to Grace’s cottage.
Chapter Ten
Grace pulled Owen into her cottage and the instant the door shut, she pressed him up against it, her hands on his chest. As she let her gaze travel over him, she licked her lips.
“Careful, Grace,” he said, his voice husky. “If you keep that up, you’re going to have a choice to make.”
“Really?” She brought her hand up and caressed the small cleft in his chin with her thumb. “What choice would that be?”
His eyes were dark pools of lust as he said, “To either kick me out or let me strip you naked and take you right here against the wall.”
Raw desire rippled through Grace, and she had zero confidence that she could stop the runaway train they were on, not that she wanted to. She leaned into him and whispered, “Bedroom.”
He kissed her and started walking her backward down the hall. She reached up, already undoing his buttons, while he tugged her blouse out of her pants. His hands were on her bare skin, sending tingles up and down her spine. Was this really happening? If it wasn’t, she was having one hell of a realistic dream.
“Which door is it?” he asked between kisses.
“End of the hall.” She finished off his last button and was in the middle of shoving his shirt off his shoulders when loud voices echoed from the living room.
“Just stop, okay? I’m not going to call her,” Lex said, her voice raised and full of exasperation.
Her outburst was followed by a softer voice, but it was no less insistent. Grace was certain the second person was Bronwyn Bellweather, Lex’s girlfriend.
Grace froze and whispered, “That’s my niece.”
“Niece?” Owen jumped back, stumbling into the wall and tugging his shirt back on.
“Grace? Is that you?” Lex called. “Are you home?”
Since Grace’s car was in the garage and they’d neglected to turn on any lights, there hadn’t been anything to tip Lex off that she was there. “Yes. I’ll be right out.”
“Good,” she said, her voice sounding closer. “I thought for a moment there might be an—oh!” She rounded the corner into the hallway and came to a dead stop. “Omigod. Sorry, Grace. Bron and I will just get out of your hair.” She glanced at Owen, her face flushing red. Then she spun around and hurried back into the living room.
“You don’t have to leave,” Grace called. “We’ll be out in a second.”
“It’s really not a problem. We can go get ice cream or something.”
“There’s some in the freezer,” Grace countered.
Owen cleared his throat. “Ice cream?”
“Yep. Chocolate peanut butter.” Grace chuckled grimly and slapped her hand over her eyes as she let out a sigh. “I can’t believe you just got cock-blocked by a couple of lesbians.”
“Seriously?” He laughed. “That’s a new one.”
Grace hastily tucked in her shirt and waited until Owen put himself back together. Then she guided him back into the living room where Lex was sprawled on the couch and Bronwyn was sitting in the armchair across from her.
“Can we stop talking about this now?” Lex asked, sounding defeated.
Bronwyn brushed her chestnut curls out of her eyes, revealing her concerned expression. “But, babe. She’s your mom. You can’t just keep ignoring her.”
“Who says I can’t!” Lex jumped up off the couch, suddenly so angry her face turned red. “She keeps trying to erase you from my life. The worst part is that she’s denying a part of me for her own selfish fantasy of what she wants my life to look like. Don’t you see how much that hurts me every time she does that? And you want me to just forgive her? No. Forget it. I’m done with that.”
Bronwyn stood, too. “How can things get better if you don’t give her a chance? When I sat down and talked to my mom—”
“My mom isn’t your mom!” Lex buried both hands in her short hair and tugged so hard she winced.
Owen leaned close to Grace’s ear and whispered, “It looks like you might have your hands full. I should probably get going.”
He was right. There was a full-on meltdown going on in her living room. She didn’t want Owen to have to deal with their family drama. “I’m sorry. This isn’t how I envisioned the night going,” she whispered back and then turned her attention to the two women who were still each trying to argue their perspectives on insensitive mothers. “Hey,” Grace said gently. “How about you both take a time out for a sec here. I’m going to