Page 55

Chapter Seventeen

Zachary

“Well, Lais is even less smooth than you,” Grace said, sipping from her Pimm’s as the three of them walked away.

“If my brothers didn’t catch on before, they will now for sure.”

“Catch on to what?” she asked, and I could tell she wasn’t faking her confusion.

I pointed between the two of us. “This.”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea Lais was going to run her mouth. She usually doesn’t. She’s a very discreet person, but I think she was just very relaxed tonight and—”

“Don’t worry about a thing. You look like you feel better.”

She nodded. “The Pimm’s is helping. Won’t you drink your Sazerac?”

“I just wanted a taste. Lais was right. I’m not even sure how they call this a Sazerac. I can get you another Pimm’s if you want.”

“Yes, please. Actually, I’ll come in with you. I don’t feel comfortable staying out here on my own.”

I put a hand on her back and then moved it up to her shoulders, pulling her closer. It was fucking possessive, but I wanted everyone here to get the damn message. She was off-limits to everyone. She was mine and mine alone, and that was it.

We stepped inside and went straight to the counter.

“Will you drink something with me too?” she asked.

“I’m driving. Otherwise, I’d take a bourbon on the rocks.”

It took a while before our turn came, but then we got the drinks right away.

“Want to go outside again?” I asked Grace.

It was claustrophobic in here. I had to pull her even closer because there wasn’t much space. I didn’t mind, but this wasn’t relaxing.

“Sure. It’s hard to breathe in here.”

She took a few sips as we headed outside. I could feel her relaxing more with each one.

“Grace, I’m not trying to prod, I promise, but is there a reason this incident scared you so much?”

She lowered her eyes to her glass. “It’s not normal, is it?”

I shook my head. “I don’t like the word ‘normal.’ It’s just that I’m trying to understand what happened.”

“I honestly don’t know. The way he cornered us... My ex got a bit like that toward the end. I’m not even sure how that happened because he didn’t used to be like that.” She bit her lower lip. “For a long time, I thought it was something in me that made him react like that.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Grace. Don’t think that for a second.”

She shook her head. “I don’t, not anymore, but when the person you married is starting to change behaviors and become meaner and more hateful to you, you start wondering what you’re doing wrong.” She looked up from her glass, putting on a smile, but something wasn’t right with it. “But I’m forgetting all about it. Let’s not mention it again. Friday evenings are for fun.”

“Grace, you don’t have to pretend for me. If you don’t feel like staying here, we can always go. I just wanted to better understand what happened. I like to see you smile, but this”—I pointed to her mouth—“this isn’t your real smile.”

It instantly fell. “You can tell?” she asked.

“Yes. There’s a big difference. You light up completely when you smile genuinely, and this was just—”

“For show,” she finished. “I know. It’s my high society smile,” she said, but now she was smiling for real. “I perfected it when I was fourteen and went to my first cotillion. I enjoyed myself,but it was a little bit awkward. I felt like I never truly fit in with everyone else.”