Grayson: Twins (Members From Money Book 22)

by Katie Dowe

  Her phone rang just then and she answered it. “It’s Grayson.”

  “I thought you would be heading out to Europe by now.” She sat on the bed and cradled the phone, really happy to hear from him.

  “I want to see you. May I come over?”

  “Are you going to be spending the night?”

  He hesitated and then spoke. “I have to leave early.”

  “I don’t have a problem with that, darling. How far away are you?”

  “I'll get there in an hour.”

  “That will give me time to shave and set a bath. I'm hoping you'll join me.”

  “Shave what?” his voice sounded strangled.

  “If you noticed last night when you were down south it was kind of bushy. I want it to be clear for you to enjoy.”

  She grinned at the silence.

  “I'll be there in half an hour.”

  “I thought so.” She hung up and went to the bathroom to get ready.

  Chapter 5

  She didn't hear from him again until the end of April. She was three months pregnant by then and still hadn't started to show. Thank goodness for her slender body. He hadn't called her and she would never think about calling him either. If he was in town she guessed that he would come by the club and they would go to her apartment. She would never dream of asking him to take her to his apartment. She loved her space and as soon as she learned the sex of the child she had every intention of decorating the nursery. She frowned as she realized that she would have to tell him and she had no idea how he was going to take it.

  She was stepping out of the bath when she felt the sharp pain. Avia placed her hand on her flat stomach and frowned heavily. She reached for the towel and felt it again. “Please no,” she whispered in panic as she walked carefully into her bedroom and reached for her phone. She'd come in early this morning from the club and hadn't gone to sleep until a quarter past four. It was Monday afternoon, which meant she wasn't going to the club tonight so she had decided to go to dinner with Morgan. “Doctor Branford please. It’s an emergency.”

  *****

  “I'm going to have to put you on total bed rest for a month,” he told her gravely as soon as she was dressed and had come back into his office.

  “A month!” she stared at him horrified as she sat heavily on the padded seat next to his desk. “I have shows booked way into June.”

  “And you're going to have to cancel them if you want your baby to come to full term,” the doctor told her firmly. “You're not twenty years old my dear and I already told you that this is not going to be easy.”

  “I was planning to go all the way until six months, when I start showing,” she said moodily as she gripped her huge purse.

  “I'm sorry Avia,” he said kindly. “I know you really want this baby so you're going to do everything you can to make this happen.”

  “I do,” Avia sighed. “I'm just happy it was nothing too detrimental. Does bed rest mean not you know—”she gestured vaguely.

  “Intercourse is quite fine.” The doctor said with a straight face.

  “Thank you.” She smiled and got to her feet. “I'll be by for my usual appointment.”

  *****

  “A month?” Selena looked at her, horrified. “What are we going to do in terms of the shows for April and May?”

  Avia pulled out a list of names and handed them to her. “My replacements until I get back.” She hesitated a little bit and then added. “I'll talk to you further on that as well.”

  “Your name is in lights!” Selena threw up her hands in despair.

  “It’s not the end of the world, Selena. It's going to be okay.”

  “I'm going to have to tell Mr. Whitfield. He's coming in tomorrow.”

  “Go ahead and do so. I'm sorry Selena you know how much I enjoy my work.”

  “And you won’t tell me why?”

  “It’s personal.”

  “You'll be missed.”

  *****

  “The tournament starts in May?” Grayson sipped his ice cold, refreshing drink of fruit punch as he sat back against the chair under the umbrella. He'd just flown in and had stopped over on his way to the club. Selena had called him in concern and had told him about Avia taking a month off for personal reasons. She was none too pleased.

  “And Alexander is flying over to participate,” Alessandro signaled for his usual apetizer and stared at his friend. “How are things?”

  Grayson shrugged and looked around. The afternoon was a beautiful one with a bright blue sky and the sun shining bright, even though it didn't take away from the cold of the weather. The snow had gone and the club was making way for tournaments and a big golfing match that was scheduled for the first week of May. “I'm feeling a little drained. I've been in New York for the past couple of weeks with rounds of parties and entertainers who need their egos pumped. Reminds me a little of you,” he said with a sardonic smile.

  “Very funny.”

  “How's Jayda?”

  “Determined to make me join the men’s choir at church,” Alessandro said wryly with a whimsical smile as he thought about his wife.

  “I would never have guessed that Alessandro, who used to swear off any commitment, is now a family man.”

  “And going to church,” Alessandro added with a grin. “It’s not so bad. My wife is a terrific woman who makes no demands on me. She has this trick about her that makes you want to do what she wants without her having to ask. She's a genius.”

  “I'm sure she is.”

  “You should get a woman of your own.”

  “Now you're trying to convert me?”

  “It’s a wonderful life my friend.”

  *****

  “I'm coming!” Avia pulled her robe closer to as she hurried to get the door. She knew he would come eventually because as soon as she left Selena would be calling the phone to let him know what was happening. She figured that maybe it was time she told him anyway.

  She pulled the door open and he stood there staring at her. She hadn't seen him in a month and suddenly she realized that she'd missed him and seeing him right in her doorway wearing a grey sweater and slim pearl grey pants with his brown hair a little mussed made her want to kiss him badly.

  “Hi,” she murmured as she walked into his arms.

  He bent his head and kissed her hungrily, his body pressing against hers in an eager, possessive manner. He lifted her and took her to the bedroom. Avia waited until he had placed her onto the bed before she spoke. “Selena called you.”

  “She said you were taking a month for personal reasons.” He took his sweater off and placed it carefully over the headboard. “You signed a contract.”

  “Are you planning on suing me?” she asked, raising tapered brows.

  “She's very upset.”

  “So I gather.” Avia scooted over to give him space next to her.

  “What’s going on?”

  Avia took a deep breath and for the first time in her life she felt fear and uncertainty. “I have something to tell you and I want you to know that if you're not okay with it you can walk right out and never come back.”

  “You're making me feel a little anxious,” his hazel eyes scanned her face.

  She took his hands in hers. “Remember when I just met you I told you I wanted to get pregnant?”

  His hands jerked in hers. “You found someone?”

  “I did, actually.”

  “I see.” He pulled his hands away and moved away from her, getting off the bed. “Congratulations,” he said stiffly.

  “That someone is you.”

  He stared at her as if she had grown two heads. “You want me to get you pregnant?”

  “You already have.”

  The silence stretched between them for so long that Avia started to feel uncomfortable. “You got pregnant without consulting me? You used me to get you pregnant?” His face had gone as hard as flint as he stared down at her.

  “I didn't use you,” she felt fear
at the look on his handsome face. “Well, I chose you but the attraction between us was an added incentive. We're good together Grayson, you have to admit that.”

  “How far along?” His voice was so soft that she hardly heard what he said.

  “I'm four months pregnant and due in early October. Look, I had every intention of telling you when the time was right.”

  He started pulling the sweater back over his head and she felt her heart sink. “I'll have my lawyers contact you in a few days.” His expression as ominous as he looked down at her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I'm a very powerful man Ms. Whyte,” he told her coldly. “If you didn't already know that you're about to find out how powerful.”

  *****

  “I can’t believe he threatened me with his lawyers,” Avia complained as she accepted the glass of lemonade her friend brought her.

  “What did you expect Avia? You did trick him into it. And Grayson Whitfield? I have to say you aim very high.”

  “Only the best for me where making a baby is concerned,” Avia said with a wry smile as she curled her feet beneath her and curled her fingers around the frosted glass. It had been two days since he'd made the threat about his lawyers and she hadn't heard anything from him. It wasn't in her nature to worry about things she couldn't fix so she'd put it aside.

  “And I'm not going to forgive you for not saying anything to me,” Morgan accused her.

  “You have a tendency to say things when you're being serviced properly and I couldn't risk it being told to that Kyle character. Has he been in touch?”

  “No, and we are not changing the subject. Your issues are far more interesting.”

  Avia sighed and stared at her friend. “It actually became much more than just getting pregnant for me after the first time we had sex. We were quite good together.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I'm saying that he's someone I might be interested in.”

  “Avia interested in an actual relationship?” Morgan asked, her eyes wide.

  “Don’t make a big deal out of it. I said maybe,” Avia got to her feet and stretched. “Maybe he's the one. Who knows?”

  *****

  “Grayson, what do you want to do?” Neil McPherson watched as Grayson paced the length of his office. He'd gone to him in confidence and told him everything, shying away from using the lawyers he retained for the company. He and Neil had gone to college together and had remained friends throughout the years.

  “What?”

  “How do you want to play this?”

  “She tricked me,” he said grimly. “I was such a damned fool! She spoke about getting pregnant from the offset and I didn't pick up on it before I—” he shook his head and came to sit next to the desk. “I'm always careful and you know why. But I looked at her and I threw it all away just like that.”

  “So what do you want to do?” Neil asked him again.

  Grayson sighed heavily. “I want you to call her and tell her that we have to make some sort of arrangement.”

  “You're not going to find out what she wants?”

  “She wants a baby and now she has that baby growing inside her. My baby.”

  “Are you sure it’s yours?” his friend asked him quietly.

  Grayson stared at him for a moment. The thought hadn't occurred to him. Then he shook his head. “It’s mine,” he said quietly. “she's not like that.”

  Neil nodded. “I'll give her a call.”

  Grayson nodded and closed his eyes wearily. He hadn't been sleeping well for the past two nights. He missed her and had wanted to call and go over to her apartment but he couldn't get past the fact that she'd used him for his sperm. How could she do something like that?

  “Thanks.”

  “You're welcome man. What are you going to do now?”

  “I have no idea,” he said with a short laugh.

  *****

  “Darling, are you okay?” Grace Whitfield asked her son as she stared at him. They were sitting outside on the patio enjoying the late afternoon sunlight that was slowly disappearing over the horizon. It was Saturday afternoon and the first one in May. It had rained earlier, making the air smell fresh and clean.

  “Why?”

  “You've been staring off into space for the past two minutes and you haven't heard a word I said.”

  “You said you want me to have dinner with you and Douglas next Saturday,” he turned to her with a faint smile. He was thinking about Avia a lot and couldn't seem to stop himself from missing her. Neil was waiting until Monday to call her and he was eager to hear what she had to say to him. He'd told Neil to report to him as soon as he spoke to her. “I might be heading to the UK on Tuesday. There's a restaurant there I'm interested in acquiring.”

  “When are you going to stop running after a business venture and find yourself a woman to settle down with?” Grace asked him as she picked out a plump strawberry and started nibbling on it. “You're not getting younger Grayson. You're going to need an heir for that vast empire and someone to take over when you're gone.”

  “I'm not going anywhere.” He snagged a couple of juicy purple grapes and popped them into his mouth. “You're just nagging because you want grandchildren.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Absolutely nothing.” He hesitated a moment and then continued. “You might be getting your wish.”

  “What?”

  “A grandchild is on the way.”

  “Don’t play with me right now Grayson Theodore Whitfield.”

  He smiled at her use of his full name. “It's an unusual situation and one that I didn't orchestrate.” He went on to tell her about Avia and what she did.

  His mother stared at him dumbfounded for a moment and then to his surprise she burst out laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked her, frowning.

  “Darling, I love her already. When do I get to meet her?”

  “It’s not like that Mother,” he used a napkin to wipe the moisture from his fingers. “I'm having my lawyer contact her to make some sort of arrangement.”

  “So in other words you are leaving it up to another man to deal with the woman who's carrying your child.” Grace shook her head. “For a smart business man you can be very dense.”

  “She tricked me.”

  “Poor darling.” His mother leaned over and patted his arm. “Please make sure you don't drive away the woman who's carrying my only grandchild.”

  *****

  “This is Avia.”

  “Ms. Whyte my name is Neil McPherson and I'm—”

  “Grayson’s lawyer. It took you long enough.”

  “Pardon me?”

  “Grayson stumbled out of my apartment breathing fire several days ago. I expected to get a call the very next day.”

  “He wanted to talk to me first.”

  “And what did he tell you Mr. McPherson?”

  “You tricked him and got pregnant and he's not happy about that.”

  “And what does he want to do about it? I never asked him for anything and the fact is I didn't have to tell him about the baby. I chose to do so.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Nothing,” Avia stretched her legs out and placed them on the cushions that were scattered on her carpeted floor in the living room. She'd decided that she was going to deal with the matter in her own way: calm and collected. “I have money of my own and I'm quite comfortable being a single mother.”

  “You're pregnant by one of the richest men in the world Ms. Whyte and you're carrying his heir, there is no way he is going to allow you to do that by yourself.”

  “I didn't expect him to just go away. Before he left I was going to tell him that we will have shared custody of the child.”

  “What if he wants full custody?”

  Avia’s heart jumped a little inside her chest. “I'm afraid that isn't acceptable. Give him a message for me. Tell him that if he wants to make an arrangement
then I expect him to come here and talk to me himself.”

  “I'm his lawyer—”

  “And I'm the woman he made love to over and over again. I'm also the woman who is carrying his child.”

  There was a brief pause and then Neil responded. “I'll let him know.”

  *****

  “She said that?” His lips creased in a grudging smile. He'd known since the start that she wasn't easily scared and that she spoke whatever was on her mind.

  “This is serious Grayson,” Neil said impatiently, obviously still disgruntled at Avia getting the upper hand in the conversation. “This woman knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go after it.”

  “She's right. I should be the one talking to her.”

  “Are you sure that's a good idea?”

  “What's she going to do to me?”

  “You have feelings for her.”

  Grayson glanced at his friend sharply. It wasn't a question but a statement and he realized that Neil was looking at him strangely. “She's unlike anyone I have ever met before.”

  “What do you know about her?”

  “She has a beautiful voice to match her appearance and she—” he stopped abruptly. “I'll deal with it.”

  *****

  He called her the very next day and Avia had been prepared to hear from him. “Hi. I thought the message I gave your lawyer would have you calling, and I was right.”