Only with You

by Lauren Layne

  Gray waited impatiently for Jeff to come into his office and talk about whatever it was he’d come up to this floor to discuss. But when he looked up five minutes later and saw no sign of Jeff, his suspicions were confirmed. His vice president of sales hadn’t come up to discuss business with the CEO.

  He’d come up to flirt with the CEO’s secretary.

  Gray’s mood officially moved from irritable to downright ornery, and he had the irrational urge to bring Sophie’s mood down with him. This was a workplace, not a carnival. She should at least try to show some signs of being professional.

  In a rare moment of pique, Gray wanted to get under her skin. To show her that life wasn’t all about bunnies and rainbows and that she couldn’t manipulate everything to go her way.

  “Ms. Dalton, can you come in here for a moment?” he called.

  She appeared at his doorway. “Sure, what’s up?”

  He noticed she didn’t correct him and tell him to call her Sophie. Perhaps she didn’t care anymore.

  “When you’ve finished pulling last week’s numbers, I was hoping you could do a quick personal favor for me. I’d do it myself but I’m slammed with phone calls over the next couple hours.”

  “Definitely, what do you need?” she asked. Her words were all acquiescence, but her expression had turned guarded.

  “I need you to send some flowers.”

  “Flowers?”

  “Yes, flowers,” he said, feeling suddenly invigorated. “The biggest arrangement you can find.”

  “And to whom am I sending this blatantly cliché arrangement?”

  “Whom do you think?” He smiled thinly. “Your sister.”

  It was a lousy thing to do. He’d had no inclination of pursuing things with Brynn, and now she’d probably get the wrong idea about his interest level.

  And the stricken look on Sophie’s face was supposed to make him feel satisfied. Instead he felt…petty.

  What am I doing?

  Gray had spent the past few weeks making a concentrated effort to separate his personal life from his professional life and now he here he was deliberately entangling the two.

  He just hoped he could untangle them before he got in over his head.

  Gray watched Sophie walk slowly back to her desk, noting the slight hunch in her shoulders. Something in his chest seemed to tighten at the sight.

  Shit.

  He was already in over his head.

  * * *

  Brynn was putting on her well-rehearsed big-sister-knows-best routine, but Sophie wasn’t buying it.

  “There’s absolutely no way, Brynn. Why would I want to go on a double date with you and Gray? Hell, why would anybody?”

  Brynn carefully folded her hands and placed them in her lap. “You’re always saying how you and Grayson don’t get along. I think spending some time together out of the office would do you both good. Allow you to see each other’s nonwork side.”

  I’ve seen his nonwork side. And that charming side of him assumed I was a hooker.

  Sophie buried her face in her gin and tonic. “But a double date? What are we going to do, hang out with the high school kids at the ice-cream parlor?”

  Will returned from the bar with refills on their drinks and took the seat beside Sophie. “What are we talking about?”

  Sophie nodded toward Brynn. “She’s still at it.”

  Will snorted and took a sip of Brynn’s drink. “Get off it, Dalton. Only desperate couples go on double dates. If you’re still begging, things with the iceberg must be a mess.”

  “My relationship is not a mess,” Brynn said, grabbing her champagne glass out of Will’s hand. “Well, actually, it’s not quite a relationship. But we’re…working at it.”

  Will gave her a derisive look. “I thought that nonrelationship was over. What’s the point in giving it a second shot if you’re already describing it as work?”

  Brynn fiddled with the small napkin beneath her glass. “Yeah, I kind of thought we’d agreed that it wasn’t going anywhere too,” she said in a small voice. “But then he sent these really beautiful flowers…”

  “I sent the flowers,” Sophie said grumpily.

  “Because Grayson told you to,” Brynn said pointedly.

  Sophie took another sip of her drink, trying to wash away the sting of the memory. She didn’t even know why Gray’s request bothered her. It wasn’t like she thought Gray would actually be interested in her. They might have enough sexual tension to burn down their entire office building, but he didn’t even pretend to like her as a person. She’d forever be the slut in the elevator.

  So of course she’d known that he wouldn’t choose her.

  But did he have to choose Brynn? They had about as much chemistry as two ice cubes. She thought that dull nonrelationship was over.

  On the plus side, whatever dopey affection Gray apparently felt toward Brynn didn’t seem to be mutual. Sophie had been watching her sister carefully all night.

  It was tricky to spot the differences between Happy Brynn and Worried Brynn. They both wore the same smile, never frowned, and never rose their voices. But unbeknownst to Brynn, she had a tell. She chewed her right ring fingernail when she was worried about something.

  And right now, said fingernail was a mangled mess.

  Trouble in boring land, Sophie thought with a little thrill of glee.

  Still, denying Brynn such a simple favor felt…wrong. Spending an evening with Gray and Brynn together would be painful, but it wouldn’t kill her.

  Heck, it might even help dissolve whatever weird pull the man had on her.

  And she and Will had pretended to be a couple plenty of times in the past for family parties and work events.

  She could do this.

  “So if we do this,” Sophie said slowly, “what and where are we talking about? Just like dinner or drinks, right?”

  Will groaned. “Don’t cave, Soph. This entire conversation feels like something out of a teen movie.”

  Brynn gestured toward a group of leggy brunettes in the corner. “Speaking of teens, that little group of chlamydia carriers over there is making come-hither glances at you.”

  Will turned to look at the girls in question before giving a slow smile. “Very nice,” he said with an appreciative second glance.

  “Don’t let us keep you,” Brynn said with a wave. “In fact, since you’ve been such a good friend to Sophie all these years, I’ll even give you a five-minute start before calling the cops and letting them know that there’s a child predator buying appletinis for high school sophomores.”

  “To be fair, I think they must at least be juniors,” Sophie mused. “Look at the one on the end; she has boobs.”

  “Damn fine ones too,” Will said with a wink as he stood. “Much as I’m enjoying this riveting talk about that piece of granite you two call ‘lover’ and ‘boss,’ I’m sensing far more beneficial company over in that corner.”

  “That’s disgusting,” Brynn muttered as Will grabbed his beer and wandered away.

  “Oh, come on,” Sophie chided. “They’re not really teenagers. They can’t be much younger than us.”

  Sophie frowned when Brynn didn’t respond. “Everything okay?” Sophie asked, noticing that her sister’s eyes had gone from murderous to sad.

  “I guess,” Brynn said, not taking her eyes off her glass. “Just a little headache.”

  Sophie eyed Brynn’s champagne. Alcohol surely wasn’t going to help a headache, but she didn’t say anything. Bossy, judgmental comments were Brynn’s territory, not Sophie’s.

  “Are you sure you really want to date Gray?” Sophie asked, trying to keep her voice gentle.

  Brynn nodded enthusiastically, but her eyes looked a little…numb.

  Good lord, it’s like she’s a Stepford girlfriend, Sophie realized in horror.

  “I think things could be great!” Brynn said woodenly. “Did he tell you I bought him a tie? He said he wore it today.”

  Sophie’s heart twist
ed, but she pasted a smile on her face. Maybe things were more serious than she’d realized. Then again, Gray hadn’t mentioned it, and Sophie certainly hadn’t noticed anything special about today’s tie.

  She seemed to vaguely recall monochromatic stripes that looked like every other tie he owned.

  This is your sister, she reminded herself firmly. Be supportive.

  “Totally. It was just Gray’s style,” she said, patting Brynn’s hand reassuringly.

  “What was just my style?”

  Sophie’s head snapped up as she stared at her boss in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

  Both he and Sophie glanced at Brynn, who was suddenly extremely preoccupied with her phone.

  “You didn’t tell them?” Gray asked, looking unbearably awkward.

  Oh, Brynny, what did you do?

  “No, no, of course we were expecting you!” Sophie lied, taking pity on him and patting the chair between herself and Brynn.

  Gray sat, looking stiff as usual. Despite the fact that they were in a grubby little pub, he hadn’t bothered to change out of his suit and looked painfully out of place.

  “Look, if the double-date thing is uncomfortable, we can call it off,” Gray said, glancing at Sophie.

  “No, no. Not at all. It’ll be nice to get to know each other better,” she said lamely.

  He looked vaguely queasy at the notion. “I’ll need a drink,” Gray said, glancing desperately at the bar.

  He walked away and Sophie dug her nails into her sister’s arm. “You seem to have neglected to mention that the double date was tonight.”

  Brynn’s pale blue eyes pleaded with her. “A tiny omission, and only because I knew you’d say no. Please? I just thought that maybe he might loosen up a bit more around you and Will. When it’s just the two of us, he’s always so…guarded.”

  Sophie didn’t have the heart to tell Brynn that “guarded” was simply who Gray was. Barbara Walters could take a shot at him and he wouldn’t crack.

  “Where’s Will?” Gray asked, returning to the table with a beer.

  “Oh, you know…he’s over there,” Sophie said, waving her hand over her shoulder.

  She winced as Gray’s eyes found her “date.” She didn’t have to turn around to know that her best friend probably had his hand on some twenty-year-old’s thigh.

  “I probably should have told you that Sophie and Will aren’t exactly together,” Brynn said hurriedly.

  “I know. Sophie already told me.”

  Brynn’s head snapped back slightly and her forehead showed the briefest ripple before resuming its usual smooth perfection.

  Sophie felt a wince of sympathy for her sister. Gray was a workaholic, which meant that no matter how many flowers Brynn received, Sophie was still the one who would be spending more time with him. Not a fact that control-freak Brynn would take kindly to.

  Still, Sophie’s sympathy had limits. After all, this entire mess was Brynn’s own fault. If she hadn’t gone meddling in Sophie’s unemployment status, then they wouldn’t be in this awkward situation.

  Sophie noticed that Brynn had barely touched her second glass of champagne, and was pressing her fingers into her temple. Apparently her little headache wasn’t so little.

  “Are you all right?” Gray asked, putting a hand gently on Brynn’s shoulder.

  Brynn gave a pathetic excuse for a smile and shook her head. “Just a sinus headache or something. I’m thinking maybe you all were right. This wasn’t my best idea.”

  “You think?” Sophie said under her breath.

  “I’m sorry about this,” Brynn said weakly. “Maybe we should call it a night?”

  Sophie glanced at her almost-full gin and tonic. “You guys go ahead. I’ll stay and finish my drink. Plus I’ll need to be Will’s second if one of those girls’ daddies comes after him with a shotgun.”

  “Let’s get you into a cab,” Gray said to Brynn, helping her to her feet. “You shouldn’t be driving if your headache’s that bad.”

  “You don’t have your car?” she asked.

  Gray shook his head. “I walked. I only live two blocks away.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize,” Brynn murmured before shooting a nervous glance at Sophie.

  Sophie pretended fascination with the football game on TV, trying not to react to what Brynn had just given away.

  Brynn doesn’t know where he lives. She’s never been to his house. Never been in his bed…

  Still, it didn’t necessarily mean what Sophie hoped it meant. Could be that they’d only done the nasty at Brynn’s town house.

  Brynn’s eyes fell on Gray’s untouched drink. “You know, why don’t you stay?” she said in her bossiest voice. “You haven’t even had a chance to drink your beer.”

  “At least let me get you into the cab,” he said stiffly.

  Will materialized out of nowhere. “I’ll drive her home.”

  Brynn sneered. “If you think I’m going to climb into your little identity crisis of a car, you’re insane. I’ll probably get an STD just from touching the seat belt.”

  “Yeah, because a cab is such a better option to avoid nasty diseases,” Will said as he plucked Brynn’s coat from the back of her chair. “C’mon, it’ll give you a chance to critique my driving, and I know how turned on you get by nagging.”

  Brynn bit her lip, looking unsure of herself. She glanced at Gray, but as usual, his expression was a blank mask.

  “Take Will up on it,” Sophie urged. “It’s pouring out, so you’ll have a hard time finding a cab anyway.”

  “Fine,” Brynn conceded. “But I get to pick the radio station, and we are not talking.”

  “Which sucks because I was so hoping to hear all about your Valentine’s Day plans,” Will snapped. “Let’s go, I wanna get out of here before the Barbies over there realize I’m not going over to their place to play strip darts.”

  Sophie looked away as Gray and Brynn said good-bye. She thought she saw a tepid cheek-kiss out of the corner of her eye, but couldn’t be sure. She waved after Brynn and Will, and watched as Gray resumed his seat and grabbed his beer.

  “We can do separate tables if you want,” Sophie said. “I didn’t mean to trap you into spending more time with me than you have to.”

  He lifted a shoulder, but didn’t seem to be anxiously glancing around for an escape route. She waited for her own compulsion to put distance between them to kick in, but the urge never came. Sophie almost smiled. Who would have thought that merely tolerating sitting at the same table with another person could be described as “progress”?

  “So,” she said, taking a sip of her drink, “things between you and Brynn, they seem…you know…well, how are they?”

  He gave her a look. “Don’t push it. No chatter.”

  Sophie mimed zipping her lips. “Got it. Brynn talk is strictly off-limits…So your sister called the office today. Jenna? She seems nice. You never mentioned what she—”

  “Sophie,” Gray interrupted.

  “Yeah?”

  “When we were trapped in that elevator, I asked you if we could be quiet and not talk. You said no.”

  She nodded. “Right. Because I am not a mime.”

  “Well, the thing is…” He looked at her, then looked away. “I’m asking you again. Can we sit here and not talk? Maybe catch this football game? People-watch?”

  Sophie set her glass down with a sharp clink. “If you want me to leave, you can just say so.”

  This time he met her eyes. “That’s the thing. I don’t want you to leave. I want…company. But, you know, quiet company. Can you do that?”

  Caught off guard, she looked at him more closely, taking in the strained creases around his eyes and the atypical wrinkles in his suit jacket. But it was the soft expression in his eyes that got to her. She felt something kind of warm and melty rush through her belly. Must be the gin.

  But what if it wasn’t the gin?

  Oh dear.

  Feeling off-balance, she foun
d herself nodding. “Okay. Quiet company it is.”

  Gray didn’t bother to hide the relief that flickered across his tense features. He shrugged off his suit jacket, and Sophie did her best to stare at the TV screen instead of his exposed forearms as he rolled his shirt up to his elbows. The more-casual Gray unnerved her.

  Her mouth felt dry and she swallowed nervously. She couldn’t help it. She didn’t even know what she was going to say, she had to fill the silence. “So, have you ever wondered—”

  Gray learned forward slightly, setting a finger gently across her lips to stop her words. He looked surprised by his own action, and then gave the smallest shake of his head.

  “Okay,” she whispered, unable to look away from his stare. The corner of his mouth turned up slightly. Sophie began to sweat. When had it become so freaking hot in the pub?

  Then he turned slightly, and the moment was over. Gray put all of his attention on the TV screen, and Sophie let out a breath and tried to do the same.

  She didn’t know how long they sat there in companionable silence, but it got easier the longer they did. He wordlessly fetched them another round of drinks, and instead of feeling bored and panicked, she felt…content.

  This is weird, she thought. I’m playing the silent game with my boss.

  But then she found herself smiling.

  Because it was also kind of nice.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Does this little toy car of yours have heated seats?” Brynn asked as she peered at the fancy buttons of his sports car.

  Wordlessly Will punched a button and turned his attention back to the road. Brynn studied him out of the corner of her eye. They might not get along, but she’d known him long enough to know that silence and Will were never a good combination. Her body went on high alert.

  “You shouldn’t have offered me a ride if you were going to sulk the entire time,” she said.

  “Had I known you were going to chatter the whole way, I probably wouldn’t have offered.”

  Brynn straightened her shoulders and gazed out of the passenger window and tried not to let his words sting. He’d never made a secret that he didn’t like her, but she couldn’t quite understand why her company was so repellant to him. And she really couldn’t understand why someone as open, loving, and sweet as her younger sister had befriended such a selfish oaf. His entire existence revolved around casual sex and business ventures. He had zero substance.