I smiled at him. There wouldn’t be a next time.“Thank you for dinner,” I responded. “I’m sorry for the intrusion.” I wasn’t really. Oddly, I kind of enjoyed it.
He took that as an invitation. “How about dessert?”
I had a feeling he wasn’t talking about food.
“Good night, Nicholas.”
“Maybe next time.” He pushed off my car.
I really hated being right sometimes. Nicholas was exactly who I thought he would be. Was I ever going to find Mr. Right?
Mr. Greyson caught my eye and waved. “Drive safe. Good night.”
My heart said,What about that guy?
No. No. No. He left us and he’s with Alexa.
Is he really?my annoying heart asked.
Does it matter?I fired back.
If you want it to, my heart whispered.
IT WAS PROBABLY A GOOD thing Mr. Greyson and his plaything were out of the office on Thursday and Friday. I was more confused than ever about my boss.
Mr. Greyson was meeting with some prospects in Memphis and who knew what Ms. Manselle was doing. Maybe she had gone with him. That thought bothered me more than it should. I was also bothered by his behavior at Pierre’s. What was he playing at anyway, interrupting my date? Sure, I enjoyed talking to him and Sean more than my date, and I appreciated that they waited for Nicholas to leave before they left. Not that I thought Nicholas would try anything, per se, but it was nice all the same, especially since my first instincts about him were spot on.
How could Mr. Greyson be such a pain in the office, but so Ian-like off the clock?
By the time I got home on Friday I was emotionally and physically drained. The man was wreaking havoc on my life. I longingly looked at my “husband” list on my refrigerator while I contemplated what to make for dinner. Was it really that hard to find a guy who met all my criteria? I told my heart not to even mention you know who, who by the way didn’t meet my criteria, having been divorced. Though that was more of a preference than a hard and fast rule. Ugh. It didn’t matter.
Saturday morning found me watching my nieces while my traitorous brother-in-law played golf with my boss. I tried not to dwellon the man as the girls and I spent an enjoyable couple of hours at the pool. But as always, as of late, Mr. Greyson showed up in his plaid shorts and well-fitting polo shirt and made sure I was dwelling on him. I swore he looked like he had just done a photo shoot for J.Crew. I looked down at my black swimsuit as I sat on the edge of the pool with my legs dangling in the warm water. I felt vulnerable with so much skin showing. Not like he hadn’t seen me in a swimsuit before, but it seemed different now.
His eyes lit up when he saw me. He strutted over to me with golf clubs slung over his shoulder.
I focused on my nieces for safety reasons, theirs and mine.
That didn’t deter him. He came right over and sat next to me after he deposited his clubs near one of the lounge chairs. In a surprising move he took his shoes and socks off and dipped his legs in the pool too. “You’re looking well today, Kelli.”
I playfully nudged him.
He leaned in and whispered, “But not as well as you looked Wednesday night. That red dress, stunning.”
Goosebumps erupted all over my body. Where was a breeze when you needed one? He knew those bumps didn’t appear because I was cold, and he seemed quite delighted by it.
“Why did you go to Pierre’s that night?” I asked.
“I told you. I heard it was the best place in town, and Sean was only here for the night.”
“Your Greyson white lies don’t work on me anymore.”
His left brow quirked. “So, what does work on you? I noticed Nicholas sure didn’t seem to do it for you.”
“Yes, thanks for ruining my date, by the way.”
“I’d like to take the credit, but I think you and I know better.”
I turned my attention back toward the girls. He was right, but I wasn’t admitting it.
