“Yes, you did.”
I braved looking at him, but shouldn’t have. He was beyond mad. “Okay, I meant it,” I agreed dismally. “But I’m very sorry you heard it. I would never intentionally hurt your feelings.”
“You really don’t like me?” he asked. He sounded more incredulous than hurt or insulted.
I shrugged my shoulders and stared at my lap. That seemed to make him even madder. “No way, Grace. We’re having this conversation.”
I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to make him feel worse, but there was nothing I could say to make things better; I’m not a good enough liar. “What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to tell me the truth.” I was startled by the calmness in his voice. I looked up at him again and even though I could tell he was still upset, he was doing his best to control his temper. “How can you not like me? I’m one of the only people at school who’s nice to you.”
“But you aren’t nice to me,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “You help me because you have some kind of hero complex or something. It makes you feel good about yourself or look good in front of your friends. If you really liked me, or wanted to be nice to me, you’d say hello every now and then when I wasn’t breaking my ankle or locking myself out of my car. You’d have made an attempt to get to know me today instead of spending the hours making me feel like a bigger idiot than I already do.”
Ethan sighed. “Grace, I was just teasing.”
I met his stare with determination. “Were you?”
Ethan’s hesitation was enough of an answer for me. He wasn’t that good of a liar, either.
“Grace…” Ethan sighed again, but I shook my head. He was right. We needed to have this conversation, and now that he’d started it I had to finish it, or I’d never be able to.
“The truth is, I may be a bit of a spaz, but I’m not stupid. You’re
Ethan Dunn
and I’m…I’m…
Disgrace
.” Ethan frowned, but I hedged on before he could interrupt. “I’m always grateful for your help even if I don’t understand why you do it, but that doesn’t make me blind to your attitude. I know you don’t like me, and it’s okay. I get it. But why should I like you any more than you like me?”
Ethan was shocked, and I couldn’t blame him. That was probably the most I’d ever spoken to him—probably the first time he’d ever seen a hint of my real personality. Heck, it was probably the first time I’d ever spoken my mind to anyone besides Cynthia. I couldn’t believe I’d managed it, either.
“I’m sorry,” I said, and meant it. I’m not a nice girl because I’m shy. I’m a nice girl because I really am nice. I don’t like being rude to people and I absolutely hate hurting people’s feelings—even people I don’t like. “I would never have said anything, but you wanted honesty.”
“Well, that was definitely honest,” Ethan grumbled.
A look of resentment flashed in his eyes so severely that I found myself apologizing again. “I’m sorry,” I said a little breathlessly.
My fear seemed to check him, and he forced himself to calm down. “I’m going to go find the cafeteria. I need some coffee. You want anything?”
I shook my head, and as soon as he walked off I dialed Cynthia’s number.
“What the hell happened?” she yelled when she picked up.
“He heard me.”
“What?”
“Ethan. He heard everything I said to you.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah,
oh
. He was mad. Really mad.”
“Gee, you think? Where is he now?”
I sighed as I watched Ethan disappear around a corner down the hall. “He said he was going to find some coffee, but I really think he just needed some air. You should have seen him. It was awful.”
“Okay, Grace, don’t freak out. We can fix this. I have a million obnoxious brothers. I am the queen of damage control. The first thing you have to do is—”
“Hello,” a soft, almost musical voice interrupted.
When I looked up and found a beautiful boy standing in front of me, I actually gasped in surprise. If I wasn’t so used to Ethan’s perfection, I’d have bet money this guy was a dream because normal people aren’t that attractive. He had dark, shiny hair and the most gorgeous golden eyes that had a sort of sparkle to them. His very full, very kissable lips were curved in a subtle smile.
He stared down at me as if he were confused about something, and also full of wonder.
“Grace?” Cynthia asked over the phone.
I was too startled to respond. I couldn’t do anything but watch the stranger standing in front of me.
“Grace?” I heard Cynthia say again. “Who was that? Did I hear a guy’s voice? Is there a guy trying to talk to you? He’s hot, isn’t he? Holy crap, Gracie! You have to say something. Don’t spaz out. Just say hi.”
“Hi,” I choked out to the boy.
He flashed me a sharp smile and then sat down in the seat Ethan had just vacated.
“Grace!” Cynthia shouted so loudly that she snapped me from the stranger’s trance.
“I’ll talk to you later,” I said. I could hear her shouting as I flipped my phone shut.
“I’m sorry if I startled you,” the boy said. “I just couldn’t help witnessing the argument between you and your
boyfriend
—the word was a question—just now. I thought you might like some company.”
“Um…” I gulped. “He isn’t my boyfriend.”
The stranger smiled again, a smile so bright several people around us started staring at him. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
He was gorgeous in a pretty way, and yet something about him implied a hint of danger. Warning bells started going off in the back of my mind. Over the years I’ve learned to trust those warning bells, so I leaned back, took a deep breath, and said, “I’m sorry. I can’t get you a job with my father.”
“Excuse me?”
“You recognize me, right? You have to. That’s the only reason guys like you ever talk to me. Well, I’m sorry. I can’t get you an internship, or an interview for your school paper, or whatever it is you want. In case you haven’t noticed, I can’t even get him to pick me up from the hospital, so I’m afraid you’re just wasting your breath.”
He looked confused enough that I actually believed he might not know what I was talking about. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. He didn’t go to my school, so he couldn’t know that I’m socially incompetent and so clumsy I’m practically handicapped. And I suppose I’m kind of cute—skinny, with lustrous brunette hair, and chocolate brown eyes. My style is very all-American-girl-next-door, according to my dad’s team of people who get paid a lot to make sure I look that way. I’m presentable, but definitely no bombshell—which I’m very sure this guy could get at the drop of a hat.
“Fine,” I said. “If you don’t want to use me to get to my father, then what
do
you want?”
The boy grinned as though I were the most entertaining person he’d ever met. “Must I want something?”
“Everybody wants something.”
He thought about it for a second and then said, “I very much want to know you. I find you rather fascinating.”
I would have laughed, except he couldn’t help the look on his face. For some insane reason, I really did fascinate him.
“There’s something about you,” the stranger said. He reached up as if he wanted to touch me, but when I flinched he pulled his hand back. “You’re different than anyone I’ve ever met.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. “Oh, I don’t doubt that.”
This guy was so self-confident he was intimidating. He was also drop-dead gorgeous and dressed very expensively despite the casual appearance. I know this thanks to my dad, his image consultant, and, of course, the awesome kids at Atherton Prep—kids with whom he’d fit right in. He was probably the Ethan Dunn of his own elite private school somewhere.
“I’m Andrew De La Cote. And you are…?”
Something about this guy was unsettling, but it’s not like gorgeous guys talk to me every day. Plus, I’d been sitting in this stupid hospital for hours. Even if he was the paparazzi hoping to talk me out of juicy family secrets or lure me into some compromising position for a good money shot, I was desperate enough for company that I told him my name.
“Grace.”
“Grace…?”
“Just Grace.”
“All right. I’ll take what I can get. It’s nice to meet you, Grace.”
He stuck his hand out to me, and when I shook it he laid his other hand on top of mine. His fingers were a little cold, but his skin was as smooth as a baby’s. His face got that look of incredulity again, and he began to stroke the back of my hand.
There was something in his touch that terrified me, some kind of strange sensation that made me want to never break our connection. My frustration vanished and I no longer cared if my dad ever showed up, so long as Andrew didn’t let me go. But that was insane.
I tried to pull away from him, but his grip on me was too strong.
“So deliciously warm,” he mused with that wonderment back in his tone. He flashed me a smile that was both alluring and frightening. “And such a stunning blush in your cheeks.”
I tried to look away, but he caught my face in his hand. “And yet…,” he whispered to himself in awe.
I tried to pull away from him again, but he was so overwhelming that my attempt was weak. Thankfully, a huge hospital orderly came up to us and cleared his throat. It was the first time I’ve ever been grateful for my quasi-celebrity status. “Is this young man bothering you, Miss St. Claire?”
I expected that to be enough to make Andrew back off, but he didn’t let go of me. “Grace
St. Claire
?” he asked with a look that made me nervous. He’d figured out who I was.
I looked up at the orderly, but before I could ask him for help Andrew rose to his feet and shook the man’s hand. “Everything’s fine here,” he said, flashing the man a dazzling smile. “Thank you for your concern.”
I was shocked when the orderly smiled back at him. “No problem. Let me know if you need anything, Miss St. Claire.”
I gaped at the guy as he walked away until Andrew startled me back to the present. He pushed a lock of my hair behind my ear and said, “You are an amazing creature, Grace. I really must get to know you better. Why don’t we go someplace a little more private?”
Forget the warning bells. Connection or not, fear and panic seized me. I yanked myself away from him as hard as I could. The move surprised him enough that he let me go, his smile dissolving into a confused frown.
“How did you do that?” I asked.
“Do what?”
“That orderly. What did you do to him?”
Andrew looked startled. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Yeah, right. Liar, liar pants on fire!
“Well,” I said as I scrambled to my feet. My brain was screaming at me to get out of there fast. “It’s been nice chatting with you and all, Andrew, but I actually have to get going.”
My escape attempt didn’t work very well because I dropped one of my crutches and when I bent over to pick it up, everything dumped out of my backpack all over the floor.
Andrew quickly helped me gather everything up and then handed me the crutch I’d dropped after my backpack was securely on my back.
“Forgive me,” he said. “I’ve been too forward.”
“Understatement.”
“I would still like to get to know you. Is it too late to ask you to dinner sometime?”
“Um, yeah, I think so. Sorry.”
Believe it or not, this was the first time I was asked on a date by someone who wasn’t trying to use me to get close to my father. If I wasn’t completely terrified of this guy, I’d probably have been sad about turning him down.
I started to hobble over to the information desk, dialing my dad’s cell number at the same time, and crashed into a candy striper and her cart full of supplies. When I ended up on my back, I sighed in defeat and just laid on the ground with my eyes closed until a strong pair of hands lifted me up. I expected it to be Andrew, but it turned out that I had a tiny bit of luck for once in my life.
“You okay, Gracie?” Randy, my dad’s head security guard, asked.
I nodded as he set me back on my feet. My dad was standing right next to us, observing the cast on my leg and the toppled over supply cart. “Oh, Gracie,” he said with a disappointed shake of his head. “You’ve really made a mess of things this time, haven’t you?”
I didn’t even care that those were the first words he said to me. I threw my arms around his neck as tightly as I could.
My dad was so surprised that he actually hugged me back. “Everything okay?” he asked, his voice filled with sudden concern.
“I’m just really glad you’re here,” I said. I couldn’t help myself. I was so relieved, I was actually shaking. Then the truth slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. “There was this guy and he sort of creeped me out.”
That was all it took to send my dad’s security team into a frenzy. They spread out on heightened alert while Randy bombarded me with questions.
Ethan chose that moment to reappear with a Styrofoam cup in his hand. He took one look at my face and rushed over to me. “Grace? What’s wrong? I was only gone ten minutes. What happened?”