Page 36 of Mine To Keep (Southern Wedding)

“Really?” she says softly. “He knows everyone, so I’m not surprised.” She’s about to say something else when Loren comes over to her.

She slowly makes her way away from me with my parents in tow. “You don’t know who she is?” Nash prods from beside me, hiding his smirk with his glass tumbler in his hand. “God.” He shakes his head. “I wish I had a camera on your face right now.”

“I’m going to kick the shit out of you,” is my only immature comeback.

“CBS Security,” he says the name that everyone knows.

“What about it?”

“Casey Barnes is her grandfather.” I just stare at him shocked, so much my mouth is gaped open. “So, if you fuck her up, he’s going to make you wish that you lived under a rock.”

seventeen

Grace

“Amazing.” I hear Kayla beside me. “Simply beautiful.” She stares as we walk into the ballroom. I want to say I’m surprised but I’m not. I couldn’t help myself and ran down here this afternoon to make sure everything was okay and in its place.

“It all worked out,” I say, lifting the glass of champagne to my mouth. “Thank fuck.”

She laughs at me. “Incoming,” she warns, and I look up to see Caine’s parents coming over to me with someone beside them. “Later.” She slinks away from me, leaving me with my almost empty glass of champagne.

“Grace, dear,” Ida says to me, “I would like to introduce you to Franklin.” She turns to the man. “He was just singing your praises about this event.”

“Thank you,” I say to the man. “Grace Barnes.” I hold out my hand to shake his.

“Franklin Shatz.” He smiles at me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine.” I smile at him. “Have you been working with the Griffin family for long?”

I see Ida and Ernie share a look, Ernie nodding in approval. “Here and there,” he replies to me.

“Well, if I can do anything to help, please let me know,” I offer to him. “I work out of the DC office, but I’m sure I can help in some way or another.”

“I just might take you up on that,” he states, looking at Ernie. “Give me a call on Monday.” He smiles once more at me before walking away.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Ernie says first.

“He’s like putty in your hands,” Ida adds with a smirk.

“Like my great-grandmother says, kill ’em with kindness.” I grin and finish the glass of champagne in my hand.

“I’d like to kill him all right,” Ida declares, taking a sip of her own champagne. “He’s been wishy-washy since the beginning of time.” She looks around. “I hope Caine is okay with sharing you.”

“I don’t think Caine wants me there most days,” I mumble, hoping his parents don’t pick up on my words. I also make sure I don’t have any more champagne. Luckily, someone else comes up to them and I quietly sneak away.

“Hey.” I look behind me and see Kevin coming straight toward me, holding two glasses of champagne.

“Hi,” I say, smiling at him and inwardly groaning.

“I brought you something to drink,” he says, handing me a glass.

I grab it with my free hand, still holding on to the empty glass in the other. “Thank you.”

“To tonight.” He holds up his glass in front of me. “And to how amazingly beautiful you look.” He smirks, trying to look sexy, and I even wait for the butterflies, but nothing, and I mean nothing happens when he says those words. Unlike when Caine whispered them to me not too long ago and my whole face lit up. I couldn’t stop it if I tried, and believe me, I tried. But spotting him when I walked in did two things at the same time; it shifted my soul at the same time it calmed it. I can’t even try to explain it because I don’t understand it. “To a great night.”

“Thank you,” is the only thing I say as I take a small sip. “I think it’ll be a good night.” I look around, seeing people come waltzing into the ballroom. The sound of laughter fills the air as people catch up with other people.

Kayla makes her way over to us, zigzagging through people. “Hey, you two,” she says, smiling, “I was wondering where my people went.”

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