Joshua's Grace

Chapter 1

His index finger was drumming restlessly against the arm rest and in direct contrast to the slow bored roam of his green eyed gaze. He watched the crowds that merged and mingled as they made their way past. Even though he feigned boredom, he was alert; she could see it in his eyes. His shoulders were broad, but they were tense. She sensed he was angry. She hoped it wasn't the thought of meeting her that did it. Maybe he disliked being kept waiting.

It took some deft footwork to bring the wandering trolley to a halt just in front of him. Trust her to pick a trolley that thought it was a four- wheel drive on automatic.

Grinning impishly she held out her hand as her mind began relishing the thought of shaking hands with him. "Mr De Souza? Joshua?" she questioned with a smile in her voice. "Hello. I'm Grace."

Her smile wasn't reciprocated. Rudely, he stared at her. Just looked. For several seconds he didn't move. Grace felt her smile freeze into position. Then he got to his feet, slowly, still not taking her proffered hand and without saying a word. For a fleeting second he had looked astonished. But he pulled himself together and allowed his eyes to arrogantly take stock of the woman standing in front of him.

Grace allowed him to take mental notes. She doubted she looked all that inspiring. Twenty-six hours in several aircraft and several airports didn't do much for one's appearance. But who cared? He'd been paid. It wasn't often she arrived home to find this kind of surprise waiting for her. Even though she was out on her feet, her eyes were in good working order and what they saw appealed to her.

This was her? Joshua scanned her slowly and blatantly. From the top of her messed up pony-tailed jet-black hair, to the low heels of knee high, flat, black leather boots, all five foot seven inches of her. The frown lines deepened as he took stock. This couldn't be her. He wondered if the real Grace had sent a decoy. Quickly he glanced around, hoping to spot someone he'd recognise as an academic.

Grace waited for his eyes to return and make contact with hers. When they did, she wished he hadn't.At least he wasn't feigning boredom anymore. Although his eyes had masked it, she had definitely surprised him. She just wasn't sure whether he was pleased or not.  Her intuition and initial assessment suggested he wasn't. Grace dropped the hand she was still holding out to him.

She wondered what he'd been expecting. Who cared? Weren't escorts supposed to feign attraction? Or even basic interest? This man wasn't. Obviously missed the charm training session. Either that or he was paid to look disinterested. Perhaps he was their strong, silent type. 

Grace lost her smile. Surely she didn't look that bad. A bit mussed up, possibly a touch jaded, but not as bad as he made out. Could she? She should have taken the time to freshen up. But then she hadn't been expecting a gorgeous specimen of manhood to meet her. If only she'd known. She'd have at least combed her hair, left it loose, maybe put on some lipstick, a bit of mascara. Instead all she had done was wash her face, brush her teeth and retie her ponytail, just before the plane landed. It was an attempt to freshen up and prepare for the last leg of her journey home. Too late now to wish she'd made more of an effort. 

His eyes were conveying messages she didn't want to read. Dark green eyes flashed with something she didn't recognise. He scowled. She grinned back. She might be exhausted, but she wasn't about to be intimidated by this gorgeous guy. Only he didn't know that yet. Her smile widened when he glared at her. Then, suddenly, she decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

"How much does this cost?" She asked bluntly, quietly amused that her father would go to all this trouble. He was known in the family for his practical jokes, but never had he gone to such lengths. This was his best effort to date. 

The jolly green giant studied her for several long seconds before he spoke. "What?"

Typical, thought Grace, the jolly green giant was tall, dark, handsome, and he had a gorgeous voice. Grace liked it. Deep, resonant and sexy. Pity he was such a bear. She noticed that his green eyes darkened even further when her lips curved into a fuller smile and her eyes glowed with suppressed humour while she looked at him. O.K, so it was obvious she was enjoying this meeting and he wasn't. But it wasn't often that a six foot two, black haired, green-eyed guy, with a sexy voice had her paged at airports. And if her father had gone to all this trouble to even the score, she should at least enjoy a few minutes of his endeavour. The least she could do was look.