Embracing Her Heart Read online

  Janie smiled. “Thank you, Nana, but I’m still not going to answer your research question.”

  Everyone laughed, and they continued with introductions.

  “I’m Phoenix. I’m a junior in high school and I just like to write.” She nudged Lauryn again.

  “I’m Lauryn, also a junior. I write for the high school newspaper, and I hope one day to move to the Big Apple and follow in Grace’s footsteps.”

  Grace was touched by her admiration. “Wow. Thank you. I’m sure you’ll do better than I ever have. Hellie? Would you like to introduce yourself?”

  “Like Nina, I’ve lived here forever, so I pretty much know everyone. I’m taking this class because Nina was bored and wrangled me into being her writing partner. I’m excited to see what we can come up with.”

  “And I need no introduction,” Nana said. “All you need to know is that with your help, I’m going to write a kick-ass script. Now, let’s get to it. Time’s a wastin’!”

  “Good idea. I know you’re excited to write something wonderful, and you will. But much of your actual writing will happen on your own time, and then we’ll discuss and critique it in class, so you can get hands-on, practical experience.”

  “Janie’s got a leg up on the hands-on stuff,” Nana said with a smile, earning laughter from everyone, including Janie.

  “Hey,” Hellie said. “We’ve got hands-on experience, too. I don’t know about you, but just because the chimney’s got snow on it doesn’t mean there isn’t fire down below.”

  The girls giggled, and Grace tried to circumvent an inappropriate tangent. “I can see we’re going to have a lot of fun. Before we get too sidetracked, let’s talk about the topics we’ll be discussing, such as structure, character arcs, dialogue and themes, conflict, style, tone, and cinematic syntax…”

  Grace fielded questions and found her teaching groove, enjoying every second of the two-hour class. She felt invigorated, and remembered just how exciting the whole creative process was. She gave her class a homework assignment to come up with a short description of what they hoped to write.

  As everyone packed up to leave, the air was filled with excitement. “Can we team up to write?” Lauryn asked on her way out the door.

  “Sure, if you’d like to,” Grace said as she grabbed her bag.

  “Oh good!” Lauryn lowered her voice and said, “I want to see if Nana will write with me. I love her!”

  “I’ll write with you,” Nana said, apparently eavesdropping on their conversation. “But I don’t want to write anything sappy.”

  “There’s enough sap in real life,” Hellie said. “We’re going for badass characters.”

  “Sounds fun,” Phoenix said. “Maybe we should do a group project.”

  “Only if Janie agrees to sex up our characters,” Nana chimed in.

  Janie laughed as she hoisted her bag over her shoulder. “Now you’re speaking my language.”

  They left in a group, tossing out ideas one after another. Grace pulled her phone from her bag to check her messages, and Amber appeared in the doorway.

  “It sounds like they had a great time.” Her sister walked around the table pushing in chairs.

  “So did I. It was awesome.” She opened and read a text from Reed. Hope your class went well. I’m running late and got stuck in the middle of a project. Can you meet me at my place? Wear something that can get dirty.

  Amber peered over her shoulder. “Reed?”

  “Yeah. We were going out to dinner, but he’s running late. What do you think he means by ‘wear something that can get dirty’?”

  “If you were Brindle, I’d say wear sexy lingerie. If you were Sable, I’d say wear a grease monkey suit. And if you were me, I’d say prepare to garden or something like that. But since it’s you, I have no idea. Did you guys used to do anything dirty?”

  Laughter burst from Grace’s lungs. “We did!”

  “I didn’t mean that!” Amber blushed. “I don’t want to know that about you!”

  “Sorry.” She tried unsuccessfully to stifle another laugh and hugged her sweetest sister. “Seriously, I don’t remember doing anything particularly messy.”

  Amber glared at her.

  “I’m sorry! This time I really wasn’t trying to be sexual.” She hitched her bag over her shoulder. “Although…”

  “Don’t!” Amber put up her hand.

  Grace pretended to zip her lips.

  “Let’s get back to your question. Since Reed is friends with the Jerichos, maybe you should dress for horseback riding or four-wheeling?”

  “Oh boy. Maybe I’ll go with sexy lingerie and see if I can sidetrack him.”

  Chapter Eleven

  THE SOUND OF Grace’s car drew Reed’s attention from the living room wall he was painting. He climbed down from the ladder and leaned the brush on the paint tray, hoping her class went well. Earlier in the day he’d gotten a glimpse of the strong businesswoman she was, while she’d paced the yard, talking on the phone as he’d worked on her parents’ porch. He hadn’t eavesdropped, but it would have been hard for anyone to miss the determined set of her stride and the calm though firm sound of her voice.

  “Knock, knock,” Grace said through the screen door, ogling his bare chest.

  Reed made his way to the door. He’d been thinking of her all day. Her familiar scent had still lingered in his bedroom when he’d come home, and as he’d painted, he’d felt her presence all around him, rousing his emotions. Now, as he opened the door and she stepped forward looking innocent and sensual at once in her miniskirt and blouse, he drew her into his arms and his heart poured out.

  “Welcome home, pretty girl.” He closed the door and lowered his lips to hers, kissing her with all the passion that had been building up all day. He intensified his efforts, and the bag she was carrying dropped to the floor.

  “Can I go back outside and knock again? I like this greeting.”

  “How about you stay right here and I kiss you until those gorgeous legs of yours don’t have the energy to take you anywhere?”

  “Yes, please,” she said in a sultry voice, and rubbed her body against him.

  He took her in a slow, sensual kiss that brought fire to his veins. Her hands moved up his back, keeping him close as he nipped at her lower lip.

  “Damn, Gracie. How can I miss you this much after only a few hours?” He kissed her neck, and she leaned to the side, giving him better access.

  “I don’t know, but I think we need to spend a few hours apart every day just so I can come back to this.”

  He brushed his lips teasingly over hers. “That can be arranged.”

  “I’m interrupting your painting,” she said between kisses.

  “I thought I’d be done before you finished your class, but since I wasn’t…” He ran his tongue along the shell of her ear, his hands moving up her sides, brushing against her breasts. “How do you feel about a painting date?”

  He sank his teeth into her neck, and she gasped.

  “Yes,” she said breathlessly.

  He touched her pretty blouse, then ran his fingers along her thighs as he kissed her again. Her skin was warm and soft, and painting was the last thing on his mind. “This isn’t really getting dirty attire.”

  “I think it’s working pretty well,” she said, and looked down at the streak of cream-colored paint on her leg.

  He glanced at her leg, then at the paint on her blouse and cringed. “Sorry, babe. I’ll pay for that to be dry cleaned.”

  “Maybe I should take it off.” She began unbuttoning her blouse, eyes trained on him. “Oops.” Her hands stilled on her buttons. “I might distract you too much to finish painting.”

  “Distract me, baby.” He kissed her deeply, but as he’d come to expect, it wasn’t enough for either of them. Their kisses turned urgent and messy as he fumbled with her buttons and she worked open his belt buckle.

  “I swear I don’t only want you for sex,” he said. “I want to hear about your class
.”

  “It was fantastic.”

  She kissed his chest, her nimble fingers playing over his pecs as he struggled with her buttons. She flicked her tongue over his nipple, driving him out of his mind. He managed one more button and stilled at the sight of her full breasts restrained by a skimpy pink bra. A heavy groan escaped before he could stop it.

  “Christ, Gracie. You know how much I love you in pink lace.”

  “Then you’ll probably enjoy the matching bottoms.” She blinked flirtatiously, gazing up through her long, dark lashes as she lifted the hem of her skirt, revealing sexy pink lace panties.

  He crashed his mouth to hers, and then their hands were everywhere at once. She grabbed at his head and shoulders as he groped her ass, loving the combination of lace and her hot flesh against his palms. She rocked her hips, and he slid his hand between her legs from behind, his fingers brushing over her damp panties. Another groan escaped as he pushed his fingers beneath the wet material and into her tight heat.

  “Oh, Reed—” she said, and tugged at the button on his jeans.

  He grabbed her wrist, and her eyes flew open, dark and ravenous. “First I take my fill.” He tore her panties down and dropped to his knees to remove them. He pushed her legs apart, holding her thighs, pinning her against the wall, and slicked his tongue over her glistening sex. The air rushed from her lungs. She grabbed his head, her nails digging into his scalp as he devoured her sweetness. She writhed and moaned as he worked his magic, her sexy pleas spurring him on. Her legs flexed and her body trembled as he brought his fingers into play.

  “Don’t stop,” she panted out. “Please don’t—”

  He sealed his mouth over her sex, using his fingers on her most sensitive pleasure point, and a long, surrendering sound left her lips. He quickened his efforts, sucking and licking, nipping and burrowing his tongue deep inside her. He thrust his tongue in and out of her tight heat. She met each thrust with a rock of her hips, a tiny gasp, and then her body bowed from the wall, quaking as she cried out, “Yes, yes, yes!”

  Her sex pulsed as she rocked and pleaded. He stayed with her, loving her through the very last shudder of her orgasm. As she came down from the clouds, he shoved his jeans to his knees, lifted her into his arms, and drove into her in one hard thrust. Their tongues tangled and danced. He loved that she didn’t pull away at the taste of herself. Her nails dug into his flesh as he lifted and guided her up and down his shaft, each thrust more powerful than the last, until their bodies took over, blinded by passion. She was so fucking hot, so tight and eager, there was no holding back. He pounded into her, his balls drenched with her arousal, nearly sending him over the edge. He fought for control, wanting—needing—to feel her lose herself in him again. It took only a few seconds before she was crying out his name, ravaged by another intense climax. He sank his teeth into her shoulder, sucking hard enough to earn another string of sinful, erotic pleas as their bodies ground together. Heat streaked down his spine with every upward slide along his cock.

  “Oh God…Reed….”

  Another climax tore through her. She clawed at his shoulders, and he followed her into blissful oblivion, capturing her passionate pleas with more hungry kisses as they rode the waves of their love.

  He held her so tight he didn’t know where she ended and he began, kissing her as their bodies began to calm.

  She rested her cheek on his shoulder, her warm breath coasting over his skin as she said, “We were never very good at waiting.”

  He could hear the smile in her voice and pressed a kiss to her neck as a car door sounded outside.

  She lifted her head, eyes wide. “Who’s that?”

  “Probably the pizza delivery guy. Good thing we came before he did.”

  “Reed!” she snapped as he set her on her feet. She grabbed her panties and the bag she’d brought. “What if they’d caught us?” She didn’t wait for an answer as she bolted up the stairs.

  He hiked up his jeans and called after her, “Then I’d say they got a pretty big tip!”

  After paying for the pizza, he set it in the living room and went upstairs to wash up. He followed the sound of Grace humming and found her in the master bathroom. She held the hem of a dark T-shirt in her teeth as she zipped up a pair of cutoffs. Her hair curtained her face, and she looked eighteen years old again. She tucked her hair behind her ear as she released her shirt, lifting sultry eyes to his.

  He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly.

  “You smell clean,” he said, nuzzling against her neck.

  “And you smell like me.”

  “My favorite scent.” He lifted her onto the sink and played with the fringe on her faded shorts. “I remember these shorts.”

  “I can’t believe I still fit in them. When you said to dress in something that could get dirty, I wasn’t sure what you meant, so I grabbed some of my old clothes from my closet, and…”

  Her gaze trailed to the bag by his feet, and he followed it down, noticing a few pieces of silk and lace. His cock twitched again. “If you keep showing me your lingerie, I’ll never finish painting.”

  “Good point.” She slid off the sink. “Besides, you had dessert, but I’m starved.”

  “I’ve got your dessert right here, baby.” He grabbed his junk.

  She laughed as she headed for the stairs. “I like whipped cream on my desserts.”

  He chuckled as he turned on the sink and made a mental note to buy a case of whipped cream.

  MUSIC STREAMED FROM Reed’s phone as they ate dinner and painted the living room. Grace was surprised to see he’d chosen the colors she liked best. He’d already painted the trim white, and he’d also painted the center of the raised panels below the chair rail a pale seafoam green. The room looked warmer and brighter. Reed listened intently as they rolled paint on the walls and she told him about her class.

  “They want to work as a group, which is really cool, because collaborative writing can lead to even more creativity. And you know how Nana is,” Grace said. Reed knew Nana, Hellie, and Janie from around town. “Can you imagine if she put all that sass into a play? Oh my gosh, Reed. Maybe I should have told her to keep it rated PG or something.”

  “Nana is hilarious. When I first moved in and was working on the exterior of the house, she’d drive by really slow and watch me work. Sometimes she’d bring me a pitcher of iced tea or a muffin. She said she had some women in mind for me and proceeded to tell me about a litany of women, including Sophie’s sister, Lindsay, who according to Nana is shamefully single.”

  “She used to always try to set up Sophie. She was scoping you out.”

  “Whatever,” he said with a laugh. “If your class is even half as excited as you are, then it sounds like you’re really making a difference.”

  “I don’t know about making a difference,” she said as she dipped her roller in the tray again. “I mean, it’s too early to tell if they’ll even stick with it. Three weeks is a long time. But their enthusiasm reminded me of what I was like when I first went into the business. I had that same level of excitement about everything I did.”

  He lowered the paint roller to the tray and asked, “And you don’t now?”

  “I do, but it’s different. I thought producing would be like it was when I was in school, only on a much bigger scale. But it’s like being the CEO of a huge, complicated corporation. There’s a lot of babysitting, hand-holding, placating…”

  “What exactly do you do as a producer?”

  “What don’t I do?” she said sarcastically. “I’m an independent producer, so I initiate the production, which means finding the script and hiring the director. Sometimes I handle casting, and other times I only approve the cast. I develop and handle the budgets, secure funding, create marketing and advertising strategies, set ticket prices, performance times. And, lucky me, most of the time I get to deal with the divas and snooty actors, too.”

  She set her roller in the tray and sighed, thinking of the hoops she�
�d had to jump through to get the lead actor. Keagen Thorpe was a hothead who thought he shit gold, which he just might, given how much money he earned. The investors had insisted on using him, and she counted herself lucky that so far he’d played by the rules.

  “This is going to sound silly, but I miss being excited over productions the way I used to. Is every career like that?” she asked. “Does the joy go out of it once you’ve done it for a while?”

  “Mine never has. Well, that’s not true. After what happened in Michigan, just the thought of working on any of the projects I’d been doing with Thad made me sick. But that was because of him, not the work. I love what I do. Every project is unique and holds its own challenges. Restoring old buildings to their original beauty restores memories and history, and it feels like I’m giving back to the communities in which they’re built.”

  The thrill in his voice was palpable, making Grace realize how sorely it was missing from her own. She began painting again. “That’s something else I miss. Everyone in my business is take, take, take. And that’s cool. I get it. It’s a tough industry, and everyone wants to get ahead. But I miss giving back to people who appreciate what they’re being offered. When I went to college I volunteered at a high school helping their drama club. The kids were so excited about every little thing—the routines, the rehearsals, the friendships.”

  “I remember, and you were in drama club in high school. I always assumed you continued doing those things in college. Can’t you volunteer at a school in the city?”

  “Not with my schedule. These three weeks are an anomaly for me. But even when I take time off, I don’t really get it. I have one production that’s running smoothly and an assistant who’s taking care of things while I’m here, but this time in between is when I typically get started with the next show. Unfortunately, the director I was hoping to work with is giving me a hard time. I’ll either have to convince him to go with a script I like, or I’ll have to hire a new director. But that’s just a headache, not overwhelming. I think slowing down these past few days has really shown me how much of a hamster wheel my life has become. Do you know that Sophie and I can’t even meet for dinner more than once a month because of my schedule? We work out together, but even that’s rare these days. It’s crazy, and there’s been no time to write, which is my true passion. I used to love writing in Central Park in the mornings. I’d sit on a bench or on a blanket in the sun and write until I had to start my day. The outdoors is so inspiring. But between work, exercise, and sleep, that time has just disappeared. Other than these past few days, I don’t think I’ve even relaxed since college.”