“Hey, do you want me to move that over here?” Adam asked, indicating the heavy bag.
Grace shook her head. “No. It’s fine. I like to keep it close. It’s kind of got my whole life in it. I never let that sucker out of my sight.”
Adam leaned back, his masculine beauty a study in negligent grace. “I bet it’s not your whole life, sweetheart.”
She sank into the comfortable booth, every muscle in her body relaxing after a taxing day. She needed this. She needed to sit and talk to friends and drink a glass of wine. It reminded her that she really did have a life. “You would be surprised. My kids are in college. I live alone. Work is pretty much my life.”
And she’d been all right with that for the last few years. After her husband died, sinking into work and family had been comforting. But lately, she’d felt how alone she was. Watching Adam and Jake connect was a bittersweet reminder of how much she’d missed having a man in her life.
“Two Cosmos.” Jake smiled down at Grace as he passed her a frosty pink drink. He set one in front of Adam as well. Grace noted that Jake already had a beer sitting in front of his seat.
“Seriously?” Adam asked, staring at the drink.
Jake grinned at his new boyfriend. They were so cute together. “I remember you talking about how much you loved Cosmos. And I know Grace likes them. Look at how cute she looks with a pink drink in her hand. Very festive.”
Grace took a sip. She really did love Cosmos.
Adam reached out for his. “Nice beer you have there, Jake.”
Jake slid into the booth next to Adam. He picked up his beer and tipped it toward his partner. “I’m not as urbane as you, love. I’m afraid I’m still a country boy at heart. I just love a nice, cold beer.”
Adam’s eyes narrowed briefly and then he smiled that sweet, smooth smile Grace was coming to love. His shoulders came up in a negligent shrug. “Well, it’s your ruggedness I find truly attractive.” He turned to Grace. “Although softness is infinitely appealing, too.”
She rolled her eyes as she took another sip of her icy cold drink. Adam was a ridiculous flirt. He seemed to prefer to flirt with women though, she’d noticed. She supposed women were safe to flirt with. Jake didn’t seem at all jealous as Adam’s hand found hers across the table and entwined their fingers together. Adam really was a tactile person. He was always hugging her and taking her hand.
“I’m not so soft, you know,” Grace countered. “Just today, I had to put a man in his place.”
She grinned, thinking about it. Sean Johansson had tried to maneuver her into spending the afternoon with him. He’d had all kinds of excuses for why she should sit in on the meeting between him and Matt. She had only really needed one reason to not sit close to Sean. Last night’s episode with Matt had her thinking. She had to keep Sean at arm’s length. He was too tempting. If she let herself go along with his playful flirtation, she was going to end up the laughingstock of the office.
“I heard that big blond guy was hitting on you pretty hard,” Jake said. He’d taken off his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his immaculate dress shirt, showing off several inches of tan, muscular skin. No wonder Adam was so into him.
Grace waved off his words with the hand Adam wasn’t holding. “He’s a man after a good deal. I think he’s figured out the way to the boss’s heart is through his admin.”
“Then why was Kayla playing admin today?” Adam asked.
That had been her solution. Kayla had been more than amenable. Sean had told her that he required someone to take notes and type them up so he would have a hard copy of all the meeting’s high points. Grace had given him Kayla, who was more than happy to stare at the gorgeous man all day long. Grace had beaten a hasty retreat, holing up in the supply closet doing an inventory that wasn’t really due for another two weeks and that should have been handled by someone else.
She’d run like the coward she was, and she wasn’t ashamed. “I had some other things to do. Kayla didn’t mind.”
Adam chuckled a bit. “Give him hell, sweetheart. Don’t you let that big bastard charm you. I know the type.”
“Really?” Jake asked, staring pointedly at Adam.
“I do. He looks like the ‘love ’em and leave ’em’ type. He’s not right for our Grace.” Adam’s hand stroked across hers sweetly. “Grace needs someone different. She needs someone who’s in it for the long haul.”
A long shadow fell over the table. “What are we hauling? Dare I take a wild guess?”
Grace pulled her hand back from Adam’s. Sean stood at the head of their table, his jacket held over one shoulder. Like Jake, he’d ditched the tie and looked gorgeous and casual. He stared down at Adam, a fierce frown on his face.
Adam sat back. If he was intimidated by Sean’s caveman act, he wasn’t showing it. “I was just telling my dear friend here how she has to watch out for men who would take advantage of her.”
“Yes, she should be careful of that. She’s a beautiful woman. There are a lot of liars out there. There are a lot of men who would misrepresent themselves in order to get close to a woman like Grace.”
Grace looked between Adam and Sean, trying to figure out the weird tension between the two of them. “Do you two know each other?”
Sean’s face changed in an instant. His smile grew wide, and he ignored Adam. He laid his jacket over the back of the booth and held out his hand. “Not at all, sweetheart. I’m just jealous that you avoided me all day, but you seek him out. Dance with me, Grace.”
She actually felt her heart speed up. O’Hagen’s had a small dance floor, but despite the music playing, almost no one ever used it. The song had switched from a bouncy pop tune to a slow, sexy ballad. No one danced to music like this. This was the type of music a man used as an excuse to plaster himself all over a lover in public. “Oh, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
His jaw hardened, and his voice was deeper as he spoke to her. “Grace, it would please me greatly if you would dance with me.”
He knew exactly what to say to her. She started to slide out of the bench. Sean took her hand and helped her out. She stood, and he was standing so close she could feel the heat from his body. She had to tilt her head up to see his face.