"Hey there! Are you working? Am I interrupting you?"
"It's okay," said Grace hitting Save and then swiveling her chair away from the computer. "I'll make up for it next week when my main distraction is out of town. How's the packing coming?"
Nick, AJ and Howie were headed to New York to do a promotional thing for DLF, Howie's charity. Grace planned to atone for lazy days spent cruising the ocean by concentrating on her work fulltime.
"Um...are you busy tonight?" asked Nick tentatively. "I wondered if you would go to dinner with me."
Grace looked at her watch. It was already three o'clock. "Is this your way of putting off packing?" she chided gently.
"No...um, it's just that..." and he proceeded to explain what had just happened.
"Meet Kevin? Jeez, I don't know, Nick. My armor's at the cleaner's." She laughed, but she was suddenly very nervous.
“Please,” pleaded Nick. “Brian will look bad if we don’t. And he was trying to do a good thing.”
“Okay,” conceded Grace with a sigh, but she didn’t see how any successful evening could be built on such a web of lies.
******************************"Kevin Scott Richardson, you will behave yourself this evening. Do you hear me?"
"Now Kris, when am I not the soul of gentility and Southern courtesy?"
"When you are raking one of Nick's girls over the coals, that's when!" she shot back. "And you aren't going to do that tonight."
"Yes, dear," he grinned, advancing toward her. "Whatever you say, dear." He slipped his arms around her and kissed her. "Will I get a reward later if I'm a good little boy?" he asked, a mischievous grin lighting his face.
Kristin gave him a sexy look. "If you're a good little boy at dinner, you can be a bad little boy later."
Kevin laughed. "Deal!" he stated emphatically. "I'll behave."
Kristin sobered. "Seriously, Baby, Leighanne says that Nick really likes this girl. And the whole broken leg thing is kind of good, because it's giving them time to, you know, get to know each other without sex getting in the way."
"I wouldn't let a little thing like a broken leg get in my way of having sex with you," laughed Kevin, running his fingers down the side of her face.
"Down, boy!" she laughed. "Come on, let's go!"
******************************Nick and Brian had been wrong about how much Kristin would tell Kevin. Leighanne and Kristin had lots of things they kept from their husbands. When Brian told Leighanne what he had done, she gave him hell and told him she’d do the best she could. She immediately called Kristin. They talked it over and decided it had to be quick and simple – steaks, baked potatoes, salad. Kris would order a dessert from her favorite bakery and have it delivered. Leighanne would hit the market for some easy appetizers – pate, crackers, cheese. Done! Now what about this girl?
Leighanne told her everything Brian had told her so far, which was everything Brian knew. He discussed everything with his wife.
"It sounds like he's really interested in her," said Kris. Kevin had said very little to her on the subject, other than the first day when he told her how they met and his doubts about it lasting, especially with the ex-fiancé so recently departed from the scene.
"Yeah, Brian thinks this could really be something but then again, you know Brian. He is so desperate for Nick to find someone, he likes them all. Not that there have been that many that have lasted into the second week."
Kristin laughed. "Yeah, and people don't believe it, but he's had some long dry spells. If Nick was getting it as much as the fans thought he was, his thing would have worn right off by now."
The two women laughed together and made a pact that they would decide as quickly as they could whether or not they liked Grace. If they did, they would do their best to spare her the Kevin inquisition. If they didn't care for her, they'd turn him loose.
******************************"Where's your car?" Grace asked Nick, as he was handing her into a hired car.
"I might feel like drinking tonight," he answered. He didn't want to tell her about the scratches on the car.
"Is it going to be that bad?" she asked, a worried frown settling on her face.
"No, it's going to be great. You're great. I know they'll like you."
"Stay with me!" she commanded, squeezing his hand.
"It will be my pleasure," he said, picking up her hand and kissing it. They held hands in silence for the rest of the trip.
"We won't be too late," Nick said to the driver when they arrived. "Pick us up about ten, if you don't hear from me earlier." The driver nodded and handed over his card. Grace hoped he wouldn't be hearing from them in the next ten minutes. She looked at her watch. It was only six o'clock - four hours to go!
Brian answered the door and ushered them in. "We're out back on the patio," he said. Grace got a glimpse into some rooms as she made her way slowly behind him. She was willing to bet he hadn't had any say in the decorating decisions. Every room she saw was totally feminine - overstuffed and frilly. Leighanne would hate my place, she thought, all spare and angular.
"Kev and Kris are already here," Brian said over his shoulder, causing Grace's stomach to turn over. She felt Nick's hand on her shoulder and she stopped. She turned toward him.
"Good luck," he whispered and kissed her. She made a face at him and stepped outside, trying to take in the scene. The patio was lovely - lots of potted plants and flowering bushes. There was a small pond with a fountain burbling water into it. Off to one side was a rectangular table with a green glass top. A green and blue mesh umbrella poked up from the middle of the table and provided shade. Seated in high-back lawnchairs covered in the same fabric as the umbrella were two blonde women. Grace wasn't sure she could tell them apart.
"They're here," Brian called out and the little troop started making its way toward the table. Leighanne met them halfway and Nick made the introductions. Then he turned to Kristin and did it again.
"And I'm Kevin," said a deep voice behind her. Grace turned her head and looked into the most gorgeous face she had ever seen.
Wow! she thought. His pictures, stunning though they were, did not do him justice in person. Especially his eyes. She realized that she was staring. "Grace Barrett," she stammered, trying to hold out her hand. But he was behind her and the crutches made it awkward and her hand was left flailing in mid-air. Great start, she thought.
Kevin reached around her and took her hand. He shook it firmly, "Pleased to meet you, Grace." He looked at Nick. "Finally."
Nick narrowed his eyes. Don't start, he warned Kevin silently.
Leighanne ushered Grace to a chair. Would she prefer a lounger, what with her leg and all? Brian, bring over that lounge chair. Grace’s protests that she was fine were overridden by Leighanne’s fussing. Finally, Grace was ensconced on a lounge chair. Nick pulled up a chair close to her, so that she wouldn’t be isolated from the group at the table. Kevin picked up his chair and set it down on the other side of her.
Suddenly, Grace realized that she wasn’t the only one who was nervous. Kristin was biting her bottom lip and darting glances at Kevin. Brian bustled around taking drink orders. Leighanne trailed after him. Nick shifted back and forth in his chair. All this nervousness had the strange effect of calming Grace down. Maybe, I just don’t appreciate the gravity of the situation, she mused.
She took a deep breath and turned to Kevin. “So, would you like to see my driver’s license to begin with?” She heard the sharp intake of breath from Nick and Kristin. Brian and Leighanne froze where they were.
Kevin looked her over from head to toe. He saw that she had no purse with her. "Yes, please," he answered and a lop-sided grin crept across his face.
"Tough," she shot back. Their eyes locked together. His broke away first, as he threw his head back and laughed.
"So where are those drinks, Bri?" he asked the host. The tableau unfroze as people started moving and breathing again. Nick and Kristin exchanged a glance. Score one for Grace, he thought. It's early in the game yet, she thought.
Things moved along smoothly. Drinks and appetizers were served. Grace's request for a soft drink was acceded to with only a slight raising of eyebrows. Conversation centered on Nick's trip to New York and then Leighanne's new movie. Grace was quiet, content to listen, but answering easily any comment directed her way. The subject of her profession eventually came up.
"Grace doesn't like our official site," Nick stated.
"Really?" asked Kevin, turning toward her. "Why not?"
Grace didn't detect any challenge in his tone and answered the question honestly and in detail.
Kevin listened intently, nodding once or twice and asking a couple of questions. “You really know your business,” he said, when she was finished. “I’ve never liked that website and you just explained to me why.”
"Okay, guys, hit the grill." Leighanne appeared in the doorway with a platter full of meat. The three men rose and headed to a large barbecue at the other end of the patio.
The women sat and made jokes about men barbecuing in packs. Leighanne cleared the appetizers and went back inside to get dishes and cutlery. Kristin and Grace sat in silence for a few moments. Kristin was pleased that Grace could do that. Some people couldn't do silence - they had to fill the air with talking.
"You're doing fine," she said after a minute. Grace looked at her and grinned. "He just really wants the best for Nick," Kristin continued.
"Who wouldn't?" said Grace, looking over to the little huddle by the grill. The look she bestowed on the tall blond touched Kristin's heart and when Leighanne reappeared carrying plates and salad, Kristen stood up to help her.
"It's all good," she whispered in Leighanne's ear. Leighanne nodded slightly. She thought so too.
******************************Conversation lagged over dinner, as people were busy enjoying the food. After dinner, Leighanne announced that it was getting too buggy for her outside and dessert would be served in the family room. She declined offers of help from both Kristin and Grace, insisting there wasn't much to tidy up and she'd get to it later.
"Better be careful," said Nick and described Grace's marshalling of the troops at his parents' place the previous Sunday.
They all looked at Grace, who shrugged. They were impressed. Anyone who could bring Jane Carter to heel was all right with them.
They enjoyed dessert - a strawberries and cream cake concoction that looked like it might sit heavy on an already full stomach, but which was surprisingly light. Grace exclaimed over it.
"Yes, it is good. Kristin orders it so often, the bakery is thinking of renaming it after her." Kevin looked lovingly at his wife.
"You should tell Antonio about it," said Nick to Grace and they were off on a discussion of their favorite restaurants.
Coffee and more drinks were served. People moved about the room. Grace was stuck in an overstuffed chair. She had to sit, as she couldn't manage crutches and coffee at the same time. The others made sure that she wasn't left on her own and they kept a wary eye on Kevin. Nick flitted around her until Leighanne finally told him to stop hovering and help her carry the coffee things out.
Grace was desperate to get out of the chair and move, but she knew there was no way to do it gracefully. Kevin read her mind. He held out his hands to her and hauled her to her feet in one elegant motion. "Even I have trouble getting out of that chair," he said, "and I have much longer legs than you." He smiled down at her.
"And both of yours are working!" Grace added.
"What's the first thing you're going to do when the cast comes off?" asked Kristin.
"Have a bath," answered Grace without hesitation. "I want to soak in the tub - all of me." She laughed, "I want to be wet."
"You're just like Nick," said Kevin, "a couple of water babies."
Grace looked over to where Nick and Leighanne were coming back into the room. Kevin followed her glance and then looked at Kristin. He smiled at her and nodded. Yes, it was all good.
