Restoration by Kim Loraine Page A

here tonight anyway.”
    “Who has their bachelor and bachelorette nights on a Thursday?”
    “Ah, well the bride there, she didn’t want him to get out of control without her and this was the only day they could do it. They’re umm . . . an interesting lot.”
    “Don’t you have to work tomorrow?”
    “Me? No, I’m taking the day off.”
    His boyish smile was irresistible. Grace leaned in and pressed a light kiss to his lips. When she pulled away, there was a lemon drop martini in front of her and Valerie was seated on the other side of the table, grinning from ear to ear.
    “What took you so long?” Grace asked.
    “You’ll see.” Valerie’s smile didn’t falter as she took a sip of her cosmopolitan.
    Grace had a sinking feeling she knew what was coming. She looked at Drew and raised her glass.
    Two lemon drops later, she was drunk. She wasn’t out of control or sick, just pleasantly floating on the alcohol in her system. In the back of her mind, she knew she should either stop drinking or eat something.
    As Valerie arrived with a third round of cocktails, Grace pushed the thought out of her mind. Drew had gone back to his party for the next round of pints, just as the DJ called Grace to the stage.
    “What did you do?”
    “You’ll see. You know this one, I promise. Work it.” Valerie cheered loudly when the DJ called her name again and Grace headed toward the tiny stage.
    Drew winked as she stepped up to the microphone, unsure of the song Valerie had picked. The familiar opening of . . . Baby One More Time began and she laughed as the crowd groaned.
    She smiled to herself, letting go of her inhibitions and deciding to go for it. She was a good singer; she’d been in choir all through high school and a regular at her college karaoke bar. She also remembered this music video very well. It was all naughty schoolgirl and innuendo.
    As she started her performance, her nerves dissipated and she began to move with the music. She locked eyes with Drew and almost forgot the words when he licked his lower lip. He sat with his eyes wide and his attention glued to her. She swiveled her hips with the music and focused on him, emulating a sexually repressed Catholic schoolgirl as well as she could. Blame it on the drinks, or the way Drew’s eyes were searing her own; she felt sexy. Eat your heart out, Britney.
    When the song was over, the crowd was quiet for a breath. Then the bar filled with whooping and cheering from the stag night and light applause from the bachelorette party. She quickly became aware of her surroundings and blushed all the way to her toes. Drew raked his fingers through his hair, took her hand, and helped her down from the stage.
    “Mate, if you don’t take her home, I will ,” one of the members of the stag night said.
    Drew shot him a steely glare and put his hand possessively on her lower back as he rushed her out of the bar and around the corner. The night air was chilly and her coat was still inside.
    “Drew, what are you doing? It’s cold out here.”
    Drew pushed her back against the wall of the building behind her. His eyes were burning dark pools.
    “Good God, Grace.” His voice was hoarse as he hoisted her up so her face was level with his.
    She instinctively wrapped her legs around his hips and tilted her mouth to meet him.
    It had been two weeks since the storm, and their dinner dates were usually rushed. All they were able to do together was eat and say goodnight. Light kisses and gentle touches over the course of their evenings culminated in a rush of pent-up desire.
    The tension between them crackled like static electricity. His hands tangled in her hair as their lips met; her hips ground against him while his tongue slipped into her mouth. She was vaguely aware of the cold brick wall pressing uncomfortably into her back, but didn’t mind enough to change the situation.
    She took Drew’s full lower lip between her teeth and sucked on it. He tasted faintly of beer and