“Are you trying to scare me? I’ve heard things at night. You said it yourself, you’re a ghost. Go scare off the other ghosts.” I wave my hand as if to shoo him in the general direction of the sound.
“Are you saying this is my territory?”
“I’m saying, please go look to see if there’s a rodent or something in my closet.”
“Sounds like something a husband would do.”
“We have an agreement, Grey,” I say through clenched teeth.
“Right, right. We don’t talk about—” He exhales long. “I have some work to do, huh?”
“If you mean to make sure I’m not going to wake up with rat droppings on my pillow, by all means. If you’re going to call the Ghostbusters and have them zap the ghost out of you, go for it. If you’re looking for a life coach to help you out of a rut, I’m right here.” I don’t know if the manor is actually haunted, but something is haunting Grey.
“I thought you were an etiquette coach.”
“Both. I also have a degree in business with a focus on hospitality and have continued studying Victorian history since I graduated college, where I minored in it.”
“Hence the fear of ghosts.”
“If you’re asking if I’m afraid of you, no. If you’re asking if I trust you, I’m not sure yet.”
“I’ll take a look around and make sure I don’t see any of my kind.”
“Har har.” What I don’t say is that if he meant am I his wife and want to help, to be here for him,Reply hazy, try again later.
Okay, fine. Yes, yes, I do. Even though I still didn’t know why Grey had the freak out in the salon, as he pokes around, checking cabinets and closets, I realize I, too have my work cut out for me.
His table manners need a bit of improvement, particularly when he devours his food like he’s been out at sea, raiding and plundering for months and it’s the first solid meal he’s had in ages. He also has the unfortunategruntinghabit, but all I need to do is preface a conversation with football and that usually breaks the seal.
He sometimes plods down the hall like a herd of buffalo and forgets to wipe his feet off before he comes inside—particularly after we spent yesterday horseback riding, something I hadn’t done since I was a teenager. But we’ve been working diligently on his manners and Grey proves to be a willing student—the salon incident notwithstanding.
He closes a closet door and I startle, realizing he’s caught me staring. Don’t judge. It’s hard not to wonder about #BruiserButt.
“All clear. Before I go, do you have that document?”
My phone continues to vibrate while I search for the marriage license in my folder of important papers. “Here it is.” I pass it to Grey and our hands brush.
My skin tingles and what he says next comes in pieces.
“I’ll get it back to you tomorrow afternoon. Again, I’m sorry about earlier.”
“Are you going to explain or drop any hints?” I ask, finding my voice scattered around the room from his touch.
His shoulders lower as he exhales. “No, butIwas the kid who got yelled at for going on the neighbor’s lawn, Buttercup.”
As he saunters down the hall, my skin doesn’t only tingle, it warms. We broke the rules and I can’t say I entirely mind.
16
GREY
The windows weren’t foggy when Coach Hammer gave us the ultimatum about staying away from women. If any of us fool around, get bad press, or otherwise break the rules, we’realloff the team. I don’t know what my future holds, but Declan, Wolf, and Chase still have some good field years in them.
Before we left Boston, I proposed the playbook. It’s kind of like the Marriage of Convenience Club rules, except it forbids anything a married couple might do.No kissing, no dating, eyes up, hands off.
The guys joked that I’m married to the game, so they don’t have to worry about me. Little do they know that I’m actually married, and to be honest, I’m not sure how to handle this situation other than by adhering to the first and second rules of the Marriage of Convenience Club.
However, I never expected the comfort, relief, and surge of attraction while holding Everly in my arms when I went to her suite to apologize.
