“No, you’ll have to eat up at the main house. I’ll tell Charlotte to expect you for dinner,” he said, ignoring the second part of my question. I remembered Charlotte from that morning—a plump, sweet-looking, gray-haired woman.
“Will you be there?”
“No. I’ll be going out.” Silence. Okaaaaay.
“Who will you tell Charlotte I am exactly?”
“I’ll tell Charlotte and her husband, Walter, the truth. They’ve known me my whole life. They’re the epitome of discreet.” My heartbeat sped up at the thought of his housekeeping staff knowing our marriage was fake, but I decided to trust his epitome of discreet description. Plus, there would be no way to pretend we’d fallen in love when, yesterday, I hadn’t existed in Grayson’s life at all and they’d very well know it.
I wished this were something I could do on my own, but it wasn’t. I needed him.
“I see. Okay.” I looked around the cottage again, distracting myself with an assessment of the space. “Well, there are some definite cons, but there are pros too.”
His brow dipped, but he nodded once and then turned to leave. “Dinner’s at seven thirty.” That was in less than an hour. I guess I’d get started cleaning this place up as much as possible.
Grayson came back inside a few minutes later, set my suitcase down, and then turned to leave. Suddenly he stopped, and I thought he was going to tell me he’d just been kidding about this place. Instead, he said coldly, “By the way, I absolutely prohibit the use of drugs on my property. If I find that you’ve brought them here, our deal’s off.”
My mouth dropped open as I tried to think of a retort, but before I could come up with anything, he turned and walked out, closing the door behind him. A second later, I heard his truck roar to life and drive away. Clearly he’d looked me up and read about the “situation” I’d been in a year ago.
Too late, I picked up an empty soda can off the floor and hurled it at the closed door. Vile serpent! I should call this whole sham off immediately. How dare he treat me like this after I’d made him the most generous offer of his scaly life? His arrogance knew no bounds. And he’d judged me to be a spoiled brat. A spoiled, druggie brat. But beneath my anger, there was an undeniable feeling of shame and sadness. Was this worth it? God, I had to believe it would be. Someday.
CHAPTER FOUR
Grayson
She’d remained as if she was really going to live in that small, dirty hovel. I smirked to myself, wondering how long it would take her to come running to the main house, telling me there was no way in hell she’d stay there. Fifteen minutes? At dinner, tops. I had to give her a small measure of respect though. She’d played along with the joke. I’d expected outrage, foot stomping, breath holding perhaps. The little witch had a tad more grit to her than I’d originally thought. And I hadn’t had so much fun in…in a really long time. I’d even wanted to laugh for a minute there. I hadn’t realized how foreign that feeling had become until the amusement rose in my throat.
I took a quick shower, changed into clean clothes, and then went downstairs to let Charlotte know there’d be a guest for dinner. When I walked into the kitchen, light was streaming through the windows and the room was fragrant with the smell of her beef stroganoff.
“Beautiful evening, isn’t it?” Charlotte asked, smiling brightly at me.
I grabbed a beer from the refrigerator, opened it, and downed half the bottle before grunting an affirmative response. “I have something to talk to you about.”
She stopped stirring and eyed me. “That sounds ominous.”
I shook my head, taking another swig of the cold beer. “For me, yes, but not for you.”
“You know anything that affects you negatively affects me too, Gray,” she said softly. A small corner of my heart, the part that still lived, throbbed with regret at the mess I’d made of things.
“I know, Charlotte.”
“So what is it? Just get it out there.”
“I’m getting married. Probably.”
The spoon clattered to the stovetop, and Charlotte brought her hands to her mouth. “You got someone with child. Oh, Gray!”
I choked on the sip of beer I’d just taken. “No, God no.” I was always careful about that. Always.
“What then? Why? Who?” Charlotte sputtered.
I gave Charlotte the bare facts of what Kira had presented to me in my office that morning. Even after having a whole day to think on the topic, it still sounded crazy. Insane. “The facts haven’t been confirmed yet. But she’ll be here for dinner, so I wanted to let you know. Actually, she’s staying at the vineyard for the time being.”
Charlotte’s face was a study in disapproval. She clearly hated this idea. “Marrying for money, Gray? No, I don’t want this for you. And does this girl have no ethics? You deserve more. You deserve—”
“It’s temporary, okay? If it turns out to be as Kira said, it will be a good thing for this vineyard. And frankly, it’s my last hope.” I set my jaw, unwilling to argue about this with Charlotte. “You know my situation.”
“Yes, but…temporary? Marriage isn’t temporary. Marriage isn’t a business deal—a matter of contracts and negotiations. Marriage is sacred, a sacred vow to love forever.”
I snorted. Charlotte knew I had little to no respect for the sanctity of marriage after witnessing the frigid nature of my own father and stepmother’s “wedded bliss.” “Most people aren’t like you and Walter, Charlotte. Just look at Jessica and Ford Hawthorn.”
Tenderness filled Charlotte’s expression as she stepped closer to me. She took a moment, seeming to collect her words. “Gray, I know since you’ve come home, things have changed so much and everything has been very hard for you. I know you blame yourself…for all of it. And you’ve changed. You don’t smile—you just work. You’ve shut down. But this is not the answer to your problems. It can’t be. I can’t let you do this.”
I set the empty beer bottle down, the glass clanking loudly on the marble countertop, anger and helplessness filling my chest. I hardly needed Charlotte’s summation of who I’d become. Who I’d been forced to become. I lived with myself every second of every bleak day. “You’re my housekeeper, Charlotte, not my mother. I won’t discuss this further. Set another plate.”
Hurt flashed in Charlotte’s eyes, but she pressed her lips together, turning back to the stove, muttering something I couldn’t hear and didn’t care to. Charlotte was as soft as her husband was rigid. “You’ll be staying for dinner, of course,” Charlotte said without turning, as I started to leave the kitchen, “to introduce us to your future wife.”
I halted, the word “wife” making me jolt slightly. I much preferred “business partner” when it came to Kira. Of course, Charlotte was purposely trying to rattle me, trying to make clear what I was considering. I hadn’t planned on eating dinner at home, but I said, “Of course.” I’d give Charlotte that much at least.
I closed myself in my office and opened up the website for the Napa county clerk’s office. There was no waiting period for getting married. We’d simply need to make an appointment and show up with a witness, or use one provided by them. Hopefully Kira wouldn’t have a problem quickly making an appointment with the executor of her trust. The sooner we got this fake marriage started, the sooner we could get this fake marriage ended and could both get on with our lives.