Chapter Twelve

Grace watched as Robert and his daughter playfully teased each other, and she couldn’t help but smile. She could tell there was a deep love between them, and although she was happy they had each other, a small part of her always wondered if she was destined to be alone.

She glanced down at the beautiful ring Robert had slipped on her finger. Although it fit very well, she was still frightened she’d lose it. The time in the office earlier, where she was married, or thought she was, confused and scared her. The whole situation was surreal, and nothing made sense.

It might be something else besides the fact that Robert loved her and wanted her to be his wife. He’d never talked about his feelings toward her or if he even had them. He’d kissed her a few times and touched her intimately, but after the pool days before, he hadn’t shown any signs he even wanted her.

“Hey, aren’t you hungry, Sweetheart?” Robert asked.

She hadn’t realized she’d been staring down at her plate while her fork spread her food around. “Oh, not really. I guess I’m a little tired.”

He looked concerned. “We’ll go to sleep early tonight.”

Her eyes jerked up to his. “We? You don’t have to.”

A gentle smile grew across his face. “Yes, I do. It’s technically our wedding night.”

She could feel a blush cover her face. God, she hadn’t thought about that. “Oh, I just thought it was pretend.”

“No, Sweetheart. We are legally married.”

Hannah caught on to what they were saying. “Married? Who got married?”

“We’ll talk about that in a bit, Honey,” Robert said. “Let’s finish dinner.”

Grace couldn’t eat another bite, and fortunately, he refrained from saying anything.

Grace was surprised when Taylor sat a piece of cake in front of her and then hugged her.

“I wanted to make it a little bit special. It’s been a busy day.”

Grace smiled up at her and nodded.

The older woman must have caught the shadows of doubt in her eyes because she hugged her again. “It’s all going to be okay.”

Grace tried to smile as she nodded. She caught the look between Taylor and Robert, and it made her feel even more troubled.

The maids came in to take the dishes as Robert stood and helped her with the chair. He grasped her hand and Hannah’s and led them to the family room. The three sat on the sofa with Hannah in the middle.

“Before we start a movie, we’d like to tell you something,” he said to Hannah.

“What?” she said.

“Grace and I got married today,” he said.

The little girl thought about it for a long moment. “Why didn’t I get to go to it?”

“It was very quick. Only Phillips and Channing were here. If Grace decides she wants a larger wedding later, we can absolutely plan one.”

Hannah turned to her. “So, you and Daddy are married?”

Grace glanced up at Robert quickly. “Yes, I suppose.”

Hannah looked back at her father. “Does that make her my mommy now?”

Grace’s heart sank. She hadn’t thought about that. Although the idea was a dream come true, she didn’t trust what was going on, and the thought of hurting this child if she had to leave would break her heart.

Robert smiled and nodded. “Yes, it does. She’s your stepmother now.”

Hannah wrinkled her nose. “But stepmothers are mean. I don’t want Grace to be mean.”

Robert chuckled. “Grace could never be mean, Honey. I guarantee she loves you already and will make the best mom you could ever have.”

The little girl looked back at her. “Do you love me?”

Grace blinked quickly to keep her tears from falling and smiled brightly. “Yes. Since the day I met you, I’ve dreamed of having a child one day. Now that it’s you, it makes me so incredibly happy.”

Hannah smiled and hugged her tightly. “I love you, too.”

Hannah looked up at her. “So, you love Daddy, too?”

Grace’s eyes rose to his and saw a hard glint in his eyes she didn’t understand. Was it cynical, irritation, or even a bit of hostility? She didn’t know what he wanted her to say.

“Oh, well, I think your dad is a wonderful man.”

“But do you love him?” Hannah persisted.

Without looking at the man, she answered. “Yes, Honey. I do.” Grace kept her eyes on the girl because she didn’t want to see a negative expression on his face.

Hannah turned to her father. “And you love Grace, right, Daddy?”

“Yes, Baby, I do.”

Grace’s shocked eyes flew to his face. The fact that he said that so quickly made her think he might just have feelings for her, but then the hard look in his eyes made her stomach twist into a painful knot. She quickly looked away from him.

“Did you have any other questions?” Robert asked Hannah.

She shook her head. “No. I’m glad we’re a family.” The little girl reached for both of their hands.

It was about as much as she could take at the moment. “I need to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

She could feel the heat of Robert’s gaze as it followed her from the room. Once locked in the bathroom, she let the tears out. Grace sank to the floor against the wall and pressed her face onto her bent knees, trying to keep her cries quiet. When she got the worst of the tightness in her chest and was able to stop crying, she stood.

Oh, God. She was bright red and had swollen eyes. She grabbed a washcloth and put it under the cold stream of water before pressing it against her face. She did this several times until the swelling had gone down a bit and the redness was gone.

When she reached the family room doorway, she inhaled and exhaled before putting on a small smile and walking into the room.

She hadn’t quite made it to the sofa where the other two were sitting when she could see from the scowl on Robert’s face that he knew she had been crying. Fortunately, he didn’t say anything right then, but it was only a matter of time.

She sat next to Hannah and squeezed the little girl’s hand when she reached for hers.

“We’re watching Snow White ,” Hannah said and smiled up at her.

“That’s great. I love this movie.”

Grace kept her gaze on the TV but jerked when she felt Robert’s fingers against the back of her neck. The heat from his hand felt so good, and she almost groaned when he started to massage it. She could have melted into a puddle, it felt so good. He kept it up for the rest of the movie.

Grace hadn’t realized the movie was over until Robert turned off the TV.

“Let’s get Hannah into bed.”

Grace nodded without looking at him. She took Hannah’s hand and let her lead her up to her room. The whole time, she tried to keep her mind on Hannah, but her eyes kept moving toward Robert. Most of the time, he was staring at her. If she could interpret the expressions on his face, she’d feel so much better.

She knew it wouldn’t be long before she knew exactly what was on his mind. She just didn’t know if she wanted to know.