The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (5 page)

Matt
released a short sigh, his frustration mounting.
So much for putting
his feelings for her
behind him.
She’d made it more than clear two years ago that
friendship was all she was interested in.
He’d accepted it and
eventually
moved on.
Then why
was he feeling so . . . so disappointed?
He swigged another sip of
coffee,
and tried
to swallow his d
isappointment at the same time.
P
erhaps
some
p
art of him had hoped that
once she was out of law school
she might feel differently.
Obviously nothing but w
ishful thinking
on his part
.

Behind the receptionist’s desk,
Grac
i
e
easily
handled
multiple
phone
calls, multi-tasking throu
gh several projects like a well-
oiled
, organized machine. With her thick dark hair swept up into a twisted knot at the back of her head and the dark busi
ness attire
, she looked almost formidable.
All
five-foot, four-inches of her.

“Are you planning on hanging out here all day?” Her voice held an irritable edge.

“Maybe.”

She
huffed
a puff of air from between pursed lips and returned to her work.

T
wo summers ago
he’d glimpsed her softer side—and her better side, in his opinion—the sweet country girl with the voice of an angel and a heart for God.
He
pressed his lips together
.
Was there any hope of getting that Gracie back?
More importantly, would
he ever be able to prove
he wasn’t the slacker and
daydreamer she imagined him to be?

The phone r
ang again and she answered
,
jotting down
a note while
rearranging her desk to keep everything in
perfect
order
, as though she’d marked the distance between each item with a ruler.
Even
notepads were placed exactly on top of each other
, their sides p
recise and
even
.

He
crossed his arms
.
E
ve
ry
thing about her was too perfect,
f
rom h
er
professional
voice to her
sensibl
e shoes
. But it was more than just
role-playing
. More like her
thinking she could
be perfect
if she tried hard enough
.
Matt frowned.
This wasn’t good at
all. If Gracie kept heading toward
the illusory
trap of perfectionism, she was destined
for a fall—
and not a minor one.

The back door swung open and closed with a bang. Gracie tur
ned her head at the sound, then smoothed
her hair and skirt
and checked
her
teeth
in a small mirror
near her desk
.

Matt
swallowed a gulp of
tepid
coffee, his forehead tight
. Who was she trying to impress?

Andy r
ounded the corner, and his face broke into a
grin
. “
Bro
, when did you get here?”

“Late last night
.”
Matt
hugged his brother
and
patt
ed his back
, careful not to spill the contents of his cup
on Andy’s dark suit or crisp white shirt
.
“Didn’t
wanna
wake you and Trish,
so I stayed at the apartment.”

“You’re
here early, Gracie.” Andy strode
around her to the coffee pot.

She look
ed up momentarily before rifling through a stack of papers.
“It’s a good thing, too. The phone’s been ringing off the hook. Where’s Sandra?”

“Called earlier to say h
er youngest has the chicken pox.” He hesitated, his face strai
ned. “C
an you
cover for her
?
”

“Not a problem.” She spoke the words sincerely
, though
the enthusiasm in her voice lowered a couple of notches
.

Matt
pressed his lips together, the coffee aftertaste in his mouth growing increasin
gly bitter. H
er disease to please had grown worse.
Why didn’t she
stand up for herself?

“Good old Gracie, a
s dependa
ble as always.” Andy
patted her on the head
like an obedient puppy
. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were after something. A raise, maybe?” He winked at Matt.

Graci
e flashed Matt
a “don’t-you-dare-tell” look, but didn’t answer.

He
flinched inwardly.
Him and his stupid promises.
How could he help Andy see that he needed to treat Gracie more like an attorney and less like a
crack-filler
, ye
t
not breat
he a w
ord about Gracie’s desire
to become a prosecutor
?
More than that, what could he do to help G
racie feel more appreciated?
The seed of an idea
root
ed
in his brain.

Andy stopped beside him. “
Wanna
do lunch
later
?”

“Sure. I’
ll hang around ‘
til then.”
That wo
uld give him time to work on the
surprise for Gracie.

His brother checked his wristwatch. “I have a few client
appointments this morning, but
should be done by noon.” He turned to Gracie. “Can you bring
me the
files
for this morning’s clients
?” Without waiting for an answer, he steppe
d to his office
and closed the door behind him
.

Her
lips tightened
and her shoulders drooped. “Sure.”

Matt’s heart tumbled.
Poor thing.
Today should have been a day of celebration for her.
Instead it had turned in
to the same boring routine.
He caught her attention.
“You okay?”

She nodded and
went back to work
.

The front door creaked open,
and a spry, elderly man strode
by. He nodded at Matt. “Morning, Gracie.”

“Good morning, Ben.”

T
he
man
tottered down the hallway
and entered one of the offices.

Matt gazed after him.
“Who was that?”

Gracie raised one eyebrow.
“One of the new partners, Ben Snodgrass.
He joined the firm about the same time as Jason.”

“Jason?”

She star
ed at him like he’d lost his mind. “
Jason
Den
t, t
he other new partner. You haven’t been here in a while, have you?”

“Then w
hy don’t you fill me in?” He nodded toward the office the old man had entered. “What’s he like?”

Wavy lines wriggled their
way onto her forehead. “Honestly, he kind of gives me the creeps. H
e’s always
sneak
ing
up on me, like he’s part feline or something.”

“And the other new guy?”

This time her face took on a certain fascination, but before she could speak, the d
oor opened again, and a guy who
looked like he’d stepped off the cover of
GQ
strode
in.
He wore an expensive black suit and tie
which
set off his dark complexion,
steely blue eyes
,
and broad shoulders
.
“Good morning, Grace.”
His
British accent
was the proverbial icing on the cake
.

“Good morning, Jason.”
Her eyes widened, and s
he spoke the wor
ds
downright
cheerfully,
accompanied with
a brilliant smile.

Matt’
s
stomach lurched unexpectedly
, depositing the taste of acid on his tongue
.
The
smitten
look on Gracie’s face told him all he didn’t
wanna
know.

“Any messages for me?”
Andy
’s
partner
directed the words at
Gracie
then turned his
way with
a nod and closed-lip smile
,
obviously
confident in his ability to turn women’s heads wherever he went
.

“Yes.” Gracie reached for a stack of pink memos. “You seem to be in high demand
as usual
.”

Jason reached for the pile of notes
, his fingers casually touching Gracie’s
. “Thanks.”
He stepp
ed toward another office
as he perused them, his perfectly polished shoes tapping against the laminate floors and the scent of his tastefully expensive cologne clogging the air
.

Gracie’s eyes trailed after him wistfully
, but then
she
turned
to pull the files his brother requested.

“You didn’t answer my question.”
Well, maybe she had.

She glanc
ed up, her brow creased in a frown.
“Hmm?”

“What’s Jason like?”

A non-committal shrug lifted her small shoulders
. “He’s a great attorney.”

“Married?”

“No.”
Her voice held
hostility. “Why do you ask?”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say that you’re interested in him—other than professionally.”

H
er
dark
eyes shot sparks
. “
First of all, I don’t remember asking you. Secondly,
Jason happens to be one of the b
est defense attorneys in this
area
of the state
.”

“I thought you were more interested in the prosecution end of things.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate his legal skills.”
Now her voice escalated in volume.

Matt ga
ve a short laugh. “Quit deceiving
yourself, Gracie Mae.”

Jason exited
his office
, a
frown
connecting
his dark eyebrows. “Is there a problem, Mr.—?”
A protective edge colored his words
.

Matt extended a
hand
and looked up at him
. It didn’t help matters that Jason
outsized him by a good six inches
.
“I’m Matt.”

Grac
i
e cleared her throat
, her cheeks
still
red
from the argument
. “Matt is Andy’s younger brother.”

Jason
grasped hi
s hand quickly. “Oh,
I’m Jason.
Sorry if I came across as rude.
I thought you
were harassing Grace
.”

“Every chance I get.” He ignored the glare Gracie shot at him.
“
H
ow do
you like
Miller’s Creek
?”

The handsome at
torney nodded agreeably. “L
ove it.
” His eyes perused Matt’s appearance.
“
I take it you’re a college student?”