Eleanor & Grey(44)

I leaped out of my skin at the sound of my name and turned to see Greyson standing behind me with an empty glass in his hand. He was dressed in a business suit complete with a tie, which was so strange to me.

Who wore a suit and tie in their own home?

I hardly wore pants when I was home alone.

“Oh, Greyson, hi. Sorry I’m still here. Allison was just giving me a tour and she gave me permission to look around a bit more.”

“She made me aware.”

Wow. He had responded immediately, unlike the first time I saw him. I called that progress.

I smiled at him, he didn’t smile back, and that felt like the oddest thing in the world. The old Greyson had been full of smiles.

“It’s a beautiful home,” I stated, unsure what else to talk about. “It’s massive. I swear it’s like ten times the size of mine and Shay’s apartment.” He blankly stared as I shifted from foot to foot. “I love the décor,” I blurted out, and I hated myself the second the words left my lips. Just walk away, Eleanor. Don’t be awkward. “Those throw pillows in your living room are to die for. Where did you get them?”

“The interior designer chose everything,” he replied dryly.

“Oh, right, of course. My interior designer is normally the clearance section at T.J. Maxx,” I joked. “Or on special occasions, Target.”

He didn’t laugh, probably because I wasn’t funny.

I wondered when was the last time he’d laughed.

Did he ever find anything funny anymore?

We kept staring at one another in the most uncomfortable silence, though I didn’t feel as if I could pull myself away from it. I probably stared at him too long, but how could I not? I’d gone fifteen-some years without looking at him. It was understandable that I wouldn’t be able to turn away quickly.

The awkwardness of it all finally came to a halt when Greyson cleared his throat.

“Eleanor?”

“Yes?”

“I came for water.”

“Oh?” I stared at him like an idiot, wide-eyed like a deer in headlights, waiting for his next words. I stood still as if he were going to expand on his interest in water. Was he offering me a drink? Were we going to sip water and catch up on things? Was I finally going to be able to ask him how he’d become the CEO of his father’s company at such a young age? What had happened to his father?

His stare narrowed, and his lips turned down in a displeased fashion. He nodded once.

“Hmm?” I asked.

He nodded more aggressively this time, gesturing past me.

I glanced behind me and realized I was standing right in front of the refrigerator, blocking the water dispenser. I stepped to the side, mentally beating myself up.

Idiot.

“Oh, right, of course. Well, I think I’m done here, so I’ll see myself out,” I stated, scrambling to grab my binder. “Have a good afternoon.”

He didn’t reply, but that wasn’t shocking. I was quickly learning that this new Greyson didn’t have nearly as much to say as the old one.





27





Greyson





Eleanor had a way of staring and standing in front of me for too long, to the point that it was uncomfortable. It had to be uncomfortable for her, too, yet still, she kept staring as if she didn’t care about the awkwardness of it all.

I also hated how she stared. She stared as if I were the saddest man alive. I wished she’d stop playing the tiniest violin whenever she looked my way. It was irritating. Whenever she awkwardly gawked, she looked at me as if I were a sad puppy from a damn Sarah McLachlan commercial.

I wasn’t a sad puppy.

Just a not-so-happy man.

The weekends were hard for me, seeing how there wasn’t as much work to keep my mind busy. Plus, the girls were always at Claire and Jack’s house. Most of the time I tried to travel because being in different places made it harder for me to overthink too much, but sometimes travel wasn’t an option and I was left home alone.

My home was eerily silent. It was always weird when it was so quiet, because there had been a point in time when all I ever heard were loud voices laughing. Sometimes I swore the echoes of the laughter still bounced off the walls, though, truthfully, I was probably just hoping the echoes lingered.

There were a million things I missed about Nicole, but her laughter had to be at the top of the list. She’d laughed in a way where tears always streamed down her face, no matter what. Nicole found everything so ridiculously funny, and she could make even the grumpiest person crack a smirk.

That was her superpower: making people happy.

It was no wonder that after she’d left this place, everything had felt a little darker. She had taken that light away with her.

My phone dinged, and there was a ninety-nine percent chance it was Landon checking in on me. Even when I told him to stop doing it, he always did.

I was somewhat thankful for that.

Even though I’d been a shitty friend for quite a few months, it was nice to know that Landon didn’t take it personally.

Landon: Wanna grab a beer?

Me: Are you even in town?

Landon: I can get a private plane out to Chicago, no problem.

Me: Ha. Don’t waste your money.

When the house was empty, and there were no more emails or contracts to check and double-check, I knew I was at my worst. I went for a jog on my treadmill to try to clear my head, but still, that never really did much to slow my thoughts, because the moment I stopped running, everything came rushing back to me.