Page 71 of Bride Under Contract

‘Then you’ll know about the guy I supposedly dated?’

‘Yes.’

‘An attempt to bribe me. Look, Jonathon knows I don’t want a relationship, he knows that I’m straight, and that my family are useless. I don’t have to repeatedly tell him that I never want kids, and he knows without asking that I don’t have unprotected sex. So, yes, it’s probably a surprise to him that I’m suddenly engaged and forgot to be cautious.’ He gave her shoulder a squeeze. ‘Don’t take it all so personally.’

‘Oh, it feels personal. But why did we have dinner with them?’

‘Aren’t you supposed to be calling the care home? Wasn’t that meeting today? It’s almost four in London.’

‘You’re like one of those time zone walls at the stock exchange...’ Grace grumbled, half relieved he’d reminded her, but also certain he was trying to avoid the discussion. Still, if she wanted to catch the manager before she went home then now was the time to call.

Peeling herself from the reprieve of his arms, she sat up on the edge of the bed.

His arm had gone back across his head, and she was certain he was dozing—anyway, she doubted her mother’s care plan meeting was high on his list of priorities.

‘Maggie!’ She was relieved to reach the manager, especially when she heard it was all good news. ‘They’re reducing her medication?’ Grace blinked, thrilled to hear that her sedation was being cut back.

And not only that...

‘That’s so sweet of her,’ she said, when she heard that Violet had been bringing in a chocolate éclair each Sunday, just dropping it off at Reception so as not to upset her mother.

Oh, and she needed new lenses for her glasses... Grace chose not to ask about her hearing tests—not just yet. Anyway, there was something more that had been worrying her.

‘Is she still asking for me all the time?’

The response was one she hadn’t expected, and she wished—oh, how she wished—she’d taken the call in the lounge, or some other area of the opulent suite.

It was ridiculous to get good news and want to cry.

Carter knew damn well he’d changed the subject rather than answer her question, but behind his forearm he frowned at Grace’s long silence in response to whatever the answer to her last question had been.

‘Oh,’ she finally said. ‘That’s good... I guess.’

‘Everything okay?’ he checked when she’d ended the call.

‘Yes,’ she said, just a little too brightly.

Carter removed his arm and looked to where she sat, her back to him.

‘Are you sure?’ Carter checked.

‘Just leave it.’

‘Grace?’

‘She’s stopped asking for me. Apparently, she refers to me being at school, but...’ She swallowed. ‘It’s good news, I guess.’ Then her voice changed from falsely upbeat to hollow. ‘I didn’t expect it.’

For a moment the false wall she’d put up had nothing to support it, and he reached out, completely on instinct, to put a hand on her shoulder. But she brushed it off.

‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

‘You can.’

‘I don’t want to.’

‘Come here,’ he said again, and pulled her, tense and yet yielding, back into his arms. Only it wasn’t the same relaxed space as before. ‘She probably—’

‘Carter,’ she interrupted. ‘It hurts to talk about it.’

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