I almost threw myself on Marcel’s mercy, except I knew if I asked him how to jack balls in lawn bowling, he’d never let me live it down.
I marched down the hall to the guest room, where I knocked on Ellison’s door, fully intending to back out of his proposed scheme.
“What is it?” he called through the door.
I was so disturbed by my own anxiety, it didn’t occur to me he hadn’t actually invited me in. I opened the door to find Ellison York completely naked. His back was to me as he reached for a pair of pajama pants on the bed.
His body was city-pale, but god… there were miles and miles of damp, creamy skin, slightly pink from a recent shower. The tight globes of his ass bunched as he leaned a little to one side, and the slender curves of his leg muscles shifted under his skin. I only had a split second to drink it all in before he processed my entrance and scrambled to get the pants on.
“Shit, fuck, sorry,” he said quickly.
I turned my back to him, ostensibly to give him time to dress, but in reality to give my dick time to stand down. Upon catching him like this, all the blood in my body had shot south with alarming speed. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had such a strong reaction to someone.
“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you hadn’t invited me in.” I cleared my throat. “I, uh…”
What had I come in here for? My head was busy and loud with images and thoughts that were no help in remembering my purpose.
“You can turn around,” he said a little breathlessly.
I turned around and saw him pulling on a soft T-shirt. The wash-worn shirt was inside out, hiding the print from view. I couldn’t help but take in this casual version of him, even though I probably looked like a greedy voyeur.
“Did you need something?” he asked.
I opened my mouth to say yes, finally remembering my purpose. I’d come in here to tell him the plan for the Duckworth house party was untenable. It would be impossible for me to pass as his… anything. I wasn’t one of them. I wasn’t elite or from an old-money family. I would make a fool of myself and embarrass him in the process.
But he looked so sexy and sweet standing there in his old pajamas with his bare feet and wet, curly hair. I thought of what it would be like to hold his hand, to lean over and whisper in his ear, to… hell. To share a room with him.
I swallowed. He was too tempting, and this was too dangerous. I opened my mouth to tell him that this would never work and we would simply need to find a different way of introducing me to Duckworth. Besides, I wasn’t about to risk losing York Capital when all I’d ever wanted was to screw Warren and Ellison York over.
“I wanted to make sure you remembered to make the necessary arrangements with a helicopter charter,” I said instead. “I don’t want to spend hours in traffic trying to get out there on Labor Day weekend.”
Ellison’s face split into a wide grin.
And I was well and truly fucked.
10
Ellison
“Appear where you are not expected.”
~ Sun Tzu, The Art of War
I was unexpectedly happy about the plan despite my giant dumpster full of misgivings. Maybe I was secretly excited to screw my father over, or maybe I was subconsciously relieved to get away from the city and the York Capital offices. Regardless, I spent the next couple of days with a spring in my step. But on Thursday morning, it came crashing down.
The unexpected blow came from my mother.
“Why does Binnie Duckworth think you are bringing a young man to the Hamptons party?” she asked.
I hadn’t told my godmother the identity of my boyfriend, but I’d obviously had to inform her I was bringing a plus-one to her home for the week. She hadn’t been nearly as surprised as I’d expected, but I’d chalked it up to her distraction this close to hosting so many people. I was sure she was slammed with arrangements that still needed to be made.
“Because I am bringing a man to the party,” I said, trying to stay calm. It wasn’t every day you outed yourself to a parent, especially when you were thirty-five. “Although I might argue with the term ‘young.’ He’s in his midthirties like me.”
A soft snort on the other side of the kitchen reminded me I wasn’t alone. Grey was pouring his second cup of coffee for the morning while Jenny had run downstairs to sign for a delivery of some kind.
I shot Grey a middle finger when he made a judgy face at me about the age crack.
My mother’s voice came back over the phone. “A man? But… Ian and Binnie only allow spouses and serious partners, Ellison.”
My heart rate spiked, and my palms started to sweat. “I know. He, uh… he is. A serious… partner, I mean. My, um… boy—” My voice broke on the word and squeaked loudly enough to jerk Grey’s head up. He frowned at me, and I gave him a weak smile. “He’s my boyfriend,” I said, as if it wasn’t a monumental announcement.
Grey Blackwood is my boyfriend.
My stomach somersaulted.
“So, yeah,” I said, “That’s… that’s the situation.”
The repetition of the soft snort made me want to kick my boyfriend in the nuts. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he held up his hands in defense.
“When were you going to tell me? I didn’t even know you were gay!” She whispered the last word as if it was an embarrassing plague like leprosy or hemorrhoids.
“I’m not gay,” I corrected. Grey’s opinions made themselves known again with a dramatic eye roll. I gritted my teeth. “I’m bi. There. That. That’s what I am. I’m bi. Bisexual, that is.”
“Christ,” Grey muttered, turning back to his coffee.
I muted the call and hissed, “Do you want to do this? Be my guest, asshole. It isn’t as easy as you think!”
“But,” my mother continued, now sounding a little hurt, “why wouldn’t you tell me before now? I thought you told me everything.”
“Definitely not,” I said before realizing now wasn’t the time for harsh truths. Other than the whole bi thing anyway. “I mean, I tell you lots of things, but this… this was a first. I didn’t want to tell you until… until I knew it was serious.”
I was a total asshole. Lying to my mother wasn’t easy. She hadn’t done anything to deserve the deception.
“Well,” she said with a sniff. “Not exactly a first. There was that boy you, erm… kissed… at the clubhouse that one time…”
My face flooded with heat. “Yes, well. Maybe I should have… Listen, it’s not important. The bottom line is, I’m bringing Gr… him to Ian and Binnie’s, and I hope you’ll treat him with kindness and respect regardless of… of what you think of him. That’s important to me, Mom. Okay?”
“What? Of course I will. Don’t be ridiculous. Since when do I not show proper respect and kindness to your dates?”
I sighed. “Okay, good. Thank you.”
“But I do have another reason for my call today. I wanted to find out if you’ve had any luck getting access to my jewelry?”