All or Nothing at All (Stevens Book 3)

Deleted Scene 3 (Part I of the original ending)

Author's Note: The next two scenes were the first ending, this was the one I wrote before the one that is now published. I cringe when I read it, and my sister was right to insist that I change it and look for Grace and Bryce's true ending.  I changed it because it suits neither character, it is as if they are completely different people. Grace is obnoxiously weak and Bryce is entirely  to humble. It does give a slight nod to Alice and Grace's eventual reason to meeting. 

________________________________________________________________________________

Spring in New York had come early, and Grace was thankful for it after the long and bitter winter. She had tried to get out of her contract with the Universit,y but the new Dean of the department had insisted that she didn't have enough staff to cover her classes.

The last nine months had been a roller coaster for her. After a painful trip back to New York with Bryce and Brian, she had fallen back into her regular routine of preparing for a new semester. Normally, it was something she enjoyed doing, but by mid-September she realized something was not right, and she broke down and went to the Doctor only to discover that she was pregnant.

Grace had been ecstatic; to know that she was going to have a piece of Bryce to keep forever had filled her heart with incredible joy.

Her roommates had been very supportive and jumped on the baby bandwagon, and the three of them had made plans, but by mid-November it was over. Spontaneous abortion the Doctor had called it. There was nothing she or anyone could have done.

Losing the baby was worse than losing Bryce, it was as if she had lost herself as well. At the request of her roommates she was seeing a therapist to work through her depression, but it didn't seem to be working. There had been talk of medications but she had refused. The pain reminded her she was alive. If they took that away she didn't think she would feel anything.

In an attempt to get her roommates off her back, she had started dating a fellow professor, James Fischer, who worked in the Law Department. He had recently been through a divorce and was trying to ease his way back into the dating scene.  He had asked Grace to attend the open house for the new Law School building  for the evening, and she figured it was either that or sit at home in her lonely little attic apartment while insisting to her roommates that she was fine.

She knew it wasn't a love match between her and James, it was very obvious after only a few dates that he was still in love with his wife, and that suited Grace just fine. She was happy to let him ramble on about his past happiness on their dates while her mind relived her own.

Looking at her watch, she realized that she had to start getting ready for her evening out. Having decided to wear one of her favorite new outfits it didn't take her long to get dressed. The skirt suit was a rich plum color and was well fitted. Under it she wore a white camisole and she had paired it with a dramatic pair of black high heels. She pulled her hair up into a tight chignon and put on her new black framed glasses.

When James knocked on the door she was ready to go with a minimum of fuss.

"James."

"Grace, you look lovely as always." James placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Thank you, James."

He escorted her out to the Taxi, and the short ride to the school was filled with a companionable silence.

As he helped her out of the car and up the stairs to the new building she couldn't help but remember that last time she had attended a school function like this; it had been the day that she had meet Bryce. She was so struck by the memory that she tripped over her own feet and James had to reach down and grab her arm to keep her from falling flat on her face.