by L. P. Dover
Tears fill my eyes. I don’t know what to think. I trust Greyson, but there’s a part of me that wonders if my brother’s right.
“I have,” I answer, whispering the words. “I’m in love with him, and I know he loves me. He won’t hurt me.”
Bryan steps back and walks away. “You’re damn right, he won’t. I’ll make sure of that.”
Seven
Greyson
I’m just out of the shower when there’s a knock at my door. If it had been a minute earlier, Leah would’ve seen me in my birthday suit. Not that I expect her to forget what I look like when I’m lying naked next to her. With a big cheesy grin on my face, I march toward my door with a newfound sense of pride and satisfaction. It’s taken me two years of wooing to finally get Leah to see the real me, and earlier this morning and all of yesterday she saw exactly who I am. Not the guy her brother or the media make me out to be.
My hand pushes down on the handle and one small tug has the door swinging open. “Hey baby,” I say before I can see who is standing in my doorway.
“That’s new.” Eli walks in with a bag of something that makes my stomach growl.
“Sorry, I thought you were—”
“Yes, you thought I was your new wife,” he says interrupting me. I let the door slam shut and he walks into the room. Eli has taken a spot at my small table and set out a breakfast sandwich, fruit and a cup of coffee for me.
“Yeah . . .” I sit down and pick at the sandwich. “Why did you bring me breakfast?”
Eli finishes his bite and sets his food down. “Bryan Nelson is the reason.”
“What do you mean?” I could look at my phone, check for messages or nasty texts from him but truth be told, I don’t care what he has to say. I’m in love with his sister, fake wife or not. I’ve spent the past two years chasing her and now that I finally have her, I’m not going to let her go.
“I went down to the restaurant to get us a table and he was there. He came right up to me, pointed his finger in my face, and told me to get, and I quote, ‘my low-life piece of shit boss out of the fucking hotel before he finds you,’ end quote. I decided it would be best to get our breakfast to go.”
“Got it.” I nod. “Well, I’m not afraid of Bryan.”
Eli throws is hands up. “This thing . . . This infatuation you have with Leah is stupid. Even if you could be together, I doubt things would even work out between the two of you.”
“Thanks for your faith in me.”
“I’m stating the obvious, man. Her brother hates you and by proxy, so does her father. Do you think she’s going to side with you over them? I bet they already convinced her to file for an annulment.”
“Are those even allowed after the marriage has been consummated?” I ask, smiling wide.
Eli hangs his head and groans. “You fucking slept with her?”
I laugh. “We didn’t exactly sleep. I think it’s referred to more as napping. I certainly fucked her and then spent the rest of the night making love to her.”
Eli puts his fingers in his ears and says, “Lalalalala. I don’t want to hear about this.”
My stomach growls and my food is getting cold. I focus on the sustenance since I’ll need my energy for later. I don’t know what Leah and I have planned but hopefully it’s something together. She may not be my legal wife, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to spend every waking minute with her. Plus, I want to sit down and get her schedule so I know when I can fly her out to the tournaments and such. I have to make sure she understands that she can root for her brother and me as long as she doesn’t mind him losing to me.
“Tell me what’s next, Greyson.”
“For what?”
“For you and Leah. Are you moving to her house? Your house? Where the hell does she even live?”
Well, shit. I can either tell him our marriage is a fake, that we did it for shits and giggles, or I can lie to Eli and make up some elaborate story about Leah and me. One look at Eli and I see that if I continue the charade, he’s liable to blow a gasket. This rivalry doesn’t seem like too much to some, but sponsors and the PGA picks up on animosity among the players and the last thing I want or need is for things to go too far. Maybe things have already.
Clearing my throat, I sigh heavily. “Leah and I aren’t married.”
His mouth drops open and he picks up his phone. He clicks the screens a couple of times and shows me the photo of Leah and I on social media. There is over two million likes and thousands of comments. Most of them say something like holy shit and there seems to be a lot of sad faces. “This says otherwise.”
“It’s fake.”
“Excuse me?”
“Okay, do you remember the night in the bar downstairs where that guy was messing with her?”
He nods.
“We left together and started talking. I made a bet with her. If I beat her at a game of golf, I got to take her on a date. We played the next morning, I beat her by one stroke, and yesterday we flew to Las Vegas for the day. I had plans to take her to dinner, wine and dine her, but best laid plans and all that. We were joking about getting married and we concocted a plan for a fake wedding.”
“And you somehow got her into your bed?”
I shake my head slowly. “I left her at her door, like a gentleman. She showed up, told me she wanted me. It’s not like I’m going to turn her away.”
“So, you win.”
I fiddle with the edge of my napkin. “I stopped playing the game a long time ago, Eli. Leah, she’s different from all the others out there. Just knowing she’s in the crowd makes me want to play better. I’ve been busting my ass for two years to impress her, to show her I’m not the guy her brother makes me out to be, and I’ve finally succeeded.”
After Eli left, I sent a text to Leah, asking her how breakfast went and if she wanted to meet up, and then I laid on my bed with intentions of taking a nap. But, like any love-struck fool, I kept checking my phone for a message from the girl I’m head over heels for. Every beep, phantom or not, had me clicking my passcode as fast as I could, only to see that I’ve manifested nothing. There isn’t a text, missed phone call or video chat from Leah.
I scroll through our pictures from Las Vegas. There aren’t many, but my favorite one, besides the one of us looking like a new married couple, is the one I snuck of her looking out the window. It’s of her back side, but to me, it’s perfect with how the sun illuminated her silhouette as if she were a goddess.
She is, at least to me.
When time keeps ticking by and I have yet to hear from her, a nap is no longer in my best interest—pacing is. For some reason, I think staying in my room is the best place for me, in case she returns, when in reality, I should be on the course practicing or doing something constructive.
Finally, there’s a knock at my door. This time, I’m a little more prepared and instead of opening the door hastily, I check the peephole and instantly wish I hadn’t. Bryan is on the other side and he’s not carrying a gift so I’m going to assume breakfast didn’t go all that well. Before I invite my new, yet fake brother-in-law into my room, I send Leah another text: Your brother is here. Should I be worried?
Of course, I’m worried, but not in the sense he’s here to maim me or anything. He has too much to lose if he does anything stupid. I inhale deeply, close my eyes to center myself and exhale as slowly as possible.
There’s another knock. This time I can tell it’s with his fist.
Fuck.
My hand pushes the handle down and I pull the door open, making sure my body is between the door and the wall, and my foot is blocking the door from going any farther. “Hey.” I’m as nonchalant as possible.
“Can I come in?”
I don’t know, can you?
I step back and hold the door for him, while biting my tongue on his improperly formed question. “What can I do for you, brother?” That’s a jab I never thought I’d get to take, but here I am, throwing it out there.
&nbs
p; Bryan turns, his face is stone and he glares at me with burning, reproachful eyes. “I am not, nor will I ever be, your brother.”
“Eh,” I say, shrugging him off. “Semantics.”
Bryan steps toward me with his finger poised in my direction. “The joke is over, Jennings. Leah confessed that the marriage is a fake, which thank fuck it is, otherwise I’d have her at the courthouse getting an annulment.”
Now, I laugh. “Under what pretenses?”
“Stupidity.”
“Whatever. You’re just pissed because she went on a date with me, behind your back. Your issue with me, is with me. Leave your sister out of it.”
Bryan throws his hands up in the air and lets out a guttural groan. “Your head is so far up your ass you can only see your own shit.”
Nice analogy.
“Look, you had your night of fun, you screwed my sister. Yay, Jennings, you win. But enough is enough. The game is over.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong, Nelson. This isn’t a game to me. I’m in love with your sister.”
“No, you’re obsessed with me. You need professional help.”
I scoff. “You’re full of yourself. For years you’ve seen nothing but my backside in every competition. Stop being jealous and stop controlling who your sister sees. She’s an adult and capable of making her own decisions.” I walk toward the door, determined to boot his ass out of my room.
“I told her,” he says, stopping me in my tracks.
“Told her what?”
“The women, the party, and the threat.”
My forehead rests against my door while a slew of swear words run through my mind. My hand clenches into a fist and as much as I’d love to punch Bryan’s lights out, I can’t. I turn and go back into the room. He stands there, looking fucking smug, like he won a match against me or something.
“This may have started as a game, but it was over the second I spoke to her.”
“She’ll never believe you.”
“Then tell her the truth, asshole.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t believe you. You’re the one who told me you were going to sleep with my sister to get back at me. Look at that, you succeeded . . . in hurting her. Not me.”
Bryan walks out of my room and makes sure to slam the door for the full effect. I jump but continue to stand where I am. His words repeat in my mind, over and over. I hurt her. Grabbing my phone off my bed, I dial her number as I walk to my door. My call goes to voicemail.
“Leah, we need to talk. I don’t know what’s going through your mind, but your brother isn’t exactly a fan of mine and will do anything to keep us apart.”
As soon as I walk out of my room, I head to the steps, taking them two at a time until I’m down to her floor. When I get to her room, I pound on the door, calling out her name.
Nothing.
I do it again, over, and over, until my hand becomes tired and my voice hoarse. I call her, text her, and try to video chat, again nothing. Defeated, I slide down the wall until my ass hits the carpeted floor. She’s not coming out of her room or getting in, without passing by me.
Leah just needs to hear my side and then I’ll let her make whatever decision about us, she needs to.
Eight
Leah
With all the text messages, voicemails, and missed calls, my phone is literally dead. There were times I wanted to answer, but in the end, I couldn’t do it.
“As much as I love you, I’m glad you were smart enough not to actually get married.” My mother sits beside me and drapes her arm reassuringly around my shoulders.
“Gee, thanks Mom. I’m glad you have such faith in me. I’m not stupid.”
She squeezes me. “I know, honey. I also know how charming and good-looking Greyson Jennings is. I’m sure there’s a gazillion women who don’t know how to tell him no.”
Exactly. I don’t care about his past with other women. We all make mistakes and I know how tempting it is, especially watching it happen to my brother, to have gorgeous women throwing themselves at him. He could never say no. What I can’t forgive with Greyson is what he said about me. It hurts me to the core, but it infuriates me more. To use me as revenge? It’s just plain shitty. I get there’s animosity between Greyson and my brother, but to put me in the middle is low.
“Are you going to talk to him?” my mother asks, her voice soothing.
I shrug. What I really want to do is punch him right in the face. “I don’t know,” I reply.
My mother squeezes my shoulder again and lets me go. “Do you love him?” Turning toward her, I bend my knees and wrap my arms around them. Even I can’t hide my true feelings from her. She can see it in my eyes. “You do, don’t you?”
I stare right into her green eyes which are the same color as mine. “Is it possible to hate and love someone at the same time?”
She giggles. “Of course. I hated your father in the beginning. God knows, he won me over and I fell for the man.”
My dad was angry this morning, but when I told him the wedding was just a joke, he breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, Bryan didn’t tell him everything. If he did, Greyson probably wouldn’t be able to play golf for a while. Not with a driver stuck up his ass.
“I think I just want to go home,” I confess. “I need to get away from here, from Greyson.”
She nods. “I understand. You can go if you want. Honestly, I think you should talk to him. I saw your wedding picture. The look on Greyson’s face as he stared at you wasn’t malicious. It was of a young man in love. It’s not hard to see.”
That’s what makes everything worse. He never should’ve done what he did. It doesn’t matter how much he hates my brother. “Still,” I say, “I’m not ready. If he’s truly sorry for what he did, he won’t give up. I can’t give in so easily.”
My mother shrugs. “Whatever you want, sweetheart. Something tells me you won’t be able to run away from him.”
Before I can speak, the hotel room phone rings. My mother gets up and answers it. “Hello?” I don’t know who is on the other line, but I can hear the mumbling of their voice. My mother’s eyes instantly find mine and they widen. “Oh yeah? That’s interesting.” She pauses and listens. “Yeah, she’s here with me. I’ll tell her.” Another pause. “I’ll see you in a little bit. Bye-bye.” She hangs up the phone and sighs. “That was your Aunt Martina.” She joins me back on the couch and my heart stops. “She said there’s a young man sitting outside your hotel room door and that he’s been there for hours.”
A huge part of me wants to go to him, but I can’t do it. Taking a deep breath, I stand and grab my car keys off the coffee table. “I’m going home, Mom. Will you tell everyone I’m sorry I had to leave?”
She nods and stands. “I will. If you don’t want to face Greyson right now, I’ll go to your room later and pack up your stuff. I can drop it off at your house when we get back to Charlotte.”
I hug her hard. “Thanks, Mom. I just need to get out of here.”
“Go. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
With Greyson waiting in the hall by my room, I don’t have to worry about him stopping me in the lobby or the parking lot. It’s now or never. Luckily, my parents’ room isn’t on the same floor as mine. I hurry down the hall to the elevator, pressing the button over and over until the door opens. All I can hear is the pounding of my heart in my ears. I’ve never been the type to run away, but again, I have to test him. If he’s truly sorry, he’ll fight for me.
Once in the lobby, I go straight out the doors to the parking lot. As soon as I get to my car, that’s when I hear my name. “Leah, wait!”
Thankfully, it’s not Greyson, but it is his best friend. I turn around and watch him run across the parking lot. He sucks in a breath when he reaches me. “Thank God, I found you.”
“What do you want, Eli?”
He holds up his hands. “Greyson doesn’t know you’re out here. I was in the lobby when I saw you walk out. Figu
red if you didn’t want to talk to him that maybe you’ll talk to me.”
I scoff. “I don’t exactly want to talk to either of you right now. You’re one in the same.”
With a heavy sigh, he closes his eyes. “Yeah, I guess so.” He lifts his eyes to mine. “But you have to know how sorry he is.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “So it’s true then? He did use me to get to my brother?”
Eli’s eyes widen. “No,” he gasps. “I mean, yeah, he said some stupid things back in the day, but that’s all it was. You should see him right now. He’s a mess. The guy loves you.”
My teeth clench and it hurts my jaw. “Well, maybe he shouldn’t say stupid things. It can always come back to bite you in the ass.”
I get in my car, but he reaches for the door before I can close it. “Please, Leah. Don’t leave without talking to him.”
Tears well up in my eyes. “I’m sorry, Eli. I can’t.”
He moves out of the way and I jerk my car door shut. On the way out of the parking lot, I watch him in the rearview mirror with his cell by his ear. Luckily, I have a head start. There’s no way Greyson will be able to catch up to me.
It only takes three hours to get to Charlotte from Charleston. By the time I get home, I’m tired and all I want to do is sleep. I connect my phone to the charger but leave it turned off. I don’t want to hear the incessant ding of incoming texts. I’m sure by now, mine and Greyson’s wedding picture has been shared all over social media. Curiosity gets the best of me, so I log into my laptop and do a generic search on Greyson. The second I hit the button, our picture is all I see.
