I smile. Dom let him win every time, and Olly loved it.
“So what’s this about a party?”
I shrug a shoulder. “It’s just someone from home.”
Dom nods. “The same someone who tried to kiss you last time you went home?”
My eyes shoot up to meet Dom’s. “Gray told you about that, huh?”
He nods. “I’m his best friend. He tells me everything. Well, not everything because that would be weird with you being my step-sister.”
“Ty’s just a friend,” I tell him.
Dom nods as he flicks the television onto children’s TV for Olly. “Does he know that?”
I roll my eyes. “What do you know of this Imogen?”
Dom’s shoulders tense. “Not much. Only that Grayson says she’s a typical socialite. All about appearances and far too interested in her own reflection.”
I nod. “She’s pretty though, right?”
Dom arches a brow at me. “You really want me to answer that question, Ev? Don’t do this to yourself, okay?”
I nod. He is right. This girl is eating up my thoughts. It is unhealthy.
An hour later and there has been no word from Grayson and I go from anxious to annoyed. I hate how I am feeling. Unable to fight it any longer, I dial his number. I sigh in relief when he answers on the second ring.
“Hey,” he says, sounding tired.
“Hi. Are you home yet?”
“Yeah, I got home a couple of hours ago, but I came straight to bed, I’m shattered.”
“Was it a late night?” I ask him, trying my best to sound casual.
“Yeah. Dad had a bit too much, and I had to sort him out. Dick head was so pissed he puked all over himself when I got him up to the hotel room. Then I had to drop Imogen off at home this morning because her dad had left on some urgent business and she lives like thirty miles away.”
My stomach drops. He took her home.
“You want to come round and just hang here today?”
Part of me, the jealous and insecure part, wants to say no and stay at home and sulk and lick my wounds. “Yeah sure.” I am a weak ass bitch and need to see him and feel reassured that I was just being paranoid.
My dad and Sophie drop me at Grayson’s on their way out to visit some friends. I knock and Grayson opens the door, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts that hang low on his hips. As soon as he sees me, he pulls me against him and breathes me in.
“I missed you.”
Did he, though? Or is he just saying that? If he missed me, then why hasn’t he rang me this morning when he was driving home?
“You coming in then?” he asks me with an easy smile. I nod and follow him inside.
“Is your dad here?” I ask, looking around the vast house as we make our way through into the huge kitchen.
“No. I left him at the hotel. He’s probably still sobering up.” Grayson runs a hand through his unruly bed hair as he uses the coffee machine.
“So was she there last night?” I ask, unable to stop myself.
I hear Grayson release a sigh before he turns and faces me and places my coffee in front of me.
“Yeah, she was there. Not that it matters, Manchester, because she is nothing to me.”
I nod as I wrap my hands around the coffee cup and stare down at my drink.
“Paige was there as well and was all over my dad,” he tells me, his lip curling up in disgust.
“Where her parents not there? Are they not concerned about their daughter being with a man old enough to be her dad?”
Grayson sniggers. “Rumour is that the family business is in trouble, so I imagine her parents will happily let their daughter spread her legs for anyone who can help them financially.”
I shake my head in disbelief. This place is a world away from the life I was used to. “So is Tess well and truly out of the picture now?”
Grayson grabs his coffee and leans on the worktop facing me. “Fuck knows. She saw him and Paige together so you would think that she would want nothing to do with him, but she likes the lifestyle being with him offers, so I’m sure she’ll be back soon.” He puts his cup down and walks round the island, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around me. “Enough talk about my dad. How was your Saturday?”
“Boring. Everyone was busy, so I vegged out at home, played with Olly.”
Grayson rests his head on my shoulder. “That sounds like heaven compared to the Saturday I had to endure. I just kept reminding myself that today I would get to hang with you and just be myself.”
I turn my face sideways so I can drop a kiss on his head. “Movie afternoon?” I ask him and he smiles.
“That sounds perfect. I’m gona go take a shower. Can you grab some snacks?”
“Sure.”
He heads upstairs, and I raid the cupboards. I pull out some bowls and find some nachos and dips and then I warm up some popcorn. I am just about to pour some sweets into a bowl when I hear the front door and the sound of his father’s voice.
“Well then, you need to make it happen,” he hisses at whoever he is talking to. He comes to a stop when he finds me in the kitchen. “Just do what you need to do to move things in the right direction.” He places his phone down on the dining table. “Everly.”
“Mr St. Clair,” I reply dryly. I hate having to spend one minute in this man’s company. “How was your evening?”
He looks at me as though he is surprised I am interested. He places his jacket over a dining chair and moves to the coffee machine to make himself a drink. “It was not as productive as I’d have hoped, but I remain optimistic. Tell me, Everly, what are your plans when you leave college?”
I frown. Why is he
