Arriving unscathed, Grace set her purse and empty champagne glass down while Jared rounded the table. Agnes caught sight of him and released her captive only to snare Jared with a possessive hug about the neck, planting a solid kiss over his grin.
“Now I can die and go to heaven. The most handsome man in New York has finally arrived. Shame on you for being so late. Will is already... Never mind. Grace.” She rushed to take Grace’s hands and, stepping back to look at her, she raved, “You look ravishing, my dear, and,” she added with a wink, “full of the devil. You may have your hands full tonight, Jared.” She took Grace by the hand to introduce her to the other women.
Jared sat down in a wooden folding chair to observe both women as they chatted. Agnes rattled on about some nonsense, and Grace seemed to enjoy her attention. Even after giving birth twice, Agnes was beautiful and stylish, her body still perfect, and he knew she was a good mother as well, despite her many social engagements. Intelligent, funny, faithful, kind, and so unlike the privileged class she had been born into.
And Grace. Beautiful but different. Softer somehow. He wondered why he was drawn to her. Why this one woman and not the other?
Will arrived, relatively sober, in a white dinner jacket, a neatly folded monogrammed handkerchief with a red border peeking out of the breast pocket. His hair had been parted in the middle and slicked back with tonic water but was now slightly disheveled. Jared had never had the patience to wrap his hair and wait for it to dry to achieve the slicker look.
“Quite a crush, old man. A last hurrah, so to speak.” Will put an arm affectionately around Jared’s shoulders as he surveyed the crowd. Will never did much to brag about, but he rarely offended anyone, other than his wife, of course. Unlike himself, Will was popular and admired. Prep school grad, worldly, successful. Had gone into activities he could shine in. Banking. He had brains. Social brains. And he had won Agnes.
Jared remembered the fervor of Will’s obsession and courtship of Agnes. He had never seen such ardor, such single-mindedness. And Agnes had adored him. How had it all come down to this? He decided it was time to have a word with his friend.
“You’re in a festive mood, Will. Any special reason?”
“Made a pile in the market this week, I have a great buzz going, and Agnes hasn’t nagged on me in at least an hour. Life is good, my friend.” Will slapped Jared on the back. “How did things work out last night? I vaguely remember giving you my key. At least I hope I did. It was missing from my pocket this morning.”
Jared transferred the key from his pocket to Will’s, returning the questioning glance his friend gave him with a scowl.
Will grinned broadly as his gaze returned to Grace, who had wandered to the edge of the terrace with Agnes. His eyes drifted carelessly over her body. “She’s a beauty,” he sighed. “All curves and valleys.”
“Quit looking at her like that.”
“Like how?” Will laughed heartily. “Never known you to mind before, old man. Don’t care to share this one, eh?”
“You know better than that, Will.” Jared swore softly. Will and he were friends, but they had never been whoring buddies. He had more respect for Agnes, though he knew some of Will’s other friends didn’t have the same reservations.
Will continued the appraisal. “Notice how the fabric hugs her sweet ass? Doubt if you’ll find any panties there, sport.”
“Stop it, Will.”
Will’s gaze dropped to Grace’s legs, where her rolled stockings and garters peeked out from the swishing hemline seductively.
“A peach.”
“Will...”
“Delicious.”
“Will!” Jared sensed his friend’s eyes on Grace’s breasts. When Will turned to smile at him, his tongue flicked out to lick his lower lip. Jared jerked hard on his friend’s arm pulling him toward the gardens that lined the palazzo.
Dragging him along a path that led toward the ocean, Jared used every obscenity he knew to describe what he thought of Will’s perusal of his date.
“Whoa, old man. I didn’t know the peach...I mean, Grace, was off limits. You should have told me.” He yanked his arm from Jared’s grip and stumbled slightly.
“You should have known. You’re not that oiled,” Jared growled. “And while we’re on the subject, asshole, how would you like me to ogle Agnes like that? Is she off limits?”
Will grabbed Jared by the lapels of his jacket. “Don’t even joke about that, Jared. I’ll kill you, I swear to God I will!”
Large and muscular, Will had handled himself well on several occasions, even when half drunk. Jared didn’t relish having his dinner jacket spoiled but felt it might be worth it.
Will’s deadly threat was met by Jared’s icy calm. Will removed his hands from the lapels he had crushed.
Jared hissed, “You know how I feel about Agnes, you fool. Why can’t you get it in your head that it’s you she wants? She loves your sorry ass. Why, I don’t know.”
Will sank onto a weathered bench on the gravel path, his head in his palms, rubbing his forehead. “What is she doing with someone like me?”
An emotional gate opened, anguish apparent in Will’s thick voice. “She’s going to leave me, Jare.”
“Do you know that for sure?”
Will nodded. “She only stayed this long because of the kids. She was ashamed to go back to her parents and tell them she’s going to divorce the horse’s ass they begged her not to marry.”
Will blinked back the emotion filling his eyes. Jared shoved a hand into his pocket. His patience was wearing thin. “They were right,” he spat out.
“What?”
“You are a horse’s ass.”
Will sprang to his feet, his fists clenched at his sides and snarled. “It’s easy for you. You have money and looks and that goddamn way about you!” He ran his hand through his dark hair. “Hell, don’t you think I see how women look at you? Like they’re ready to slide off their chairs in anticipation. I’ve seen it in Agnes’s eyes, and it makes me damn well furious!”
Jared spoke softly, his words barely audible over the thunder of the waves against the shoreline. “She won’t betray you, Will.”
Jared didn’t want to tell his friend that he and Agnes had hashed over the attraction they felt for each other. Agnes knew she had married the perfect man for her, but when Will became withdrawn and sullen she’d fancied herself in love with Jared, until she realized her unhappy marriage had made her seek out his comfort, his friendship. They had an understanding now. So he would try reason first. Then, if that didn’t work, he would pound Will into the ground.
Will choked on his words, “Sometimes...I wish she would...so...so this could be over. I love her so much.”
“No, you don’t,” Jared said with disgust.
Will’s head jerked up. “What do you mean? Of course I do! I love her!”
“You don’t treat someone you love the way you treat Agnes.”
Jared turned on his heels and walked away, leaving his friend to the sound of the waves. When had he become such an expert on love? From where he sat, love only made a man miserable. Just look at Will and Agnes. He wanted no part of it. In truth, the silly emotion probably didn’t even exist.
How had his life gotten so damned complicated? Walking back to the party, Jared realized that before he met Grace this conversation would have been somewhat different. Will would have ogled his date. Jared would have called him a few choice names and told him to try his luck, and they both would have had a good laugh.
But Grace was off limits. When had that happened? When had he started thinking of her as his own? As belonging to him and only him?
And where was she, anyway?
He spotted Agnes, but not Grace. He grabbed another glass of champagne and made his way around the edge of the crowd.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Grace strolled around the pulsating crowd. The sights and sounds were mesmerizing, and her body swayed to the syncopated rhythm, her fingers tapping on the side of the champagne glass. Then she spotted Adam.
The lively music disappeared, the dancers and the gaiety evaporated as if she had entered a vacuum and time moved in slow motion.
She could see his mouth moving, articulating speech, and silent laughter spilled from his lips as his head tilted back. Grace’s body stiffened and her heart beat wildly. The glass slipped from her hand and bounced on the grass, the contents splashing her silk stockings. Her breath came in short gulps, while a sickening knot formed in her stomach.
A young pretty woman perched on his knee, her short chiffon skirt billowing up to reveal a rolled stocking. In an intimate manner, his hand rested on the rounded part of her thigh. The woman’s arm crooked around his neck and her hand cupped his cheek. She said something into his ear and then pulled his head toward her for a kiss.
In that moment before their lips met, he glanced fleetingly in Grace’s direction and his eyes locked on her, first only in interest, then fixed as realization dawned.
Pulling out of the embrace, he rose to his feet, upsetting the young woman, who almost toppled over backward. He came toward Grace with long deliberate strides, his unruly golden locks slicked back now, his lips curled in that familiar wicked grin that revealed his straight white teeth. Grace observed his approach as if seeing him for the first time.
He hadn’t changed much.
He was still beautiful, still sensual, and desirable. What had she expected? That without her he would degenerate into a pathetic excuse for a man?
She watched him come toward her with an odd combination of wonder and cold uneasiness. She braced herself for the affectionate assault that was his way.
“My God! Grace!” He picked her up and twirled her around twice before setting her down again. “I can’t believe my eyes! My sweet, lovely, beautiful Grace.”
Grace flinched at the sound of his voice. It had been two years, but she hadn’t forgotten the husky sound of it. She looked into familiar deep brown eyes, a hint of gold around the edges.
Strong hands pulled her forward, kissing her forehead. He put an arm around her shoulders and led her away from the dance floor and down a gravel path toward the ocean.
It had always been this way with Adam, Grace remembered. His personality overwhelming, his appetites and desires taking precedence over all others. In truth, no one ever objected, that she could remember. People gravitated toward him, craving his acceptance. Somehow it had always seemed ludicrous to deny him. Maybe those who allowed him this control did so because they knew he needed it as he did the very air he breathed.
An icy sensation shot out of nowhere. Until a moment ago, she’d been feeling relatively comfortable, safe. Part of her wanted to explore the feelings exploding within her, and the other part wanted only to escape.
Stopping on the path, he turned to her. His glittering eyes scanned her face. “You were made for moonlight and candles, Grace. You are still incredibly beautiful. I thought I would never see you again.”
“I see you haven’t lost your touch, Adam.”
He lowered his hands and shoved one into his pocket. “I deserve that, and more. I never tried to apologize because I figured you wouldn’t listen.”
“You were right,” Grace said dryly.
“Will you allow me to apologize now?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“For heaven’s sake, Adam! I found you with...” No, she would call it what it was. “I found you fornicating with my maid of honor, my best friend! I...
we
...
the entire wedding party
, walked in on you in the library of the people who were going to lend us their home for our wedding! Can you really explain that away, Adam?” She pushed at him. His eyes expressed surprise, then something else. Annoyance?
“Yes. It was inexcusable, but at the time, I was...” He stopped to run his hand over his slicked hair. “I was nervous, getting cold feet. And you... Well, you’re so much better than I am. I didn’t know if I could... I wanted to, but, hell! Grace, I made a terrible mistake.”
He grabbed her shoulders. “Please forgive me and give me another chance. I promise you won’t be sorry. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.” He bent his face to kiss her, taking her mouth roughly, but after a moment, he softened the embrace.
Grace leaned into him, not in passion, but in exhaustion. Mentally, she couldn’t stand one more assault on her emotions. She felt as though if she broke a fingernail, she would crumble. She dropped her head to his shoulder. “I’ll forgive you, Adam, but I’ll not give you another chance. That’s not what you want.”
She took a step back from the embrace and said in an even voice, “You want me to adore you again, to trust you with my heart and soul, yet you’ve never considered anyone other than yourself in any decision you ever made. Your desires, your needs are your only concerns. You’re weak in all the ways that matter. Your code of honor is nonexistent. It’s impossible for you to love me, Adam, for you will always love yourself more.”
The moment stretched long. Adam stared at her with an unreadable expression. The only sound was that of water crashing into white foam. Then he raised a hand to her cheek, cupping it gently as his eyes skimmed the features of her face. His thumb traced the line of her jaw and rubbed lightly over her lips. Then his hands fell limply to his sides. Turning abruptly, he took another path toward the ocean.
Grace drew a deep, cleansing breath. The ocean breeze cooled her heated flesh. Evident by his initial glibness, Adam would never understand the pain he’d inflicted by his betrayal, a physical pain so intense she would, given the choice, rather cut off an arm than go through it again.
He simply didn’t understand that some deeds were so hurtful mere words couldn’t erase them. He cared about her, maybe even still loved her, but she would never be enough. He would always need other women to bolster his self-confidence and meet his needs.
Wearily, she tried to remember why she’d been attracted to him. She recalled he had been charming, wonderful company and made her feel as if she were the only woman who mattered. She foolishly believed every lie, every deception, when all he wanted was to turn her into one of his adoring fans. Though still incredibly handsome, he’d lost his appeal because he had lost her respect.