by Holly Rayner
He let go of me and laughed, “I thought you were one too, but I came in unarmed.”
I smacked him on the arm and said, “What are you doing here in the middle of the day?”
“I left early for my dentist appointment today. Remember, I told you about it? Eric, my boss, said there was no real reason for me to come back in today since I already know I’m going to have a long day tomorrow.”
“Oh, I forgot about your appointment. How did it go?”
“It was okay. I had to have a filling done, but I’m tough,” he flashed me a startling white smile then. It was much brighter than the smile I had seen when he left this morning.
“You got them whitened!”
“I did not, this is their natural color.”
“Smile again,” I told him.
Grant smiled at me and I said, “You are such a liar. You took time off work to get your teeth whitened. How vain are you?”
He laughed and stopped trying to deny it. Instead he said, “Very. Do you not know me at all?” I tried not to smile and encourage him, but he was just too much sometimes. I shook my head at him and went back to making my tea. Grant stripped off his jacket and tie and deposited them onto one of the kitchen chairs. “So, what are you doing home in the middle of the day? Did you really remember I would be here and you just wanted some quality time with the Grant man?”
I rolled my eyes as I poured the hot water over my tea bag. “Please. I just really needed some quiet time,” I said.
“Oh, and I came home and ruined it. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. Mostly, I just don’t want to think about work the rest of the day.”
“Then you’re with the perfect man,” he said. “I don’t even think about work when I’m there.”
I laughed, “Don’t let your boss hear you say that.” I took my tea and went towards the door to the living room. Grant started to follow me and without looking over my shoulder I said, “Do not leave that jacket and tie there. There is no maid service in this apartment.”
I heard him laugh and pick them up. Following me out into the living room he said, “You sure have gotten bossy since you became the big boss over there at Morgan Corp.”
“Morgan & Hunter Inc.,” I reminded him. He raised an eyebrow, but let it go. He had strong opinions about me involving Seth in the company after everything I had gone through to get it back. I sat down on the couch and drew my legs up underneath me as I sipped my tea. “I’ve always been bossy,” I told him. “You just weren’t paying attention.” He started to sit the clothes down again and I raised an eyebrow at him and made my mean face. With a look like an insolent child he picked them up and carried them with him down the hall to his room. When he came back, he was shirtless and in a pair of sweats. “Do you not own shirts?” I asked him.
He dropped down next to me on the couch and said, “Before I moved in with you, I had my naked time once a week. Out of respect for you, I gave that up.”
“And I appreciate it,” I told him with a grin. He furrowed his brow at me and went on.
“But I need to at least let my chest breathe sometimes… Is it too much for you? Tell me the truth, it makes you feel like you’re being unfaithful to your boyfriend just looking at me, doesn’t it? It’s too much Grant man for you isn’t it?”
I rolled my eyes again. “Not at all,” I said. “I just don’t want you leaving sweat marks on the furniture.”
Grant put his hand over his heart and said, “You know how to wound a guy.”
“You set yourself up for it,” I told him. “Hand me the remote.”
He picked it up off the table next to him and handed it over. “Pizza or Chinese?” he asked.
“Chinese,” I said. He reminded me that I was starving.
While I searched for something to watch, Grant called in our order for food. When he came back, I had chosen a Hallmark movie that had all of the earmarks of a chick-flick. To his credit, he didn’t say a word. He got comfortable on the other side of the couch, stretching his legs out and resting his feet on one of my thighs. We sat there like that, watching the movie in blessed silence until our food came. We chatted some while we ate, but nothing was mentioned about work at all. After lunch we changed positions and I stretched my legs out across his. There was nothing at all sexual about mine and Grant’s touching. It was comfortable and safe and sometimes that’s all you needed.
I fell asleep like that, drifting off into a dream where James Hunter was king and everyone bowed down to him… including his son, the prince. I remember being so angry with Seth in the dream and I cried and asked him why he loved him more than me. He had simply said, “Because he’s the king.” Then, James had ordered, “Off with her head,” and as I was dragged to the gallows, Seth did nothing to help me. I woke up with a start, to find that while I was sleeping, the sun had gone down and Grant had fallen asleep too. The room was dark with only the soft light from the TV. I muted the sound and slipped off the couch quietly. I found an afghan on one of the chairs and draped it over Grant’s naked torso. Then looking at the time I realized it was almost six. I headed for the shower.
After my shower, which felt amazing, I checked my phone. Seth said he’d be here to pick me up at seven. That was perfect; I had an hour to finish getting ready. I left my long hair down, just putting my favorite product in it to enhance the curls and decrease the frizz. Then I went to my closet to decide what to wear. I really hoped that we were going somewhere casual. Even after the nap, I wasn’t really in the mood for a lot of fuss. As I stood in my closet and surveyed the clothes, I thought back to my earlier conversation with Seth. He had said, “You didn’t know him before the bitterness and greed began to eat him alive. The rest of us did. I’m just saying that I understand that may be the part of him they’re having a hard time letting go of.” That had to make me wonder how hard it was for Seth to let go. When I first met him, and James had supposedly stepped down and turned over the company to his son, Seth was still allowing his “retired” father to micro-manage everything he did. It was hard for me to reconcile the two facets of his personality sometimes.
There was the aggressive, over-confident man that I was extremely attracted to and had fallen in love with, and there was the little boy who was still desperately seeking his father’s approval. That was the man who worried me. I loved him with my entire being. I had never been with a man who set me on fire the way that he does and I love it. He’s smart and funny and charming… he’s kind and thoughtful… but he is and always would be James Hunter’s son. That was something that I had decided I could live with when we first got together. Lately however, with the shareholders and other executives giving me such a hard time and Seth actually sympathizing with them, even a little bit, I had begun to wonder. Did he bounce his ideas, or worse yet, my ideas, off of his father? Could I trust the man I loved not to give away trade secrets to the one I most despised?
Focusing back on my clothes, I finally settled on a little black dress that would work for wherever we were going. It was simple, but could go casual or dressy. I slipped it on and picked out a pair of heels to match, just as I heard the doorbell ring. I carried the shoes in my hand, trying to hurry out before it woke Grant up, but I was too late. He was standing at the door, shirtless, with his hair sticking up in seven different directions and looking confused. Seth was staring at him with a look on his face that I couldn’t quite interpret, but something told me that it was bad. I knew nothing had ever happened between me and Grant, and never would. He was too much like a brother and that would be icky. But I guess I’d never thought about how it might all look to my boyfriend before.
“Hi,” I said. “I just have to grab my jacket and put on my shoes. Come on in.”
Grant blinked a few times and then glanced over at the television. “Did we finish the movie?” he asked, as Seth stepped in. I saw Seth’s pretty eyes take in the rumpled afghan on the couch, the Chinese food containers and likely the fact that there were no lights on in
the room. The only light still came from the TV.
“No,” I said, since Grant was still looking at me. I slipped on my jacket and said, “I think we both fell asleep. I’ll see you later.” I looked at Seth and said, “You ready?” Seth sent one more sideways glance in Grant’s direction.
“Yes, I’m ready.” He didn’t look happy.
~
CHAPTER THREE
~
ADELE
When we got down to the car Seth said, “Our reservations at the steakhouse aren’t until eight so I thought maybe we’d go by Neil’s first for a drink if that’s okay with you?”
“That sounds great,” I told him. Neil’s is a classy upscale cigar bar where they serve something like thirty different kinds of martinis. They also had a small, limited menu, but it was stuff like pizzas with strange toppings and hummus, not really a place you want to go for dinner, but great for a drink or two. We walked in to the small place and could hear the piano music wafting across the floor. The bar was enormous and took up most of the space and there was a loft level and an outdoor patio as well. The walls were made of cherry wood and the floors were laminated hard wood. It was a nice, comfortable place.
We found a private little table and Seth asked me what I wanted to drink. I settled on a dry martini and he ordered one of the specialty beers they served there. When the waitress was gone he looked at me and said, “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I told him with a smile. “You look good enough to eat.” I wasn’t lying. He was dressed more casually than usual tonight in a blue button down shirt that matched his beautiful eyes and a pair of designer jeans. He literally took my breath away almost every time I looked at him.
He grinned and said, “Maybe I shouldn’t be taking you out for dinner then. I don’t want you to lose your appetite…”
“That would never happen,” I told him. That was true too. I couldn’t even imagine ever not wanting him. Our drinks came shortly and we kept our conversation light. Seth had been talking about wanting to take me to Hawaii for a golf tournament he went to every year. I was worried about going and leaving the business in the hands of those who would rather I never came back, but tonight I let that go. I let him describe the resort and the course and the beauty of the island to me. I’d never been there. So far, I’d not been much of anywhere since I was a kid and barely remembered it.
“The condos are really clean and modern and it’s so quiet there. The only noise is the birds, I swear. There are a lot of trees, so the birds are kind of loud, but it’s beautiful noise. The views over the golf course are gorgeous and you can sit on your balcony and watch the sunset. Say you’ll go with me. I love Hawaii, but I’d love it more if you were there with me.”
“I would love nothing more than to wake up to the noisy birds in your arms after we fell asleep watching the sunset,” I told him. It was true and it pacified him without me having to commit to going. We talked while we finished out drinks, and the conversation was easy and light and I was happy. I wished that it could be like this all the time. I wished that the business stuff wasn’t always so stressful, but I had a feeling that as long as James was in the picture, it would be.
Just before eight we walked the block over to the steakhouse. It never failed to amaze me that I was with a man who literally stopped conversation when he walked into a room. As we were seated I said, “All of these people apparently think you look good enough to eat too.”
He looked around the room as if he didn’t notice the attention he attracted and then he said, “I’m sure it’s you they’re looking at. They’re wondering who the gorgeous red-head is and if she’s someone famous. Surely she is, regular people just don’t look that good.”
I laughed. “Right,” I told him, sarcastically. Seth knew how good-looking he was, there wasn’t a doubt about that in my mind. “We both know…” I didn’t finish that sentence. He stood up and came over to my side of the table. Leaning down, he let his tongue run along my lips and then he gave me a whisper soft kiss that left me breathless and wanting more.
“There,” he said. “Now they’re staring at me. They’re all wishing they were me.”
I laughed and said, “Well, um… feel free to do that any time you’re looking for attention.”
We had a really nice meal. I was still a little too full from the Chinese food that Grant and I had shared earlier, but I ate anyways. I listened to Seth talk more about Hawaii and trips his family had taken there when he was a kid. He didn’t mention his father, but he talked a lot about his mom. I loved the look of pure love he got in his eyes when he talked about her. I didn’t think about having children often, but every time I saw that look, I thought, “I hope someday I have a child who feels that way about me.”
After dinner we strolled hand in hand back to Neil’s where we had put the car. Before he opened my door for me, Seth stopped and put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. I thought he was getting ready to say something, but he surprised me by putting one of his hands in my hair and wrapping his fingers up in it. He tugged my head back gently and let his other hand drop down to my waist. He leaned down and kissed me. His sweet, full lips pressed against mine and his tongue languidly explored my mouth. I felt like I couldn’t breathe and I didn’t care. I could feel his heart beating against my chest and I could feel my own speeding up and trying to match tempo with his. When we finally had to come up for air, I could see the fire burning in his eyes and I could feel it burning inside of my chest.
“Wow that was… wow,” I said, at a rare loss for words. He grinned at me and swiped his lips across mine again.
“Adele?”
“Yes,” I answered in a breathless voice.
“Will you move in with me?”
I was taken completely by surprise. I hadn’t expected him to ask me anything at all so serious. I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t ready… I was worried that he wasn’t ready… and I don’t know yet if I fully trust him… He was staring at me and I knew that I was taking way too long to answer. Finally, I convinced myself that honesty was what I expected from him so it was what he deserved from me. I shivered, I don’t know why. I wasn’t cold.
“Oh baby, I’m sorry. Let’s get inside the car where it’s warm.” He opened my door and tucked me inside and then went around and got in his side. He turned on the engine and the heater and then he turned to me and smiled again. He was killing me.
“Seth… I’m just not sure I’m ready to take that step yet.”
His face instantly went from smiling, to hurt and confused. “Oh,” he said. “I just thought since we’d gotten so close that was the natural next step…”
“It is,” I told him. “I’m just not there yet. It’s totally me. It’s just that it’s only been six months since I started out on this journey to get my company back… and every day since then, you and I have been working to make it something we can both be proud of. I haven’t had time to really… I mean, damn it! The thing is, I’m still adjusting to all of that and I’m not ready to leave the comfort of my home, my safe haven and begin something else new… yet.”
“Okay,” he said. “But, can I ask you something and you’ll answer me honestly?”
“Sure, of course,” I told him.
“How much does your decision have to do with not wanting to leave Grant?”
I knew that was what his look was about earlier. I knew that I couldn’t blame him either. I’m sure I would feel the same if the tables were turned. “I would miss Grant,” I told him, honestly. “He was the one person who knew me… the real me, all along. I got comfortable with that relationship. I trust him and I have fun with him, but Seth, please believe me when I tell you that it’s nothing more than that. It’s never been anything more than that. I love him like a brother. I love you like a lover. There’s a huge difference there. When I look into my future, I see you there. But, I don’t want to rush into anything and leave either of us with regrets. Please tell me you understand.
”
He reached over and softly touched my face. “I understand,” he said. “You let me know when you’re ready.”
SETH
When we got back to Adele’s apartment after dinner, she invited me to stay. I almost said no because inside I was reeling from what felt to me like her rejection. I didn’t though. I wanted to be with her too badly. I was happy to see Grant was out when we got there. I wasn’t in the mood to have to make polite conversation with him. I know that it wasn’t his fault I felt the way I did, but I was so jealous of him I could hardly see straight. It was a new emotion for me. I had dated a lot of women. I’d had sex with even more. The differences between those women and Adele spanned continents as far as I was concerned. I was so deeply in love with her that it surprised even me… and I felt like I no longer knew what I would do without her.
To someone looking in from the outside, it would seem like we got to spend a lot of time together. We worked together… sometimes sixteen hours a day. We had lunch together almost every day and dinner a few times a week. Sometimes I would stay at her place, or she would stay at mine and she would set my world on fire… and then I would go home, or she would go home… and she would be with Grant. Grant got to see her every morning and most nights. They watched movies together and ordered Chinese food and she talked to him about literally everything. As her boyfriend, and the man who was head over heels in love with her, I wanted those things to all be exclusively mine. I knew that was asking too much. I’d never ask her to completely give up her friend, but I didn’t like that she lived with him and I doubted she would like it if the shoe was on the other foot.
