~ Sun Tzu, The Art of War
“Ian! Ian, wait,” I said, rushing over and stepping between him and Grey. The heat of Grey’s body against my back was hard to ignore, especially after the kissing encounter that had just knocked me on my figurative ass and left me frantically trying to find a way to finagle a repeat. “He didn’t want to come. I had to beg him. Grey didn’t want you to think he was using our relationship to get an in with you. But he came because it was important to me. And I’m important to him.” The lies came off my tongue easily now that we were here, now that I was bolstered by Grey’s commitment to being convincing.
“Why didn’t either of you tell me about this supposed relationship sooner? Why did I have to find out about it from the help?”
I felt Grey shift behind me. He wasn’t the type of man to appreciate someone else handling his shit. Too bad.
“Because I was afraid of you acting just like this,” I snapped. “I wanted to tell you in person so I could explain.”
“So you could explain why you’d date someone who wanted to destroy your family business?”
“So I could explain why I would date someone who wanted to save my family business,” I corrected. “You don’t know the whole story here, so stop acting like an ass to my… to my b-boyfriend.”
Fine, saying that word after thirty-five years of fairly comfortable heterosexuality wasn’t as easy as it might have been, but I’d said it.
Grey’s hand landed on my hip and startled me. “Why don’t we go somewhere to talk?” he suggested in his irritatingly mature manner.
Ian’s eyes narrowed at Grey over my shoulder before turning to me. “Bring him to my study. I’ll have Henry pour us a drink. I know I could sure use one.”
As soon as he was gone, I let out a breath. Grey squeezed my hip for a beat before pulling away. “That was pleasant,” he muttered. “Should we go ahead and dress for dinner before meeting with him?”
The attendant who’d brought our bags to the room had mentioned a casual family dinner tonight. I told Grey we were probably fine dressed as we were. It was even cooler here than in the city. Grey wore a slim-fit pair of chinos with a casual button-up shirt in a dark blue pattern. I’d mostly noticed it because the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up and I’d spent plenty of time on the helicopter staring at his forearms.
“You’re wearing jeans,” he said with the same amount of disdain he might have used had I been wearing bloody medical scrubs.
“They’re designer jeans, and I’m wearing a cashmere sweater with them. I look like I could be on the cover of a ‘smart-casual looks for fall’ mash-up thanks to your peeps at Neiman’s. Besides, it’s just family tonight.”
“Great,” he said with heavy sarcasm.
“Family in this case is at least twenty people. You’ll be fine.”
“At least wear the boots instead of sneakers.”
I looked down at my canvas sneaks. He had a point. After opening my suitcase to find the soft leather Chelsea boots that had shown up with all the Neiman’s stuff, I sat on the desk chair to slip them on. They felt like they’d been made for my feet.
“Thank you for these,” I said, standing back up. “I hope you can find someone who wears a size eleven to appreciate them when I’m done with them.”
Grey’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “They’re yours. Why would I find someone else to give them to?”
“I’m not taking the stuff you bought. You had to have spent at least ten grand yesterday. Have Marcel or Jenny figure out a way to sell them to a designer resale shop or something.”
He huffed out that little laugh. “I spent more on aviation gas last month flying Marcel to California to surprise his husband for their anniversary. And that wasn’t even business related. This is.”
I didn’t respond. He must have realized I was annoyed at the thought of accepting all of these designer clothes because he gentled his voice.
“Ells, you work at a private boarding school. Surely you can wear your new clothes there and fit right in.”
It was the second time he’d shortened my name, and I kind of liked it, even though I didn’t think he realized he was doing it.
We walked out of the bedroom and closed the door. I suddenly realized Grey thought I worked at the kind of school I’d attended myself, an elite boarding school for the rich and famous.
“My school’s not like that,” I corrected. “Half the kids there are on full scholarship.”
Before he could say anything else, we ran into my good friend Cate coming out of the bedroom next to ours.
“Ellison,” she said with a squeal, bouncing forward to hug me tightly. “You’re here. Thank god. I missed you. Jesus. I don’t think I can handle you moving to the sticks.”
Her familiar perfume reminded me of summers in the Hamptons and the times I’d escorted her to various social events in the city. She was a welcome sight.
When her eyes flicked over my shoulder, I remembered my manners. What in the world would Cate think about me dating a man?
“Grey, this is Cate McArthur. She’s Ian and Binnie’s niece. Cate, this is Grey Blackwood.” I couldn’t bring myself to call him my boyfriend again this soon. I sounded like a teenager when I said it that way.
After he greeted her, Grey slipped his hand into mine, and my heart took a little wobbly swan dive. I glanced over at him, but his face was as stoic and controlled as ever.
I was holding hands with him. Holding hands with a man in semipublic. It was different and weird, but something about it felt good too, like reminding me I had a partner in crime. For the first time since planning this scheme, I realized it might actually be nice to have someone to talk to late at night in the privacy of my bedroom, to debrief with about the day and gossip with about the odd characters I’d encountered.
I’d never had that before. My sister and I had gone away to boarding school and been placed in separate dorms. Having teenage boys as roommates didn’t make for a safe place to confide any secrets or deep thoughts.
Even when I’d had girlfriends, I’d been more of a listener than a participant in the gossip. My father had warned me against giving too much away to anyone, even in a relationship, so I’d been reserved with the people I’d dated.
Knowing Grey would never actually want a real relationship with me meant I didn’t need to worry about giving too much of myself to him. I could give him all I wanted, and he’d drop it like a rock as soon as we were done.
That realization didn’t feel great, but it was the reality of our situation. I’d known what I was getting myself into when I signed on for this plan.
In the meantime, I enjoyed the solid warmth of his hand in mine. Cate’s eyes widened a little when she noticed it, and my face heated in response. But I held on tight to him anyway.
“Nice to meet you,” Cate said with a friendly and open smile. Her long blond hair was pulled back in a loose braid, and the sundress she wore showed off her curvy figure. She was as gorgeous as ever. “Has Ellison warned you about all of the riveting adventures we’re going to get up to this weekend?”
Grey felt stiff next to me. What would it take to get him to relax? Hard-core Valium, most likely.