* * * *
Matt’s street was very quiet as she turned into his driveway. Grace checked her rearview mirror and breathed a small sigh of relief. There wasn’t anyone behind her now. For awhile, she’d thought she was being followed, but given the time of night and how tired she was, she brushed off the feeling as paranoia.
Soft lights broke through the dark night. It looked like Matt had every light in the house on. The minute she opened the car door, Matt was striding out of the house. He was dressed in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, his feet bare. His hair was wet from a recent shower. Even in the dim light, she could tell his eyes were red.
“Did you bring it?” His hand was out as he walked across the yard.
Grace practically threw the damn thing at him. “There’s your thumb drive.”
She turned to get back in her car. Matt’s hand was on her shoulder in an instant.
“Come inside. Just for a minute. I want to talk to you about something, and it’s best we don’t do it at the office.” His voice had softened, and the hand on her shoulder ran down her arm. “Please?”
Grace sighed and followed him inside. It seemed like the night was never going to end.
She walked through his entryway and into the living room. It looked as though he’d tried to straighten up the place. The pillows were back on the couch, and the papers that had been strewn all over were now in a neat pile on the coffee table. Matt shut the door behind them and gestured to Grace to sit down. She planted herself on his sofa and hoped this would be over soon.
“What is it, Matt?” Grace asked, trying to sound somewhat interested in what he had to say. She bit back a yawn. She needed her beauty sleep. Sean Johansson would be back in the morning. She didn’t want to look like a hag. She wondered briefly if she had a low-cut blouse in that closet dungeon of hers.
“I need to talk to you about this Johansson guy.”
He had Grace’s full attention now.
“I don’t want you to make a fool of yourself over him. You have to see he’s not really interested in you. He’s interested in getting a good contract.” Matt stood over her like a father talking to a recalcitrant daughter. His mouth was a flat line as he regarded her.
“I know that.” Grace felt her face go up in flames. She wished she didn’t have such damn fair skin. She couldn’t hide her reactions. She did know Sean wasn’t really interested. She’d told herself the same thing. Hearing it put so bluntly, though, made her feel like an idiot for the little daydream she’d had before.
“Do you? You can’t possibly believe he wants you. He’s ten years younger than you and looks like he could have any woman who caught his eye. Don’t try to tell me you didn’t notice. You were practically drooling over the bastard the minute he walked in the door,” Matt said on a low growl.
Humiliation washed over her. Grace stood up, blinking back tears. She was not going to cry. “It wasn’t drool. It was a product of my advanced age. Now, if you’re done, I’ll take my elderly bones and ugly face and get the hell out of here.”
“Damn it, I’m fucking this up.” Matt’s face fell. He reached out to grab her hand. “I’m sorry, Grace. I can’t get anything right today. Number one, you’re not old. You’re forty, a year older than me.”
She held herself stiffly. It was different for a man. She knew it. He knew it.
His words were soft and cajoling now. “And there is absolutely nothing ugly about you. God, Grace, sometimes I think I stopped dating because I figured out I was never going to find anyone as lovely and amazing as you.”
Grace snorted. She knew it was a horrible sound, but she couldn’t help herself. He couldn’t possibly insult her like that and then think she would buy his compliments. “Don’t feed me a line of crap.”
Matt straightened up. “It’s not a line of crap. It’s true. Maybe seeing how that big blond bastard affected you is making me come to my senses. I need to get off the fence, or I could lose you. I really care about you, Grace. I think we make a good team. We work well together. We like each other. Well, I like you and you tolerate me. It’s not a bad basis for a relationship.”
“Are you still drunk?” Grace leaned in to get a good whiff of his breath. It wouldn’t be the first time he attempted to get over a hangover by starting in on a new drunk.
Matt leaned over. One minute Grace was trying to discern her boss’s recent liquor intake, and the next his lips were shockingly pressed against hers. Grace was stunned into stillness. Matt’s hands found her waist, and he pulled her close. Her chest was smashed against his. Matt’s dry lips nibbled at hers almost hesitantly, then with more force as his hands began taking a bold voyage towards her rear end.
“Matt!” Grace pushed at him, the feel of his hands on her ass pushing her out of shock and into action. “What the hell are you doing?”
He smiled sheepishly. “Something I should have done a long time ago.” He held his hands up in mock surrender. “And I’m moving way too fast, as usual. Look, I just wanted to warn you about Johansson. I don’t want that bastard to break your heart. You’ve been through enough. You need a man who’ll take care of you.”
Given the way she’d spent the entire evening dealing with Matt’s shit, she seriously doubted he was the one to take care of her. A million and one thoughts flittered through her head, each trying and not finding purchase. She was flustered, and it must have shown on her face.
Matt pushed back a piece of hair that had come loose. “Let’s forget that whole kissing thing happened, okay?”
Grace nodded eagerly. She was more than willing to forget that bit of idiocy. She’d never once thought of Matt in any terms other than friend and boss and sometime burden. “No problem. We can blame it on the tequila.”
He nodded. “But I want you to think about it, Grace. I think we could make something work. I think we could be happy.”
“Matt…”
He put a finger over her lip. “Hush. I just asked you to think about it. Can you do that?”
Grace nodded. She doubted she would be able to think about anything else.
Chapter Four
Grace set her laptop bag at her feet as she scooted into the booth at O’Hagen’s. The small pub was half a block away from the office, making it the perfect place to end the very long and frustrating day. When Adam had shown up at her desk at four, she’d leapt at the chance to spend a little time with him and Jake.