Mostly Risky, page 7
part #3 of The Women of Ambrose Estate Series
Jay leaned forward from the back seat. “Spencer’s barbecuing tonight. Want to come?”
“Yeah, I already picked up the steaks,” Spencer said. “Melanie’s going to be there.”
“Uh, no,” Grigg said. Keeping away from Melanie was a priority.
“She’s not going to pounce on you,” Spencer said with a laugh. “She’s, um . . . interested in someone else.”
Grigg’s gaze connected with Jay’s in the rearview mirror. “Are you serious, dude? You and Melanie?”
His friend’s stained cheeks were the answer. “I was going to tell you, but there wasn’t really an opportunity.”
“A four-hour bike ride in Mother Nature with nothing but the birds to interrupt wasn’t enough of an opportunity?” Grigg said.
Spencer laughed. Jay scowled.
“I didn’t want things to be awkward,” Jay said.
Grigg shrugged. “We were never serious, and I’m definitely not interested in reconciling. So as far as I’m concerned, you can date Melanie free and clear.”
A smile spread across Jay’s face.
“Maybe I will come.” Grigg’s mind churned with ideas, lots of them. “Not to see Melanie again—I’ll leave her to you, Jay.” He’d invite Amelia. She knew these friends of his, and it would give him more of a reason to call her back.
When Grigg was back at his place and showered and changed again, he finally called Amelia. Maybe she wouldn’t answer, and that would be that, until Monday at least.
“Hey,” she answered, and he immediately tried to decipher her tone of voice.
Was it all-business Amelia? Or open-to-ideas Amelia?
“Hey, Mills,” he said. “Spencer’s having a barbecue with the guys, and a few gals, of course. Want to come tonight?”
He heard the pause in her breath. He knew she was weighing the invitation against whatever work she was planning on doing.
“It’s Saturday,” he said. “The weekend? You know, when people throw on shorts and maybe hike or play badminton?”
“I don’t know about hanging out with a bunch of people, Grigg.”
Well, her tone was definitely serious, subdued.
“Tell you what,” he said, “I’ll pick you up at seven unless you text me beforehand to cancel.”
Another pause. “I shouldn’t,” she said. “I didn’t sleep much last night, so I’m sort of a grouch, and I don’t know if I want to deal with Jay’s twenty questions.”
She was right. Jay had been known to ask Amelia a lot of questions. But Grigg suspected it was because Jay had a small crush on her. Now with Melanie in the picture, maybe that meant fewer questions. “Melanie will be there.”
“You want moral support or something?” Amelia asked, her tone sounding more normal now.
“Not exactly,” he said. “She and Jay are dating.”
Amelia made a half laughing, half choking sound. “Serious?”
“Yep, and they both have my blessing,” he said. “I’m kind of relieved, actually.”
Her voice lowered. “You are?”
“I am.” He wanted to add more, maybe flirt a little, but he refrained because he was having a good feeling she might just come to the barbecue with him.
“I’ll see you at seven, unless, you know, I don’t.” He hung up with a smile on his face, and he’d bet she had one too.
It was definitely progress, and she hadn’t given him any bad news.
And by the time he pulled into her condo complex at ten minutes before seven, she still hadn’t texted him. All good. When he knocked on her door, he still wasn’t a hundred percent sure this was all going to happen tonight, but then the door swung open.
Well, she wasn’t wearing a pink sundress, but she looked pretty darn cute anyway. Her denim capris were coupled with a pale-yellow T-shirt that hugged her curves. No concealing business suit tonight. Her dark hair was pulled into a high ponytail that only emphasized the smooth curve of her neck.
“Ready, cuz?” he asked, although his scan of her was nothing close to cousin-friendly.
Her blue eyes met his, and in them he saw questions, complications, and possibly curiosity. He’d go with the curiosity for now.
“Who else is going to be there?” she asked.
“You and me,” he said. “The rest are just fill-ins.”
He loved her laughter, especially now. “We don’t have to stay long if you don’t want to.”
“I’ll let you know.” She stepped through the doorway and pulled the door shut behind her. When she had locked it, she followed him to his SUV. He opened the door for her, and she climbed in, making this all feel like a date.
Grigg wasn’t complaining. As he drove out of her parking lot, she said, “So are we going to talk about last night?”
He glanced over at her. “If you want.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, just gazed out the window. “Hayden called. He’ll be back Tuesday, and he wanted to go on a four-hour hike, but I talked him into dinner again.”
Grigg nodded. “I can meet you with another double date. Anyone but Silvia.”
She smirked. “If it’s too much of a pain, don’t worry about it. My list is getting pretty short anyway. It looks like Peter might have a girlfriend, at least according to his Facebook pictures.”
Grigg slowed the SUV at a stoplight. Looking over at her, he said, “So that leaves Jack?”
“Yeah.”
“Even if I never make your list, we’re still friends, right?”
Her chest rose with a breath as she held his gaze. “Right.”
“I think the yellow T-shirt makes your eyes look bluer.”
She tilted her head. “I think you’re avoiding something.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like why don’t you date more?” she asked. “You can’t fool me, Grigg. You go out with a woman once or twice, then you’re done. And don’t tell me it’s because of something that happened years ago in college.”
“You’re right,” he said. “It’s not because of college.” The light changed, and he pulled forward, then switched lanes.
She folded her arms, and he noticed the rash of goose bumps on her skin. He reached for the AC and turned it down a notch.
“I don’t date much because there’s not many women who measure up to my favorite woman.”
She scoffed. “You can’t compare women to your mom.”
He burst out with a laugh. Then kept laughing until he had to wipe the tears from his eyes. He should really pull over and compose himself. Amelia grabbed the wheel to help keep him steady.
When he could finally talk and breathe normally, they were nearly to Spencer’s place. Spencer had renovated an old brownstone, and the place looked great. Grigg parked behind a sports car and turned off the ignition.
“You’re funny, Mills,” he said, opening his door.
Amelia was out of her seat before he could walk around the SUV and open her door. He told himself it was okay, not a sign or anything.
“I’m not trying to be funny,” she said as they headed up the walkway to the front door. “You just need to be realistic.”
He cut his gaze to her. “I am being realistic. The woman I compare other women to isn’t my mom. It’s you.”
Amelia opened her mouth, closed it, and looked away. The flush had returned to her cheeks. Then she stopped in the middle of the walkway and folded her arms. “Why are you changing everything all of a sudden, Grigg? Everything between us has been fine, totally fine, until you decided to . . .” Her gaze searched his, and he wasn’t sure how to read her.
“Decided to . . . what?”
She waved a hand toward his person. “You know, ask to be on my list.”
He moved closer. To her credit, she didn’t back down. “You’re the one who’s changing everything. Before you heard from your half sisters about the curse being broken, I knew where I fit in your life. But now, if there’s a chance, then I’m going to go for it.”
Her eyes widened.
“Get rid of the list, Amelia,” he said. “So you can face reality.”
The flush on her face deepened. And he was pretty sure she was about to chew him out, but the front door opened.
“You guys coming in, or are you watching the grass grow?” Jay asked.
Melanie was with him, practically hanging on him.
“We’re coming,” Grigg said, moving his gaze back to Amelia, as if to ask her again—are we going to the barbecue?
“Hi, Jay,” Amelia said, turning and smiling.
Inwardly, Grigg sighed with relief. So what if he had just put his heart on the line and set himself up for getting rejected before he could even start dating Amelia?
“Hi, Melanie, nice to see you again,” Amelia continued, basically ignoring Grigg.
Which was fine with him. They were here, together, and hopefully that meant they’d leave together. And hopefully that would give Amelia some time to get over her shock.
They stayed longer than Grigg had thought Amelia would be able to stand. Three hours later, he was driving her back home. She’d seemed to have a good time, and for that he was glad. He was always glad when she took a break from work, however small.
She’d been quiet on the drive so far, so he asked, “Do you need help with anything before Monday’s meetings?”
“Are you serious?”
“When am I not serious?”
She sighed, but it was a soft sigh. “I’d love a second pair of eyes on the spreadsheet for Richards and Sons Plumbing. I can’t get a couple of things to balance.”
“Sure, no problem,” he said.
She nodded, and when they parked, he decided to take the initiative and walk her to her door.
He waited a moment while she unlocked her door, then he said, “I’ll go over it tonight and let you know what I find out.”
She looked up at him, her brow furrowed. “I thought you could come inside and look at it with me. I don’t think it will take long. Unless you have plans with Jenny.”
“Ha.” He knew she was teasing. At the barbecue, a woman named Jenny had paid him plenty of attention. He’d been nice, but not too friendly. She’d tried to trade numbers with him, so he finally told her he was dating someone. A white lie he hoped wouldn’t be a lie for much longer. “I encouraged Jenny to get to know Spencer better. Hopefully she took my advice.”
“You’re so generous to your friends,” Amelia said, pushing the door open.
Grigg followed. “I’m a nice guy, I guess.”
She flipped on lights and continued toward the kitchen area.
Grigg had been inside her place a handful of times, always for work-related reasons, but this somehow felt different. It was hard to explain, but he could feel the tension radiating from her. It wasn’t a bad tension; it was . . . more like anticipation. Was she expecting anything from him? Besides his usual declarations of asking to be on her list?
She brought her laptop to the kitchen table.
Grigg always marveled at the way Amelia lived so simply. Knowing that she was worth millions in personal funds only impressed him more because she didn’t flaunt her wealth at all. In fact, since he oversaw their firm’s books, he knew she was the key investor of the firm itself and that she was generous in her charity contributions.
“Do you want anything to drink?” she asked, moving to the fridge. “Water? Soda?”
“You have soda?”
“Well, no . . .” She shrugged and smiled.
He laughed. “Water’s fine. Thanks.” He sat at the table and turned the laptop toward him. Scanning through the columns told him two things. The plumbing company’s overhead was ridiculously high, and it seemed they had a benefit package that was overpriced as well.
Amelia joined him at the table, and he took a drink of the water, then pointed out what he’d noticed right off the bat.
She rested her chin on her hand. “How do you figure this stuff out so fast? I mean, I’ve spent hours on this, and you’ve been here two minutes.”
Grigg shifted back in his chair so he could look her in the eyes. “We used to do case studies all the time in college. Nothing is really new anymore, so I guess you could say that I’ve seen stuff like this before. Makes it easier to notice.”
She nodded, her gaze moving over him.
He’d give more than a penny for her thoughts. Maybe a hundred bucks.
“So what do you suggest we tell them?”
“First they need to shop their benefits plan and find another provider,” he said. “Then they might be smart to relocate. The neighborhood they’re in has become trendy over the past few years, and they could save a lot of overhead if they relocated. Customers find them on the internet anyway, not by a storefront.”
Amelia nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. All excellent suggestions.” She heaved a breath and looked away.
Grigg waited a moment. This contemplative side of Amelia was one he rarely saw. But it gave him the chance to study her profile, the way her hair now tumbled over her shoulders since she’d taken out her ponytail when they walked into the apartment, how she’d kicked off her shoes already.
“What’s wrong, Mills?” he asked in a quiet voice.
Without looking at him, she said, “I’m thinking of adding you to my list.”
Amelia froze. Had she just spoken aloud? By the silence in the kitchen, she was pretty sure the answer was yes. But thinking it and saying it were two completely different things.
She stood, rapidly, and bumped her knee on the table. Which hurt. A lot.
“Um, I’ll be right back.” Then she left the kitchen and hurried down the hall. Once in her bedroom she stood in the middle of the room in the dark. Trying to breathe.
What had she said? And what was she doing right now? “Real mature,” she whispered to herself. No sound came from the kitchen. What was Grigg doing? What was he thinking?
She kept her eyes squeezed shut, willing her rebellious heart to stop pounding so hard. She’d wanted Grigg to kiss her after the concert, and she wanted him to come after her now . . .
She was dating Hayden, right? She should be focusing on him. One man at a time. But a few of the things that Hayden had said were bothering her more and more. And she really didn’t mind Grigg interfering. Exhaling slowly, she opened her eyes. She had to get back to the kitchen. Figure out how to get over the nervous jumping in her veins.
“Amelia?” Grigg said, his voice low and coming from the hallway outside her bedroom. “Are you okay?”
No, she wasn’t okay. “Hang on. I had to get something.” She turned and walked out of the room and found Grigg leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets.
The light from the kitchen made the hallway dim, but she could see him clearly enough.
“Seems like you want to take me off your list before I technically got added on.” His tone was light, teasing.
Her throat was a lump. Why was this so hard? It was only Grigg. “I think I’ve lost my mind,” she said. “I mean, I thought calling these guys would be a good idea, but truthfully, I don’t want to see Hayden again.”
“So cancel your dinner.”
She lifted her chin. “I think I will.”
His smile was slow, and he moved toward her. There was nowhere to go in the hallway, so she didn’t move.
His hand brushed against hers, and he loosely linked their fingers. “What are you afraid of, babe?”
Biting the edge of her lip, she looked down at their hands. He rubbed his thumb over her fingers, and goose bumps traveled up her arm.
“Everything,” she whispered. “I’m afraid that I’ll always be cursed, even if my half sisters aren’t.”
Grigg lifted his other hand and moved his fingers along her jaw. She had to look at him then. His brown eyes were almost black in the dim lighting, but they were plenty warm.
“And I’m afraid that if we date, and if the curse can truly be broken and you don’t die—”
“Oh, thank you,” Grigg deadpanned.
“—but things still don’t work out, that it will hurt too much.”
Grigg’s hand moved to her neck, his touch soft and warm, his gaze steady on hers. “The last thing I’d ever do is hurt you.”
“I know.” She breathed in everything that was him. “But losing your friendship would hurt.”
Grigg lowered his head and touched his forehead to hers. “You sure know how to deter a guy from making a move.”
She smiled. “Sorry.”
“I don’t want to lose our friendship either,” he said in a quiet voice. “But I can’t keep pretending that I only want to be friends with you. We’ve worked together for two years, Mills, and that’s plenty of time to know that I’m not going to be changing my mind about you.”
Being this close to Grigg was heavenly. The warmth of his skin, the deepness of his voice, the intensity of his gaze . . . Perhaps Amelia had let her senses take over her brain, but she released his hand and slid both her hands up his chest. Grigg lifted his head, his brows raised.
Clearly she’d surprised him. She’d surprised herself. But she was done waiting for him to kiss her. So she’d take matters in her own hands. She wrapped her arms about his neck, then pressed her mouth against his and kissed Grigg Edison.
It took him a second to catch on, but once he did, he had her backed up against the wall in a flash. He trapped her between his body and the wall, and she wasn’t complaining, because the way he was kissing made her feel like she needed to be held up. When he angled his mouth for a deeper kiss, she grasped his shirt to hold on.
She guessed that she’d assumed kissing Grigg would be great, even better than great. But this. This was amazing. His hands cradled her face, and she felt cherished and like he’d been waiting to kiss her for two years. Perhaps he had. And perhaps she had too.
Her mind buzzed, her heart hammered, and her body sang.
As his mouth moved over hers, claiming it again and again, she could only think of how she didn’t want him to stop. Didn’t want this to stop. And why had they waited so long?
