Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (11 page)

Memories of her times with him in America came flooding back. As she scribed her police round reports onto her notepad they would sit and have lunch at his desk. He would listen to her latest love life saga
,
what there was of it
,
and offer the gentlest advice. On another occasion he made her chocolate chip biscuits
,
or cookies
,
as he liked to call them. And then there was the time he gave her flowers on her birthday because she was homesick. His kindness touched her.

‘
Grace? What do you think?
’
Kate asked.

‘
What?
’
She was drawn back to the present.

‘
We
’
re taking the boys out to the Blue Mountains on Saturday. Sound like a plan?
’

‘
Uh
,
possibly.
’
Grace knew a full schedule lay ahead for the week. Besides
,
it might be best to say
,
‘
Great to see you again
,
enjoy working in Sydney.
’’

‘
What
’
s the name of the company you work for called?
’
Grace asked Jake.

‘
Sydney Investigators. Jake Williams at your service
,’
he bowed.

Grace giggled which was a rare occurrence for her on a date. She found him sincere and he had an endearing quality. Unlike most other men
,
he hadn
’
t told her she had a stunning mane within the first five minutes of meeting her or sparkling eyes or smooth skin and this or that or something else. She was certain they all had a hidden agenda and no doubt they said this to all women. In fact
,
Jake hadn
’
t complimented her even when they knew each other in New York. And they were past friends
,
therefore
,
the situation was not like the usual one of meeting a man you didn
’
t know. Also
,
he was engaged at the time and this was one thing Grace remembered about him, he was the furthest thing from a player you would find.

‘
What
’
s the case you
’
re working on?
’
she asked
,
becoming more interested in him.

‘
It
’
s tedious actually. I
’
ve been hired to watch this guy who is trying to claim worker
’
s compensation for having a bad back. He
’
s moved to Sydney from Melbourne. We follow him and take pictures of him lifting heavy items. We
’
re trying to catch him out on an insurance fraud case
,’
Jake said.

‘
There
’
s a little more to it
,
he
’
s being modest
,’
Christian said.

‘
We
’
re working on a few cases. I can
’
t tell you everything or –
’

‘
Yeah
,
I know the cliché
,
you
’
d have to kill me. It must be exciting though. What if these people you are trying to catch see you first?
’

‘
We
’
re usually far enough away inside a van with telephoto lenses. The chances are slim.
’

‘
I can
’
t imagine you came all the way from New York to work on a case anyone here could do. It must be something quite interesting and specialised?
’
Grace enquired.

‘
No-one could ever slip anything by you
,
Grace. Can I get you another drink?
’

‘
What a good way to avoid answering the question. Who
’
s looking after your business now you
’
re in Australia?
’
she asked.

‘
A friend. What would you like to drink?
’
Jake pointed to her empty glass.

Grace decided to drop it
,
at least for now. She didn
’
t have time to think about his evasiveness when she had a scandal to crack. She
’
d be sure to follow up on it at a later time. She looked at Kate and Christian said not to worry
,
he
’
d already taken her order.

‘
A chardonnay with mineral water and ice
,
please?
’
Grace said.

Jake raised his eyebrows
,
‘
As you wish.
’

As soon as the guys had their backs turned
,
Kate gripped Grace
’
s arm.
‘
Oh my
,
how cute are they? Christian is adorable
,
his accent
,’
Kate rolled her eyes and smiled.

‘
Steady goes
,
Kate.
’

‘
Oh
,
don
’
t be such a prude
,
Mum.
’

‘
Alright. Just don
’
t jump into anything. He looks like a bit of a player. I don
’
t want to have to say –
’

‘
I told you so
’
? Kate mimicked.

Grace forced her mouth shut. She
’
d spent too many years warning Kate off all the wrong men along with too many nights as her shoulder to cry on. She
’
d learnt to be there when the pieces fell apart. She thought about Jake as Kate talked about Christian. She looked as if she was paying attention though she saw Jake out of the corner of her eye carrying the drinks back
,
gazing straight at her. She realised she looked at him differently now he was single.
Keep a hold of yourself.

‘
Been talking about us?
’
Christian asked the girls. He said
about
like
a boat
.

‘‘
Course not
,’
Kate said and smiled up at him.

Jake slid Grace
’
s drink to her and then moved to stand beside her instead of across the table from her
,
cutting Christian off. There was a knowing look exchanged between the two men and Grace chose to ignore it.

‘
That was subtle
,’
Jake said.

She was a good sport and smiled.
‘
I
’
m going to have to leave soon. It
’
s been great meeting you
,
again. Unfortunately I have an early morning appointment.
’

‘
Are you serious? In case you didn
’
t notice
,
you have a fresh drink with mineral water and ice. It
’
s hardly going to make you tipsy
,’
he teased.

‘
It
’
s kind of complicated.
’

‘
An early morning story
,
that
’
s rough.
’

Kate piped in.
‘
Who knows what our Gracie gets up to at such hours?
’

‘
Don
’
t give away all my secrets
,’
Grace said.
‘
It has been great to see you again
,
such a blast. I
’
d love to stay and chat
,
although
,
it
’
s getting late and I have to be up before dawn.
’
She tried to placate the disappointed look on his face
,
‘
It
’
s not you. I
’
m hopeless without any sleep and I
’
m more of a morning person. Kate
,
are you staying?
’

‘
Must be secretive if you have to get up before the sun? Political scandals
,
murder
,
unscrupulous deals. Any of the above?
’
Jake teased.

‘
As I said
,
complicated
,’
Grace said. She spent a few more minutes finishing her drink and wrapping up the conversation with Jake.
‘
I
’
m leaving
,
Kate.
’

‘
Glad you came. Some of the others are leaving
,
too. I probably won
’
t be far behind you.
’
Kate leaned in and whispered to Grace.
‘
However
,
this one
’
s adorable. Unless there
’
s a bomb threat
,
or some equally terrible disaster
,
I might hang here for a while.
’

Grace decided to be a good sport and smiled with her friend.

Then out of nowhere
,
a tall
,
lanky man was at Grace
’
s side.
‘
Nice to see you again
,
doll face.
’

Oh
,
great.
‘
Get your hands off me
,
you creep
,’
Grace said.

The drunken man had wrapped his arms around her waist. She threw them off in one swift move.

‘
The lady
’
s not interested
,’
Jake said to the man.

‘
She
’
s into Americans
,
buddy
,
you might get lucky tonight. I did last night
,’
the man said.

‘
You lying pig
,’
Grace said.

‘
Is this the guy from last night?
’
Kate asked.

Jake grabbed the man by the shoulders and pushed him backwards.
‘
W
e don
’
t want any trouble. Leave the lady alone and do us all a favour and get out of here.
’

‘
Who do you think you are?
’
Jock asked.
‘
Last night she
’
s out with me and tonight she
’
s already onto her next one.
’
He addressed Grace.
‘
What are you? Any man
’
s toy?
’

Jake punched Jock on the left side of his jaw and sent him careening backwards into a waitress loaded with glasses and knocked her over. Grace and Kate gasped. Christian stepped in next to Jake to see if he was alright. Christian had a body-builder
’
s physique that belied his calm inner nature. Grace knew all he had to do was look mean and people backed off.

However
,
Jock was unconscious on the ground and Grace heard someone in the background calling an ambulance. Jake
’
s right hand was covered in blood and swelling.

‘
He
’
s had too much to drink. Apparently
,
he was jilted by some woman last night. It
’
s all he
’
s talked about all day
,’
a mate of Jock
’
s said
,
giving Grace the once over.
‘
I guess that
’
s you.
’