Scarlett woke up the following morning and stretched. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so perfectly…perfect!
Rolling over, she realized that Grayson was no longer in the bed. But she didn’t mind. Jumping out of the bed, she grabbed his shirt and slipped her arms into the sleeves. She’d shower and hurry downstairs, eager to see him this morning, to feel his strong arms wrap around her once again.
Their night together had been more than she possibly could have imagined and she was thrilled that he’d felt about her the same way she felt about him. Who could have known that a man as big and powerful and amazing as Grayson could be so sweet and tender in bed? She’d always thought he would be more aggressive, more demanding.
As she was showering, she remembered that they were meeting the others for breakfast this morning. Darn it! She wanted to spend the morning with Grayson, to tell him how much last night meant to her and maybe make plans, or at least hope that he might want to repeat the episode. Maybe even repeat it right now, she thought as her body heated up just at the thought of having Grayson downstairs in her kitchen. He was probably making coffee for her. All the times they’d spent at each other’s houses, he knew exactly how she liked her coffee. Funny, she thought, she’d never been up and into the kitchen before him, but she knew exactly how he took his coffee; strong and unsweetened, just like him, she thought with a silly giggle as she shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. She grabbed a towel, wishing that Grayson were here to do this with her.
Hurrying, she dressed in her favorite red dress and dried her hair so that it was a soft cloud around her shoulders. Adding a bit of lipstick and mascara and she was ready to go.
She grabbed a pair of red heels, almost running down the hallway in her urgency to see Grayson again.
“Good, you’re ready,” Grayson said, grabbing his jacket and tie. “We’re late.”
Scarlett stared at him. Where was the gentle lover of the night before? Where was the man who had held her in his arms and initiated her into the world of sensual pleasures beyond anything she’d thought possible?
And where was her coffee? He always greeted her with a cup of steaming, hot coffee and a teasing wink.
“Grayson?” she called out a moment before his hand touched the doorknob of her front door. She saw him stiffen and his shoulders sag as he accepted that they weren’t getting out of this house without a conversation about last night.
“I’m sorry Scarlett,” he finally said as he turned to face her. The yellow flecks in his dark eyes were almost non-existent now as his brown eyes apologized to her. As she looked up at him, she felt a sickness in her stomach. “You were upset about the funeral last night. You were grief stricken and,” he sighed, running a hand over the back of his neck. “And I took advantage of you.”
Her heart felt as if it was going to explode. He thought he’d taken advantage of her? Had he been there with her during everything they’d shared? If anything, she’d taken advantage of him! “You think last night was all about my grief?” she whispered, unable to accept that he really believed that.
Those hard, brown eyes looked down at her, not revealing anything he might be thinking. They never did, she thought. His eyes might glow or be hard, but she never really knew what he was thinking. “Wasn’t it?” he asked, his body tense, his shoulders stiff with the tension.
She saw his “stand off” signals and couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t really doing this, was he? She’d heard of morning after regrets, but she’d never thought that Grayson would do this.
But he was! He was rejecting everything they’d shared last night. Impossible as it seemed, he was going to pretend that last night didn’t mean as much to him as it did to her.
Toughening up, she straightened her shoulders and hid her emotions behind a blank face. “Of course,” she snapped at him. “Because I’m one of those silly females who can’t figure out what’s going on inside her head. I misinterpreted what you were feeling too, didn’t I?” she almost growled. She was so furious, so dumbfounded that he was switching gears once again. Last night had nothing to do with grief and everything to do with finally being with the man she’d loved for years. And he was sullying that! He was making her sound like a witless idiot! “Listen, buddy,” she snarled, “If you think that’s all last night was about, then you’re an ass.”
She bowed her head and looked down at her feet, her toes curling up inside her red shoes as the shame and anger swamped over her. “So yes. Let’s just say that’s all it was. And thank you for hurrying. You’re right.” She ached as she said those words and wanted to stomp on his thousand dollar loafers with her spike heel. She took a deep breath, pulling in her temper and savoring her anger. This man was an idiot! And a womanizer to boot. He was just trying to get out of the morning-after-tension by making excuses. Which was what all womanizers do when they can’t escape fast enough. “We’re going to be late.”
With that, she stepped forward, opening the door herself and stepping into the cool morning. Lifting her head up to the morning sunshine, she prayed that she wouldn’t start crying. That would make all of this so much worse!
Instead of stepping into the limousine that was waiting for Grayson and surrounded by his bodyguards, she walked over to her garage and unlocked her own car. Her little Miata roared to life and she backed out of the garage, ignoring Grayson’s furious expression as he watched her zoom down the driveway. She wiggled her fingers at him before she shifted gears and sped away.
“Damn woman!” he muttered. “Let’s go!” he ordered to his security team. Not for the first time did he grumble about the need for bodyguards. He hated being surrounded by all of these people. He wanted to get into a car and speed off. He wanted to race ahead of that damn woman, yank her out of the car and kiss her until she admitted that last night wasn’t just about her grief.
A half hour later, when he stepped out of the vehicle at the restaurant, he looked through his sunglasses, his eyes searching out the one woman he wanted to see. The one woman he needed to make sure was okay. She’d been driving too fast and he was going to have words with her about that. Maybe he’d spank her adorable bottom for being so reckless. And for whatever the hell she’d said before she’d stormed out of her house.
Initially, he’d been too furious with himself to actually hear what she’d said to him. But as his chauffer drove through the crowded city streets, his mind went over her words. What did she mean? She’d said something about him assuming…hell, he’d been too angry with himself to actually listen.
When he approached the table, he noticed that everyone was already seated. And Scarlett was flanked by Stefan and Malik with their wives on the opposite sides of each of them. The only available chair left was on the far side of the table.
Pulling out the chair, he glared across the table at the little blond woman in the alluring red dress. Why the hell was she wearing red? She wore red too often. And she looked too damn good in it! Blonds weren’t supposed to look good in red. But she did.
“What’s going on?” Harrison asked, his eyes glancing back and forth between Scarlett and Grayson. “I thought you stayed at her place last night, watching out for her.”
“I did,” he snapped and pulled his napkin down over his lap.
Damon’s eyes narrowed. “So why didn’t you give her a ride?”
Grayson turned his furious eyes to the other man. “Because she…” he started to say something but Scarlett interrupted. “I’m perfectly capable of getting myself to any event. I don’t need overbearing, overly protective giants who think they…” she stopped, realizing that she was revealing too much. “I’m here, safe and sound. Enough said.”
Several waiters arrived at that moment, pouring coffee and telling everyone to make their way to the buffet tables whenever they were ready.
The breakfast was a complete sham, Scarlett thought as she sipped her coffee and moved the fruit and eggs around on her plate. She couldn’t eat anything and she couldn’t look up because that horrible, obnoxious oaf was right in front of her. She’d thought she’d been so smart about where she’d seated herself when she’d arrived, not wanting to be seated next to Grayson as she so often was when this group got together.
“I’m sorry, everyone,” Scarlett said as she stood up. “I have a client meeting and I can’t be late.”
Grayson shook his head. “Reschedule, Scarlett. You need a few days to recover.”
Scarlett ignored him. “Thank you everyone.”
Grayson was furious that she would ignore him like that. He stood up and followed her, grabbing her arm when she brushed by him. “Who is this important meeting with that you can’t cancel?” he demanded before she could take a step away from the table.
She turned to glare up at him. “It is Jeff Desmund, if you must know. But that’s really none of your business, is it?”
Grayson’s mouth tightened in fury. “Cancel it!” he snapped, wanting to roar at her for even considering that man as a client. “He’s a womanizer and I don’t think you should be doing business with those kinds of men.”
Scarlett was stunned for a moment before she finally shook her head. “Are you kidding me? Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?” After last night’s amazing pleasure and this morning’s dismissal of that pleasure, he had a lot of gall to say words like that to her!
The others at the table chuckled because each of the men had been womanizers before their women finally settled them down to blissful married life. “She has a point, Grayson,” Damon commented, his arm around Sasha who punched him in the ribs, but not hard enough to hurt. “Maybe she just needs a reason not to handle that client? Want to buy another house?” The others at the table all knew that Grayson bought a condo, house, vacation place or changed his office style whenever he wanted, or needed, Scarlett close by. And she never failed to jump at the opportunity to redecorate anything he purchased. She’d done all of their residences, offices and even some of their businesses when it was interesting enough for her.
Grayson was furious. “Stay out of this,” he snapped. “She can’t work with that man.” Turning to Scarlett, he grabbed her arm and pulled her off to the side. “What’s going on? Why are you meeting a man who has dated just about every woman he comes into contact with?”
She pulled her arm out of his grip and glared up at him. Poking her finger into his chest, she said, “Don’t you dare call that man a womanizer when you’ve dated half the female population of New York City as well as too many to count in other countries.”
Scarlett hurried out of the restaurant, so furious and hurt by his attitude and his belief that he could order her around! How dare the man tell her which clients she could work with and which she needed to turn down! And damn him for telling her that she needed extra time to grieve! It was just one more signal that he thought last night was a mistake even when she considered it to be one of the most wondrous nights of her life!
She yanked the car door open and sank into the driver’s seat, thinking about the previous night. And yes, Uncle Charles was gone. That hurt, but she was glad that he had finally passed away. He’d been in so much pain at the end. The cancer had gotten too deep, been too pervasive. The chemo treatments had only slowed the cancer, not stopped it.
Once in her car, she reached for the ignition button but her hand fell away. Scarlett laid her head down on the steering wheel, trying to handle the pain of Grayson’s attitude and the loss of her uncle, all in such close proximity. It wasn’t fair! If her uncle were alive right now, she would go to him and cry on his shoulder about how angry Grayson made her. But if he were alive, Grayson wouldn’t have been at her house last night and she wouldn’t have experienced heaven in his arms. Finally.
And no matter what that horrible man said, last night hadn’t been a mistake! It had been wonderful! Magical, even. Goodness, she loved Grayson and last night had only made that love a physical need as well as an emotional one. She wanted Grayson to take her into his arms right now and tell her that everything was going to be okay. It might not be okay, but she would love to hear those words from him, to pretend for a few minutes that they were true.
Such was not her lot in life though. Lifting her head, she stared through the windshield, trying to figure out how she was going to get on with her day. She’d just have to push Grayson’s comments aside. She would focus only on how wonderful it had been to sleep in his arms last night. She wouldn’t think about his callous attitude this morning.