Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
“Have I done something wrong?” she whispers. “Don’t tell me that was a birthday present or something. It was under a bunch of junk. Gray?”
“I forgot I bought it,” I say, doing my best not to look at her. She makes me feel drunk just with a glance.
“So it’s okay? That I put it together? Or should I have asked? I’ve been supervising Emery the whole time.”
“It’s fine,” I growl, staring down at Callie, her perfect breasts, her flushed cheeks, her mouth slightly open as if she were waiting for me to kiss her. I remember how she moaned in the gym, thrusting her wide hips, her tight ass swaying like she was riding my pole. “I need to take a shower.”
I turn away, walking quickly as if I can outrun these thoughts—Goddamn Wes for poisoning my mind.
Chapter Ten
Callie
When Gray tells me he wants to take Emery out for dinner alone, I try not to read too much into it. Ever since he came home and saw me on the trampoline, it’s like he’s trying his hardest to keep his distance from me. When he walked into the yard, he froze, his body tensing, his forearms looking like they might explode with the strain. His jaw was clenched.
Then he got pissed, withdrawn, surly. I don’t know what happened. It’s like he resents me for some reason.
I eat alone in the guesthouse and call my best friend, Katerina. Heck, she’s probably my only friend since anybody I ever had ties to still exists inside Josh’s upside-down, topsy-turvy world. I met Katerina through the nanny agency.
“What’s up?” she asks, her accent tinged beautifully with her native Greek.
“Nothing,” I murmur. “Just bored.”
I’m lying on the most comfortable couch in the guesthouse’s living room, staring up at the exposed rafters, my feet crossed. I should be taking this time to catch up on sleep and relax. It’s so much quieter without Emery stomping around the place with all her inquisitive questions and unstoppable energy. There’s this hollow feeling in my chest. And I can’t stop thinking about the way Gray stared at me.
“Do not lie to me, Callie-kin,” she says, using the nickname she invented the day she learned that the word kin meant family. She hasn’t stopped using it since. “If you’re bored, you text. There’s something else.”
I swallow, then almost deny it, but she’s right. I wouldn’t have called her if boredom was the only reason. I wanted her to guess something was up.
“I’ve got a crush on my boss,” I murmur.
She sighs, then tuts. “This is not good.”
“I know.”
“How bad is this crush?”
“Well, seeing as I’ve never really crushed on anybody, I’d say it’s pretty bad. And the thing is, I think he sort of likes me too. At least, I did, until earlier.”
Another sigh. “Explain.”
I tell Katerina everything, from the looks Gray and I have shared, to the tension, then finally the gym. “But you see how this is all on the edge, right? I mean, the gym—that’s obvious. To me, at least. It was sexual. But we had a reasonable excuse. And now, it’s as if he’s angry at me for making him lose his head. It’s like he blames me.”
“Do you want to sleep with this man?” she asks bluntly.
“Kat…”
“It’s a fair question, no?” she says.
“You know I’m not exactly experienced when it comes to that.”
“I’m not talking about experience,” she counters. “I’m talking about want.”
“I don’t know,” I murmur, biting my thumbnail. “I guess, on some level, yeah, I do. But I also know it’d be the biggest mistake I could make. And I don’t like feeling this way. It’s like he’s in my head. Like I’m not in control.”
“And you need to be in control,” she says, needing no further explanation.
“After everything, yeah, I do,” I tell her. “I can’t let him get into my head. I can’t let myself care too much especially after he went all cold today. What if he makes me care, then suddenly turns cold, and I turn into Mom, hanging off Josh’s every word, letting him treat her like crap? I can’t risk this job, either. It pays well. I can support Dad. I don’t have to pay rent. Emery is a dream. It’s the perfect job.”
“Then you have your answer, Callie,” she says. “Tell your feelings to go bye-bye and be a big girl. If you want company, buy a vibrator.”
A laugh explodes from me, releasing so many good-happy chemicals I have a warm glow. “Kat, that’s too much!”
“They’re simpler than men, easier to maintain. You don’t have to worry about falling in love with it. It’s a win-win.”
“Life was easier before I felt anything,” I murmur. “I honestly thought the place had broken me. And then that stuff with Jorge… I thought I was put off men for life. But with Gray, it’s weird. We share these moments where neither of us acknowledges it, but I’m sure they’re special to him, too.”