“Ha! I don’t think you want to know.”
His shoulders sank, but he quickly recovered, sitting up even taller than before. “Say you just met me today and I gave you my number. What would you think?”
“Oh, so now we’re pretending. Fine.” I studied him for a moment or two, trying to keep my unflattering opinions of him out of it and think as if I had never met him. I knew what I thought of him the first time I ever met him, but that was Ian, not Mr. Greyson; however, I knew I would think the same thing,Oh my, he’s attractive. Yeah, I wouldn’t be saying that out loud.
He sipped his water, eagerly waiting for my reply.
“Well . . . First of all, I would think it was out of character for you to hand me your number. You look like somebody who likes to be in control—you would want my number instead. That way you could control the variables and timing.”
He brought his hands together and rested his elbows on the table. “Very good.”
“I told you.” I sat back and congratulated myself silently.
“You can’t end it there. You didn’t say whether you would give me your number or not.”
“No,” I said quickly.
“Just like that?” He sounded offended . . . no, maybe disappointed?
“No, not just like that.”
“Then why?”
I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “Because you look troubled, like there’s a woman. I’m guessing an ex-wife, that’s still under your skin, and you can’t get over her. You want to and you’ve tried, but to no avail. I don’t like that kind of competition, Mr. Greyson. But it doesn’t really matter because this is all pretend.”
He leaned forward too, entering my personal space. We were so close I could see my reflection in his lenses. His soulful eyes were penetrating my own, making me forget to breathe.
“You’re right, Kelli, there is a woman, but it’s not my ex-wife. And I did try to get over her, but I discovered that’s where I went wrong.” He sat back.
I took a deep gulp of air before taking a long drink of my ice water. This conversation was much more than I had bargained for. I wondered who the woman was, and for a brief second, I was jealous of her. I wanted a man to speak of me in such hushed and reverent tones. Not just any man, I wanted Ian to. What she had that I didn’t, I knew I’d never know—except for Ian’s heart.
“Will you excuse me for a moment?” I stood and walked to the ladies’ room as fast as I could, reminding myself I was over Ian, that Mr. Greyson was my boss, and that I should never eat lunch with him again.
I HAD NEVER BEEN HAPPIER to see a weekend come. I needed some Mr. Greyson-free zone. I mean, I knew I would see him on Saturday at Boss’s retirement party, but I could avoid him there. My plan was to stick close to Boss and Holly. I missed them something terrible. It felt like it had been an eternity since I’d seen them, when in reality it was only several days. I told Holly I would come early to cook or clean, or whatever else they needed. She laughed and said they were having it catered, but that I should come early anyway.
I dressed up in my newly acquired cyan-colored wrap dress. The hues made my eyes pop. I put some loose curls in my hair and let it fall and frame my face. It was weird when I looked in the mirror; I almost didn’t recognize myself; not in a bad way, but there was an unfamiliar aura to my reflection. Maybe I really had snapped. I felt like it wouldn’t be too long before I did, working for Mr. Greyson.
I arrived two hours before the actual party began. I noticed the addition of two cars in the driveway, one with Georgia plates and one with Florida plates. It looked like Luke was coming after all. Last I’d heard he’d told his parents he couldn’t make it. I was relieved to hear it. Now I was anxious. I bet Holly and Boss had to send him the money so he could afford to come. I took a deep breath to prepare myself for having to see him. He had a way of making things awkward. I was one in a long list of people he blamed for his problems. He was convinced if I had married him, his life would be perfect now and he wouldmagically be someone else. I wished he hadn’t been able to come; it was a selfish wish I know. I should be happy for Boss and Holly that their whole family could be here to celebrate such a wonderful occasion. Who knew, maybe Luke would be on his best behavior.
I eagerly rang the doorbell, and it didn’t take too long before I was greeted by Sara, their granddaughter. “Aunt Kelli’s here,” she yelled. I loved that they thought of me as their aunt. Sara ran straight into my arms.
“You’re beautiful. I can’t believe how tall you’ve grown,” I said as I hugged the life out of her.
Within seconds, I was joined by practically the whole Chandler clan. Even Luke came out to greet me. Looking at him made me wish things could have been different, thathecould have been different. He was two different people. There was the sweet, charming person he was most of the time, and then there was the mean-spirited and sometimes downright vile person. For the first part of our relationship, he was very sweet and charming, but then he started drinking and a monster was unleashed. I tried to help him through it, but I refused to be an emotional punching bag. Luke stood there looking as handsome as ever with his sandy blonde hair that laid perfectly against his head with his flawless swooped bangs. His sun-kissed skin didn’t hurt either or that smile of his with one dimple. But his once bright blue eyes were dimmed by the alcohol and drugs. Even tonight I could see they were bloodshot.
There was a line of hugs. Holly was first. “You look absolutely beautiful, but there is something different about you,” she whispered in my ear.
It made me feel better. At least I wasn’t crazy thinking the same thing.
“I can’t put my finger on it, but it suits you,” she said.
Boss was next and held on extra-long. “How’s my girl?”
“I’m great.” Tonight that wasn’t a lie.
Luke was at the end of the line. He hugged me tighter than I would have liked. “Hi gorgeous,” he whispered low in my ear before he kissed my cheek. The smell of tequila tickled my nose. I backed away as quickly as I could.
“Thank you.” I tried to convey in my tone that his advances wouldn’t be welcome. By the look in his eye, he didn’t get it. One more man to avoid tonight. I focused back on Holly and Boss and asked them to tell me about their trip. I also had plenty to catch up on with Ethan and Bethany, but I didn’t get a lot of info as they were busy chasing kids.
