Free Too Close to Resist by Nicole Helm Page B

minutes to follow. He didn’t get it. It was more approval than warning, and that was the absolute last thing he wanted.
    Another car approached and Grace hopped out, waving and blowing kisses at her parents. Kyle mustered up a smile and waved at the happy McKnights as they drove off again.
    Grace approached him, grinning from ear to ear. “Hi.”
    “Hi.”
    She didn’t offer anything else, and since he was afraid of anything she might have to say, he walked inside. Of course, Grace followed.
    “That was quite the little stunt you pulled at dinner,” she finally said.
    Kyle shrugged. Apparently that was becoming his default response to her and Jacob. Pretty soon his shoulders would be strong enough to carry bricks from all this damn shrugging. “No stunt.”
    “You shut Paula up real quick and, God, I needed that. I think you’re my knight in shining armor.”
    “That is the absolute last thing I am, Grace.” Just the thought of it had his stomach pitching. He’d barely saved himself; how could he be counted on to save anyone else?
    Her smile softened into something sad. “I wish you’d give yourself more credit.”
    He opened his mouth to argue, but she touched his shoulder. It shut up everything but the beating of his heart.
    “I think I get the true north thing now,” she said, tracing the spot where his tattoo was under his shirt. “You always try to do the right thing, even when you don’t want to.” She brushed her lips against his, just as casual as you please, and then grinned. “That’s pretty damn attractive.” She sauntered away, giving him a little wave. “’Night, Kyle.”
    Well, shit.
    * * *
    I T WAS STUPID . Idiotic, really. Grace meeting with Kelly to discuss selling some of her artwork wasn’t important enough to spend an hour agonizing over what to wear. Kelly was just being nice because Grace was her boss’s sister.
    Maybe a client did voice some interest in one of Grace’s paintings, but this wasn’t a thing. It wasn’t a thing to get nervous or excited about. It was a blip. A sale. Just as random and inconsequential as any of her Etsy sales.
    Grace chewed her lip and surveyed the contents of her suitcase spread across her bed yet again.
    “You can keep staring,” she muttered to the empty room. “Nothing is magically going to appear.” With a curse, Grace shimmied into her only pair of jeans not stained with paint and a bright orange sweater that wasn’t worn threadbare.
    She might not look überprofessional, but she was an artist, not some financial guru or banking exec.
    Grace jumped at the knock on her door. She checked her watch. Still a quarter to. She wasn’t running late. Maybe it was Kyle coming to tell her this was all a joke. When Grace opened the door, Kelly, Susan and Leah stood there all smiling. Grace tried to smile back, but there was something about this successful trio of women that always made her normal ease with people she knew disappear.
    “I know the meeting isn’t for another fifteen minutes, but I got done with my appointment early. Mind if we come in and take a look at your stuff?”
    “Oh.” Grace looked back at the clothes strewn everywhere. “I was going to bring a few pieces down. It’s a mess in here. Bad lighting.”
    “Not a problem.” Kelly brushed past her. “We can pick a few things to take down to the kitchen, then.”
    “Trust me. Messy is her middle name. Nothing will shock Kelly.” Susan smiled, poking her head in the doorway. “Leah and I want to see, too, if that’s okay? I looked at your Etsy shop. You have some great stuff.”
    Grace didn’t know what else to do but smile and nod. It wasn’t really her room and, hell, what was the worst that could happen? They’d all think she was crazy?
    “Susan, look at this.”
    “Oh, I was going to show you these.” Grace pointed to the stack of finished canvases she had stacked against the wall. Rivers and flowers and fruit. Kelly was studying what Grace had labeled her