He took one step forward cupping her face in his hands weakening her resolve just like that and she went speechless, staring into his frightened eyes. “I didn’t sleep with her, Grace. I swear to you. She concocted the entire thing. I have proof for you. But I need to know what the f**k is going on with you and this guy? Why is he here with you? And why’ve you’ve been with him all weekend. Are you…”

His words seemed to catch while Grace tried to make sense of what he’d just said. “You have proof…” She almost allowed herself to believe it but caught herself. “No!” She pulled his hands away from her face. She wouldn’t fall back into this. “You said you did. You can’t just take that back now.” Feeling what she’d known all along she’d feel if she ever had to be around him she could barely speak now. “You need to leave. I told you I want nothing to do with you anymore.”

“Just tell me. Is he here?” He looked around again eyeing the hallway to the bedrooms. “Is he f**king hiding?”

“No!”

“Then what’s his car doing out front? I know I can prove to you I didn’t do a damn thing with Melissa, but you’ve been with this guy all weekend.” The fire in his eyes was ever blazing and she knew she should be mad but he sounded so determined when he said he could prove his innocence it gave her mangled heart an ounce of hope.

“I’m driving his car. He loaned it to me.”

Grace could see that only added fuel to his already lit eyes. “What? Why?”

“Because we’re going into business together. He’s helping me get my restaurant going.”

She hadn’t thought it possible but the ferocity in his eyes went up a notch and he took a very deep breath. “Really? He loaned you his car and he’s getting you a restaurant, too? In exchange for what, Grace? Your business partner nearly kissed you yesterday… or maybe he did. You wanna explain that?”

“Grace,” Taylor spoke up. “Maybe you should tell him.”

Sal’s suddenly alarmed eyes finally pulled away from the glaring hold he had on Grace to look at Taylor. “Tell me what?”

He turned back to Grace and she bit her lip, the words still unbelievable even to her as she thought them, but she forced herself to say them. “I’m pregnant.”

The look in Sal’s eyes was not what she expected. She knew he’d be surprised and she didn’t exactly expect him to be thrilled but she wasn’t expecting the devastating expression he wore now. His eyes full of questions, he asked the last thing she would’ve imagined he’d ever ask. “Whose is it?”

Before she’d even allow the massiveness of what he just said to her manifest, she slapped him so hard it stung her hand.

~*~

Even with the heat of her hand still stinging his face, two thoughts buzzed in Sal’s head loud enough to almost drown out the words Grace now yelled at him. Grace was pregnant—with his baby.

“I said get out!”

Sal snapped out of his daze and reached out for Grace’s hand. She pulled back but he reached for it again and held it firmly staring into her tear-filled but angry eyes. “I’m sorry, Gracie. I just… I don’t know. You were with this guy all weekend. It made me so crazy.” He pulled her to him and thankfully she didn’t fight him. “This whole time without you I’ve been going insane. I don’t know what I was thinking. I didn’t mean that—”

“What else could you mean?” Even though her words had lost their wrath her eyes bounced from his eyes to his lips but she was still insisting on one thing. “I need you to leave.”

Unable to control the incredible urge to taste her lips again, he kissed her softly and though she didn’t really participate she didn’t push him away. “I think we both know I’m not leaving, especially now. Not without you anyway.”

“I can’t.”

Joey who had jumped from the kitchen table to come to Grace’s aid or maybe Sal’s when Grace slapped him, but stopped in the middle of the front room when he heard Sal apologize finally spoke. “Grace you should talk.” She turned her attention back to Joey. “Whether things between you two work out or not, you still have to talk about some kind of arrangement. You may as well get it over with now. ”

Sal knew exactly what was going to happen between them because nothing was keeping him away from her now but he’d keep that to himself for the moment. And the only thing they were getting over with was this damn relationship—business or not—she had with the casino guy. It didn’t matter what Joey said if he could convince Grace to leave with him, Sal would bite his tongue.

Grace glanced at Taylor. “But—”

“But nothing,” Taylor said. “I’m with Joey. Put your feelings aside for just a moment and think of what’s best for this baby. The rest will work itself out.”

The baby. Sal had been so strung out with his thoughts of Grace and the other guy it hadn’t really registered yet. She was having his baby.

She turned back to Sal who could barely restrain himself from taking her and smothering her in his arms. But he managed to refrain and instead said, “We do have a lot to talk about.”

“I’m in Frank’s car.”

Sal’s jaw tightened at the sound of her saying his name. Before he could spit out what he was thinking, Joey once again had the answer to that protest. “Taylor and I can drive it back to your place, or Sal can bring you back later.”