A Promise Kept (9 page)

G
race attempted
to pry her eyes open, but they instantly shut again, feeling heavy and dry. Her throat was on fire, and her nose was stuffy. She gave a slight cough, but groaned as her throbbing head informed her how that was a mistake.

“Shit,” she creaked and shifted her sore body. The muscles felt tight as she twisted and turned, trying to tuck the pillow behind her neck. Sleeping forever seemed like the perfect solution for her hangover from hell.

“Morning, cupcake.”

The deep voice startled Grace and she sat up way too quickly. “Ouch, fucking hell, shit-fuck.” Clasping her head, she stared at the man who sat in the corner of her room on her recently reupholstered lounge chair. His feet rested on the footstool she matched to it. He rested with a book in his hands and looked positively delicious.
Did he look that great last night too?
Grace barely recalled.

She tugged on the ponytail holder that had kept her hair in place and yanked it out along with stray strands of hair. Her hands worked through her aching scalp as all of it tumbled down. She groaned and fell back. “What are you doing here, Matthews?”

“Making sure you wouldn’t vomit in your sleep, Captain Kirk.”

“Shit.” She grimaced in humiliation. “God, it feels like Thor is hitting my head with his fucking hammer.” She propped herself up in a sitting position against her headboard. She’d never fall back asleep now. “Did you see me throw up?”

“You didn’t throw up, Grace.” Evan moved beside her and pointed to the nightstand. Grace grabbed the water and gulped. “But you sure kept me entertained.”

“What? Why?” Her mind swirled, trying to figure out what happened. “Did we? We didn’t…”

“We’re still clothed, doll.”

Grace shut her eyes in relief. “Thank God!”

“Don’t sound too relieved.”

“Well, that’s the last thing I’d want to happen.”

“You do wonders for my ego, you know that?” He kept his eyes on her, a smile playing over his lips like he had a secret. “Never seen your hair down before, Grace.”

She closed her eyes, not wanting to imagine if she looked as horrible as she felt. “I don’t give a flying fuck if I look like shit right now, Evan, so go ahead and make fun all you want.”

His husky laugh still did things to her body even though she wasn’t up for any type of silly banter. “You’ve got a dirty mouth on you, Gracie. Who knew?”

“Only when I feel like dying. What happened? Where is everyone? Where’s my phone?” She glanced around and noticed her boots sitting neatly near her dresser. He had taken them off of her? Took care of her. A wave of degradation coursed through her body. She never lost control, especially around a man, and not one like him. She prayed she hadn’t said anything stupid, but judging from the look on Evan’s face, something must have happened.

“It’s here.” He handed it to her from the nightstand and Grace blushed at the oversight. She needed coffee to get her brain working properly. “Don’t worry, I’ve kept up with Marla and Jaime.”

“How?”

“They came back to the house after I put you to bed. They left when I promised I’d watch over you.”

“Bed?” Grace tried to reconnect the dots slowly. “I passed out?”

“On the bus.” They remained quiet as she tried to think back. For some reason she had flashes of Evan’s lips—of a kiss—but she hadn’t wanted to assume that they actually shared something that passionate. It had to have been a dream. “What do you remember, Grace?”

She shook her head as she tried to grasp at memories. “I remember talking to Ben and Ryan. I think Ben was supposed to call me for something.”

“Yeah, let’s not worry about him,” Evan said, trying to change the subject. “What else?”

“Oh, you were pissed off because of my costume. And was Zach dressed as Christian Grey?”

They both laughed, but Grace felt a surge of nausea hit. “I might be sick.” She fumbled from the covers and ran toward her master bathroom, barely making it to the toilet.

Evan rushed over, standing beside her, and pulled her hair back as she heaved out the contents of her stomach. God, she was puking in front of Evan Matthews. “Sorry, shit.”

“It’s okay, you’ll probably feel better now.” He rubbed her back then handed her a wet wipe from the case on top of the toilet. He waited, holding her hair as she wiped her mouth. A few minutes passed before he spoke softly. “Can you stand?”

She nodded as he pulled her up with firm hands. “I’ll get you some fresh clothes and you can take a bath. Is it alright for me to go through your dresser, Grace?”

Grace sat on the edge of her tub and nodded in exhaustion. She heard him rummaging through her dresser, but at this point she didn’t care. Her body felt feverish and she wanted to just feel normal again. He walked in and set a pile of things near the sink. He started the water in her claw foot tub and checked the temperature. “Shout out if you need something.”

She nodded again, feeling enough energy to muster a small grin. “Thanks, Evan.”

He closed the door behind him and Grace stared at the running water and bubbles.
He added bubbles.
Butterflies were instantly being blamed on her current stomach issues. Grace approached her sink, reaching for her toothbrush. Glancing up, she gasped in fright. Smudges of mascara painted her lids black, making her look like a raccoon. Her hair was a teased and ratted mess, and her pallid complexion made for one hell of a scary post-Halloween look. She brushed her teeth and tried to construct all that happened, and for some reason the taste of Evan’s lips kept coming to mind.

Grace took her time in the bath, dunking her head in the hot, sudsy water and letting her muscles unwind. A light knock took her out of her secret daydream. The one of a delicious kiss she couldn’t stop envisioning with the very man who opened her bathroom door.

“Hey.” Evan stood with a cup in his hand. “Can I come in?”

Grace gave a hesitated nod, hoping there were enough bubbles to cover her body. He lowered himself to the edge of the tub. His eyes were a beautiful cobalt, and she focused on those instead of that mouth she kept lusting over. He still donned the tight green shirt and camo pants from his costume last night, and scruff covered his perfect jaw.

“I brought you some ginger tea.”

Reaching up, she brushed her wet hand against his and felt that familiar jolt in her stomach whenever their skin touched. Despite how awful she felt, those sensations of craving him hadn’t subsided. “Where did you get ginger tea?”

“I asked Zach to pick some up.”

“Oh, God, he didn’t make it, did he?”

Evan laughed and shook his head. “I hope not.”

“Making him work for his money though?”

“I’m supposed to pay him? Oops.”

She chuckled, but felt the throbbing in her temples and winced.

“Yeah, you had quite a bit to drink last night, little one.”

“Never again.” Upon opening her eyes, she caught him grazing her legs that peaked out of the water. Clasping her thighs together was the immediate response, along with making sure suds covered the proper places. She slowly moved more of her body back under the water and tried to push away the instant heat beginning to creep between her lady bits.

He moved his eyes away and Grace saw him swallow as he shifted his body. “I’m going to head home, but I want to take a look at your car and work on it today.”

“You don’t have to, Evan.” The tea instantly made her stomach settle, and she took another sip in appreciation.

He leaned over and brushed his lips on her forehead. “Rest up, Grace. Eat something. Toast and eggs. That’ll help.”

Relief came flooding over her as he shut the door behind him. Grace could exhale the oxygen she held in her lungs.
A kiss on the forehead?
What was she, twelve? That was it. Whatever attraction Grace assumed Evan held toward her, it all fled out the window like a gust of winter wind. How could he possibly be attracted to a woman who not only got completely trashed, but also barfed in his presence?

Wasn’t that what she wanted though? She kept nudging him over to friend territory. He had finally caught on and took it. Of course, she busted him staring at her legs, but he was a typical man. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he’d want sex. But that was something Grace was unwilling to give him. She should’ve admitted that from the start. Been upfront with him like with all the others.

The concern was that she enjoyed his company more than she had anticipated, and that selfish part of her wanted him to stick around. If she confessed to him what she always told other men, he would do exactly what they always did. Drop her like yesterday’s newspaper and never look back. No matter how much she prepared for that to happen with Evan, the action of it would hurt much more than the idea.

* * *

G
race felt renewed
after her bath and eating some food. She walked over to the window and peeked between the open blinds to see Evan hunched over the engine of her car. He looked gorgeous, his hair gleaming in the late afternoon sun that broke through the gloomy sky. Muscles moved tautly through his plain white shirt, and his jeans sat low on his hips. Big hands moved around the engine with expertise as he shifted tools around with precision.

Grace grabbed a bottle of water and walked to him, watching as he poured in windshield wiper fluid. Even though the temperature had dropped a little, beads of sweat had formed on his temples, and she let herself gaze at him with awe. He really was quite handsome. Part of her wished she had the guts to tell him that.

“Enjoying the view?” He looked up at her with a slight smirk.

She held out the water as he stood straight, wiping his hands on a small towel. “It’s alright, I guess.”

“Not what you said last night.” He winked as her eyes popped open and he grabbed the bottle.

“What did I say last night?”

He ignored her question. Evan began to gulp down the water quickly, and Grace stared fixedly as his throat bobbed. She could see dampness on the corded muscles of his neck, and she suddenly wanted to lick him. She trailed her eyes down his shirt, abs showing slightly through the material.

“I fixed some issues with the air conditioning. Hopefully the sealant will keep the holes in the hose closed for a while. I replaced the spark plugs and PCV valve. Put some new windshield wipers and some fluid in there and changed your oil.”

“Is that all? I mean, I was expecting a new paint job too.”

Evan gave a boisterous laugh as he lowered the hood. “That’s tomorrow, doll.” He handed the keys to her and leaned against the car. His arms bulged from the sleeves of his shirt and she couldn’t help staring at him. “Glad you’re feeling better, Gracie.”

She looked away and tried to hide her smile. “What did I say last night, Evan?”

“You complimented my big guns.” He raised both arms up and flexed making her burst out with laughter. “You did. Totally serious.”

Her small hands squeezed his biceps. “Hmm. I must’ve been pretty wasted if I thought these were worth praising.”

“You’re so full of shit right now, Grace.” He grabbed her wrists and tugged her forward letting his hands wrap around her waist as she braced her palms on his broad chest. Her eyes stayed down, looking at the fabric that separated them from the sexual tension that overwhelmed her senses. She could feel his breathing pick up, her hair ruffling from the gentle breeze. Every receptor was heightened as her skin prickled with awareness.

When her gaze met his, she felt something familiar. “Evan?”

“Yeah?” His lips were getting dangerously close.

“Did this happen last night?”

A gentle smile played on his mouth as he pulled her closer. He bent forward and Grace shivered in anticipation. Should she let this happen? Who was she kidding? There was no way she could stop. So much for the friend zone. Closing her eyes she awaited his kiss.

Instead, his lips touched her ear as he whispered, “I’ll never tell.”

Grace pushed herself off of him, rolling her eyes and headed toward her door. “Goodbye, Mr. Matthews. Thanks for fixing my car.”