Page 45

I just knew that my mother was behind his appearance in my life but the way he was speaking about me makes me uneasy. Her meddling has gone too damn far this time.

“I assure you this will not last, even if I have to end it myself. The man she brought tonight is not even worth your concern.”

“You had better fix this, Grace. I’m not playing around,” Damian growls and the sound of his footsteps fill the hallway. I slip behind the plant and hold my breath to remain hidden as he stalks past me, a look of murder on his face. A few seconds later, my mother follows behind him, her head held high and I’m not sure I’ve ever hated her more than I do in this moment. I know mothers are supposed to care about who their children date and if her motives were pure, it would be okay, but this will all boil down to the only thing she cares about – the one thing that rules her world. Money.

I wait a few more seconds before stepping out of hiding and striding down the hallway to the ballroom. My hand shakes violently as I replay their conversation in my head and all I want is for Chance to wrap his arms around me. I’m not sure if it’s my anger or the nervous feeling twisting its way through my gut that is affecting me more but I’m ready to bail on this party. If I have another run in with my mother, I will lose it and I have no desire to ever see Damian again.

Stepping into the ballroom, I scan the bar and find Chance watching the doorway for me. As soon as he sees me, the smile melts away and his brow furrows as he sets his drink down. He starts making his way over to me with urgency and I could cry with relief. In this moment, I’m grateful that he can read me so well. When he reaches me, he wraps a hand around the back of my neck and my eyes meet his.

“What happened?”

I shake my head, looking away from him. “Can we go?”

“Of course.” There is no hesitation in his response and I pull him down to me, pressing my lips to his in a desperate kiss that shows him my gratitude. When I pull back, he stares down at me, questions filling his gaze but mercifully, he doesn’t ask any of them. Instead, he wraps his arm around my waist and holds me close to his body as he leads me out to the valet stand. It’s exactly what I needed but I don’t dwell on how he knew that again. I don’t have the headspace for it after what I overheard. So, just for tonight, I’m going to take advantage of Chance and his attention.

The valet brings my car around and Chance helps me into the passenger seat before jogging to his side and sliding behind the wheel. As we drive away, my gaze lands on Damian standing in the doorway to the hotel, waving to me with a smile on his face. Tears I don’t understand sting my eyes as I whip my head forward, focusing on the road ahead of us.

“You’re worrying me, Princess,” he whispers a few moments later, taking my hand and pulling it across the car to press his lips to my skin. “What happened back there?”

“Nothing.” My voice sounds shaky and I close my eyes, taking a deep breath as I replay the situation in my mind again. Did I overreact? Maybe but I just couldn’t stand to be there anymore. Not to mention the slight creep factor with Damian showing up in a lot of the same places I do. Although, I guess it makes sense with my mother involved. In fact, it’s probably nothing, just her trying to play matchmaker, but something in his voice scared the hell out of me. My mind is spinning and the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced I flipped my shit when there was no need to. I hate my mother trying to set me up with a guy like Damian but there’s no reason for the reaction I had.

Chance doesn’t say anything the rest of the drive home and I’m thankful for it. After pulling into the parking space, he tells me to stay put before striding over to my door and opening it for me, his hand extended in invitation. I offer him mine and he holds me close all the way inside the building and in the elevator. When the doors slide closed, he pulls me closer and presses his lips to the side of my head. It’s a sweet gesture that makes it even harder for me to resist him.

“I’m sorry for ruining our night,” I confess and he pulls back. Gripping my chin to guide my gaze to him, he smiles.

“Who ever said it was ruined?”

“Uh, cause it’s nine thirty and we’re on our way home.”

“Princess,” he coos, standing behind me as he wraps his arms around my waist and presses his lips to my neck. “This is the part I’ve been looking forward to all night long.”

“Seriously, sex?” I ask, annoyed that after everything he just assumes he’s getting laid tonight before I can stop myself. No, that’s exactly what he should be here for. That’s all we are. “Sorry.”

“No, not just sex. Spending time alone with you.”

I shake my head as the doors slide open. “We don’t do that.”

Prying myself out of his arms, I take off down the hallway, not allowing myself to peek over my shoulder to see if he’s following me. Ugh. Why do I even care? I stop in front of my door and shove the key in the lock. As it clicks open, his hands find my hips.

“If you think I’m leaving you tonight, you are dead wrong. I don’t know what happened back there, but I would have to be a moron to not see you’re upset. So, I don’t give a flying shit if I’m sleeping on the couch or the damn floor but I’m not leaving.”

I pause for a moment, neither one of us saying anything, before, in a fit of anger, I shriek and stomp into my apartment. It’s childish, I know, but I just don’t have anything left to give tonight. It feels as though I’m literally dragging my feet through mud and all I can think about is taking a long hot shower and crawling into bed.

“Did you just screech at me like a pterodactyl?” he asks, laughter in his voice and I turn around, my brow scrunched up as I study him.

“Really? That’s what you go with? A dinosaur?”

Our eyes meet and the apartment is silent for a moment before he starts laughing and once he starts, I can’t stop a giggle from bubbling out of my mouth. And it doesn’t stop. Every time I get composed enough to glance in his direction, I start laughing again. We collapse on the couch as he pulls me into his arms and after a moment, we both start to calm down.

“You don’t have to sleep on the couch,” I whisper a couple moments later, curled up in his arms with my head buried in his neck. He scoffs and I pull back to look at him.

“So, you’re going to make me sleep on the floor?”

I shove out of his hold and stand up to hide my smile. “No, you ass. You can sleep in the bed with me.”

“Oh, thank you, your highness.”

My head whips back to look at him and I narrow my eyes as I raise my middle finger in his direction. His eyes widen and he reaches out, grabbing my hand and pulling me into his lap. I let out a squeal of surprise on the way down and he swallows it up with a kiss that has me molding my body to his. When I pull away, we’re both panting and the desire in his eyes lights a fire deep in my belly.