“You’re insatiable,” she said to him.
He bit her bottom lip then let her go. She adjusted her skirt and left the room, still feeling his eyes on her. She wanted to stay with him, but she had to make arrangements for the next day. Most difficult of all, she had to tell her grandmother that Grant would be accompanying them.
“Kate, you’re back!” her grandmother called enthusiastically from the living room. She had the TV on mute. “I have my outfit all picked out for tomorrow. I’m thinking we can mix up mimosas and apricot sours. Wait, why are you looking at me like that? Are you canceling on me?”
“No, of course not, but don’t worry about the picnic. Stefan has it covered.”
“Stefan! Oh no. You’re bringing Grant, aren’t you.”
“Of course I’m bringing Grant to the charity polo match his aunt is organizing. At one point, you were very impressed with him, you know.”
“That was before he started taking advantage of you.”
“No one is taking advantage of me. He needs to go out and meet people.”
Her grandmother scoffed.
“Let’s try to have a good attitude,” Kate pleaded with her grandmother.
“I can’t make any promises. But I’ll try,” she said, cutting off Kate’s protests. “Are you hungry? Of course you are. All that sex works up an appetite.”
“Gram!” Kate said, horrified.
Margaret cackled. “I was young once, too, you know!”
Chapter 26
Grant
It was warm the day of the polo match. It was on a private island off of the coast. Grant and Kate drove there with her grandmother. Stefan had packed them a giant picnic basket. It was a stunning piece filled with actual china and silver.
“Wouldn’t paper plates be better?” Grant had asked.
Margaret looked aghast. “I don’t know how you did things in the Marines, but here, we eat on real plates.”
He didn’t think that she had quite forgiven him for what had happened the first night he was at the Holbrook estate. Kate’s grandmother had slapped his hand away when he tried to help her into the car. Now, she sat in the back of the vehicle, kicking his seat.
“Gram, stop it,” Kate snapped, her hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. Grant saw the old woman scowl in the mirror.
“Why is he sitting up front?” Margaret asked. “I always sit up front.”
“You’ve only gone once,” Kate said, sounding exasperated. “Be nice. Grant is too tall to sit in the back of this car.”
“How is polo played, anyway?” Grant asked Kate, trying to change the subject. “I know they use horses.”
“He doesn’t even know what polo is!” her grandmother said loudly.
“Neither do you!” Kate hollered back. “You always complain that you have no idea what’s going on, then you drink too much and lie down on the bleachers.”
“This is outside?” Grant said.
“Yes. That’s why you need a hat.” Grant had a hat of his father’s that Stefan had given him. It was a light-colored straw hat with a beige-and-navy band.
“I look like an imbecile,” he said as he stepped out of the car when they arrived at the venue.
“You don’t want to develop heat stroke,” Kate told him. She had her own elaborate straw hat on. It was festooned with ribbons and went with her white jeans and linen blouse. Gus was able to come too, and he hopped out of the car sporting his new collar and sterling-silver dog tags.
Grant stretched his shoulders. The first set of his new clothes had come in, and he had to admit, having something specifically tailored to his body was a treat. He saw Margaret struggling with the picnic hamper, and he deftly plucked it out of the old woman’s hands and headed toward the bleachers.
