Bewitching You (11 page)

Rachel wept before him, pathetically. What the hell was wrong with her? The worst was said and done. He could forgive her and move on. That was possible. He had control over his own feelings, at least.

“You don’t have to tell me,” he said, trying to comfort her. Did he really want to know who it was anyway? “Nobody’s perfect. Just say it was a mistake, and we can forget all about it.” Some of his plan could be salvaged, at any rate. He could tell her about losing his job and they’d be even. It would all work out.

“I can’t forget. I’ve tried, but he won’t leave me alone.”

“Who?” Gray tensed. If someone were threatening his fiancée, he’d kill him.

She sobbed. “It was Hayes. I slept with Hayes.”

“My brother?” Gray’s voice cracked as the air was sucked from his lungs. This couldn’t be true.

“I’m so sorry.”

He put a hand up. “No. Don’t do that. Don’t apologize to me. Hayes wouldn’t have done that to me. Why are you lying about this?” Hayes might have acted like a fool all his life, but he’d had values and a strong loyalty to Gray. The brothers had made a pact in high school that they would never let a woman get between them. Ever.

You don’t sleep with my girl and I won’t sleep with yours
. Gray clearly remembered the words they’d said on a handshake one night after a party where Christie McCrery had attempted to play them against each other. The evening had almost ended in a fistfight between brothers, until they realized how stupid they were being by choosing a woman over each other.

“This is bullshit.”

“I’m telling the truth, Grayson. I understand if you want to cancel the wedding.” She placed her freezing cold hand on his forearm.

He stepped away from her grasp, thinking her touch might tip the scales of his shaky balance. His sanity. Anger and uncertainty raced through his veins, making him woozy.

“Rachel, if any part of this is true, not only do I not want to marry you, I never want to see you again. And Hayes? My God. I can’t believe it happened. You were never even alone with him.”

“When you were away on business.” She swiped at a tear. “He came over then.”

“The weekend before he died? Is that when you’re saying it happened?” His gut clenched. If his memory of Hayes could be any more distorted, she’d done her best to make it so.

With unsteady legs, he headed to the door.

“He wants me to tell you that he’s sorry and that he loves you,” she said before he could open the door.

Gray spun around. “What are you talking about?”

“He’s here, Grayson.” Her lips quivered. “He wanted me to tell you that.”

For a moment, Gray believed her. His heartbeat sped as he glanced around the room a few times and, of course, saw no one. Either his ex-fiancée was playing mind games, or she was going nuts.

“Get some help, Rachel,” he said as he walked out the door.

~ * ~

Gray stepped out of the elevator and into the hallway. The condo in downtown Indianapolis he’d purchased with Hayes five years ago was still his home. It seemed a lifetime ago they’d moved in. They were fresh out of college and ready to take on the worlds of business and women. Together, they were going to conquer both.

Too many memories
.

Every day since the accident, Gray had told himself to sell the condo. Now that he’d lost his job and his fiancée, he didn’t see any other choice. He couldn’t afford the mortgage for this condo and the San Francisco loft he’d bought with his brother not long ago. The loft had been purchased with the dream of sailing the coast with Hayes, but the plan had been buried along with his twin. Now, Gray had to give up a residence, and since the loft was mostly paid for, he would move there.

A fresh start. He had power over that.

He was ready to leave behind this city and every bad memory it held—sweet, beautiful Rachel, who wasn’t so innocent after all. His loyal, fun-loving brother, who had been even more selfish than Gray remembered.

He clenched his jaw as he continued down the hall. Five doors down he stopped at his condo. His hands shook as he pulled the keys from his pocket.

Was it animosity or anguish surging through his body? They didn’t deserve either. They were the ones who made the mistake, not him.

“Fuck you, Hayes.” Gray slid the key into the lock, and as he did, a chill wrapped around his neck. He rubbed at it, paying it little attention, while he attempted to open the door. But the lock wouldn’t budge.

He yanked the key out and made sure it was the right one, then shoved it back in. Still the key wouldn’t turn. He grabbed the ice-cold doorknob and tried to twist it. Nothing. The building’s central air system was probably cranked to the max again, but how would that jam his lock?

After several more attempts with the key, Gray finally gave up. He’d need to call a locksmith and hopefully they would be open and willing to help at this hour. His watch said eight o’clock, but it felt like midnight. It had been a long bitch of a day, and he wanted nothing more than for it to end.

The sooner, the better.

He pulled out his cell phone, but it was dead…and cold. “Fuck.” He lost control, clenched the phone into his hand and punched the door with it. The phone screen cracked, and his knuckles throbbed with pain from slamming up against the hard wood.

“Problem, dude?” Gray’s new neighbor directly across the hall stuck his blond curly head out the door.

What was the guy’s name again? Gray couldn’t remember. The young college-aged kid had moved in—probably on his parent’s dime—about a month ago.

“Can I use your phone to call a locksmith? My lock is jammed.”

“Ah, that sucks, dude. Come on in.”

Gray followed the young guy into his condo. His place was smaller than Gray’s place, or maybe it just seemed that way, given a pool table took up most of the living room, and there were clothes, pizza boxes, and beer cans spread out everywhere. The kid treated his condo like a dorm room.

But Gray didn’t give a shit. His only goal was to get into his home, drop into bed, fall asleep...

And maybe dream of her.

The irony killed him. All he had left to look forward to was being with Sofia in his sleep, the same woman he’d pushed away. The woman who could make him forget everything with one touch.

“Here’s the phone.” The kid handed him a black cordless and sank into his beanbag in front of the big screen T.V.

“Thanks. Do you have a phone book?”

“Nah. Just 411 it. My old man pays for it.”

Figures.

“What does your father do?” Gray asked out of curiosity.

“Who fucking knows? He owns a lot of shit, like, DashAir. You know, that airline that has the airplanes all painted like taxicabs. Lame, huh? Hey, but if you ever want to get hooked up on a flight deal, come see me, dude. My ex-girlfriend flew to Cali for like a hundred bucks or some shit like that.”

Gray nodded, not wanting to pursue the conversation any further. He pressed the talk button and put the phone to his ear, but there wasn’t a dial tone. He hit the button again and it beeped several times.

“Ah, sorry, dude. That means it needs to be charged.”

“You got a cell?”

“Lost it this morning. My stepmom is supposed to be ordering me a new one. You can crash on my couch for tonight if you want.”

Another chill struck the back of Gray’s neck so hard, he couldn’t ignore it this time. “No. I gotta get out of here.” He hurried to the door, but stopped when a thought hit him. “You hear about any problems with the main AC?”

“Nah, dude. You?”

~ * ~

Gray dropped into his BMW and revved the engine. Thank God his car cooperated when nothing else in his life did. Maybe he’d go for a drive. He could find a hotel and straighten out everything in the morning.

Yeah, that was what he needed to do. Just find a bed somewhere and get some rest. If he had a friend left in the world he could go to them, but he had no one. Blood
drained from his face at the realization. The emptiness left a hollow pit in his mind where numerous memories could hide, covered by a protective blanket of darkness. Memories he’d thought weren’t worth rehashing. There used to be a time when friends were abundant. But after Hayes died, Gray had let all his friendships perish as well.

Why return their phone calls when all they wanted to do was tell Gray how sorry they were?

Well, he didn’t want their pity.

Cold air burst from the air vents unexpectedly. Gray looked down at his hands that hadn’t moved from the steering wheel, or had they? Had he turned the air on without realizing it?

God, he needed some sleep. He shut the controls off and rolled down his window. The sun had set and the summer evening air had a comfortable breeze. The aroma was pleasing as well. It relaxed him.

Vanilla.

Sofia.

He inhaled the scent and laughed. The woman bewitched him, and he had no idea why. She wasn’t his usual type, but for some reason, as he drove down the highway, he longed for her. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her. Just kiss her.

Even though he’d done much more with her in those dreams.

Considering how he’d treated her and how she’d responded, Gray was sure he didn’t have a chance in hell to make any of those dreams come true. Not now. She was furious with him, and he deserved every bit of her anger.

He drove aimlessly until he happened upon a detour that forced him to turn off his course, cutting down his chance to find a hotel. Damn. The need to lie down and close his eyes was overwhelming. He continued driving down side streets until he stumbled upon a new highway.

Hell, maybe it was karma biting him in the ass. If he believed in such a thing, the scenario he found himself in might make sense. He was the reason she lost her job, and she was the reason he’d lost his. He’d blamed Sofia for trying to come between him and Rachel, and he’d lost Rachel even before he’d had her. Tit for tat.

Another detour sign was up ahead, so he turned off this highway and onto another. Where the hell was he? The neighborhoods were dwindling.

Call him na
ï
ve, but he couldn’t see Sofia ever intentionally hurting him. If she was the same woman from the dreams, she was nothing but loving and giving. She’d allowed him to be the person he once was in those dreams. He missed being that man. He missed having friends.

He missed her.

How could he yearn for a woman he didn’t even know? A knot of regret caught in his throat as he realized he might never find the answer.

Gray ran into yet another detour and he eased off the gas. What was going on with these roadblocks? Damn it if he cared. He turned the only direction the concrete barriers allowed, off onto a country road.

He chuckled as he noticed he traveled down the same path he’d taken on his bike ride the other morning. What the hell was he doing?

Driving to her house?

Lord knew it wasn’t a conscious decision. Those detours had confused him. Not to mention, his mind was all in a jumble. He was a total mess.

For whatever reason, he needed to see her. Talk to her. Touch her.

Kiss her.

No, he couldn’t do this. He’d hurt her enough, and she’d made it clear she never wanted to see him again. Plus, there was the whole issue of her thinking she could see the future. The last thing he needed was to get mixed up with a nutjob who lived out in the middle of Amish country.

A cute sexy nutjob with lips that begged to be nibbled.

Stop
.

Going to see her was an all-around bad idea.

He pulled to the side of the road and prepared to make a U-turn. As he turned the wheel and made sure no other car was on the desolate road, the lights on the dashboard blinked and then shut down completely.

“You gotta be kidding me.” He turned the key in the ignition, attempting to restart the engine, but it was just as dead as his cell phone had been. Just as lifeless as his neighbor’s phone. Just as useless as his front door lock.

Aggravated, Gray let his head fall to the steering wheel. The freezing leather felt good against his throbbing head. Getting stuck out here in Amish country was the cherry on top of the shit cake.