| Chapter One |
| Grace was in love with the most unlikely person. Well, maybe unlikely wasn’t the right word. Falling in love with a completely gorgeous man with a great sense of humor and a kind heart was probably unavoidable, but for Grace Macgregor, it was the stupidest thing she’d ever done. Justin Timberlake didn’t know she existed. And why would he? Who pays attention to their mother’s personal assistant? After two months on the job, she’d only become a blip on his radar once when he’d accidentally bumped into her. Even then, he had only acknowledged her long enough to say sorry and explain that he hadn’t seen her there. Not exactly the stuff romance novels are made of, but to Grace, it’d been the greatest thirty seconds of her life. God, that was sad. It couldn’t be healthy to fantasize about the next time she could get in his way. They could probably bump into each other 50 times, and he still wouldn’t remember who she was. Grace wasn’t the type of girl boys remembered. 5’5 and a good thirty pounds overweight, Grace had plain brown eyes. She always wore frumpy outfits that while comfortable, emphasized her dumpy figure. She could usually be found in pants at least two sizes too big and her favorite brown sweater. Her thick brown hair was regularly tied back in a severe bun. On more than one occasion, someone had called her beautiful, but it was always followed by ‘if only you’d lose a few pounds and fix yourself up’. Boys didn’t notice her at all. She’d been on one disastrous date that her mother had set up and had never been kissed. If she ever did get kissed, it would never be with the likes of Justin Timberlake. “Grace, honey, are you payin’ attention?” Pulled out of her self-pitying thoughts, Grace saw Lynn Harless watching her with a bemused look. She’d completely forgotten that she was in Lynn’s living room, going over the guest list for Justin’s surprise birthday party. Lynn couldn’t be more excited that for once Justin wasn’t touring on his birthday. He’d been on break for the last week. “I’m sorry, Lynn. I…um…was distracted.” She wondered if Lynn ever noticed that Grace only became distracted when Justin was in residence. In the few months she’d been working for Lynn, Justin had stayed with his mother a total of 26 days. Grace had counted. Lynn’s eyes immediately lit with concern; the mother in her overrode the business woman. “Do you want to take a break? Did you have lunch yet?” “No, I’m fine,” Grace replied, reading the list she’d jotted down a few minutes ago, “The last person I wrote down was Christina. Anyone else?” Tapping her chin methodically, Lynn made a humming sound as she thought. “Is Pharrell on the list? Justin will want him there.” Grace scanned the list before nodding. “Well then, I think that’s it. Do you think you can have the invitations sent before tomorrow? I know it’s a lot of work.” “Don’t worry about it. I can do it,” Grace assured her. Lynn’s smile was so much like her son’s. “Good. I think this is going to be the best birthday party ever. Justin is gonna to be so surprised. Thank you so much for helping me, honey.” Grace decided it would be rude to remind Lynn that it was her job. Besides, Lynn was such a sweet and wonderful woman that Grace considered her more of a friend than employer. “It’s no trouble at all. Should I get started on the invitations now?” Lynn opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by an unexpected voice. “What invitations?” Justin stood in the doorway, dressed casually in a wife beater and basketball shorts. He looked as if he’d just woken up. Grace’s hands suddenly felt clammy; even messy and groggy, Justin was enough to send her senses on edge. Always thinking on her feet, Lynn smoothly answered, “I’m having a dinner party.” Justin rolled his eyes. “You have too many dinner parties.” Walking over to his mother, he gave her a kiss on her cheek, “Good morning.” “Good afternoon is more like it. It’s almost two. Long night?” Grace swore she saw a blush on his cheeks. “You could say that. I’m going to grab some breakfast…um…lunch. Have fun planning your party.” He turned on his heels, his eyes briefly falling on Grace. “Hi.” With that, he strolled out of the room. Letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, Grace willed her heart to return to a normal pace. This was definitely a three exclamation point day in her diary. “I don’t know why he doesn’t stay at his own house,” Lynn was saying, “Who has ever heard of a twenty-two year old staying with his mother when he has his own place?” The heat was taken out of her statement by her big smile; Lynn loved having Justin around no matter what she said. Grace patted Lynn’s hand. “I think it’s because you do his laundry.” “I don’t doubt it. He’s a man,” Lynn replied, laughing. Grace chuckled softly. “I should get started on the invitations. If you don’t need anything else today, I’m going to go,” Grace said as she gathered all her paperwork. Lynn nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Grabbing her purse, Grace said goodbye to Lynn. On her way out, she walked by the kitchen. Justin was sitting at the counter, enjoying a huge bowl of cereal. Feeling surprisingly brave, Grace called out, “Bye Justin,” as she passed him. He spared her a fleeting glance. “Bye.” Her heart did a flip flop. |