The next day at seven the doorbell rang. Grace knew it was Rainer before he entered the living room.

The man was stubborn. "I said no, Rainer."

"Grace you cannot say no to Rainer Stevens," Angie hissed.

Christine was just too dumbfounded to say anything.

"Grace, if you don't go get dressed right now I will take you just like you are." He took a step towards her.

"Why won't you all leave me alone?" She crossed her arms across her chest defensivly.

Her admission to Rainer, and then seeing Bryce so soon afterwards had sent her into a downward spiral.

Rainer took another step towards her. "You're family Grace, and I suspect you very much need your family right now."

"Your family is exactly what I do not need."

Rainer looked at his watch. "You have twenty minutes then I will bodily remove you to a cab and then to dinner."

Grace looked at him hard. She had never seen that look of determination in him before. In Bryce yes, but not in Rainer.

"Fine." She stood up and moved towards the door. "But don't expect me to be good company."

"That's the beauty of family, you can be as nasty as you want, but your still family."

Grace turned and stalked from the room heading up the stairs to change. She didn't rush, and she was finally ready forty minutes later.

She looked at herself in the mirror. She had worn the dress Rainer had asked her to wear, piled her hair high on her head, and put on a pair of killer shoes. She looked halfway decent so she declared herself ready to go.

When she walked into the living room it was to find Angie, Christine, and Rainer deep in conversation.

When Rainer saw her he rose, smiling, even though it didn't quite meet his eyes. "You look lovely Grace, shall we go?"

"Liar," she said as she put on her coat.

They walked a bit in silence, Rainer deep in thought. Eventually, he saw her shiver and hailed a cab helping her into it. "Now, let's go see about putting some meat back on those bones."

They eventually arrived at one of the premier hotels in the city.

"This is it," he said, escorting her through the lobby.

Grace's heart flip-flopped. This was not just dinner, Rainer was up to something. She tried to dig her feet into the carpet, but the bottoms of her shoes were too slick and she just started to slide.

"We'll dance eventually Grace, but not right now."

"Rainer!" she hissed as he pulled her through the door of the ballroom. He didn't lose momentum as he headed right for a table the held all of the Stevenses, Bryce included.

Grace gave a little whimper as she saw Bryce. He was leaning over talking to his father and he hadn't notice her. She couldn't do this again. Three times in a week was too much.

"Where is our tough little Grace? She's in there somewhere, I know it."

Her eyes were glued to Bryce. He was so handsome. He looked tired.

"Grace!" Cassie squealed, jumping up from the table.

The whole family turned to look at her, some with curiosity and others with warm smiles, but she only saw Bryce. There was a brief glimpse of surprise in his eyes then nothing.

"Oh Grace, it is wonderful to see you." Cassie hugged her. "But you're much too thin. Here sit and let's get caught up."

Rainer and Bryce exchanged a look, then Bryce rose and excused himself walking off with Rainer.

Grace knew without a doubt that Rainer was telling Bryce everything. What she didn't understand was why now, why not right after he had learned about it? She remembered the conversation he was having with Angie and Christine. He must have needed a few more answers that he hadn't felt comfortable getting from her.

And now he was telling Bryce everything. Cassie was talking a mile a minute, and Grace kept making replies, at least she must have because Cassie just kept on talking, but all she could think about was making her escape before Bryce returned.

Lizzy was also joining in the conversation from her other side, but when she suddenly stopped talking in mid-sentence Grace froze, feeling the icy stare of Bryce.

"I am glad I am not you Grace. What did you do?" Lizzy said as she noticed Bryce standing over her with one of his fierce warrior looks.

"Nothing that I didn't have help with," she answered cryptically.

"Don't you have a song to sing Cassie?" Bryce asked.

"Sure do." Cassie jumped up from the table.

"Grace, shall we dance?"

"No," Grace said. She must have said it louder then she had intended because all conversation at the Stevens's table stopped, and all eyes were glued on them.

"Yes." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her from the table, heading towards the dance floor. When he pulled her into his arms her legs gave out, and he had to hold her up. He felt so good, he smelled so good.

"We need to talk Grace."

"No, we don't. You have made yourself clear from the start, and any problems that have developed are entirely my fault and mine alone." She tried to pull away but he wouldn't let her.

"Grace, I want you. I want us to be together-,"

"I can't Bryce. I just can't, no benefits remember." She pulled away from him and headed for the nearest exit, which happened to be an emergency stairwell.

She was no sooner through the door than Bryce was behind, her letting the door slam shut. She jumped as the sound bounced off of the walls.

"You were pregnant Grace, and you didn't tell me."

"I didn't know who's it was," she insisted, trying in vain to keep up the pretense.

"Stop it Grace! I didn't believe you then and I don't believe you now." He held her away from him taking in her appearance from the top of her head down to the tips of her toes; taking in her tears and pallor.

She felt the heat. Even in her distressed state he could turn her to jelly with a glance.

"Did I do this to you?"

"No, don't, I would rather have your anger then your guilty conscience. I can't stand the thought of you pitying me for falling in love with you. You made it clear from the beginning that you didn't want love, and I tried to fight it, I did, but I couldn't win," Grace was sobbing great racking sobs as she sunk to the steps, unable to stand from the force of her shaking body. She wasn't just crying for Bryce, she was crying for the baby.

"The baby was a piece of us Bryce, a little boy, and it was going to look like you, but I couldn't even do that right."

He grabbed her face in his hands and made her look at him. "Grace you didn't do anything wrong. I did, I got it all wrong, I screwed up. I came to your class yesterday because I wanted to tell you all of this then, but you were so cold; I thought I had lost my chance, and then tonight when Rainer told be about the baby..." His voice cracked on the word baby.

She met his eyes and saw the tears on his cheeks. She reached up and brushed them away. "Don't please, don't ..."

"It hurts me to see you hurt. It has since the first time I saw your pain, to know that I caused this pain."

He ran his hand through her hair, holding her face up so she was forced to look at him.

"You fascinated me the first time I met you at that party, remember?"

Grace nodded sniffling.

"You ran your hand along my palm and it was the most intimate and sensuous thing I had ever experienced. The simple touch of your hand..."

"It was your calluses, I wasn't expecting them. I wanted to make sure I hadn't imagined them." She took his hand and turned it over tracing them. "As I was leaving you smiled, a real smile, and that was it. I loved you in that instant."

"I love you Kitten, I have since the moment I walked into my study and saw you curled up in a chair as if you had been waiting for me, it felt so right that I was coming home to you."

He loved her. Grace heart soared even as she looked at him in disbelief.

"I don't blame you if you don't believe me. I haven't been kind to you. I have said and done things..." he choked.

"I forgive you, can you forgive me?"

"For what?"

"For the last time we were together. I was never with-,"

"Shhh... I know you weren't Kitten. I knew why you were pushing me away. Brian told me about your conversation and I was livid. I was not happy with him as it was for having gotten to spend so much time with you, and then when he had the audacity to tell me how I felt, I told him in no uncertain terms how I felt. Then I saw him kissing you and it upset me so much, I want to be the only one kissing you."

Grace wiped the tears from her cheeks, "If it helps there was no spark. We both agreed that once you had it all you couldn't settle for less, and I would have been less for him and he would have been less for me."

He shook his head. "That helps but it also hurts. I have hurt Brian just as I have hurt you, by thinking that I know what is best for other people when I really have no clue."

"You'll fix it," Grace said smiling up at him with the first real smile she had felt in months.

"I see all of your faith in me right there in your eyes, and I am afraid I don't deserve it."

"Do you love me?" Grace asked huskily.

"Yes, so very much."

"And I love you, what is love if it isn't faith?"

"How do you feel about being Lady Grace Stevens?"

"How about plain old Mrs. Bryce Stevens esquire."

"Perfect, now let's dance before mother sends in a search party to make sure I haven't killed you."

"Bryce, about the baby-,"

"When you're ready Kitten we will try again, but I plan on plenty of practice before the big event."

Grace blushed. "Me too."

Bryce pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard before leading the way back into the ballroom and onto the dance floor, taking her in his arms. Cassie had seen them coming and started to sing 'That's All.'

Grace felt as if she was floating on a cloud as Bryce held her tight. She willed him to know that the song held what was in her heart. They took a turn past the stage and Cassie winked at her as her husky voice floated over them. Cassie knew that the song was what was in her heart and always would be that was why she had sung it.

When song ended, Bryce took her in his arms and kissed her right in the middle of the dance floor and Grace was in a fog by the time he was done, but she did hear whooping and hollering coming from the Steven's table.

"Get a room!" Mason shouted.

Bryce whispered something wicked in her ear then gave her one of those heart stopping smiles making her toes tingle. It was that moment that Davis caught with his camera.

Grace would add it to the cowboy picture. It would remind her how far they had both come.