Page 60 of His Saving Grace

Chapter 13

Gracesatinthe passenger seat of the truck, the setting sun casting a pinkish glow through the rear window. She gnawed on her lower lip, fingers drumming on her knee.

She should tell him. She wanted to tell him. She needed to tell him. Not being honest wasn’t fair to him, or their relationship. Because planned or not, that’s what they were starting here. He deserved the truth.

You’ve got two choices. Either tell him or end things.

She bobbed her head. She was going to tell him.

Her lips were dry, so she licked them and turned to face him. He glanced at her and his lips tilted up in one of those devastating, sweet Callahan smiles.

She’d tell him. Just not right now. Later.

It had been a week since their picnic date on the property. They’d made love for the majority of the evening that day, talking, laughing and eating in between. It had been one of the best days of her life.

But, between her job and Mason trying to find a place at the ranch, they hadn’t had a chance to spend a lot of time together. And then, when it seemed like they could possibly have some alone time, someone else was always hanging around. If it wasn’t Eloise, it was one of his brothers. Well, except for Owen, who was still being an asshole.

They weren’t exactly hiding their—whatever you wanted to call this, but they were keeping it casual. Grace was happy with that arrangement. She was confused enough about her feelings without having to field questions and possible censure from the rest of the Callahan’s.

Even just spending time with Mason around the rest of his family, she found she enjoyed getting to know him. He was funny and sexy, and had an interesting view of the world given his service overseas. He was also well-read and intelligent. And she fell a little deeper under his spell every day.

But, even if he wanted a relationship with her—she needed to stop thinking in terms of a relationship—he wasn’t going to be so understanding if she continued keeping the truth from him.

“You okay?” He pulled the truck up to the curb across the street from the theater. They were going on their second official date tonight, and he was taking her to a movie. Very old-fashioned, and sort of sweet.

“I’m fine.” She tried her best to smile. It was clear she didn’t succeed when he tossed her a puzzled look. Not wanting to get into it, she flung open the door and hopped onto the sidewalk. He appeared at her side in seconds.

He held out his hand. She took it, and he entwined their fingers. His thoughtfulness sent warmth spiraling through her, while at the same time, made her want to cry. He made her feel safe. And that terrified her.

They crossed the street and stood in line to buy their tickets. When they got to the front, she reached in her bag for some cash, but Mason frowned at her and shook his head. She pursed her lips, and he just smiled and gave her a quick kiss.

Fine, she’d let him pay. He was the one who’d suggested a movie, after all. But next time, she was picking up the tab. If they were going to make this relationship work, he needed to realize it was a fifty-fifty partnership.

And there it was again. The stupid idea that this was a relationship.

Yes, they’d had mind-blowing sex and yes, she was attracted to him. The problem was, she wasn’t in a place where she should even be contemplating anything close to a relationship. The other issue, the bigger issue, was that she was lying to him.

Okay, so she wasn’t exactly lying. She was just withholding the truth. Well, some of the truth.

Dammit, this was so hard. She wanted to be honest with him, wanted to tell him everything. But she couldn’t do it.

“Come on.” He reached for her hand again, giving her another one of his strange looks. This time, she couldn’t even muster the energy to fake it.

He didn’t say anything, just led her into the air-conditioned movie theater. The cool air hit her and she shivered. It had more to do with her tumultuous emotions than the actual temperature.

Mason must have felt it though, because he pulled her against him, running his hand up and down her arm. She melted into his side, wrapping her arm around his waist. It just felt so right. Tears pricked the back of her eyes, but she refused to ruin this evening by being an emotional wreck. She shoved all the shitty stuff aside, determined to have a good time. She could worry about all that crap later. Or never.

Her mood lightened considerably.

They walked over to the refreshment stand, discussing the best snacks. How the man could think that popcorn, with extra butter, wasn’t the perfect movie watching companion, she didn’t know. She explained that the calories were negated when you had a diet soda with the popcorn, but Mason just shook his head and laughed at her logic. More tension leeched out of her with every passing minute.

“Grace?”

She stiffened, her heart plummeting into her feet. Oh, dear God, please not now.

She glanced over her shoulder and ran face-first into her old life.

Jessica Donner stood across the theater lobby.