“I told you earlier I know what I’m doing, Greg,” she said gently.
He blinked, derailed by her words. Did she really mean that? But didn’t she also just admit she liked him enough to go into this fling with him? Women were funny with their feelings, weren’t they? She’d still get bruised afterwards.
“Gem, I don’t want to hurt you. You’re a good friend—”
“I know what you’re saying. But I’m still okay with it,” she said with a smile, placing a hand on his arm. “I’m sure we can manage to sneak around without being noticed.”
His chest heaved, relieved by her words.
Then he saw it.
That look in her eyes.
His heart danced like crazy, but his brain sounded a deafening alarm. He was momentarily stunned, not knowing how to respond to the confusion swirling within him.
Gemma’s smile disappeared, the sparkle in her eyes dimming. “Okay, I get it,” she said softly. “Thanks for a great one-day stand, Greg.” Then she hurried off.
“Gem, I... It’s not...” Damn it, he didn’t even know what to say next. It was too late anyway. Gemma was already gone.
Hell, he was more muddled than he’d ever been in his life. Right now all he wanted to do was run after Gemma and kiss her senseless. But hadn’t he just convinced her to end their fling?
He trudged back to the hotel, his head in a mess. His heart skipped when he caught sight of Gemma walking stiffly towards the back entrance, her posture displaying hurt.
God, he wanted to slap himself.
Then he saw Ben step out of the building.
“Gemma! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
Greg narrowed his eyes. Lucas, he knew to be playing. But Ben... he was interested in Gemma. And Greg had the strongest urge to deck the man.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Gemma sat on the sand, watching the sun cast a brilliant orange hue on the waters of the Pacific as it rose over the horizon. She inhaled deeply, trying to absorb the peace and serenity that permeated the air.
She was glad there was no one else about at the beach this morning. It was heavenly to have this place all to herself, even for just a short while. She needed this time to help soothe away the heavy sadness she felt.
She was grateful to the Carmichaels for doing whatever they could to mitigate the problems brought by Miss Z’s post on the I Know Something blog. Fortunately, there hadn’t been any new articles, although she was bracing herself for the time another one popped up.
But she hadn’t expected the news she’d seen before she left her room this morning. It was a newspaper interview with Greg—one he hadn’t mentioned to her when he ditched her yesterday.
In the article, he mainly talked about the Carmichael Corporation’s planned developments for the year, but there were a couple of paragraphs there about his private life. She guessed the interviewer just couldn’t help asking him about it.
Greg had categorically stated there was no truth to the rumour that he and Gemma were in a romantic relationship. He also confirmed he had no special someone in his life, and that he preferred to stay single.
She smiled ruefully. She’d honestly thought that she and Greg had an emotional connection. She could have sworn she felt it, and she’d been quite hopeful that Greg simply needed time to get used to the idea of a serious relationship with her.
But perhaps her feelings for him had created a false perception. Since it was now clear that Greg’s attraction to her was purely physical, she could understand why he hadn’t experienced the magic she’d felt.
Well, she wanted to find her soulmate. And if Greg truly wasn’t into commitment then it couldn’t be him, could it?
Better to take this as a bittersweet experience and move on. Greg wasn’t built for permanence and she wasn’t built for casual.
It hurt. Worse than she’d expected. But that was life.
*****
Gemma breathed deeply, telling herself not to let Magda’s upset look guilt-trip her into changing her mind.
“But it might not be safe,” Magda said insistently. “We still don’t know the man who was loitering outside your building. Then there’s that article on the internet...”
“I won’t be going back home to my place, Magda. I’d be staying at Bec’s apartment at Milsons Point, where I used to live. Since it’s one of your developments, you know the security in that building is top-notch. Lucky for me it’s still vacant, as Bec isn’t in a hurry to rent it out to someone else with all her furniture still in there.”
“The guests really love it when you play piano for them every afternoon,” Magda murmured.
“Oh, Magda,” she said, touched that this lovely woman truly wanted her to stay. “I’ll be back for your birthday next month. And you have your friends and Greg to keep you company. You won’t miss me,” she added lightly.
“Yes, I will miss you,” Magda said with conviction, then sighed. “I can’t stop you, can I?”
Gemma shook her head. “There’s no reason for me to stay here.” And every reason to go.
“I take it you’re leaving with the others tomorrow?” Magda asked.
She nodded.
“If, knock on wood, something concerning happens, we’ll be flying you back here. Deal?” Magda asked.
“Deal,” she said with a laugh, leaning over and giving Magda an affectionate hug and kiss.
She would miss Magda and this place. She’d had the most amazing time here.
And yes, she’d miss Greg most of all. But it was simply too awkward to be staying here when she still pined for him every single minute. It was stupid of her, but she couldn’t help it. So she hoped that being away from him would help her in forgetting their hot one-day stand, and the tenderness he’d shown her in the high ropes course.
*****
Gemma entered the restaurant that was a stone’s throw away from Rebecca’s apartment building, and spotted Rebecca and Sarah already sitting at a corner table. She grinned. She hadn’t seen them for almost three weeks.
“Hey, girls,” she said, bending down to kiss them. “Where are Zach and Jeff? I thought they were going to join us?”
“They’re still in a video call with clients in Perth,” Sarah said. “They said we can start. They don’t know when they’ll be finished.”
Gemma settled herself and gave the menu a cursory glance. She already knew what she wanted, so they finished ordering.
“Any news regarding your number one fan, Gem?” Rebecca asked.
“No,” she answered. “He seems to have disappeared, which is good.”
“Or he just doesn’t know that you’re staying somewhere else,” Sarah warned.
“Probably. Hopefully he’s gotten sick and tired of hanging around at my old place.”
“Fortunately, there are no new posts from Miss Z either,” Rebecca said.
“It’s kind of suspicious, don’t you think?” Sarah said. “Now that Gem’s not at the Sanctuary with Greg, those two people became quiet.”
“I didn’t want to say this while we were at the Sanctuary,” Rebecca said, “but to be honest, the two people I suspect are Liana and Annette. They both wanted you out of the way, especially since Greg kept on ignoring their advances for you.”
Gemma frowned. “But I’ve never flirted with Greg when there were other people around.”
“I’m surprised you never noticed, since you were so into Greg,” Rebecca said. “It was subtle, but everyone could see that Greg paid the most attention to you. The fact that Liana and Annette were so overt with their flirtation just highlighted it.”
“Oh. Well, he got what he wanted from me,” Gemma said lightly, although her heart constricted. “And so did I. I had a very memorable one-day stand!”
“Are you really okay?” Sarah asked softly.
She smiled. “I don’t regret any of it. Greg was amazing. Yes, I would have loved it if he’d fallen for me, but that was a foolish dream. Anyway, you’ll be glad to know I w
ent on a date a couple of times last week.”
“You did?”
“Yes. His name’s Matt and he lives in Bec’s building. He’s my new neighbour. I saw him move in and we got to chatting. He’s asked me out to dinner twice already.”
“Wow,” Sarah said. “What’s he like?”
“He’s nice.”
“Is there something there?” Rebecca asked.
“Too early to tell.”
“Have you already kissed? Or made out?”
“No,” she said with a laugh. “Apart from kisses on the cheek.”
“Are you going out with him again?” Sarah asked.
“Yes. Can’t see why not. He was good to talk to.”
“Will we get to meet him soon?”
She chuckled. “Hey, give us time. It’s only been—” She paused. “Well, I spoke too soon. He just walked in.”
Sarah and Rebecca turned their heads towards the door. “Which one is he?”
“The one in blue,” she murmured, waving to Matt, who was making his way to their table with his friend.
“Hey, Gemma,” Matt said with a wide grin. “I was just talking to Andy here about you.”
Matt introduced his cousin, and Gemma introduced the girls.
“Are you ladies waiting for your other best friends?” Matt asked, eyeing the two extra place settings on their table.
“No. Rebecca’s husband and Sarah’s fiancé will be joining us later,” Gemma answered.
Gemma tried not to smile at the disappointment on the men’s faces, especially on Andy’s. He’d looked like he couldn’t decide whether to fix his gaze on Sarah or Rebecca.
“Well then, there’s still a seat left for me,” Matt said jokingly. “Maybe I should ditch Andy and join you guys.”
“Hey!” Andy said, before staring at Gemma as well. “For some reason, you girls look familiar.”
Gemma glanced at her buddies and smiled.
“Andy, didn’t you hear that Rebecca and Sarah are taken?” Matt asked dryly. “And I saw Gemma first. Besides, that was such a bad pick-up line,” he added jokingly.
“It wasn’t a pick-up line,” Andy protested. “They really look familiar. But I don’t think I’ve met you girls before, have I?”
They shook their heads just as the general buzz in the restaurant became a low murmur.
Gemma glanced at the door and her heart galloped.
Zach and Jeff had walked in. With Greg.
Some of the women were gaping at the brothers with blatant adoration. Well, she couldn’t blame them. All three looked so damn hot and powerful in their business suits that she couldn’t help but stare as well. At Greg.
What the hell was he doing here? Wasn’t he still supposed to be at the Sanctuary?
The maitre d’ was efficiently leading the brothers to their table, sending a wordless signal to some of his staff.
A waiter, who was obviously on top of things, appeared beside them. “Excuse me, sirs,” he said with a polite smile to Matt and Andy, then proceeded to place the extra place setting on the vacant spot when the guys shuffled to give him room.
“Oh, is that for us?” Matt asked in surprise, oblivious to what was going on.
“Sorry, sir. It’s for them,” the wait staff said, gesturing behind him. “Err, do you need a bigger table?” he asked, looking at Rebecca, who’d made the booking.
“No,” Andy answered. “Now I know why you girls look familiar,” he added with an embarrassed smile.
“Hi, everyone,” the brothers greeted.
“Hi,” they answered.
“Didn’t know you’d be here, Greg,” Rebecca said.
“I flew in this morning for meetings. I’m going back tomorrow,” Greg answered, his gaze flicking to Gemma, then to the two men who were staring at the Carmichaels in awe—or intimidation. Gemma couldn’t tell.
“Um, guys, this is Matt and that’s his cousin Andy,” she said. Then she introduced the brothers as they shook hands.
“It’s great to meet you,” Andy gushed. “I was just saying earlier that these ladies looked familiar, but I couldn’t place them. I must have seen photos of them with you.”
“Oh, so you’ve just met?” Greg asked.
“I just met them this evening, yes,” Andy answered. “Matt here knows Gemma. Well, we better leave you to it.”
“Yes, it was a pleasure meeting you guys,” Matt said, then he turned to Gemma. “See you later?”
“Sure,” she answered.
Matt smiled, touching Gemma’s shoulder as he walked away.
“Who was that?” Greg asked, his eyes boring on Gemma.
“My new neighbour,” she answered, her breathing still shallow. Geez, Gemma. Relax. It’s only Greg.
“How was your meeting?” Sarah asked.
Jeff answered, sharing generous details, and Gemma’s heartbeat started to settle.
But all through dinner, she was aware of Greg’s brooding silence.
And her heart desperately wanted to reach out to him.
She shushed it. What had kept her sane in the last few weeks was to try not to feel. She didn’t want to falter from that now.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Greg tried to enjoy dinner, but he couldn’t let go of the question that had been plaguing him since Matt placed his hand on Gemma’s shoulder.
Anyone could tell from Matt’s demeanour that he liked Gemma. Was Gemma dating the guy?
The possibility made him lose his appetite.
“So Greg, you flying back tomorrow?” Rebecca asked.
“Yes, around midday,” he answered, mentally ordering himself to show some manners and join the conversation.
“How’s Magda?” Gemma asked.
“She asked me to tell you to come back,” he said with a smile. “She misses your music.”
“She has a whole band there at her beck and call,” Gemma said with a chuckle.
“She’s partial to your piano playing.”
“Well, we’ll be there again for her eighty-first birthday.”
“That’s still two weeks to go,” he pointed out.
Frankly, he missed Gemma like crazy, too. It had shocked him when she’d left abruptly three weeks ago. He was still recovering from it, and was getting by through working his ass off. Fortunately, there was enough work to wade through, business partners to make deals with, and a high ropes course to keep conquering.
Unfortunately, every time he’d been on the adventure course—the zip-line and the rope ladder, in particular—he’d been hit by a sadness he couldn’t fathom. All he knew was he had to see Gemma again. That was why he was here.
This craving for a woman as strongly as he craved Gemma was alien to him. More surprisingly, he was already approaching the one-month mark since he’d had that incredible day with her, and his desire was still as strong as ever. Even when she was not around.
Worse, self-satisfaction simply wasn’t enough and he couldn’t find a woman he wanted to release the tension with. Oh, there were a few who’d be happy for him to call at a moment’s notice, but the prospect of being with any of them fizzled his lust, only for it to flare up again when he thought of Gemma. Which was all the fucking time.
What the hell was wrong with him?
*****
“I’ll walk you to your place, Gem,” Greg said when they exited the restaurant. “I happened to park not far from there.”
“Uh, should we be seen alone together?” Gemma asked.
Hell, he didn’t care anymore who took snaps of them. He just wanted to talk to her in private... even if he had no idea what he was going to say.
“I think the magazines have been too quiet about us. Shouldn’t we be nice and give them some material?” he joked.
Gemma frowned at him.
“Hey, I just want to be a gentleman and walk you to your door,” he said with a grin.
“I think it should be okay,” Zach said. “The apartment is close by, and we have eyes and ears around to watch
for anyone suspicious. Greg’s right. You shouldn’t walk alone by yourself, Gem, even though home is only a few minutes away. It’s late.”
Gemma snickered. “You’re starting to sound like Ash on big-brotherly mode, Zach. It’s safe around here.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, I have a confession to make.” Zach clasped Greg on the shoulder. “I wanna make sure my little brother here is fine. He hasn’t been himself lately. Maybe you could try and pry things out of him and report back to me?”
“Oh, please. I’m perfectly fine,” Greg said, lying through his teeth.
*****
“We’re here,” Gemma said, turning to Greg. “Thanks for walking with me.”
Greg raised an eyebrow. They were on the path leading to her building. They weren’t even inside yet. “I said I’ll walk you to your front door.”
“Oh,” Gemma said, looking hesitant. “Okay.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets, his forehead creasing. Was she trying to avoid Matt seeing them together? The thought depressed him further.
Before Matt and Andy had left the restaurant, they’d said goodbye to their group. From Matt’s comments to Gemma, and Gemma’s response, it appeared the two had gone out to dinner before, and were planning a repeat. Worse, Matt’s hand had once again squeezed Gemma’s shoulder. God, he’d wanted to twist Matt’s wrist for that intimate gesture.
They got to the elevators.
“So I guess this is really goodnight,” Gemma said with a laugh, sounding nervous. “Thanks for walking me, Greg.”
He stared at Gemma. She truly seemed to want him gone. Well, he had to respect her wishes.
He gave her a smile, hoping it didn’t look as fake as it felt. “I actually meant to walk you to your front door,” he said quietly, his chest growing heavier by the second. “But it’s okay. I’ll go now. Goodnight, Gem. Take care.” He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. Then he walked away.
“Greg?”
He turned to look at her.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he said, although he mustn’t have looked it because Gemma frowned, scrutinising him.
“Come upstairs?” she asked, concern etched on her face.
At Last (Time for Love, #5) Page 10