Page 70 of Whiskey Lies

I grind my teeth. “You don’t know her.”

Cat moves her hand over mine, trying to calm me down. “But I do know Vanessa and she’s great. She doesn’t have all the baggage that comes with divorce. I mean you aren’t going to be Grace’s first. Do you even know if she wants to get married again? Have kids? I mean these are important things, Cash.”

Yanking my hand back, I throw it in the air. “We just met! Who discusses marriage this early on? Or kids?”

Cat crosses her arms and stares at me. “You are the one who’s obsessed. Not me.”

“Because in order to date her I have to convince her to date me. I mean this is crazy. I can’t even take my time to get to know her unless I know it’s going somewhere because the press will have a field day. It’s like I’m doing everything backwards. All because I want to build something for our family. I mean, Cat, I’m doing this for all of you.”

Cat slumps in her seat. “I know that. Which is why I think you deserve the best. Grace is going through a divorce. They are messy.” Cat reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “She has to work through all of these big items. Divorce is heavy. It’s not just a breakup; it’s an untwisting of lives. There’s real estate, cars, bank accounts, friends, and let’s not forget all the plans she made in her head about how her life was supposed to look. The way that she thought her life was going to be—it takes a moment to move past all that.”

“That is oddly insightful, Kit Cat.”

She smiles. “I don’t only work for the magazine, I read the articles, too.”

I laugh. “I get it. Really, I do. It’s just being with her puts all sorts of plans in my head. I can picture it, Cat. The life we didn’t get to have with Mom. Weekday dinners around a dining table, date nights, Sunday mornings in bed, coaching baseball, family vacations…when I envision my life, I see her, and I’ve never had that before. How am I supposed to walk away from that?”

Cat’s eyes grow wide, and she sits quietly.

“What?” I ask defensively.

She shakes her head. “I just don’t want you to get hurt, and you are already in too deep.”

I smile at my sister. “Stop worrying about me. I’ll figure it out.” I laugh. “Who knows if she even wants to see me again. She told me she’s staying away for my own good.” I shrug my shoulders.

Cat rolls her eyes. “She’ll be back.”

Chapter 25

Grace

“Shit, shit, shit,” I mutter under my breath as I reread the email Tessa just sent. It’s an article in some stupid gossip magazine linking me and Cash. I knew this was going to happen.

My phone rings, and I know it’s Tessa before I answer. “This is a disaster,” I say, spinning my office chair away from the computer toward my window. It’s pouring rain outside, and the lightning and dark clouds feel like an ominous warning. “Does anyone have pictures?”

“Nope. Not that I’m aware. But the photo of you guys kissing just went up in price. I was able to kill it last time, but my photog friend isn’t going to keep it under wraps if we don’t pay this time.”

I stare at the photograph in the article; it’s the one from a few weeks ago where I stood next to Jonathan while Cash scowled at the both of us.

We’ve identified the mystery woman who has stolen Jonathan Hanson’s and Cassius James’s Hearts. Grace Kensington of The Happily Ever After Makers, Boston’s Elite matchmaking company,was seen leaving Club Pearl with James last night. It looks like she’s made her decision. Unfortunately, it also looks like she is already married. This will definitely be an affair to follow.

“Get me a price and I’ll pay it.”

Tessa exhales. “Grace, that’s nuts. Talk to Marion. You need to do damage control. You can’t keep paying photographers whenever they snap a pic of you and Cash; you’ll go broke.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not going to see Cash, so it won’t be a problem. I’ll kill this story with the truth. That I’m not with Cash, I’m his matchmaker, and that’s why I was pictured with him at dinner.”

“See, you keep saying that you aren’t with Cash, but you keep ending up with him. And now you’ve slept with him.”

Defensively, I quip, “Have not.”

Tessa laughs. “Right. You went home with him and didn’t have sex. Not buying it.”

I get up and close my office door, before hissing, “I didn’t have sex. I had mind-blowing sex.”

Tessa screeches. “I knew it! And I want to hear all the details, but we need to deal with this first. You need to call him.”

Rachel knocks on my door, and I pull the phone away from my ear to talk to her. “What’s up, Rachel?”

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