He turns to see me awake.
‘Ja. All right, then. We’ll see you for lunch tomorrow.’ He ends the call. Looks at the phone in his hand then places it on an oak sideboard. Without looking up, he says, ‘Scarlett, move in with me.’
‘What was that about?’
He fixes me with a stare – not one that’s full of honeymoon and new-home vibes. ‘Nothing.’
‘Gregory, why would I move in with you if I can’t trust you to be honest with me?’
He pauses for a second, then pulls a hand through his hair.
‘That was my mother,’ he finally says. ‘After what happened to your dad, I asked Jackson to bring in some extra guys. He’s brought in two to stay with her and Lawrence.’
‘You’re worried he’ll come after Lara?’
‘Yes.’
‘And that’s why you want me to move in with you,’ I mumble. ‘You think he’ll come for me. Again.’
He sighs. ‘It’s possible, yes.’
Tears form in my eyes. I nod, roll back my shoulders and straighten the sides of my nightdress as if it were a suit and I was about to walk into a meeting at work.
‘Okay then.’
‘No, Scarlett,’ Gregory says as he moves swiftly across the room towards me. ‘Yes, I want to protect you but I want to have you around because… because I don’t know how to let you go. I don’t know what you do to me or how. My life is a certain way, structured and controlled, grey. But you, with your sarcasm and wit, your insightfulness and hot-headedness, you make things… different. Fascinating.’ He steps close to me and brushes my cheek with his fingertips. ‘I’ve got no idea what someone like you would want with me but somehow, for some reason, here you are, and I never want you to leave me because I’m worried you’ll realise what I am and you won’t come back. I’m not ready to lose you, Scarlett. You make me feel… alive.’
‘Really?’ I whisper.
He lets out a short laugh and shakes his head.
‘Are you making fun of me, Mr Ryans?’
He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his tight embrace. I close my eyes and absorb his scent.
‘For the record, I’m not going anywhere, Gregory. I’m not afraid of who you are or who you might be whenever you decide to let me in.’
He kisses my brow and pulls me tighter into his chest.
‘About moving in, though,’ I say, leaning back to look at him. ‘It’s not that I don’t want to be with you but I have a lot of stuff to sort out at the moment, with the house and Sandy. I mean, if I’m not living in the house, it doesn’t make sense for me to keep it. I could at least rent it out. Then there’s Sandy: it’s her home as well and at least in theory, she still works there.’
I break from his arms as I ponder the situation. ‘I’ve been so wrapped up with everything else that I haven’t thought enough about Sandy. She’s lived with me nearly all my life, always been there, and now… I can’t afford to keep her and I don’t have enough work to keep her busy. If I leave, she’ll have to go too. Oh my God, what will Sandy do?’
29
‘Come on, let’s go.’ I flick the Sunday Times Gregory is reading cross-legged.
‘Go where?’
‘Let’s take the dogs and go for a walk; it’s a gorgeous morning and we’ve got hours before we go to your mum’s for lunch.’
He folds his newspaper at an almost comically lazy pace and places it on the coffee table.
‘It’s freezing but I’m impressed with how quickly you got ready, for a woman, so let’s do it.’
‘Are you a closet misogynist, Ryans?’
‘I thought that would rattle you.’
