Grace (The Family Simon Book 5) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  3. Six weeks later…

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  Also by Juliana Stone

  Acknowledgments

  GRACE

  JULIANA STONE

  JULIANA STONE PUBLISHING

  CONTENTS

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  3. Six weeks later…

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  Also by Juliana Stone

  Acknowledgments

  Copyright © 2015 Juliana Stone

  All rights reserved.

  Cover art and design by Patricia Schmitt/Pickyme

  http://pickymeartist.com

  Copy editing by Jena O’Connor

  http://practicalproofing.com

  This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in encouraging piracy of copyrighted materials in violation with the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  For permission to use any part of the material in this book, contact Juliana at, mailto:[email protected]

  Created with Vellum

  1

  “You had blue hair the last time I saw you.”

  Grace Simon should have recognized the deep husky timbre of the voice that spoke from behind her. Heck, she’d dreamt about it off and on for the last two years. But she was already onto her third cocktail, and in her defense, the music was loud.

  So instead, she grimaced and rolled her eyes at her friend Nicola. She didn’t bother to turn around and see who was behind her. She didn’t care. She’d been fending off men for over an hour and was fed up.

  “Worst pickup line ever,” she shot over her shoulder before downing the rest of her drink.

  “Ever?” He was closer now. Annoying.

  “Ever,” she repeated.

  “That’s some kind of record considering it wasn’t a pickup line but the full-on truth.”

  Her pal Nicola elbowed her and mouthed hot. Whatever. Grace was done with men. DONE. She should have known better than to meet Nicola here. The place was a meat market.

  She pushed back from the bar and turned to let the guy have it. But the words stalled at the back of her throat and she went still. Her gaze moved up the impressive physique, (seriously jeans and a plain white T-shirt had no right to look this good) until it rested on a face that she’d fantasized about more times than she could count. Matt Hawkins.

  What the hell?

  “Hey Grace,” he said, a slow smile curving his lips. “Your brother told me you were in Nashville. I’ll have to let him know I ran into you.”

  Heart beating rapidly, she cleared her throat but all she could muster was, “Ah...hey.” Lame. So. Very. Lame.

  “Babe, I hate country music. Can’t we go somewhere else?” A blue-eyed blonde slid up against Matt—a blue-eyed blonde with considerable assets. Grace liked to think that Double D’s were overrated, but this girl kind of trampled all over that argument.

  Matt held Grace’s gaze for a heartbeat longer, and she hoped like hell the deep flush that heated her skin wasn’t visible in the darkened corner of the bar.

  “Matt?” The blonde said, eyes narrowed as she turned to Grace.

  “I’m Grace,” she blurted, holding out her hand like an idiot. The woman tilted her head and nodded, but didn’t reach for Grace’s hand. “Candy.”

  Candy. Of course.

  There was a pause. A slow, torturous, uncomfortable pause, and then Matt winked at her. He winked at her. As if she was a kid or something.

  “I…uh…so what are you doing here? I mean, not here at this bar, but like, here in…Nashville. I mean, it’s so weird that we ran into each other.” Stop talking. “Here, in…uh, Nashville.”

  Nicola was looking at her as if she’d lost her mind and Grace was starting to think that, YES, she had. She’d lost her mind, along with her ability to think and talk and act like an adult.

  Matt’s slow grin didn’t subside and Grace’s heart fluttered rapidly. “It was just a quick trip to meet a client. I’m leaving in the morning.”

  “Oh.” Again, could she not come up with more than a one-word response?

  He slid his arm around the blonde. “It was nice seeing you again, Grace.” Another heartbeat passed and that tumbling feeling in her stomach intensified. “I’ll let you get back to your friend.”

  She didn’t say another word because she couldn’t, and with a small nod he turned and melted into the crowd, the busty woman clinging to him. Grace blew out a hot breath and reached for her drink, swearing when she scooped up the empty glass.

  “Who the hell was that?” Nicola asked as she yanked on Grace’s arm.

  “That was Matt,” Grace whispered.

  “Matt,” Nicola repeated, frowning.

  “Matt.”

  “Oh, that Matt,” Nicola said, this time slowly.

  “Yeah,” Grace replied. That Matt.

  The guy who’d kissed her like no tomorrow beneath a snow-filled sky. It didn’t matter that Grace had been the one to initiate the kiss. Or that she’d ignored his protests and had practically assaulted him. It didn’t even matter that when he’d eventually managed to pull away from her, he’d told her that it was all wrong. Said that he wasn’t the kind of guy she should be kissing in the first place. She’d protested. He’d said he wasn’t interested.

  Matt Hawkins had taken a step back and that’s when she’d glimpsed something in his eyes that told her otherwise. She’d called bullshit, but he’d walked away all the same. Without another word or a look…without anything.

  That had stung. It had stung for a long time because Matt Hawkins had been wrong. So damn wrong. His kiss ha
d rocked her world and she was pretty damn sure she’d done a little rocking of her own.

  Grace accepted another tequila from Nicola and downed the shot, eyes moving over the crowd until they found Matt and the blonde. He was chatting with another man, a guy who looked vaguely familiar, but it was the blond woman who had Grace’s attention. She was pressed against Matt, her curves melted into his hard frame, and the red-hot jealousy that rolled through Grace left her breathless.

  “Are you okay?” Nicola asked.

  “No. I’m not even close to okay.”

  Nicola followed Grace’s gaze. “You guys had sex once, a couple years ago and he still gets under your skin? That must have been some night.”

  Irritated, Grace turned to her friend. “We didn’t have sex. Why would you think we had sex?” She saw the surprise in Nicola’s eyes.

  “Because you told me that night with him was the hottest you’ve ever spent with a guy.”

  “It was.”

  “But there was no sex?”

  “Nope.” Grace closed her eyes for a moment, stomach tumbling. “All we did was kiss.”

  “You just kissed.” Grace could tell Nicola didn’t believe her.

  She nodded. “That would be correct.” What an understatement. Even now the thought of that kiss kick-started a throb between her legs that was so intense she nearly crossed them in order to alleviate it.

  “Must have been some kiss.”

  You have no idea.

  “Please tell me you were at least naked or something.”

  “Nope. Fully clothed.” Cheeks flushed, Grace brushed her long dark hair from her neck. “It’s hot in here, right? “

  Nicola’s gaze settled back on Matt. “He’s not interested in the blonde.”

  Startled, Grace jerked her head to the side and her insides twisted when her eyes slammed into Matt’s. He didn’t look away. Didn’t seem to care that she’d caught him staring at her. In fact a half smile curved his mouth even as he nodded down to the woman glued to his side.

  “He wants you.”

  “No he doesn’t,” Grace replied, eyes still held firm by Matt’s.

  “Hell yes he does.” Nicola ordered up another shot of tequila. “You’re an idiot if you don’t walk over there and do something about it.”

  “He’s with a girl,” Grace retorted tearing her gaze from Matt.

  “I will respectfully disagree. She might be standing beside him with her boobs stuck to the side of his chest, but trust me, you’re the one who has his interest. He’s looking at you and he’s remembering the kissing. That fully clothed kissing.”

  Grace shook her head but she didn’t get a chance to respond because Nicola shoved another tequila into her hands. She downed that shot too, not even tasting the stuff anymore.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Grace eventually replied, once the fire had left her throat. “Because he’s not interested. Matt made it pretty clear that he and I would never be a thing.”

  “Why not?”

  That was the frustrating part. “I don’t know, Nic. Let’s just forget it. The guy lives in Michigan anyway.”

  “But he’s in Nashville right now and he’s leaving tomorrow.”

  “What do you want me to do?” she snapped. “Walk up to him, push that set of boobs out of the way and stick my tongue down his throat?”

  “That would be a good start.” Her friend wiggled her tongue suggestively. “Maybe this time you’d graduate to naked kissing.”

  Grace couldn’t help but smile. “You’re a nut bar.”

  “And you need to get laid.”

  Grace made a face. “Is that your answer for everything?”

  Nicola’s eyes lit up and she giggled. “Damn right it is. Good sex can fix all kinds of problems.” She bit her lip and tilted her head suggestively. “I’m going to the washroom and then I’m going to”—she pointed toward the bar, at a tall man dressed in an expensive suit—“buy that guy a drink. I don’t plan on going home alone tonight and neither should you.”

  “It’s not going to happen, Nic.”

  Nicola shrugged. “I wouldn’t say that.” She leaned forward and kissed Grace on the cheek before whispering. “He’s on his way over.”

  Grace whirled around and, sure enough, Matt Hawkins was pushing his way through the crowd. It wasn’t hard to spot him—he was at least six foot four, and built to match his height.

  Their eyes met above the crowd and she didn’t look away. Neither did he. By the time he got to her, Grace’s heart was beating so fast and hard she felt light headed. Her skin was damp and her hair stuck to her neck. The white linen dress she wore clung to her body and she tugged at the neckline, inhaling sharply when his dark gaze followed her fingers, lingering on her chest for a few seconds longer than was polite. She didn’t care. She liked it.

  How the hell could one man do this to her?

  Matt’s generous mouth curved upward, and with his hands loose at his sides he smiled, his teeth flashing white in the dim room.

  “I seem to have lost my date.”

  Grace glanced behind him and spied the back of Candy’s head as she exited the bar with the guy Matt had been talking to earlier.

  “What happened?” Did she care? His eyes were intense and suddenly it felt as if all the air had been sucked from the room.

  “Candy said I was staring at you. She didn’t like that.”

  Mouth dry, Grace took an extra heartbeat. “You were.” Was he remembering the kissing?

  “I know.”

  For that one moment, everything but the two of them faded away. There was no music. No jostling patrons. No men trying to get her attention. There was nothing but Matt and his eyes. Eyes that were so intense she felt his gaze like a heated touch.

  Two years gone and it was still there.

  It was a heavy moment and she knew he felt whatever this was between them. How could he not? It was hot and thick and full of something she was afraid to name. Was it just lust? Maybe. Or was it something more?

  At that moment, Grace could have done one of two things. She could have said goodbye, have a nice life, and left the bar alone. Or she could have…

  “Do you want to get out of here?” she asked, her voice husky and barely above a whisper.

  She saw the hesitation. It was in the way his shoulders suddenly tensed. But she also saw the want. That fire was definitely in his eyes. Grace exhaled slowly and held out her hand. She watched his fist ball up into his side before he slowly released it.

  A heartbeat passed. And then his long fingers slid over hers.

  2

  It was still there. The pull. He felt it as soon as he laid eyes on Grace, and bastard that he was, he was acting on it. Matt should have walked away. Normally he would have, and yet here he was alone with a woman he shouldn’t be alone with.

  Grace Simon.

  He shook his head. Shit.

  The cab ride out to Belle Meade hadn’t been a long one, maybe twenty minutes, and Matt watched the taillights disappear until the night swallowed them whole. It was late September and the air was chilled. He hunched his shoulders and shoved his hands into his front pockets—it was either that or put them on the woman who stood watching him silently. And that was something he was still deciding on.

  “Nice place,” he murmured, eyes on Grace.

  Her eyes skittered from his, and she tugged on a long piece of hair that blew in the wind. “It’s a little over the top.”

  Matt’s eyebrow shot up at that. A little? Even in the dark he could see that the Tudor style mansion was impressive. Surrounded by a large circular drive, a separate four car garage, and gardens that would make Home & Garden subscribers salivate, it was more than just ‘over the top’. It reeked of money—and a lot of it.

  “It belongs to Donovan but she and Jack are in Florida so…”

  Right. Donovan James, the country singer. She was married to Grace’s brother Jack Simon.

  Matt rolled his neck and studied the girl for a few m
oments. Her face was more angular than he remembered, framed by long dark hair that fell past her shoulders, but those lips were still luscious and soft. Next to his six-four frame, it was easy to think of her as small, yet her athletic build and confident stance screamed anything but. She had lean lines and killer legs. And damn if that tight fitting dress didn’t show off every inch of her.

  She cocked her chin a bit and he hid a smile. She was a fireball and his blood heated just thinking of all the things he wanted to do to her. Hell, if she were anyone else, he wouldn’t be hesitating—he’d have had her underwear off in the cab. But the fact that her brother Beau was married to his best friend Betty Jo made things a whole lot complicated. And Matt Hawkins didn’t do complicated. He just wasn’t that guy. She needed to know that.

  He cleared his throat. “So what are we doing here, Gracie?”

  Her breath caught and her chest fell rapidly as she ran fingers through the tangle of hair at her neck.

  “I…” She began, but then paused, her tongue darting out nervously.

  “You know where this is headed right?”

  She nodded, those big eyes of hers luminous.

  “I want you naked.” Her eyes widened slightly at his words but she didn’t move, and she sure as hell didn’t make a sound.

  “I want to fuck you from behind and watch you in a mirror while I’m doing it.” The words were rough and he knew it.

  That pink tongue licked along the edge of her bottom lip and she cleared her throat as she took a step back. Her breaths fell rapidly, letting off small puffs of warm air.

  “I want you to come in my mouth.” He’d always had a taste for dirty, he just wasn’t so sure she was the kind of girl who’d appreciate it.

  “You want a lot,” she replied softly.

  “Nothing wrong with that.”

  “So do I,” she said slowly, as if measuring her words. “I want a lot too.” Something about the tilt of her chin, the look in her eyes got to him.

  “Maybe you should think about this, Gracie.”

  “I already have.”

  Hot blood rushed to his ears, accompanied by a wave of longing and need. It was as strong as it had been two years ago when he’d first laid eyes on her.

  “I’m not a nice man. In fact, if you talked to most of the women I’ve been with, they’d tell you I was a selfish bastard.” He should have been surprised by his own admission, but then how could he be surprised by the truth? “I’m not looking for anything other than tonight.”