Jesus, this girl gives me a headache. She and her miss sunshine, all happy-go-lucky personality. What have I gotten myself into?
I take her hand and give it a quick, firm shake. Silas looks at the both of us, unsure what to do. Finally, he just shrugs and turns back to Emma. “If you ever change your mind, you come to us. Cecilia would be more than happy to have you over. You know that.”
“I know… And thank you, Silas, but I’ll be fine. I’ll reach out soon, I promise.” She gives him a tender smile.
“We gotta get to the locker room, but we should be done soon. Just wait around, and then you’ll follow me back to my place, unless you need to pick stuff up at your hotel room first?” I ask.
“Nope, everything’s in my car outside.”
“Good.” I lower to kiss the top of my sleeping daughter's head and walk away, ending the conversation there.
Silas joins my side within seconds. “You okay with this?”
I sigh deeply. “Not like I really have a choice.”
Chapter four
Emma
Okay, maybe I am a little crazy.
Thirty minutes later, I watch Greyson strap Gracie into her car seat in the back of his black pickup truck. “It’s about a forty-five-minute drive, just stay behind me.” He nods to my vehicle, telling me to get settled, and hops behind the wheel of his, without waiting until I get to my car.
I speedwalk over to my white Mercedes and jump in, starting it quickly as I buckle up. Thankfully, the rain has stopped.Jesus, he’s already driving away?! What an asshole! I'm going to regret this, aren’t I?I quickly pull out of the parking lot and notice his truck idling to the side.Okay, maybe not too much of an asshole. But still.Once he spots me, he takes off again as I follow behind.
We make our way into New Jersey to the same neighborhood where Cecilia lives, as well as our other friend, Morgan.That's odd.Last time I checked, Greyson lived in New York City, which now makes sense why he said forty-five minutes.
We turn into a driveway leading up to a beautiful large home that isn’t at all what I would have expected Greyson to live in. It’s modern rustic with light stones and dark bricks. The front lawn looks like it’s been beautifully taken care of, although everything is freezing over given the cold November weather we’ve been having.
It’s the type of house my parents would own, if it were bigger, of course, not a penthouse bad boy bachelor. Because that’s the vibe Greyson Ford gives off with his‘I don’t give a shit’attitude and body painted with tattoos.
Grey parks in the driveway even though there’s a double garage up ahead. I pull up beside him and kill the engine, stepping out of my car to admire the beautiful house I’ll be calling home for a little while.
“You live here?” I ask Greyson as he jumps out of his truck and heads over to the back door on the passenger side to collect Gracie. “What’s the matter? The city life wasn’t good enough for the ladies anymore? Needed an upgrade to attract a higher type of clientele?” I snicker at my own joke.
Greyson instantly straightens and glares at me. “No, I needed an upgrade because I have a child now. I couldn’t exactly keep living in a two-bedroom townhouse that I shared with my sister and have Gracie sleeping in a closet,” he growls through his teeth, clearly not appreciating my comment.
He turns back to the truck and picks up Gracie’s sleeping form, cradling her to his chest as he adds quietly, “This was the only place that was decent on the market last week and ready to move in immediately on such short notice.”
“Well, that makes more sense then,” I mumble to myself a bit too loudly.
That glare quickly resurfaces as he stares down at me. “What? Not what you’d expect a guy like me to have? Too nice and clean, right?”
The way he says it makes it sound like people always expect the worst from him, and I instantly feel guilty for my earlier thoughts. The truth is, I don’t really know much about Greyson.
He doesn’t talk a lot about his life, and he never seems to care about anything. Except for the puck bunnies. With the stories I’ve heard from Aubrey, he’s a huge man-whore with a new woman in his bed every day of the week.
He shakes his head and takes a deep breath while I search for an apology. “Come on. I want to put her down so she can sleep a little longer. Leave your things in your car. I’ll get them after giving you a tour,” he says in short, clipped tone. Then he turns toward the house, once again leaving me behind.
I jog after him in my black Louboutin heeled boots that I found in my car and step inside the luxury home. I find myself completely stunned as I take in the inside, my jaw dropping to the floor with how majestic the interior of the house is.
Like the outside, it’s a perfect blend of modern and rustic. Beige walls with dark exposed beams all over, a huge stone fireplace sitting in the living room with dark furniture, and large windows that make the place glow with sunlight. It’s absolutely breathtaking; I can only imagine the rest.
It’s silly. I’m rich, like rich-rich. I grew up in a mansion and have been around luxury my entire life. Yet I still get taken away by beautiful new places I encounter.
I look around quickly and notice all the baby gear lying around. Nothing seems to have an appropriate place yet, but that makes sense since he said he moved in last week.
Greyson places Gracie delicately in her baby swing, covering her up with a tiny blanket, then turns back to me and looks around the room. “Sorry it’s such a mess. I’m still getting the hang of things.”
