Discovery (2 page)

“Well, slow down a little and try to remember how clumsy you are. You've got to give the rest of us a little room to maneuver.” Ben smiled at Grace with a contagious mixture of amusement and mischievousness. He was one of those people who smiled with their eyes more than their mouth and Grace liked that about him. She also liked the fact that Julian hated Ben's hair almost as much as he hated Grace's. Ben's thick, dark hair always had that messed up look. The kind of look that male models used gallons of expensive hair product to achieve, but for Ben all he had to do was get out of bed and he had runway hair. Combined with his high cheekbones and aqua eyes, Ben's messy model look often made women stop and stare. But while women liked Ben's look, Julian hated it. He said Ben's hair belonged on some rock star wannabe and not on a member of the Southern Pines Country Club staff. Of course, Julian's comment only ensured that Ben never cleaned up his messy look and Grace envied her friend's silent defiance of Julian.

“More room. Got it.” She started for the door again but stopped when she saw a bright red plaid napkin on a nearby tray. It reminded her of Mr. Williamson's golf knickers and his present need for another Scotch. She turned back to Ben. “Before I forget, Mr. Williamson wants another drink.”

“Mr. Williamson?” Ben grinned. “Who were you today?”

“Today I'm Gretchen.” Grace winked as she tightened her ponytail again and reentered the kitchen.

The club was unusually busy for such an early spring day, and the kitchen's bustle left no room for mistakes. Workers were all over the place, and Grace had to push her way through the crowded kitchen to get to Annie who was still in the back helping the cook and probably thinking of new ways to annoy Julian. Just as Grace had almost reached her friend, the banquet manager abruptly appeared out of the kitchen crowd and stepped directly into Grace's path.

“And how is Lady Covington today, Miss MacKay?” Julian looked down at Grace over his wire-rimmed glasses. He seemed to be purposefully ignoring the mocking faces Annie made at him just three feet away.

“She's fine, Julian. Don't worry. I've got her covered,” Grace assured her boss. She bit the inside of her cheek and held her breath, trying to suppress the laughs bubbling inside her. Annie's facial expressions got her every time.

“Very good. Please let me know immediately if there are any problems. And get that silly hair out of your face. You know how I feel about that.” Julian wagged a finger at Grace's flyaway hair and then turned up his pointy nose, put his hands behind his perfectly straight back, and strode over to his office as if he were a captain on a ship. When he reached his office door, he stopped without turning around and, enunciating each word with his British precision, added, “Miss Anne, if you put as much effort into your job as you do mocking me, you might actually make something of yourself.” He then disappeared into his office without looking back.

The minute the office door closed, the entire kitchen erupted in stifled laughter.

“You're going to get fired,” Grace said to Annie. Sometimes she could not believe how far Annie pushed it with Julian.

“No, she won't,” Ben said as he reentered the kitchen with a new tray of dirty dishes. “Julian loves the attention he gets from Annie. Doesn't everyone?” he teased as he emptied the tray on the counter near the sink.

Annie blushed, causing her long, blonde hair to look even lighter against her rosy skin. “Oh, shut up. You're just jealous because I'm more into your brother's hot bod than whatever that thing is you have going on,” she teased back as she finished preparing Lady Covington's salad.

“Too bad my brother's not into blondes with smart mouths,” Ben smirked. “I can promise you
that
will never happen.”

“Enough, you two.” Grace grabbed the finished salad from Annie. “Let's just get this shift over with so we can get out of here.” Grace shook her head and smiled at her two best friends as she left the kitchen to dote on Lady Covington. She was still smiling after depositing the salad as she thought of the constant banter between Ben and Annie and how work was a little more tolerable with their back and forth mock hostility. Ben's family had lived next door to Grace's foster family as long as she could remember, and Annie had joined their close duet when she moved to their small South Carolina town their senior year in high school. Since then, the Three Amigos, as they called themselves, had been inseparable and, with none of them having any money to speak of, they had accepted jobs at the local country club after graduation. Grace wanted to take the college route but no money and no parents backing her left her with few options. She had hoped serving the Southern Pines elite would open other doors for employment but so far it had only led to free food and use of the club gym after hours. College was looking like an unrealistic goal.

“What time do you all get off work today?” Grace asked them when she returned to the kitchen.

“I've got another hour or so,” said Ben.

“Me too,” sighed Annie. “I really think this shift would go by faster if I was working the tables instead of being stuck back here in the kitchen.” She had left her post with the cook and was staring into the dining room through the small window at the top of the swinging kitchen door. Suddenly, she gasped and her tired posture stood erect. “Wow. Talk about beautiful.”

“What?” Grace rushed over and pushed her face against Annie's in order to share the window's narrow view. The second she peered through the window, Grace knew who had caught Annie's eye. Entering the dining room was the most gorgeous family she had ever seen. Dressed in their tennis whites, they glowed like angels sitting down for a heavenly meeting. The man's commanding presence and Arian features matched those of his wife's with her long, thick, blonde hair swishing around her shoulders as she gracefully took her seat. Two fair-haired young men sauntered behind and assumed their obviously pre-appointed places in between their parents at the center dining table. Every eye in the dining room was soon focused on the luminous family whose brightness resembled a crystal chandelier floating in the middle of a church sanctuary.

“Dibs,” Annie quickly called.

“But you're on kitchen duty today,” whispered Grace, unable to take her eyes off the family.

“Okay, then you go.” Annie playfully pushed her friend through the swinging door and into the crowded dining room. Grace's abrupt eruption through the kitchen door as she stumbled into the dining room caused a few nearby diners to look her way in surprise. Not wanting to attract any more attention than she already had, Grace nonchalantly returned their awkward smiles as she tightened her ponytail again and tucked a few stray hairs behind her ears. She then headed straight for the center table, ignoring any other table that got in her way, including Lady Covington's. As she moved closer to the family, one of the young men, in particular, rendered her breathless. He had blonde hair that shimmered like a light beaming down across his tan body and taut muscles that screamed beneath a white Izod tennis shirt. He looked like the Abercrombie & Fitch models Grace lusted after from the
In Style
magazines that cluttered her bedroom floor and she thought for a minute that she might actually be waiting on a real live celebrity.

“Hello,” she said, still unable to catch her breath and almost panting as if she had just run a marathon. “Welcome to Southern Pines. I'm Grace and will be waiting on you today. Are you all new members?” She focused on the father because looking at the young man caused her knees to tremble.

“Well, hello Grace. Yes, we are new members. I'm Jamison Reich,” the perfectly poised man said. He then gestured to the others seated at his table. “This is my wife, Ava, and these are my sons, Gregory and Andrew. We just moved here and this is our first day taking advantage of your club's amenities. Do you have anything you would recommend for lunch?”

Mr. Reich's formal diction matched the refined exterior he projected and Grace was almost embarrassed to speak with her heavy South Carolinian accent. Trying to enunciate more than usual, she replied, “Almost anything we offer should meet your approval.” She smiled directly at Mr. Reich, pleased with herself for succeeding at sounding slightly less than southern in her response.

“Fine, fine,” Mr. Reich said. “I would like a vodka tonic and the grilled salmon salad, please. Darling, what would you like?” He directed his gaze to his luminous wife.

“The same,” said Mrs. Reich without looking up from her menu, her voice almost a purr, but with a slight edge. Elegance dripped off her like Chanel No. 5 and she wore large, black Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses as if her family's glow hurt her eyes.

“Gregory, do you know what you want?” Mr. Reich directed his question to the son who had previously impacted Grace's ability to stand.

Gregory looked up from his menu and smiled directly at Grace. His dark green eyes and long, thick eyelashes forced the young waitress to grab the back of Mrs. Reich's chair in order to keep from falling down. Grace's legs were beyond wobbly and the intensity of his eyes sucked her breath away again.

“Yes.” Gregory's voice was smooth. “I know what I want.” His eyes bored into Grace along with his smile. “I'll have iced tea and the shrimp and grits, please.”

Grace continued to grip the back of Mrs. Reich's chair while the other son, Andrew, ordered, but her eyes never left Gregory's chiseled features.

“I … I'll be right back,” she said as she turned toward the kitchen.

She wound through the dining room, trying to remember the entire family's order but shrimp and grits was the only item of which she was absolutely certain.

“So who are they?” Annie pounced on Grace the minute she hit the kitchen's swinging doors.

“The Reichs. Jamison Reich and his family,” Grace said as she looked up the family on the kitchen's computer. After a few keystrokes she found what she needed.

“Here they are. They just joined last month. They live here in The Pines and the sons are close to our age.”

“Does it give their weight and eye color too?” Ben smirked as he unloaded another tray from the dining room.

“Green,” Grace responded without looking up from the computer screen. “Gregory's eyes are green.”

“Gregory?” Ben's voice took on a slightly more serious tone. “So you are already on a first name basis with them?”

“Good gosh, Ben. Jealous much?” Annie pushed past him to see what Grace was reading. The two girls studied the computer screen, seemingly oblivious to anything else around them.

“They look like college guys. Where do you think they go to school?” asked Grace, her eyes still glued to the screen.

“Who cares as long as they are at least here for the summer? We should invite them to your party,” offered Annie.

“Oh, no, that's okay.” Grace blushed. “You're doing way too much already.” There was no way that gorgeous guy was coming to her birthday party and see her make a fool of herself.

“I am not,” said Annie. “Besides, they're good-looking. They should come. We want everyone who is anyone coming to your party and, as hot as they look, they obviously meet that criteria.”

Grace just half-smiled back at her. Why wouldn't Annie ever listen to her? She was dreading this party like the plague and Annie knew it. Grace's primary goal in life was to avoid being the center of anyone's attention and she was well practiced in the art of blending in. So the thought of a party in honor of her twenty-second birthday actually made her physically ill. It's not like this year was some major milestone like a sixteenth birthday or anything. Even then Grace hadn't had a party and she had been fine with that. But Annie wanted a party and, since Annie usually got what she wanted, Grace had resigned herself to the next few weeks of constant nausea until it was all over.

“You … you're going to invite total strangers to Grace's party?” Ben asked Annie.

“No. Gracie and I are going to get to know them first and then invite them. They won't be strangers for long if I have anything to do with it.” Annie stuck out her tongue at Ben and returned to the back of the kitchen to help the cook.

Ben turned to Grace who had left the computer and was again staring at the Reich family through the narrow window in the kitchen's swinging door. “You're not really going to invite those guys are you?” Ben asked as if Grace had any control over Annie's party plans. “You don't even know them.”

“What am I supposed to do? You know Annie's more into this party than I am. Besides, they probably won't even come. I doubt coming to a birthday party for some random club waitress is high on their list.” Grace continued to stare out the window. “But that one on the left, Gregory, is awfully cute,” she said almost to herself.

“Give me a break.” Ben rolled his eyes and stepped closer to Grace. “I just think your party will be more … special if we keep it to close friends, that's all.”

Grace allowed her gaze to leave Gregory's glowing face and turned from the window to face Ben. “Annie's right. You do sound jealous today. What's with you? Afraid I might actually have a date for once? Maybe you should try it too sometime.”

“Don't you worry about me. I get my share. You don't know everything about me, you know.”

“Promises. Promises.” Grace playfully nudged him with her elbow. “Besides, it might be kind of fun watching Annie try to flirt with your brother and keep up with her date all in the same night? That may be too much even for a professional like Annie.”

“Yeah. Too much.” Ben snickered without any humor in his eyes. “Uh … speaking of Tom, I need to give him a quick call. Can you cover for me with Julian for a sec?”

“Sure,” Grace said absently. She was already staring at Gregory Reich again through the kitchen door's narrow window.