Chapter 4
Grey
Grey had the patio table set by the time Gemma got there. His plan was simple: he’d apologize, she’d graciously forgive him, and then he’d have her in his bed upstairs within an hour. Unless he was off his game—Gemma was different and throwing him a bit, so he might have to tack on an extra half hour to get her to come around to his way of thinking. And she would. Come, that is, multiple times. The gate creaked, and he looked up just as Gemma walked through looking like a fresh summer day.
“I never knew your parents had a pool back here.”
She was still wearing the cutoff jeans and blue monogrammed polo from working the charter. Nothing he’d consider revealing or tempting, yet she made him dizzy with need. Soon… He’d drink his fill of her soon. “Yeah. We can go swimming after we eat if you’d like. There’s always extra suits in the pool house.” We’d start out in a suit, anyway.
“Grey, why don’t you just say what you need to say, and then I’ll be on my way.”
He did need to apologize, and he would, but he had a feeling she’d run away once he did, and he wanted more time with her. Grey’s brow pinched. He did want more time with Gemma. “Let’s eat first.”
“Grey.”
Even when she was trying to be firm with him, she was cute. “Come sit down. There’s a shady spot under the deck, and I’ll fix you a plate.”
Gemma chuckled. “Okay, fine.”
Grey took the brown paper shopping bag filled with their lunch and joined Gemma at the table. “I didn’t know what you liked, and with you being a nutritionist and all, I had no clue what to get, so I may have had some help in my selections.”
Gemma looked down at the container Grey handed her. Her brow rose when she read the name on the box. “Mellie?”
Grey paused in handing her the plastic packet of cutlery and napkin. “How did you guess?”
“She’d be the only way you could know my favorite restaurant.”
Gemma grinned and he was happy he’d taken the time to please her. “She said you like the grilled salmon salad from Aubriana’s.” That information hadn’t been easy to acquire. He’d tutored Mellie in math during high school, and he pointed out politely that she owed him one. Mellie was very protective of Gemma. He had to admire that in a friend. His brow rose as he watched her systematic way of opening the salad container and dividing the salad into two equal portions. The salad wasn’t that big, and he didn’t like that she wasn’t eating the whole thing. She certainly didn’t need to lose any more weight.
“I do, but I don’t get there often. This seems a bit unnecessary and expensive for a meal you weren’t sure I would eat.”
He gave her a boyish grin. “That was going to be my ace in the hole.”
She laughed and the sound went straight to his gut. They ate in silence for a few moments. He loved how her nose wrinkled when she chewed. And watching her lips close around the fork and slowly glide past was spellbinding.
“How are your brothers?”
Grey shook his head, cleared his throat, and hoped his t-shirt had an imminent problem concealed. “They’re fine. I guess you know Sloan, Wyatt, and Logan are married.”
“I do. Sloan’s wife Maria takes an Aerial Ribbon class with me.”
Grey wiped his mouth on a paper napkin. “A what?”
She laughed again and Grey’s eyes went to her mouth.
“It’s a form of exercise. There’s two pieces of fabric suspended from the ceiling, and you climb them and wrap yourself up in the silks and do stretching moves and tricks.”
“Like they do on Cirque du Soleil?”
“Exactly.”
That would be amazing to see. She’d have to give him a private demonstration. He could definitely see the potential. “I’d love to see you do that sometime.”
“You should sign up for a class.”
Grey chuckled and shook his head. “No way. Running and weights are more my style, but you keep doing what you’re doing because it’s working just fine.”
The smile slid off her face, and Grey could have kicked himself. “I mean…”
Gemma lay her fork down and closed the lid to her salad. “I know what you mean Grey. Ginormous Gemma finally put down the shovel.”
Grey flinched at the childhood taunt. “That’s not what I meant.” He scrubbed his hands through his hair and stood up, taking both their lunch containers and tossed them back in the bag. “I wasn’t very nice to you back then, Gemma, and I want to apologize. Especially for the way I acted when we walked to school together.”
“Why? That was the best week of school I ever had.”
“I don’t understand. I was horrible to you.”
“Yeah, you were. But the other kids left me alone that entire week because I was with you. So your silent and sullen behavior was ten times better than the name calling and jokes I would have normally had to endure.”
Grey was floored. He knew the others found her an easy target, but he never knew the extent. He’d been so caught up in himself back then. How could he have been such a jerk? “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” He surprised himself by hurting for the young girl who’d been so brave.
Gemma sighed and leaned back in the seat. “You know, I wasn’t always overweight. When my parents died, I came to live with Pops. He did the best he could, but he had no clue how to cook, so we ate out. Every year I gained more and more weight. I tried to cut back but eating out and a being a teenager wasn’t the best combination for weight loss success.”
Hearing her admit that made him feel even more of a heel for the way she had been treated. She should have been doing silly girl things back then, not worrying about losing weight. He’d always taken his mom’s insistence they have a home cooked meal every night for granted. “What happened?”
“I went to college and learned about nutrition and how to eat correctly. I even changed my major, and now my career is teaching others what I wish I’d known back then. I’m even working with the area schools on providing a more nutritious lunch and workshops for students.”
She’d turned a negative into a way to help others. A small niggling thought entered his head—when had he ever done anything to help anyone other than himself? Sure, he donated millions to charities, but writing a check was easy. “That’s really wonderful.”
“I hope I can keep just one child from going through what I did.”
Grey squatted down in front of Gemma so she could see the truth in his eyes. “I am so sorry you had to experience that, and I am sorry that I had any part in hurting you. Gemma, please forgive me for being an obnoxious teenager whose selfish behavior cost you even one ounce of distress.” Grey waited, not pushing for an answer. He was surprised at how much he wanted her forgiveness. “I want to get to know you, but before we can move forward, I’m asking for something that may be impossible for you to give. And that is forgiveness.”
Her head tipped and she squinted. “Your eyes are blue.”
What? “Yeah.”
She leaned forward. “At your parents’ house, on the beach, they were green, and now they’re blue.”
What was she doing? Deflecting the conversation? “They’re hazel. Their color changes with what I wear. Anything with a blue tint, then they’re blue. The same with green.”
“Ah…” Gemma said as she leaned back. “Chameleon eyes.”
“What?” Grey gave up and sat back down.
“You know, the lizard that changes color for protection.” She paused and silently nodded like she was trying to do long division in her head. “Hmm.”
Grey did not like the way the conversation was headed. This didn’t even remotely resemble his planned afternoon. “What’s that hum for?”
“Nothing.” She picked at the frayed hem of her shorts.
“Gemma, go on. Tell me.”
She tipped her head up and bit the corner of her lip. “I just wondered if you trying to protect yourself from something? Or maybe you’re h
iding from something?”
Nope. He didn’t like her tone or her questions. “Because of my eyes? Are you analyzing me, Ms. Jackson?”
A little V appeared between her eyes and she nodded. “It would explain a lot.”
Now he was starting to get irritated. He liked his life and he made no apologies for the way he lived. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’ve seen all the entertainment news about you over the years.”
He’d never wanted to be in the spotlight, but being a handsome billionaire at such a young age grabbed the media’s attention. But not everything they wrote was true. He used to enjoy the ridiculous exploits they cooked up about him. Now they were getting tiresome and annoying. “You shouldn’t believe everything you see in those.”
Gemma chuckled. “So that wasn’t you in the picture with Princess Margareta and a few dozen of her friends running naked through the royal palace gardens?”
Grey shifted uncomfortably in his seat. She had to see that one. An unedited version had hit the internet and had been embarrassing. At least he’d given an impressive showing. “That was me. I’d delivered a yacht to her brother and a party was going on. One drink led to twenty, and…well, you saw what happened.”
“And wasn’t it just last month you were caught on film on one of your yachts, I believe doing body shots with America’s sweetheart? I can’t remember her name. The actress. Isn’t she too young for you?”
Grey crossed his arms and leaned back. “Meha Collins. She looks younger than she is. I was helping her celebrate her twenty-first birthday. You know, the legal drinking age.” He tried to give her an innocent smile, but it came across as lame. Meha was ten years younger than he was but she acted older.
“Oh, and don’t forget the article that national magazine wrote about you—your mom saw it for the first time in my class surrounded by her friends. She tried to play it off, but she was hurt.”
He flinched. “You mean the one where…”
“Yes.” she interrupted before he could finish. “That one. Did you really do that, Grey?”
Yeah, he had, and he wouldn’t tell her he’d experienced that more than just once. Again, alcohol had been involved. But his mom’s reading about that didn’t sit well with him. “You really shouldn’t knock it till you try it.”
“Never.”
Grey rubbed the back of his tensed neck. No. He wouldn’t want her to either. “Okay. I’ll admit I’ve had a lot of fun.”
“Which brings me back to my original question. What are you hiding from, Grey? Why do you feel like that’s the only way to have fun?”
“I guess I found something that worked for me, and I just went with it. I’ve never wanted to change.” He looked at Gemma and wanted to say, “until you.” The truth of that thought rocked him.
Comparatively, on paper, he was the more successful of the two, but looking deeper, Gemma was the real success. She made a difference where it counted. Even after everything she had gone through. “Gemma, I really am sorry about the way we all treated you back then. I hope you can forgive me.”
She sighed, “There’s nothing to forgive. I let go all the anger I held a long time ago so I could heal.”
“If that’s true, then why won’t you go out with me?”
Gemma laughed. “I see what you did. You’re trying to trick me into going out with you.”
He loved her laugh, and he genuinely wanted to go out with her, now more than ever. She made him feel…different. “It’s no trick. I do want you to go out with me.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Grey. You’re only asking me out to make yourself feel better for the way you acted back then. We really have nothing in common, and we both want different things in life.”
His jaw clenched in irritation that she’d even think that about him. “No, Gemma. That’s not why I’m asking you out.” He stood and pulled her into his arms. “Can’t you feel it, Gemma? The first time I saw you was when you were on the Amanda Claire. You were laughing with your grandfather, and I couldn’t look away. You were stunning, and I wanted to know you. I had to know you. I felt it even from that far away, that you were someone special.” Grey astonished himself by his honest admission.
“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She wasn’t pulling away and Grey took that as a good sign. “I think you do, Gemma.” He brushed his lips against hers and felt a hiss of sparks. Her lips were every bit as sweet and soft as he’d imagined. When she didn’t pull away, he deepened the kiss and felt her lean into his body, bringing her into contact with his arousal. She broke the kiss and looked up into his eyes, just as scared as he felt.
“That’s what you do to me, Gemma and even if you won’t admit it, your body is telling me that you feel it, too.”
She shook her head, trying to deny his words. His hand inched up her chest and cupped one perfect breast in his hand. She gasped, and Grey watched as her sea-blue eyes darkened. His lips covered hers again, and this time she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him even tighter into the kiss. His tongue swiped across her closed mouth, seeking entrance between her lush lips. And nothing in his life had ever felt better than her total surrender into their kiss.
All of Grey’s earlier plans seemed to pale. Had she been any other woman, Grey would have had her undressed and beneath him in record time. But that wasn’t what he wanted anymore. Somewhere along the way, his pursuit of her had changed. What he felt for Gemma was miles apart from anything he’d ever felt before. He didn’t understand it, and he didn’t want to examine his feeling too closely, but he knew if he took the next step, any chance he had with her would be lost.
Before he could change his mind and do something they both would probably regret, but for entirely different reasons, he gave her one last brief kiss and stepped back, keeping a steady hand on her until her muddled eyes focused and she stood on her own. He knew the exact moment she realized what had happened, because he saw the shutters in her eyes snap closed over the emotions she’d felt in his arms.
Grey rested his forehead on her. “Go out with me, Gem.”
She took a step away and her hand went to her kiss-stung lips. “No. I…I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Oh, it is, Gemma, but how do I convince you of that? “Gemma, you want this as much as I do. What are you afraid of?”
Her head dipped, almost as if in defeat, but then she straightened, and Grey watched as her armor clicked into place. “I’m the same girl now as I was back then. I may be older, and I may look different, but I’m still me. How can I believe a boy that ignored me then would be interested in me now? Yes. I do feel something for you, and it would be so easy for me to fall for you, Grey. But that would be dangerous, because that’s not what you’re offering. I can’t open myself up to that kind of hurt.”
“Gemma. Please, don’t punish the man I am today for what the idiot boy did to you back then.”
Gemma looked down at her hands and slowly shook her head. “I’ve got to go. Thank you for lunch. And for the apology, but it’s best this way. Goodbye, Grey.”
Grey followed her with his eyes as she walked through the gate; he had no idea what to say or do to stop her. She’d thought he only wanted a casual hookup, and maybe in the beginning that had been his goal, but now, he wasn’t sure what he wanted—but he knew he wanted more. He groaned and ran his hands through his hair. He was so far out of his comfort zone and had no clue how to deal with the feelings he was having or how to go about fixing what he’d done. He was so physically frustrated he growled and kicked the leg of the deck chair, sending it crashing into the side of the house. Without another thought, he fell backward into the pool, clothes and all, but knew there was only one person that could cool his raging need and he was afraid he’d just lost his chance with her.
Chapter 5
Gemma
Gemma looked up as her grandfather walked onto the back porch where she was getting the tackle box
and supplies ready for the charter tour she was taking out for the day. “Honey, are you sure you’re okay to take the day cruise? You’ve been kinda quiet lately. Is the charter business getting to be too much?”
She flipped the lid of the box closed and latched the lid. She needed this cruise, but she couldn’t tell her Pops that. She hadn’t been able to forget how Grey’s simple kiss had affected her so strongly or how close she’d come to accepting his offer. He hadn’t called all week, and she was glad. She tried to convince herself it was for the best. She’d come a long way from being the invisible girl. Being with Grey was tempting, but a small part of her would always be that girl. Lurking in the back, playing with her mind. But she still couldn’t sleep because she kept reliving each moment and feeling in his arms. All those childhood fantasies she’d had about him dimmed in comparison to the real thing. “I love you, Pops, but you must believe me when I say I’m fine. Mellie is taking over my Friday classes. You and Pauley go enjoy the Sharks game, and I’ll see you tonight.”
Gemma snapped the lid on the plastic crate that held other supplies that might be needed during the ten-hour tour. It was important to be prepared, since you couldn’t just run to the store for extra sunscreen from miles out in the ocean.
“All right. All right. You know you can find the best flounder in the cove.”
She stacked the tackle box and the supplies by the back steps and grinned. “I know, Pops. I’ve been doing this for almost twenty years now. I think I can handle an all-day charter by myself.”
“I know you can, short stuff.”
Gemma stood on her tip-toes and kissed her Pops on his weathered cheek. “Now help me get this in the truck, or I’m going to be late.”
“Bye, Pops!” she called, backing down the driveway. “I love you! Have fun today and catch a ball for me.”
Once she arrived at the marina, she went straight to work prepping the boat. Keeping herself busy reduced the number of times she thought about Grey and what could have been. She’d been smart turning him down. She didn’t need heartache in her life and she could have fallen hard for him.
Billionaires On the Beach: The Anderson Brothers Page 26
