He lifts the pillow and raises his brows at me. “If you mean underwear and shirts, which is all I need, then yes. I have everything.”
“What about socks and clean pants and—”
He jumps off the bed and, with long strides, walks over to me and wraps his arms around me. “I have you, don’t I?” He tips my chin up to meet his dazzling smile.
“I guess…” I mumble, and he chuckles before pecking my nose. I scrunch it up, and he rolls his eyes before falling back onto my bed, making the luggage bounce. I catch it before it can fall on the ground. I’d have to repack everything, and he’s already getting pissy.
I close the luggage and roll it to the door.
“Now, here’s the plan for the next five days—” I start to say.
“Why do we need plans?” He groans and leans on his elbows, casting me a look of amusement. “What’d I tell you about making plans? You don’t need them if you can’t see the future.”
“I can when it comes to my family.” I point the pen at him, and he shakes his head but doesn’t say anything. “Now, as I was saying—when we arrive, my grandmother and parents will greet us at the door—”
“How do you know this?” he cuts me off.
“My grandmother has a tendency to be skittish, and she likes to sit by the door in case of fires.” So adorable, that woman.
He bites down a laugh. “Is she a cat or something?”
“Don’t you make fun of my gammie,” I warn him, narrowing my eyes for emphasis.
He holds up his hands in defense, but that loathsome grin doesn’t leave his face.
“Anyway, it will take two to three minutes, depending on how long Gammie spends twirling me around and emphasizing how big I’ve gotten and hitting on you.” I hold up an assuring hand. “But she won’t bite. Promise.”
“If she does, I bet her dentures would cling to my skin.” He barks in laughter. I admire how tickled he is, clutching his stomach for support. Just the thought of that happening makes laughter rise in my throat and escape my lips before I can hold it back.
“Stop making fun of her,” I demand. He waves a hand at me but keeps quiet. “After that, we will migrate to the living room where my dad will make vague comments about your tattoos, but don’t worry, he’s not being mean, he just doesn’t talk a lot and will be nervous about how you look—”
“You mean he’ll be absolutely stunned by my dazzling aura of sexual desire?” he suggests with a twisted face of “seduction” while gesturing up toward his body. I laugh and shake my head.
“Stop distracting me,” I whine and scuffle forward, nudging his foot hanging off the bed. I look back down at the clipboard to avoid his eyes. “After that we’ll be escorted to our room by Louise, and then—”
I am cut off by his obnoxiously loud grunt. I scowl at him as he sits up and pulls me in between his legs. He buries his head in my light blue cashmere top that matches my eyes. He says, matched with my jeans and the bow in my hair, I look adorable enough to eat. But I don’t know which way he means…
“Stop talking. Stop planning. We will go with the flow and have fun,” he mumbles into the soft fabric.
“What fun do you anticipate we will have?” I ask curiously and put my planner down, playing with the tendrils of his hair. I tug gently, and he purrs deeply.
“You know, the pool slides and arcade game you guys have. And I’ve always wanted to pull pranks on a butler.”
I chuckle and tip his chin back; he looks up at me with the widest eyes and the most precious smile. He reminds me of a hopeful child.
“There is none of that, Grey,” I say, kind of thrown off. Is that really what he thinks I was raised up with? “It’s just an obnoxiously large house to show off to family and friends. Nothing more. But if I really wanted the best childhood, they could have added a bookstore.”
His face drops. “Seriously?” I nod. He grunts, burying his face in my stomach once again. “That was the only reason I agreed to go.”
“Hey!” I pull his head back, and he snickers lightly.
“Joking,” he breathes, reaching down to intertwine our fingers together. He stays silent for a long time with an upsetting frown. “It’s not too late for me to stay. I haven’t been around parents in a long time, and I—”
I crash my lips into his and straddle his lap. He slowly falls back until he hits the bed. I yelp into his mouth when he pinches my butt. He laughs at my expense, but it’s cut off when I reach down and grip his bulge. It’s my turn to laugh. Rolling his eyes, he leans up and takes my face in his hands before pressing my lips onto mine.
Sensual, sweet, and growing into something more. Something we do not have time for.
I splay my hands on his chest and sit up. “Was that enough for you to forget about your silly little doubt?” I ask breathlessly.
He shrugs nonchalantly, and goosebumps raise on my arm when he runs a finger up and down. “I could use a little more persuading…” The smile he flashes nearly makes me swoon. A buzzing sound slices through my words, and he waggles his eyebrows. “I don’t remember you having these panties.” He winks, and I burst into titillating laughter.
“Or it’s just my phone?” I suggest in a condescending tone as I retrieve my phone and wave it in the air.
“I’m gonna stick with the vibrating panties,” he says with a huff and gleaming black eyes.
I roll my eyes and swipe my finger across the screen, answering the call. “Hello?”
“Ms. Westerfield, I’m outside,” Trevor informs me.
I nod and smile even though he can’t see me. “Thanks, we’ll be down soon. Bye, Trevor.” I hang up the phone and slip it back in my pocket.
I begin to crawl back to stand up, but Grey wraps his hands around my wrists and yanks me forward. “What?” The look in his eyes makes me lose my breath.
“Who the fuck is Trevor?” he growls.
***
We arrive three hours later. The entire way I’ve been a giant ball of nerves, but it didn’t stop me from trying to soothe my bouncing knee and raging thoughts. I played with Grey’s fingers, planned and planned and planned until I had every second of every day in my agenda, and continued writing for my entry in the elite program. But none of it stopped me from wondering: Is this going to come crashing down before we actually get to Thanksgiving?
“We have arrived, Ms. Westerfield,” Trevor announces as we pull up in front of the granite steps.
“My fist will arrive in his face,” Grey mutters under his breath, and his bicep twitches under my touch.
I nudge him with my knee and hold back a smile. He is absolutely endearing when he feels threatened. But by Trevor? The guy owns N*Sync CDs and enjoys long walks on the beach with his boyfriend. I would have assured Grey that Trevor isn’t nor will he ever be interested in me in that way, but where’s the fun in that?
Grey regards the mansion with wide eyes and an extra hard grip on my hand.
“Stop it,” I whisper in his ear, but he still pelts the back of Trevor’s head with bullets. I roll my eyes but grip his hand harder as the SUV comes to a halt. “I hope you’re ready for sultry winks from a ninety year old,” I joke, and he raises his eyebrows.
“I hope you’re ready to reward me for the brutal bullshit your mother’s about to put me through,” he quips back. I look away. He crooks a finger under my chin and swivels my head to meet his eyes. “Hey, now. I’m Grey Wyler. If you have forgotten, I’ll remind you: I have pretty tough skin, and I have handled enough angry girls obsessed with me to manage your dragon of a mother.”
“She is not a—”
He puts a finger to my lips and smiles. “I think we’re done stalling here, don’t you? Let’s get this over with.” I sigh, having gotten caught, but let him take my hand and guide me out of the car. He slaps Trevor’s offered hand out of the way and nearly pounces on him.
“Come on, Alpha,” I joke, tugging at his hand. He begrudgingly follows me up the steps, taking in the massive column
s and massive oak wood front door.
I give him a half-smile before turning to the door and ringing the obnoxiously fancy doorbell. I fiddle with my charms and wonder if I’m doing the right thing. It’s not too late to turn back. We can spend the break in a hotel. There’s a nice five-star half an hour away from here.
“Don’t be nervous, princesa,” he says, taking my hand in his.
“I can’t help it.”
He sighs.
“Fine, then I’ll just have to find a way to…calm you down,” he whispers against my ear, his breath causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand. I freeze and nearly melt in the palm of his hand as it rests on my lower back and curves around my waist to hitch onto the waist of my jeans.
Is he crazy? My family is on their way to open the door—oh, his fingers are brushing against my panty line.
“Grey,” I say softly and turn my head, brushing my lips against his chin as he lowers his head. I can feel the smirk as he presses his lips to my neck. Oh, fuck it.
I turn and throw my arms around him, bringing his face down to connect with his lips. They’re soft, inviting, and open, but the moment I open mine too, I hear a distinct sound of someone clearing their throat.
We both turn our heads to find my grandmother with an unsettling smirk, my father looking like he’s a deer caught in headlights, and my dear mother cutting me open with a deadly glare behind an enchanting grin.
“Olivia, you made it. And you brought…Grey with you,” Mother says with venom steeped into her words.
Chapter Fifteen
“Mother!” I pull out my brightest smile and tug Grey inside. I let his hand go and run my sweaty palms down my jeans. Could this be any more embarrassing?
She merely crooks her perfectly red painted lips into a smirk. I swear I can feel my soul burning under her bright blue stare. “Olivia,” she says through shiny, white, gritted teeth.
I gulp and shift my eyes onto Grandmother, who is eyeing Grey with a toothy smile. “Grandmother Millie. It’s so nice to see you!” I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her. She sighs contentedly and gently rocks me back and forth. I close my eyes and soak in the soothing aura she surrounds me with as she rubs my back.
“Olivia, it is so nice to see you.” Her voice wavers. “You have grown so big! And you’ve brought a boy with you.” She whispers the end and shakes her frail hips slowly.
“Gammie!” I gasp and pull back to catch her winking at me before waggling her gray eyebrows at the said boy. If only she knew he wasn’t just a boy to me.
I roll my eyes as she waves at Grey, who smiles in return and waves back. I laugh behind my hand and shake my head. If only he knew how scandalous she can be, he wouldn’t be waving back. I tuck my hair back and walk over to my father.
“Missed you,” he says softly, his glasses gleaming under the sparkling chandeliers’ light above us. I walk into his arms, and he sighs like, until now, he hasn’t been breathing. I glance at Mother, who narrows her eyes at me in irritation. I look away and hug him a little tighter.
“We saw each other last month, Father.” I laugh. “For your birthday, remember?”
He shrugs and pulls back, regarding me with adoration. “Doesn’t mean I can’t miss you.”
My mother claps her hands together. “That’s enough reuniting, don’t you think?” she says, and I pull away from Father to find her smiling like the Cheshire cat.
“But I have someone to introduce—”
“We should really get some refreshments,” she says, slicing through my words. “I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies before you came.”
“But, Mother—”
“I had Louise squeeze a few lemons to wash it all down,” she says cheerfully.
“But—” I begin to say again, gritting my teeth in growing frustration.
“And then we can go outside before everyone else arrives—”
“Cheese and crackers, Elena. Let her speak,” Grammie says, throwing her hands up in the air.
I stifle a laugh and walk backward to link an arm around Grey’s. I’m surprised he’s been so quiet. I hope he isn’t nervous…totally doubtful, right? I mean, I haven’t seen him nervous before, and because of my family? I barely hold back a bellow of laughter at the thought.
“Thank you, Gammie.” I smile appreciatively, and she blinks at me in that sweet grandma way. I feel my face flush red, and I take a deep breath before announcing, “Everyone, this is Grey. Grey, this is my grandmother, Millie, my father, Leo, and my mother…whom you have already…met…Elena.”
“Hello everyone.” He flashes a sparkling smile that takes me aback. He turns to Gammie, who is approaching him and waves a finger at her. “I see you eyeing me, Ms. Doesn’t-look-her-age. I think Olivia meant great-aunt.” Suck up.
“Oooh, I like him,” Gammie coos and chuckles whole-heartedly as she takes him in her arms. She shakes him side to side and sneakily glides her hand down his leather jacket to grip his hips. “And a nice set of poppers. Oh my.”
“Grandmother!” I gasp. She is too shameless!
Grey waves a hand to dismiss me as she pulls away, beaming up at him with shining blue eyes. “It’s fine, I get it all the time. You of all people shouldn’t be surprised I have star quality.” I roll my eyes and grin as he winks at me. Gosh, he can be so full of himself. And with my grandmother, nonetheless.
“Cocky,” I whisper under my breath, clearing my throat as he walks over to my father and holds out a hand.
“Grey Wyler. The love of your daughter’s life,” he jokes. Father looks like a piece of paper, pale and stiff. “I’m guessing I can just go ahead and call you dad?” Arrogant son of a—
“Lots of…tattoos and…and the leather jacket…” he mumbles, regarding Grey with a perplexed expression. I knew this would happen. My father wears polo shirts and ironed pleats, and he’s only been exposed to other men who dress the same as him, some even dorkier. Of course he is taken aback and uncomfortable. He was shy before, but now that he’s taking in Grey’s attire, it’s growing worse—fatal.
I step forward and clear my throat. “Father,” I breathe out, exasperated.
“Sorry, sorry…Mr. Westerfield to you.” He places his hands in his pressed slacks, staring Grey in the eyes. The room falls silent, too silent. I shift back and forth on my feet.
Jesus, Father…
“I think we should head to the parlor now,” Mother interjects into the thick silence in the extravagantly decorated foyer. “I’ll have Louise bring the cookies and lemonade. Come now, everyone.” She saunters toward the parlor without a response from any of us. There’s my mother for you.
I sigh and walk over to Grey, linking my fingers through his. “I’m sorry about my family. They can be…eccentric.”
He chuckles and leans down to whisper, “Trust me, I grew up with eccentric, and they aren’t that. A little peculiar, but not crazy or anything.”
We enter the parlor, where classical music is on low. I can just hear Grey’s snarky, rude comments roaming around in his head, desperate for an escape. Luckily, he keeps up the charade that he’s politely pleasant and grins. I take a seat in one of the crisp floral couches with Grey. Louise enters with a shiny silver tray of warm cookies and a pitcher of lemonade.
“Louise, this is—” I begin to say as she comes over to me.
“Oh, I know who he is,” she cuts me off with a strained smile. Oh no. I widen my eyes when I realize what she’s going to do even before she does it. She isn’t going to, though, is she? “You’re the infamous Grey. She’s told me all about you when she came last month.”
“Good things, I hope,” Grey says with an air of confidence, gently nudging his shoulder with mine. I smile at him, cringing on the inside.
“She told me about how you broke her heart.” Her faux smile drops, and she leans down and harshly whispers, “Si la lastimes de nuevo, y me refiero a jamás de nuevo, no dudaré en arrancarte la cabeza y dar de comerla a mi pitbull.” (If you
hurt her again, and I mean ever again, I will not hesitate to tear your head off and feed it to my pitbull.)
“Louise, have you started on the scones? Our guests will be here any minute,” Mother says in an authoritative tone.
Louise straightens and says cheerfully, “Coming, Mrs. Westerfield.” She gives Grey one last look of murderous intent before turning on her tennis shoes and storming into the kitchen, muttering wicked things in Spanish.
Oh God.
It’s quiet between us before he laughs and nods. “Well, she’s a ray of sunshine.”
“To be fair, you did break my heart,” I defend myself. “I tell her everything. I couldn’t not confide in her.” I chew on my lower lip and flick around a charm on my wrist. The image of me curled up on my bed, crying and ranting to her about how he ripped my heart out of my chest like the bastard thief he was, flashes through my mind, and I re-adjust in the couch and smile half-assed.
When I look into his eyes, he looks genuinely apologetic. “I’m sorry. You know that, right? I will never hurt you again.” The raw emotion behind his voice sends a chill through my spine, making me sit up and glide my hand toward his. His lips twitch at the action.
“I know that.” Emotion hints through my words as well. He smiles, and I see how much he wants to lean down and capture my lips against his. Trust me, I want the same thing, maybe even more. But we remember that we aren’t alone and those three are quieting down from whatever chatter they descended in.
Someone clears their throat, and we turn our heads to find Mother smiling at us with the creepiest grin. I shift closer to Grey, gripping my hand in his. I swear I see her flinch. She probably mentally stabbed Grey just now…I wouldn’t be surprised.
“Olivia, do you mind if I talk to you before our guests arrive?” she inquires, raising her dark eyebrows. The way she said it leaves me no room to say no. She speaks this way a lot.
“Of course, Mother,” I reply with an equally large grin. She blinks graciously and stands, patting down her crisp, white dress. She begins to leave the room, her six-inch Louis Vuitton’s echoing off the walls. I suck in a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for this. A lecture, a screaming match—I saw it coming. I’ve been training for this on the ride here.
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