Grace (The Family Simon #5)- Juliana Stone Page 0,64
her bag onto the desk, suddenly nervous and not really knowing why.
“Hey, you okay?” Matt reached for her and she snuggled up against him. With her cheek pressed into his chest, she inhaled that unique scent that was Matt and closed her eyes.
“I’m perfect.” And she was. In this moment, in this place, with this man…she was one hundred and fifty percent perfect with the world.
“Your family is real nice.”
“They’re not always so well behaved, but I’ll keep them.”
A few seconds ticked by. “Grace we should talk.” His voice was quiet. Too quiet.
Her stomach rolled and the panic that swelled inside her was something fierce. No. The word whispered through her head and she shook her head. “It can wait, Matt.”
“That’s just it, Bluebell. I don’t think it can.”
“Please, Matt.” Straight up, she was a coward and for the moment she could live with that. “Let’s just have tonight for us. Nothing but you and me. Let’s forget about everything else.”
His arms tightened around her and she squeezed her eyes shut when she felt his lips graze the top of her head. His hands sank into her hair and with a groan, she turned to him, accepting his mouth and kissing him back hungrily.
Clothes went flying. Elbows and knees bumped against furniture. Naked limbs entwined on the bed. Grace loved Matt with everything that she had. She used her body—her mouth, her fingers, her tongue and hips. She used everything but her words to let him know the depth of her love.
There was a frenetic, desperate quality to their lovemaking and it went on for hours. She loved him until the first streaks of dawn crept over the horizon. And when she finally fell asleep, exhausted, satiated and sore, that fear that had been building for hours twisted and turned. It was a heavy stone in her gut.
A heavy stone that stayed with her long after she fell asleep.
26
Team pink was up by five points. Matt had no idea how since they had some serious competition, but it seemed to him Grace was the secret weapon. His lady was fierce and competitive and not above using devious means to beat her brothers. And beating them was exactly what she and team Pink were doing.
They’d just finished a pretty intensive scavenger hunt through the bush and once again, team Pink had the most items on the list. They’d also won the wheel barrow race, and Grace could skip a stone across the water like no tomorrow.
It was early afternoon and they’d been at it since breakfast with no end in sight. Up next, hot potato toss (whatever the hell that was).
Matt accepted a hot beverage from Betty Jo and leaned back in his seat. The two of them had insisted on a break. A roaring fire was going down near the water and the heat felt wonderful. Beau had just taken Fitz up for a nap and Grace was arguing with her brothers over the validity of one of their finds.
“We already won,” he said to Betty Jo. “What’s the point?”
“The point is, my friend, Grace Simon might be small and cute, but she’s tenacious as hell and doesn’t give up. And she sure as hell doesn’t like to lose.”
Matt watched her, his chest tightening when her brother, Teague, picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He marched her over to one of the biggest snow drifts around and threatened to toss her into it. The two of them yelled and laughed and yelled some more until they both fell.
Eden Simon came rushing out of the house and peered over the upper deck. She spied her children and then relaxed, shaking her head before disappearing back inside. This family was whole. Intact. And he was humbled to be here with them.
“She’s not going to give up on you. You know that, right?” Betty kicked his foot.
“I’m not so sure.”
Betty Jo grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard. “I’ve never seen you like this before, Matt. She’s good for you. And in spite of what you think, you’re damn good for her.”
“Delilah came back.” And there it was in a nutshell.
Betty Jo sank back into her chair. “Shit. Did she and Grace talk?”
He nodded. “Yep.”
“What did the bitch tell her?”
“Nothing. As far as I know, nothing.” He glanced at Betty Jo. Saw her surprise.
“Well, what did she want? Did you talk to her? I hope you told her to screw the hell off and leave you alone.”