Grace Anne - By Kathi S. Barton Page 0,6

over a year now. They were flaming red and she wanted them badly.

She was in her room dressing when she thought of the catalogue. It wasn’t finished. It was Saturday and she thought she’d be done with all this by now. There was still a shoot yet to take. And she had no idea why she didn’t just let the guy from the guild pose for the shot and be done with it. But she couldn’t. He wasn’t right; no one had been right since that arrogant ass had come into her studio and fucked it up. She was just coming down the stairs from the upper levels of the five-story building when she heard Carol talking to someone. She detoured to the living room to see who it was and nearly snapped her tongue off when none other than Arrogant Ass was standing there.

“Here’s Gracie now.” Carol turned when she growled. “She doesn’t normally sound like a dog, but she’s been working a lot. Gracie, this is Mr. Cunningham. The one we were talking about last night.” Carol wiggled her brows. Grace was not amused. “Well, I can see my work here is complete. I’ll call you later, Gracie. Nice to meet you, Mr. Cunningham.”

Carol made several gestures behind the man. All of them having to do with sex. Grace wasn’t a prude, but some of them, she thought, bordered on pornographic. She tried to ignore her and focus on the man in front of her. “How did you get up here? There’s a code on the door and I didn’t allow you in.” She glanced at the door to see if it had been broken into. “I want you to get out before I call the police.”

“The guy downstairs told me that you were up here and that, since it was Saturday and I knew that you lived here, he thought you wouldn’t mind me coming up. And I didn’t tell him anything different.” He looked around the room as he stepped further in. “Nice place.”

Her mind raced to try and remember if anyone had said she lived here. She couldn’t remember anyone letting it slip and was sure he’d lie his way in. She wanted to toss him out on his ear, but in all honesty she was a little afraid to get too close to him. It wasn’t that she was afraid he’d hurt her, she was afraid of what she might do to him.

She’d tried hard to forget the way he’d felt against her. And more, to forget how long it had been since anyone had held her, really held her. She didn’t get a lot of time to date and she figured that if one man could make her feel things that…well, she decided to go out with the first man who asked her just to get back into practice.

“I want you to leave, Mr. Cunningham. I have plans today and dealing with you is not on the list. And don’t come back. I’ve told you numerous times I’m not going to—”

“I just want to have a conversation with you. We were…interrupted the other day and I still want you to consider the offer I’m giving you. You’re keeping me from the project I have to finish and I’m trying to be nice.”

She laughed. Before she could say anything a boy walked into her apartment. “Dad, I have to go to the bathroom. And you said you’d be right back.” He looked from his father to her, then back again. “Please? I have to go really bad.”

“Trace, this is Miss Waite. This is her place; you’ll have to clear it with her.” Michael looked at her with a smirk. “If she doesn’t let you use her bathroom, maybe you could go…I don’t know, pee in the alley.”

She wanted not only to smack his face, but to knock that knowing grin off of it. She counted to ten and then smiled at the boy. “Come along, Trace. I’ll take you. Maybe while we’re gone your father will go down to his car and wait for you. I’m sure he’s wasting his time here. In fact, I’m positive that he is.” She led him down the hall and thought about how much he looked like his father.

Michael really was a beautiful man. Dark hair that was just a bit too long to be conservative and then there was the slight curl at the ends. His son, Trace, had the same dark tone, but his was curlier