“I shouldn’t have let you talk me out of calling an ambulance. Whoever heard of a town without taxi service?”
Gemma bit her lip to keep from laughing. It had been less than a mile to the hospital. “But Grey, I’m okay. Now put me down. People are starting to stare, and I want to go to The Cotton Quilt. Pops loves to sleep under a good soft quilt and his birthday is coming up.”
“Fine, but the first time you start limping, we head back to the boat and I’m carrying you the entire way.” Still, he made no move to release her.
“I’ll agree to that.” She waited, but his arms still held her tightly.
His bottom lip protruded into a pout. “And another kiss might make me feel better about it.”
Gemma pursed her lips and planted one on his firm lips, loving the teasing side of Grey. He sighed and finally set her on her feet but grabbed her hand, and she didn’t try to pull away. She liked the feel of his large, warm fingers wrapped around her smaller hand. But again, she told herself not to get attached. No matter how delightful she found him, he wouldn’t stick around. “Look! A gelato cart! I hope they have pistachio!” She took off down the sidewalk, tugging on Grey’s hand.
“Slow down, Gemma.”
And that was the way the rest of their afternoon went. Gemma went from one shop to another with Grey following close, watching for any unsuspecting dangers. She’d laughed more than once at his antics. The sun was getting low in the sky and she knew they’d need to get onboard for their sail back to Wrightsville Beach before dark, but she’d had a surprisingly wonderful time with Grey.
“Do we have time to go in one more shop? I’d love to check out the paintings in Puttering Pottery.”
Grey checked his watch. “Sure. I don’t think I’ve ever been in there.”
“Well, they do pottery classes, but they also have these amazing paintings. I’ve never seen anything like them.”
The minute Gemma stepped in the store, she knew she wouldn’t leave without at least one of the incredible paintings. She glanced around and spotted Grey glued to a large canvas of a seascape.
“Amazing, right?”
“Yes, they are. Why are they in this shop and not in a gallery somewhere?” Grey’s eyes examined the painting more closely. “You know, this technique reminds me of that famous French painter, Callier.”
Gemma took a closer look and nodded. “I never thought of that, but you’re right.”
“Good afternoon, may I help you?” A cute young woman walked toward them, wiping her hands on a thick denim apron. Gemma couldn’t help noticing a deep sadness in the woman’s eyes, like she’d suffered a great loss.
Gemma smiled, wanting to lessen the woman’s pain. “Hi, I’m Gemma and this is Grey. These paintings are really good. The artist is quite talented.”
The lady blushed and looked uncomfortable. “Hi, I’m Callie. Is there something I can help you with?”
Grey pointed to the painting he’d been looking at. “Is this piece really only fifty dollars?”
The lady’s eyes widened, “Do you think that’s too much? I can lower the price if you really want it.”
“No! I mean work of this quality should be ten times that amount. This technique is incredible.”
“That’s nice of you to say, but I just dabble, really. I’m not professionally trained or anything.” Callie shifted restlessly on her feet and twisted a piece of her blond hair.
“You did these?” Gemma blinked. She couldn’t understand why Callie didn’t see the beauty or value in her work. Maybe it had something to do with the sadness she saw.
“Yeah. Listen, I need to get back to work. If you need anything, just let me know.” Callie turned around quickly, like she couldn’t get away fast enough.
“Wait! Do you deliver?” Grey called, and Callie stopped fleeing.
She turned around and rubbed her hands down the front of her apron. “Yes. We can do that, if you’re sure you want a painting. Maybe you should think about it and come back.”
Grey’s eyes were set with determination. “I’d like these five pieces, and I insist on a large tip.”
“And I want those two.” Gemma pointed to the opposite wall. She’d make it a point to come back. Callie looked like she could use a friend.
***
“Have you ever gone on their ghost tour?” Grey asked as they walked hand-in-hand along the sidewalk beside the Cape Fear River.
“No. I don’t believe I have.”
“You need to experience it. There’s this creepy light that nobody can explain. All the rest of the streetlights shine white but that one sometimes turns blue and flickers like a candle. It’s only that one streetlight.”
“I’ll have to see that sometime.”
“We could stay and go tonight.”
They stopped walking and Gemma looked up at Grey not sure she understood what he was asking. Or maybe she was afraid of what he was asking. “Stay?”
“We could stay onboard the Saundra E. and sail back in the morning.”
Gemma heard so much more. She heard what his eyes were asking, but she didn’t know if she was ready to take that next step. If they stayed, she knew she’d end up in his bed, which would make things so much more complicated when he stopped calling. “I need to know something.”
Grey took both her hands into his. “You can ask me anything.”
Grey’s pursuit of her had never made sense to her. She was nothing like the women she’d always seen him with. There had to be another reason, and no matter what he said, they just weren’t a likely couple. That led her to believe Grey only wanted one thing from her. And while she’d be totally on board with that, if that’s all this was, she’d also be hurt if she didn’t know that going in. “Is it because I’m a challenge to you?”
His head tipped and his eyes narrowed. “A challenge?”
Gemma tugged on his hand and led him to a swing overlooking the Cape Fear River. They watched a barge for a few moments before she spoke. “I would imagine you’ve never had anyone turn down your advances before.”
Grey chuckled. “Advances? That’s a rather old-fashioned term.”
“It sounded better than fuc….”
“Gemma! I’m so turned on right now.”
She couldn’t help it—she laughed, and that was one of the reasons she needed to know now. Grey was nothing like she’d expected him to be. He was charming and fun, and she’d already felt he could be more to her, but he’d never want more. Could she do that without a broken-heart ending?
But Grey didn’t seem amused. If fact, he seemed the exact opposite. “What you’re really asking is am I only trying to get in your pants?”
She screwed her face up and nodded. That’s exactly what she thought.
Grey didn’t wait for her. He stood up and pulled her right along with him. “Come on.”
Gemma practically had to run to keep up with his long legs. “Where are we going?”
“Back to the boat. We should be home before eight if we leave now.”
She tugged on his hand to get him to stop. She couldn’t understand why Grey was upset. “Wait…why?”
Grey finally stopped and his jaw clenched before he spoke. “Gemma, if the only way I can convince you that you’re so much more to me than a challenge is to deliver you back to your house un-accosted, then that’s what I’m going to do. Yes. I want to be with you in every way, but not until you trust me and believe that I want more than just a tumble and then never see you again.”
Gemma noticed that Grey’s face began to pale and his eyes shifted nervously. “Now who’s being old-fashioned?” She tried to lighten the atmosphere around them.
“The situation seemed to call for it.”
She looked down at their joined hands and then up through her lashes and right into his eyes. “So, what are we doing, Grey?”
Grey stared into her eyes and slowly shook his head. “Honey, I have no idea, and that’s the truth. This is going to make me look bad, and I
’m not very proud of my behavior, but I want to be nothing but honest with you. I’ve never had or ever wanted a relationship. Here comes the bad part. Finding a woman to sleep with has always been easy, and I have taken advantage of that fact most of my adult life.”
Her own jaw clenched—that information wasn’t new to her. “This is supposed to make me feel better?”
Grey squeezed her hands. “Yes, because here comes the good part. I’ve never even considered treating you the same way. There is no comparison to the way I feel about you. For the first time in my life, I want more…with you. You are a challenge, Gem. A good kind of challenge, where if I do it right and win your trust, we could have so much more.”
Gemma’s heart gave a cautious flutter. “That was simply perfect, Grey. Thank you.”
He was saying all the right things, and Gemma did believe he was sincere for the moment. To believe anything else would be foolish, yet she did want to be with him. She’d call herself all kinds of crazy when she was crying on her couch with a tub of Ben & Jerry’s after he broke her heart, but for now, she took a breath and took the plunge. “Okay, Grey.”
His eyes got a wild and frightful glaze to them, then cleared as he smiled and nodded. It was good to know that Grey was just as terrified of this thing between them. He ran a hand up her arm and to her neck, and she shivered under his touch.
He pulled her closer and gave her a sweet, promising kiss. “Now, let’s get underway. Go store your treasures, and I’ll untie the lines.”
Chapter 8
Grey
Grey pushed the ignition button again and waited. A click sounded, but again, the motor didn’t start. They’d been in open water for over an hour when the engine had sputtered and stopped. He had a bad feeling. “I have no idea what’s wrong. I just had her in for a routine maintenance check.”
Gemma laughed and then covered her mouth, her eyes shimmering with humor. “Is this the equivalent of running out of gas on a dark, lonely road?”
Grey’s eyes flew open and his arms opened wide. “You think I planned this?”
A disbelieving smirk shone clearly on her face.
He pushed the ignition button again and got the same results. “No. I totally didn’t. Don’t worry. I’ll get you home.”
“I’m not worried, but I think you’re cute to be so concerned. I’ve spent more than one night on the water, and I don’t see a problem with doing it again tonight. I mean, look at this yacht—it’s certainly more luxurious than Pops’ house.”
Grey paced in the enclosed wheelhouse. “I’ll call the Coast Guard.”
Gemma crossed her arms and made herself comfortable in the first mate’s chair as she watched Grey pace. “A bit much, don’t you think? We’re not really in any danger.”
Grey checked his phone again and ran his hand through his hair, making some of the shorter pieces of his dark brown hair stand straight up. It was important to him that Gemma believed he hadn’t set about stranding them.
“No signal strength out here. You’ve already checked six times.”
“We’ll take the lifeboat and go ashore. We’re not that far away.”
“Not the most intelligent idea you’ve had.”
Grey stopped pacing. “Well, what do you think we should do?”
She tipped her head, “Get on that high dollar satellite phone system you’ve got and put a call through to Pops and let him know I’ll be home tomorrow. Then we bunk down here for the night. If she doesn’t start tomorrow, then we call for a pickup tug.”
Grey’s shoulders slumped as he released a long sigh and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He should have thought of that. “I didn’t plan this.”
She smiled and met his gaze. “I know.” Grey smiled back and began to relax.
After they’d made the calls, Grey took her hand and led her to the galley, which was nothing short of a chef’s dream kitchen.
He opened the built-in Sub-Zero refrigerator and made a note to thank his crew. “It looks like we’re in luck. I don’t think we’ll starve.”
They made sandwiches and took them up on deck to eat in the cool ocean air with a backdrop of a billion sparkling stars. Such a romantic setting, and he couldn’t have planned it better if he had tried.
“This is really nice. I’ve not spent a night on the water in a long time. Pops used to take me and we’d watch the sunrise.”
“You’ll have to go with me the next time I deliver a yacht.”
Gemma wiped her mouth with a paper napkin. “I’ve never been on a cruise.”
“I have a trip to Bermuda coming up. We would cruise there and fly home. You’d be gone about a week.” He’d never taken anyone with him on a delivery except Xander. He’d never even considered taking anyone, but he wanted Gemma to go more than ever.
“I don’t know. I’d have to check with Pops and reschedule sessions at work. I guess Mellie and Rachel could take over the classes.”
“You don’t sound like it’s possible.”
“It’s not that. Do you ever think about having a family?”
Grey had no idea where she was going with that question. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t mean to sound like a cliché, but I want a family.” Gemma laughed. “See, I just mention the word ‘family’ and you freak out, and that’s my point. There’s nothing wrong with you feeling that way, but I do want those things. Shouldn’t we both go our own ways and find what we need?”
Grey waited for the nausea to hit like it did whenever he thought about marriage and kids. And then his forehead wrinkled when it didn’t happen. Instead, he became angry that she thought him incapable of those things. “How do you know I’m not what you need?”
By the astonished look on her face, Gemma was just as shocked by those words as he was. He watched her closely as she took another bite of her sandwich, her eyes wide with doubt. What was even more astounding—he wanted her to believe him.
After they had cleaned up and put everything away, Grey pushed a button and turned a lounge bench on the top deck into a queen-sized bed with the head tilted up like a lounger.
Gemma giggled. “Fancy.”
He pulled several quilts and pillows from a storage unit and tossed them on the bed.
“I’ll be right back. Make yourself comfortable; I’ll get us something to drink.”
Gemma had crawled onto the bed and pulled one of the blankets over her legs against the cool evening air when Grey returned with two glasses of wine.
“I hope you like red.” He handed her one of the long-stemmed glasses.
“Perfect.” She took a sip. “Velvety smooth. I bet this didn’t come out of a twenty-dollar box from Target.”
“No, it didn’t. It came from Xander’s vineyard in Greece. Just one of the perks of having a genius brother with varied interests.” Grey joined her on the bed, and they leaned back, gazing up at the stars.
“This is nice, Grey. I’m almost glad we broke down.”
They were far enough away from the shore that lights from the homes along the beach looked like tiny flickering dots.
“I’m glad your grandfather didn’t sound upset about you being out all night.”
Gemma took another sip of wine and chuckled. “He was probably thrilled.”
“Why would you say that?” Grey turned his body so he could look at her.
“Pops is always trying to push me to go out and have fun.”
“You mean you don’t date?”
“Not since I moved back home. There just hasn’t been any time what with trying to get my business up and running, and helping Pops with the charters.”
“Did you date when you lived in Raleigh?”
“Some. Not a lot, but I went out a few times.”
“Gemma, are you a…”
“No, Grey, I’m not, but I’ve not had a lot of experience. I never considered opening myself up to that before I lost weight, then after, I needed time for my insides to catch up to the outsides.�
��
He watch her stunning face instead of the beautiful sky. He found her much more fascinating. “What do you mean?”
“I didn’t know how to be anyone other than the big girl. When I looked in the mirror, I still saw overweight Gemma. Some people who lose a large amount of weight sabotage themselves into gaining the weight back. They’re familiar with being large, they know how to be overweight, and what to expect from others. It’s scary not to have a familiar identity. There’s a lot of mental growth that must happen right along with the weight loss. It’s not enough just to lose weight—you have to change the way you think and feel.”
Grey took a sip of his wine. He’d never really thought about what she’d gone through emotionally. Could some of those lingering feelings be sabotaging a relationship with him? He’d simply have to make it his mission to make sure she knew how captivating he found her. He grinned—he planned to excel at that job. “And that’s what you do now? Help others work through their problems?”
“Yes. I have a psychology and nutritional science degree. It can be as simple as changing what a person eats, or when they eat, to deeper physiological problems causing the overeating. I treat the whole person.”
“Your journey is an inspiration to others.”
“I hope so.”
Grey moved closer and pulled her against his side. He’d go slow, but he needed to kiss her. “Is this okay?”
Gemma rested her head and hand over his chest and sighed. “It’s more than okay.” She raised her head, and their lips were only a few inches apart. “Kiss me, Grey.”
His eyes were fixated on her plumb, pink lips. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but he had promised her nothing would happen. “You’re sure, Gemma?”
“I’m not sure about all the rest, but I know if you don’t kiss me in the next few seconds, I’ll be miserable.”
“We can’t have that.” Grey rolled her over on her back in a practiced move and played with the corners of her lips without giving her what she needed. The slow burn of desire began to burn deep inside him, but he fought it off and took his time kissing her sensitive neck, behind her lobes, then her head fell back, giving him complete access. Her smooth, warm skin under his lips was his new favorite thing. He paid particular attention when she moaned or caught her breath, as she helped him to discover her most sensitive spots.
Billionaires On the Beach: The Anderson Brothers Page 28