An Unforgettable Lady(41)

So this was Mom.

Grace's mother was so thin he had to wonder whether she'd ever had a full meal. The two of them shared the same high cheekbones, the same ruler straight nose, a similar graceful arch to their necks. Like Grace, the mother's pale hair was coiled up high on her head and she was wearing a black dress. As the woman unfolded her napkin and placed it gingerly on her lap, Smith caught sight of a sizable diamond.

A waiter came by Grace's table and Smith watched her mother look up imperiously. She said a few words, the waiter nodded with deference and then he faced Grace. She smiled, something her mother had yet to do, and started to speak. Her mother cut her off.

"Sir," came a voice next to Smith's table. "What may I get for you this evening?"

He didn't take his eyes away from what was happening across the room. "Anything."

"I beg your pardon? "

He frowned. "Just bring me some food. On a plate."

The tuxedoed waiter cleared his throat. "We have an excellent—"

With the look Smith shot him, the man clammed right up and hurried away.

Smith went back to the scene at Grace's table. Their waiter had left and the mother was speaking. As the woman's lips moved, a subtle disapproval floated in the air around her like a bad smell.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir," came another voice in Smith's ear. "But was there nothing on the menu to your liking?"

Great. The waiter had brought reinforcements.

Smith didn't bother hiding his irritation. "I haven't looked at the menu."

The eyes of other diners began to focus on the group at his table.

Christ, could these boys make more of a scene, he thought.

"Well, perhaps you might examine it,” the new one suggested. He leaned in and opened up the leather bound book. "We offer a wide selection of—"

" Is there a problem?” came a third voice.

Smith was getting ready to roar when he saw that the other two had come to attention liked they'd had their butts snapped with a newspaper. It was the maitre d'.

"This gentleman—” the taller one started in.

"Is a guest of the Countess von Sharone," the maitre d' said calmly. The other men looked at Smith in surprise and then offered smiles so warm and sincere they could have been missionaries.

Smith leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't care what you bring me as long as it isn't road kill."

"Of course, Mr. Smith. Right away." The ma?tre d' bowed and the waiters bustled out of his way.

Smith went back to looking at Grace.



* * *



"Who is that man over there?" Grace's mother demanded.

"Which man?" she said, even though she knew precisely who it was.

"That man with Edward and the two waiters. I don't recall ever seeing him in here before. He seems to be causing a problem of some sort."

Grace took a small sip from her water glass. "How was your trip down from Newport?"

Her mother continued to stare at the tuxedoed knot around Smith, as if she could will away the disruption. "The trip was fine. Just fine."

"And how are you settling in?"

To her relief, her mother finally looked away from Smith's table.

"Mercedes Walker is coming down from Boston tomorrow. We're having a bit of a reunion    ."

"Jack is here tonight, by the way."

"Really?" This time when her mother scanned the room, her eyes were warmer. She waved in Jack's direction as he nodded.

Grace glanced over at Smith, wondering what had been said between him and Jack and what the problem with the waiters had been. His eyes, as they met hers, were so intense that a rush of awareness went through her. She frowned. If she wasn't careful, she was going to mistake his focus on her for being something more than professional.

Which would only take her further into dangerous territory.

She was paying him to watch her, she reminded herself. It was his job. He wasn't bowled over by her feminine mystique.

Mostly because she had none, Ranulf had gotten that right, unfortunately. Whatever Grace's attributes, she wasn't one of those women who had a lot of sex appeal. Never had been. And her husband's obvious and well-shared disappointment with their love life had only underscored what she'd always believed about herself.