Not Planning on You (Danvers #2)(46)
Suzy chuckled at his expression of pain, but truthfully it wasn’t that funny since she was suffering just as much as he was. You made the rules so suck it up buttercup and just hope that your panties don’t burst into flames before this is over with. She could see that her ni**les were pebbled and pushing against the thin material of her blouse. Since she had to use both of her arms for her crutches, she had nothing to cover them with. The flush on Gray’s cheekbones as he looked at her said that he’d noticed them and was having a hard time looking away.
Finally, he cleared his throat and led her down a hallway into what she thought was the master bedroom. A huge bed with a low black headboard dominated one wall with matching nightstand tables on each side of the bed. An armoire stood against the wall at the foot of the bed and a writing desk sat in the front of a large picture window. The white plantation shutters on the windows made a contemporary contrast against the black furniture.
He walked over to another door and flipped on the light as she walked up behind him. The bathroom contained a large espresso double-sink vanity with a matching mirror. A clear glass, enclosed shower took up one corner with a large spa tub against the back wall. Suzy smiled, giving Gray a thumbs-up gesture. “Very nice, Mr. Merimon, and very modern. I’m impressed. This is nothing like the beach house, though.”
With a sheepish grin, he said, “That’s because I picked the beach house myself. I was so busy when I bought this place that I picked it by location. It was already furnished and I just moved in. It’s so…clean, though, that I feel like a complete slob if I throw my socks on the floor or leave a glass on the table. I always felt more like I was visiting a hotel than coming home. The house in Myrtle Beach can be our home and we can keep this for our visits to Charleston.”
Suzy felt warmth flow through her at his casual mention of their home. God it was impossible not to love this man. If not for the thought of him making love to some other woman months earlier and the fall-out from it now, she’d have her body wrapped around his right now probably professing her love in every way imaginable. It was childish to punish him for something that happened before they were together, but this whole thing scared her more than she wanted to admit. After going through a hellish break-up with Jeff, she couldn’t bear to be played for a fool again; her heart would never recover.
Suzy became aware of Gray leaning against the door where he’d been studying her while her thoughts whirled. “It kills me that I put that look of fear in your eyes. I’d give anything to take it all back.”
She shook her head and forced a laugh. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, dear, I just remembered that Saks is having their huge one day sale this week and I can’t miss it. They have some leather pants that I’ve had my eye on for weeks.”
Of course Gray knew she was lying through her teeth, but she could tell he appreciated the effort to lighten the mood. She hobbled behind him back into the bedroom as he was sitting her bag down, and with a brief kiss on the lips, he was gone. She washed her face and used the restroom and then collapsed on the bed where she fell asleep before she had time to dwell on anything else.
~~~
Gray had decided to pass on the guest room so he settled instead for a chair in the living room. Even though he was tired, his mind was still racing from everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. This morning had started off with such promise. When he’d rolled over and found Suzy gone from the bed, he hadn’t been alarmed. He’d taken his time leaving the bed and wandering through the house looking for her. When he’d heard the sound of someone being violently ill, fear had almost choked him as he rushed towards the sound. After he saw his phone in the floor and put all the pieces together, he too had wanted to throw up. He’d never thought it possible to be vulnerable, but in that moment, he’d realized how much of his life was already in Suzy’s hands.
Even though he was still worried, he’d started to relax today even the unexpected drop-in from his parents hadn’t shaken him too much. Maybe that’s how life sets you up. You suddenly start feeling confident and then something small slams you back to earth. For him that moment was when he saw the expression of terror on her face in the bathroom and he knew that he was responsible for it. After what Jeff had put her through when he left her for another woman, he knew that to trust and love again was difficult for her. He didn’t think she’d dated anyone in the year since that had happened. Due to the cold nature of her parents, Suzy needed to feel loved whether she could admit it or not.
He’d been so grateful this morning when Suzy had come out of the bedroom dressed and obviously ready to stand by her man. He’d have gladly followed her to the ends of the earth at that point without complaint. Now that they were here, though, he was starting to question the wisdom of taking Suzy with him tonight. He knew she was a strong woman, but Reva was a very nasty one. Was he making a mistake? He was banking on Reva not making a scene in a public place, but hadn’t he already established the fact that she was pretty much crazy?
Dragging a hand through his hair, Gray pulled his cell phone from his pocket and grimaced as he saw a load of missed calls and texts all from a now-familiar number. He’d started saving them all a few days ago for evidence should he need to go to the police and file a complaint. He opened one message and his skin crawled as he read it. ‘Lover, I need what only you can give me. I’m burning up for you.’ He forced himself to hit the reply button on the message and sent her a text asking her to meet him Sorin’s Pub later on that evening for a drink. He’d barely hit the send button when her reply popped back. ‘Sorin’s? You’re here! See you there lover.’