Bo shot her a look. "We'll finish this later, you hear?"
"Yes, ma'am."
They rejoined the party and Grace accepted another glass of wine, drinking it quickly as they went into the dining room. She was seated down the way from Bo and Smith and, as dinner arrived, she watched them. Bo was a consummate conversationalist and, even though Smith didn't say much, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
Or at least that's what Grace assumed and seeing his eyes flash toward her friend was hard to witness.
The man who had been a stranger only weeks ago was capturing her heart.
But he only wanted her body.
When Bo dropped her napkin and Smith bent over and picked it up for her, Grace asked for another refill of her wineglass.
chapter
13
Smith frowned as he saw the waiter pour more wine into Grace's goblet. He'd never seen her drink much of anything and yet she'd already had three glasses of the stuff. As she turned to her right and smiled at Nick Farrell, he thought that the stress was getting to her. She was pushing food around her plate and her laughter, as it drifted over to him, sounded strained.
His little proposition that they go to bed together had sure as hell added to the confusion in her life, he thought. So much for all his professional standards.
In a remarkable exercise in delusion, he'd somehow managed to throw out every lick of training and common sense he had in order to come to the conclusion that having sex with her was acceptable. He had to wonder why it had made sense to him twelve hours ago. Now, seeing the exhaustion that pulled Grace's skin tightly across her face, watching her drink, he was feeling...
Regret.
Which for a knee-jerk risk taker was about as common as a signpost in the desert.
"So Grace never did tell me how you two met," Senator Bradford said to him. She casually lifted her napkin and blotted her lips. Her eyes were very direct.
He shrugged. "At a party."
Going by the dry look he was given, the evasive answer didn't satisfy the senator and she was prepared to follow up. He had the sense that the woman's good manners hid an iron will and it reminded him of Grace.
"Do you know her husband?"
The mention of the man made him want to curse because it reminded him once again that not only was she a client, she was also legally married. Usually, he didn't have any qualms about adultery, figuring that if a woman wanted to cheat, it was none of his business. But the fact that Grace was someone's wife rankled and not because he was worried about hurting the count's precious little feelings.
He wanted her all to himself.
When he was surprised by his reaction, he told himself he should have known better. Nothing about Grace was typical and neither were his reactions to her.
"I asked, do you know Ranulf ?" The senator prompted gently.
"No, I don't," he said, putting down his fork and knife and leaning back in his chair. "And I don't have any interest in him."
A perfectly arched eyebrow rose. "Most people want to know him. He's considered quite an international figure."
"Based on what? Winning the heredity lottery? That's luck, not an accomplishment."
Bo studied him and then said softly, "There are some who do wonder what the allure is. Still, he cuts a dashing figure and for many good style and a royal title is enough to earn their affection. Frankly, I-was surprised that Grace married him, although I understand that her parents were very pleased."
"No offense, Senator, but her marriage is none of my business. We're only professional associates."
"Really? She can't keep her eyes off you and you've spent most of this meal looking down the table, returning the favor. Unless the two of you are merely pursuing ocular endeavors, I might presume something deeper is going on."
He glanced over at Bo who was smiling at him warmly. He couldn't help liking her even though she was irritating the hell out of him with her talk about Grace. "I think you're jumping to conclusions, Senator."
"I come from a family of bourbon makers, Mr. Smith. Trust me, I know a lot about love." She looked pointedly at Grace who was taking another long drink from her wineglass. "Affairs of the heart have kept my family in business for generations. Love has a way of making people need solace and the liquid variety seems to work particularly well. I believe that is why our Grace has been imbibing this evening."
"You might want to rethink that pronoun."
"Fine. Your Grace," she said, with a wink.
Bo rang the silver bell that was next to her place setting and uniformed waiters came into the room. As the dinner plates were being cleared, the senator leaned over to him and whispered, "I'll tell you what, I think you're her lover."
Smith cocked an eyebrow. "Well, I'm not."