by Fallon Hart
“I’d have known in an instant the moment your sister switched with you,” his tone hardened. “And you’re not who I thought you were if you could do that to me.”
Tears burned in my eyes. It was the first time since he’d discovered my identity that he let me hear his hurt. I knew I’d hurt him. Deep down I knew. But it was worse hearing the slip of emotion in his tone.
“I couldn’t have gone through with it,” I whispered. “Not after we…”
“Fucked, Scarlett.” He was cool, collected now. “All we did was fuck.”
I turned away from him because I couldn’t stop the tear that slipped out. I couldn’t explain why his coldness toward me hurt so much. It shouldn’t hurt this much. As discreetly as possible I brushed the tear away, blinking back the rest, and we continued on our journey in absolute silence.
Traffic kept us in the car longer than we should have because we were only travelling to Beacon Hill. Amelia and Quentin owned a beautiful multi-million dollar townhouse on Revere Street. The last time we visited Amelia had given me a tour. The front door opened into a beautifully-decorated sitting area with a gas-fire and modern surround. Beyond that was a dining area. All the walls were white but Amelia still maintained a grand but comfortable look with gleaming walnut floorboards throughout, broken up with rugs in warm woven fabrics. Although her fabric choices were all creams and light coffees, the choice of dark woods against the white really added an unexpected warmth. A large staircase in white and dark wood stood opposite the front door leading upstairs. Behind it, near the dining area, a staircase also led downstairs to a den and a fourth bedroom. The second floor housed another gorgeous fireplace with a comfortable corner sofa and seating area. It shared the open plan space with a high-spec modern kitchen and island. The staircase led off the kitchen up to the third and final floor where there were three generous bedrooms. Amelia and Quentin’s master included a stunning bathroom.
It was a beautiful home and it wasn’t tiny at a generous twenty-five hundred square feet but I remembered marveling when Griff told me it was worth just under three million dollars. Three million dollars for only twenty-five hundred square feet. That was what living in the heart of Beacon Hill bought you. It boggled my mind to even consider how much The Patrician was worth.
The driver pulled up to the stunning townhouse and got out to open the door for us. When I slid out after Griff he stared at me for a moment. Then he showed visible reluctance when he held out his hand. As if he was afraid my touch was toxic.
Trying not to appear hurt I tentatively took his hand, confused by the way he squeezed it reflexively before loosening his grip. Holding my hand like he was being forced to he led me up the front stoop of the townhouse. The door flew open before we could knock and Amelia stood before us in a beautiful white cocktail dress that matched her home. She ushered us inside. A chorus of “Surprise!” hit us from the guests who were crowded into the first floor.
My stomach dropped.
How the hell were we going to make it through this?
CHAPTER TWO
“Okay, so what on earth is going on with you and Griff?”
I stumbled back into the bathroom in surprise at finding Amelia waiting for me right outside the door. I’d asked to use her private bathroom on the third floor to escape the crowded first and second floors. Apparently she’d followed me.
I caught my footing and pressed a hand to my chest. “You scared the bejesus out of me.”
She sat at the end of her and Quentin’s bed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Mel, what is going on? Last Quentin and I saw you, you and Griff were newly engaged and he couldn’t keep his hands off you.”
I flushed at the memory of our time in Wickford. It was less than two weeks ago but it felt like another lifetime.
“Now you’re avoiding each other. I don’t think anyone else has noticed—they think you’re both mingling. But I’m nosy and I can see Griff shooting you wounded, longing looks, and you shooting him guilty and then angry looks. So what’s going on?”
My God she really was too perceptive for her own good.
Deciding to stick to something closely resembling the truth, I blurted out, “I caught him kissing another woman.”
Her eyes widened. “No. No way.”
“I saw it with my own eyes, Amelia.”
“What… I don’t understand. He looks as if he’d cut down anyone who so much as tried to touch you. Why would he kiss another woman?”
Scrambling for something that might appease the romantic in her I replied, “He said she kissed him and he… well he said that he only kissed her back because he was feeling overwhelmed by us.”
“Silly man,” she tutted. “Scared of his own feelings.”
Relieved that Amelia was buying it, I nodded. “I believe him but I’m also hurt. He wants me to just get over it.”
“Hence the longing, wounded looks?”
I didn’t think Griff was sending me longing, wounded looks. She was misinterpreting the betrayal in them.
“And you’re angry but feel guilty that you can’t just get over it?”
I almost wanted to give myself a pat on the back. Sticking to a version of the truth worked out great. “Right. I will get over it. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think I would. I just need time.”
Amelia sighed and stood up. She crossed the room to take hold of my upper arms and she gave me a little shake. “You have every right to be hurt. But, Melanie, life is too short to hold onto this. That man downstairs is head over heels in love with you. I have never seen Griff with someone the way he is with you. And I’m so glad that it is you. If he had fallen in love with one of those money-grabbing morons he screwed around with I would have screamed.”
I smirked at the idea. Griff wasn’t capable of falling in love with anyone. He was too closed off. “I promise to try harder.”
Satisfied, Amelia led me back down to the first floor where Griff was talking near the dining table with Quentin and some guy whose name I couldn’t remember. The chatter of the guests, the hemmed in feeling of too many people crowded into the townhouse, made me feel antsy. On top of my not knowing what was going to happen with Griff and our deal, I started to feel a little lightheaded. I wandered over to him and curled my hand around his bicep.
He instinctually tensed under my touch and I sucked in a breath. Griff relaxed, realizing what he was giving away.
“Can we talk?” I asked.
Amelia, listening in, gestured to the staircase that led to the ground floor. “You can use the den.”
Griff narrowed his eyes on her before looking at me in accusation. I took his hand, holding it tight, and thankfully he followed me downstairs.
The hum of the party still filled the den but I finally felt like I could breathe. Glancing upstairs, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Amelia at the top of them listening in. Griff opened his mouth but I put my finger to my lips to shush him and then walked through the den to the guest bedroom where silence reigned.
Griff followed me in and I shut the door. “Amelia ambushed me upstairs. She knows something is wrong between us.”
He exhaled an exasperated breath. “Bloody woman. What did you tell her?”
“I stuck to the truth. I told her I caught you kissing another woman.”
He glowered. “Nicely done.”
“Hey, I know what I’m doing. I fed her a line about how you got overwhelmed by us and did something stupid you regretted. It explained the weirdness between us and she bought it. Right now she thinks we’re down here making up.”
Griff crossed his arms over his chest and gave me a brittle nod. “Fine.”
I ran a shaky hand through my hair. “I don’t feel great. I hate crowds like this and… May we leave?”
He studied me a moment. “If Amelia thinks we’re down here making up she’d probably believe I’d want to leave immediately to make up with you in bed.” I flushed at the thought and Griff scoffed. “All those blushes. I’m a
n idiot for not realizing who you were sooner.” His eyes narrowed as they raked down my body and back up again. “Funny how those blushes disappear entirely when we fuck. In fact,” his gaze darkened with lust, “You turn into a veritable animal when I put my hands on you. All biting and clawing and need. Were you like that for your husband or am I special?”
Indignation curled my hands into fists at my sides. “He has nothing to do with us.”
Something like triumph glittered in his expression. “I’ll take that to mean only I’ve had the pleasure of seeing that side of you.”
A sick, guilty feeling nestled in my gut. It was a feeling I’d been trying to keep buried for weeks. Because the truth was that I’d never physically wanted my husband the way I wanted Griffin Mandeville and it felt like such a betrayal toward an honorable young man who I’d loved dearly. It made no sense. The guilt made me angry and Griff was an available target. “Well, unlike you, my husband loved me. He didn’t treat me like a whore.”
Griff’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve already apologized for this morning. As for the other night, I didn’t treat you like a whore.” He took a step toward me and I instinctually stepped back. Griff scowled. “You and your husband were young. I imagine the sex was all fumbling and politeness, so maybe I should forgive your confusion… But what you and I did? That’s how grown-ups fuck.”
The first, unforgiveable thought that entered my mind was, did that mean that what Griff and I had wasn’t as unusual as I’d thought? Was sex that explosive for him all the time?
I immediately chastised myself for the thought. Who cared? It was never happening again.
“I’m not staying down here to exchange barbs with you. Clearly you’re better at it than I am.”
Something flickered in Griff’s expression. Yesterday I might have been naïve enough to think it was remorse. I knew better today. “Fine.” His voice was flat. “Let’s leave.”
We made it out of Amelia and Quentin’s with smiles on our faces. Only Amelia and Quentin sensed the brittleness in our countenance but at least they were misguided about the reason. Griff held my hand as we walked through the townhouse and out onto the stoop. He only let it go when we reached the car and then he dropped it like my touch burned.
That smarted but I ignored it and got into the town car and waited for him to get in too. As soon as the privacy glass was up between us and the driver, I turned to Griff. “You have to make a decision. If you want me to sign a contract and stay then you need to agree to forgive me for lying. No more taking jabs at me.”
Silence greeted me.
It lasted a while, making my stomach revolt with butterflies. It wasn’t until we were almost back at The Patrician that Griff replied. “If I don’t, you’re telling me Octavius will take it out on you and your sister?”
Did he care?
I kept my expression neutral. “That’s my problem, not yours.”
His dark gaze held mine, unreadable as always. “I don’t forgive easily, Scarlett.”
Disappointment, misery, and concern washed over me. There was a huge part of me, the part that cared about my own self-preservation that thought leaving Griff was for the best. But a bigger part was more concerned about what would happen to my sister. However, as I’d said, that wasn’t Griff’s problem. Could I live with him if his intention was to inflict emotional distress on me every day? Could I put up with that to help out Mel?
The car stopped and the driver got out to open our door.
“I don’t want to stay here to be an available target for your vitriol.” With that I got out of the car and knew instinctively he wouldn’t follow.
I made my way up the steps to the entrance of The Patrician, listening to the car pull away with Griff still inside it.
What the hell would I do if he ended our arrangement? How did I protect Mel then?
CHAPTER THREE
Griff left me to stew for a few days. By the time Xavier came to inform me that my fake fiancé wanted to see me in his office I was less than amused. For three days I’d stayed in my room, avoiding everyone as I waited for news from Griff.
I had to wonder if he kept me waiting just to torture me and I was feeling pretty impatient and pissed about the whole thing. Our time to elope to Martha’s Vineyard had come and gone. I had emails piling up from Hayley, our wedding planner, and I’d avoided two calls from Octavius.
Knocking on Griff’s office door I waited for his invitation and pushed the door open. It was the first time I’d seen him in three days. Unlike our last confrontation in his office he sat behind his desk, his elbows braced on the arm of his office chair. His body language was casual but his eyes dragged down my body and then followed my movements with the study of a big cat lazing in the sun—he was currently mellow but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t strike at any moment.
“Laundry day?” Griff queried, his tone droll.
I sat down in the chair opposite his desk, not rising to the bait. Since I’d had no intention of venturing out of my room today, I was wearing a pair of black yoga pants and an oversized sweater that slouched off one shoulder. Griff’s gaze lingered on my naked collarbone for a second before returning to my face.
“You rang?”
The corner of his mouth kicked up. “I get the impression you don’t like being summoned to my office, Scarlett.”
I shrugged. “I’m your employee. You call, I come.” I regretted the word choice.
Amusement danced in Griff’s dark gaze but thankfully he didn’t pounce on the opening I’d given him.
Instead he sat up straight, his demeanor all business-like. “Speaking of, we need to discuss your future here.”
I nodded and my heart began to race. The truth was I didn’t know what I wanted him to say. Did I want to stay? Or would I be safer leaving?
“I don’t want to go through the hassle of finding someone new.”
Trying to sound calm and collected I replied, “Meaning you want me to stay?”
“Reluctantly yes.”
I winced and bit my lip to stop a defensive retort.
His brows drew together. “When someone I’ve hired breaks my trust that’s usually the end of our relationship.”
“That’s fair.” And it was.
“But we’ve laid a lot of groundwork together and I’m running out of time. You’ll stay and we’ll draw contracts up in your name.”
Uneasiness and relief mingled together in my gut. I was stunned. I’d honestly expected him to end our arrangement. “Alright.”
“Let’s state things plainly. What happened between us won’t happen again. It shouldn’t have happened in the first place because you’re my employee. There was an attraction which has now been killed by mistrust and I believe that works out for the best, don’t you?”
A twinge of pain flared right in my chest. However, I held myself poised and expressionless. “Agreed.”
“We’re going to tell those closest to us who you really are. Scarlett Jennings the librarian. I’ll tell Xavier and Pete. They can inform the rest of the staff. And we’ll tell Amelia and Quentin. The new excuse for the hostility between us: I was being a bastard snob about your background and you were tired of it. We’ve agreed to be upfront about who you are for the sake of our relationship. This means, if you wish it, you are free to return to your job as a librarian.”
I was shocked. “But I thought it was easier for you for me to pretend to be a socialite. Won’t this create a scandal?”
Griff leaned his elbows on the desk. “Probably. But I think it’s best to get it all out of the way. Once they find this out around the same time we ‘elope’ they can chew on it together. There was always the chance of someone finding out the truth. I underestimated how interested the gossip rags would be in us. It’s best we let this out ourselves.”
“If you think that’s best. And yes, I would like to return to work if they’ll have me.”
He studied me. “I never told Melanie this because I didn’t trust her for
different reasons but you should know that on top of the confidentiality contracts there will be a very concrete prenuptial agreement I’ll need you to sign before our marriage. In it, it states that upon our divorce you’ll get nothing. And there will be no infidelity clause.”
The thought of Griff touching another woman seared me deeper than the cold way he spoke of the prenuptial agreement. The truth was the prenup didn’t bother me. I didn’t want Griff’s money. But I didn’t like the idea of him cheating even if it wouldn’t really be cheating. I kept that to myself. “That’s fine. I don’t want your money, Griffin.”
“That remains to be seen.”
I glared. “If I agree will I be subjected to your constant mistrust?”
He stood and rounded the desk. Leaning back against it, he gazed down at me emotionless. “I don’t trust you but I agree to keep my thoughts on that matter to myself in the future.”
I could see that while I was hiding these last few days Griff was building walls. The attraction that had gleamed in his dark eyes was gone. He felt nothing for me. I stupidly wanted to run back to my bedroom and bawl my eyes out. Which was insane! I couldn’t possibly have feelings for this man.
Nope.
And the attraction? Well if he’d killed his I could kill mine.
“Fine.” I stood to leave. “I’ll sign the contracts and the prenup once you have them. Now I’m going to go do the unpleasant task of telling Octavius.”
“He still got what he wanted out of this so I’m sure you’ll have no problems there.”
Wanting to be out of his presence so I could figure out how I really felt about all this, I shrugged. “We done here?”
“We’re done.” He rounded his desk. “I’ll let you know what our new schedule is tomorrow.”
“No dinner tonight?” I asked.
“I’m too busy.”
Ignoring the stabbing hurt that flared with every second sentence out of his mouth, I left the office and went in search for Xavier. If I was staying here as me, as Scarlett, I was making changes immediately. I found the butler in the kitchens.