Tell him you’re here with me.

  It was that last part that gave Nick pause.

  While Nick stewed silently, wondering what the hell was wrong with him, Grace crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes on Brad. “Is this about the other woman? Did Chesty Cheeto leave you?”

  Brad frowned at her reproachfully. “Don’t be crude, Grace. It’s not your nature.”

  Shit, this guy didn’t know Grace at all. Anyone who’d been paying attention for more than half a second could see that Grace was passionate as hell, and all passionate people had the potential to be blunt and crude. He shouldn’t scold her for it. He should respect and celebrate it.