Chapter 7

• He leans against the desk and eyes me intently. “It won’t come to that.”
• I snort inelegantly as I glance at the cash beside me. “Who’s paying for this? A rival of Stanford? I think I deserve to know that at the very least.”
• He folds his arms across his chest and works his jaw. “I’ll tell you when this is over. Not before.”
• At the way he’s staring at me, it’s all I can do to keep breathing, let alone think about why this is a bad idea.
• My voice comes out way too throaty. “And you just go back to wherever it is you came from, and we never see each other again?”
• He stiffens. “The clock is ticking. Just say the word and I call Mike and ask him to find a replacement.”
• I stare at him unblinking, wondering if I should just walk out the door, and call Mike myself.
• But my curiosity about Grayson and what Carlton Stanford may have done is enough to keep my butt glued firmly to the sofa.
• If he’s not even going to address our past, there’s not much I can do, but wait for an opportunity.
• So, instead of demanding the answers I’ve waited eight years for, I huff out a breath. “Okay. If we do this, how do we make sure we get our stories straight?”
• His lip curls. “Just pick your most recent boyfriend, and we’ll use that as a guide.”
• Oh, dammit.
• “Ah, no. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
• He just looks at me like I’m crazy. “Why? Is he from here?”
• I shake my head. Heat rushed through my body at the idea of sharing my last disastrous relationship.
• I fold my arms across my chest. “Why can’t we just pick one of your girlfriend's stories?”
• His expression remains unchanged. “Because I don’t have any.”
• Given the way he looks, I find that hard to believe. “That’s absurd. You haven’t had a single girlfriend?”
• His face tightens, and there’s a hardness to his voice that reminds me I no longer know him. “Not in the way you’re thinking of. I don’t do relationships.”
• I ignore the impulse to probe deeper when he checks his watch.
• “We’re running out of time. Pick another boyfriend.”
• To avoid an argument, I pick the safest and least embarrassing boyfriend I’ve had in relatively recent history.
• “Fine. I’ll go with Todd. We met at a party, and I spilled my drink over him. He was sweet about it. I offered to pay his dry-cleaning bill.”
• His lip twitches. “Why’d you break up?”
• I glare at him. “That’s none of your business.”
• “Did he meet your parents?”
• I screw up my face. “Yes.”
• “They like him?”
• I’m not sure what that has to do with anything, but I nod.
• He jots a few notes down on a pad and looks at me. “What’s he do for a living?”
• “He’s an architect.”
• He scribbles some more down on the paper. “How was the sex?”
• My eyes pop. “What the hell does that have to do with anything?”
• A half-smile appears. “Just seeing if you can handle being asked awkward questions.”
• I frown hard. “Jerk.”
• He puts the paper to one side and ignores my insult as he pulls out his cell and looks up at me. “Why don’t we have a lunch date? To see if we can pass for a couple.”
• That’s the last thing I feel like doing, but I need to drop off my file, so I shrug. “I’ll swing by the office first.”
• He pushes off the desk and barely acknowledges me as he pushes the phone against his ear. “Have reception call you a cab. I’ll see you at the Pier Café in two hours.”
• He sends me a pointed look. “And get changed into a dress. You look like my maid.”
• I bristle, irritation surging through me as he walks toward the door.
• “Yes, your majesty, will that be all?” I mumble.
• But he’s not even looking at me, he’s already walking away.
• I mutter to myself, stuff the wad of cash into my back pocket and slam the door a little too hard.
• *****************
• Grayson
• I take a seat at the table I reserved and look around at the diners surrounding me.
• If I’d been smart about it, I would have dug a little deeper and found out if Isabel and her family still lived here before coming.
• As far as I knew, she’d moved away for college, but if Mike is correct, she got her degree and returned home.
• I was so intent on getting here before the party tonight, I was as reckless and impulsive as I was as a teenager.
• I need to be careful. There are too many things that can go wrong if I let my head get scrambled by being back.
• Haven Beach is the same as I remember it. Small-minded conservative population, completely oblivious to what’s really going on right under their noses.
• I only spent one summer here and aside from Jack, the time I spent with Isabel was the only good thing about this place.
• A smile creeps over my face as I think about the night she stopped me from smacking another guy over by stepping in front of him and kissing me.
• I can’t even remember why I wanted to punch him at the party. Back then, I was so angry, it didn’t take much for me to lose my shit.
• I still don’t know how she wound up at Jack’s place, at the time I didn’t care. I was lonely, horny, and she was about the sweetest thing I’d ever seen.
• But I can’t think about that. If I do, I’ll get caught up in memories I’ve spent the last eight years trying to ignore.
• My toe starts to tap into my boot. Anxiety and guilt twist my gut into knots as I spot Izzy entering the restaurant.
• While my heart starts to thump a little harder at the sight of her, I mentally steel myself for the enviable argument that’ll come when I tell her why I wanted to meet her here.