An Irresistible Bachelor(108)

She waited for a response, but there wasn't one. Grace seemed totally frozen.

"I'm sorry," Callie said, reaching out. "I know I made a promise to you. But I can't hide anymore. Not when I have so much to lose by staying silent."

She heard a clicking noise and looked down. Grace started to fiddle with her watch, clipping and unclipping the latch. When she broke away and walked across the room, Callie held her breath. She wasn't prepared to keep quiet, but that didn't mean she wanted to cause Grace any pain.

"I—I'm sorry, Grace. Truly. I never expected—”

Grace whirled around and pegged her with hard eyes. "Don't you be sorry. Don't you ever be sorry. This is our father's fault. All of it. Not yours."

There was a long silence as Callie watched Grace's face grow increasingly dark. The depth of anger was a surprise.

And then Grace marched over, grabbed Callie's hands, and said, "Tell Jack. Tell him everything."

Callie blinked. "Everything? And you'll still be—”

"I'll be just fine."

Callie felt an immense gratitude, but it passed as she remembered she still didn't know where Jack was.

Or whether he would let her talk. Her only hope was if she apologized well enough he might forgive her. Maybe.

But where was he?

She thought about the commotion of the night before. She was willing to bet he was meeting with the exploratory committee early. Considering everything that had happened, he had probably moved up the time of the meeting. Because God knew he and his advisers would have plenty to talk about.



"He's probably left already!" She looked at Grace. "Are you going back to the city now?"

Grace nodded.

"Will you give me a ride to Jack's office downtown?"

"Sure. I know where it is."

Callie whipped the door open. She and Grace grabbed hold of Ross and raced him down the stairs. Moments after they had confirmed with Thomas that Jack had headed for his office, they were in a black Ford Explorer with Ross hitting the gas.

They shot onto the Mass Pike and were heading for Boston when Grace frowned and looked into the backseat.

"And after you tell him, then what?"

"I have no idea. Hopefully, he'll forgive me." Callie smiled weakly. "It may be too late anyway. But I have to try."

"But what if it isn't too late, then what happens?"

Love, family, the whole bit, she thought, not even dating to put such optimism into words. But happily-ever-after probably wasn't what Grace was concerned about, anyway.

"You mean about his candidacy?" Callie said. "You don't have to worry. He said if I told him the whole truth, he would stay out of the election."

Grace considered her thoughtfully. "Do you really want him to give up all that? You said yourself how much he wants to run."

It felt premature to be discussing their future, given how upset Jack probably was with her. But Callie answered the question anyway.



"Of course, I don't want him to stop. I hate the thought of what he would be leaving behind and I worry that he'd resent me later. But there's no other choice."

"Yes, there is."

Callie frowned, unable to comprehend what Grace was suggesting. Perhaps she just didn't understand.

"But Grace," Callie explained patiently, "if I'm with him and he runs, my past, our past is all going to come out. Somehow, some reporter is going to put the pieces together and then it will be everywhere. You think the tell-alls are bad now? Wait until you see our headlines."

Grace regarded her gravely. And then said the most unexpected thing.

"Maybe so. But I don't really feel like keeping our father's secret anymore. Do you?"'

Callie was stunned. She was willing to go through anything to be with Jack, even expose herself to the press. But Grace? Why would she put herself through that? She had nothing to gain, everything to lose.

Callie shook her head. "But the consequences, to you, to your mother, would be... tremendous. I can't imagine you'd want to deal with it all."

Grace looked over at Ross, meeting the man's eyes.

And then she turned back. "At a different point in my life I might not have been able to handle it. But I've changed and so have a lot of my circumstances. With the success of this year's gala, my position is secure at the Hall Foundation. I have a man who loves me and isn't afraid of anything."