"Grayson," I whispered, feeling awkward in the middle of this frigid family reunion. "Maybe I should . . ."
He swung his eyes to me, pausing momentarily. "I won," he said, and for a minute I had no earthly idea what he was referring to. Then I realized he was talking about our race down the bannister. I would have argued with him—for he certainly had not—but I thought what he really might mean is that I had no choice but to stay in the house now if we weren't going to raise suspicion with his brother and sister-in-law—his ex-girlfriend, nearly fiancée. Good Lord. That was if he was going to allow them to stay. And if he was going to make it look as if we had a real marriage. My heart felt like it was beating a mile a minute. I just nodded.
Walter cleared his throat. "I believe I'll excuse myself." I thought I'd do the same.
"I'll just," I nodded my head toward my suitcase and Grayson's overnight bag still sitting by the door, "take these upstairs and let you all talk." I felt severely self-conscious and on display as I moved to pick up the bags. The foyer went utterly silent except for the sound of my clacking shoes. My face burning hot, I turned at the foot of the stairs. "So I'll just, then," I cleared my throat, "see you at dinner." I looked around, but Grayson wasn't looking at me. He was staring at Vanessa with an expression on his face I'd never seen before. He didn't answer, didn't even tear his eyes from Vanessa long enough to acknowledge me. It felt like a fist to my gut.
I heard Sugie's nails clicking on the stone floor and she appeared around the corner, staring at all of us. She gave a small chuff and dropped her head. "Here, Sugie," I said quietly. She trotted toward me.
"Nice to meet you, Kira," Shane said, giving me a sympathetic look. He knows his brother still loves her. Charlotte nodded at me, wringing her hands at her stomach. Why had she pushed me toward Grayson if she knew? Does she want me to leave? Vanessa gave me a small half smile, her eyes darting to Grayson and quickly back to me, her cheeks pink. She loves him, too? Oh, God. It was all too much. I turned and hurried up the staircase, and into the room I'd stayed in when I was sick, Sugie on my heels. Tossing the bags down, I leaned against the closed door long enough to catch my breath.
Stupid, Kira, I admonished myself. A few kisses, a few personal revelations and you thought Grayson was what? Your friend? Your true husband? You are such an idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot! The way he had looked at that woman downstairs was . . . not how he had ever looked at me. But she was married to his brother . . . it wasn't like he could ever have her again. God, but just the fact that he still wanted her hurt enough in and of itself. And I hated it. Hated it.
I stood up straight. Well, thank goodness I hadn't given myself to him completely. Things were fine. I was fine. So we'd shared a few moments. Now we'd go back to the original plan, which was a much better idea anyway. How I'd let myself veer so far off track, I had no idea.
There was a sudden knock at the door and I startled, stepping away from it and turning around. I pulled it open to find Vanessa standing before me. She smiled a little bit shyly. "May I come in?" she asked.
I swallowed, but returned her smile and gestured for her to enter. "I'm just showering in here," I lied. "The shower in the master bath is broken."
Vanessa sighed. "God, what isn't? It looks so different around here . . ." She trailed off, the look on her face saying it all—she didn't mean "different" in a positive way.
Sugie came over and sniffed shyly at Vanessa's feet. Vanessa stepped away, beginning to bend down to offer Sugie her hand, but then withdrawing it quickly when she got a good look at Sugie's face. "Oh, she's . . . is she—?"