Loving Eden (13 page)

“Who else am I going to meet this week?” Taylor held her glass forward for me.

“Marin and Pick just got engaged. You’ll meet them, and then Pick’s best friend, Connor. I think that’s it.”

“Oh, what about Connor? Is he my type?” She grinned playfully.

“Umm, Connor’s a sweetheart really, but I don’t know that you’re going to be into him like that.” Connor was way too thin and lanky for my friend.

I knew we were analyzing the physical aspects of the Padre men—probably not Grey’s topic of choice—but I was surprised when he eased himself from the seat and leaned on his crutches.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“Thought I’d let you girls catch up. I’ll see you when you get home.”

“You’re leaving?” I didn’t know whether to be hurt or angry. Maybe a combination of both.

“Darlin’, my leg’s killin’ me. You have fun.” He smiled at Taylor. “Glad you made it in ok. See you tomorrow.”

“Night, Grey.” She smiled weakly. I knew she was just as confused as I was.

I wanted to dart after him and demand a better explanation. Not everything could be about his leg, but instead, I clutched my margarita and listened to him hobble out of Pete’s.

Taylor’s excited expression turned serious. “Is everything ok between you two?”

I stared at the horizon; the sun was almost gone. “I don’t know anymore, Taylor. I just don’t know.”

I dropped the keys four times trying to open the kitchen door. Funny, it was the same number of margaritas I had had. Taylor and I ordered dinner, but probably way too late. I stumbled into the kitchen in search of a glass of water. I threw my purse on the counter.

There was a light on over the stove and the bathroom door was cracked, illuminating the hallway. I poured myself a glass of water and chugged it. I needed a counterbalance to all the salt I had licked off the rim of my glasses.

My head felt fuzzy, but the rest of me felt energized. Tequila had that effect on me. I brushed my teeth in the bathroom, turned off the light, then staggered to the bedroom. Silver light filtered in from the windows. I could see Grey. He was breathing slowly under the covers. His bad leg was propped on a stack of pillows on the outside edge of the bed. We had to switch sides after the accident so I didn’t keep bumping into it while I was sleeping. I wondered how long he had been asleep, and if he had tried to wait up for me.

I tugged on the heels of my boots and dropped them on the floor. I looked to see if the noise awakened Grey. He didn’t move.

I stood to peel the jeans off my hips. I kicked them off. I tossed my tank top on the floor somewhere with the rest of the clothes. I watched as he slept. He had no idea I was here, almost naked, and dying to touch him.

I crawled across the bed and hovered over him. I planted a kiss on his neck before moving to his ear, where my teeth started to bite and pull. I nudged my cheek against his and ran my hands over his chest, enjoying the rigid planes of his abs. As my hand descended below his waist, I heard him groan.
Finally
. He was awake.

“Baby, what are you doing?” He sounded groggy.

I covered his question with a kiss, probably sloppier than I intended, but I had tequila running through my body. I was acting on impulse. My hand moved up and down, urging a response from him. I rubbed my breasts along the side of his chest.

“Darlin’, are you drunk?” He tried to sit up, but I peppered him with urgent kisses.

I reached behind my back and unclasped my bra. The straps slid over my arms and I pushed it to the side.

“I miss you, Grey.” I whimpered more than I wanted. My body was aching for him. It had been weeks since we had been together like this.

“Eden, stop.” He struggled to sit up.

I felt cold, nausea, and instant humiliation. “You don’t w-want this?” There were tears brimming over my eyelashes.

He shifted toward me, and immediately reached for his bad knee. “Son of a bitch,” he groaned.

I scrambled off the bed and ran to the bathroom.

“Eden, come back.” I heard him call through the door, but I was too busy splashing cold water on my face, fighting ugly sobs, and throwing my head over the toilet. I wrapped myself in one of the robes I had draped on the back of the door hook. As my eyes closed, with my face pressed against the cool tile, I knew I didn’t want to see the sun or Grey in the morning. Sometime during the night, I fell asleep on the bathroom floor.

I
heard knocking on the door. I lifted my head and remembered where I had fallen asleep.

“Eden, you ok?”

Oh my God. I clutched at the side of my head as if that would stop the wave of nausea rolling through my body. My knees wobbled as I stood upright and opened the door.

Grey stood holding a cup of coffee. “Here. I made this for you.”

It actually smelled good. I took the mug in my palms and inhaled the scent of vanilla bean. “Thanks.”

“Can we talk a minute before I go to work?” He eyed me warily.

I nodded and followed him to our bedroom. He was only using one crutch this morning. We sat on the bed and deposited my coffee on the bedside table.

“How are you feeling?” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. He looked worried.

“Like I drank too many margaritas.” I tried to make a joke out of an embarrassing situation. Part of me hoped like hell that he was too asleep last night to remember my attempt to drunkenly seduce him.

“Did you and Taylor have a good time?” His hand moved along my neck. I would have enjoyed the contact more if I didn’t feel so awful.

I nodded. I had made such a colossal mess of things. It would be a long time before I touched tequila again.

“I’m not good at this stuff.” He shifted uncomfortably on the bed. “But I don’t want you to think last night was about you. Any other time and I would have been all over you. I woke up this morning thinking that the last few weeks you might have gotten the wrong idea.”

I looked into his eyes. They were strong and certain, as if he was trying to tell me more than what he could with his words.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s my leg. It hurts all the damn time.”

“But I thought you were feeling better?” I stared at the brace that was wrapped on the outside of his jeans. It looked constrictive.

“Yeah, I was, but since I’ve been on it a few days, it’s hurting all the damn time.” He winced as he moved it to the side. “If I so much as think about touching you.” He stopped. I didn’t think he would finish his explanation. “I can barely move as it is.” He shook his head. “I can’t do anything else. That means nothing in bed, the shower, the office…” He watched me closely.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” It all made sense. For the first time in weeks, I was relieved, but at the same time, I was irritated Grey hadn’t been honest about the pain he was in.

“I kept thinking I could get past it. I didn’t want to stay away from you, but it just seemed easier that way. Last night, it hit me what I had been doing was hurting you more than my damn leg.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck, ignoring the throbbing pain in my temples. I could take aspirin later. “Thank you for telling me.” I inhaled the minty scent of his aftershave. It felt like there was balance in my world again as I lingered against his neck.

“We good?” he asked before peeling me off his torso.

I nodded. I wasn’t ready for him to go to work. I wanted to figure out how we could work through this. We needed each other, and without physical intimacy, we lost part of our ability to communicate. I knew there was more to us than sex. I didn’t doubt how strong our feelings were, but there was no denying we thrived on the fiery side of our relationship. It was an important part of who we were as a couple.

“What if I stop in for lunch today?” He pulled a crunch under his arm and balanced on his good foot.

“Sounds good. But Taylor will be there.” I wondered how she was feeling this morning.

“I’m glad she’s here, darlin’. I know you need your friends.” He kissed me on the cheek then stacked the crutches to move forward.

“And I’m supposed to help Marin with wedding stuff today, too, but that’s not until later. I think Taylor is going with us.” I hoped my hangover faded fast. Marin would be high on satin and lace.

“I’ll call you and see what you want me to pick up.” He hobbled out of the room.

I picked up the cup of coffee he had brought and took a sip. My head might hurt, but already this morning was turning around.

Taylor pulled wide sunglasses over her eyes as she walked into the sun. She looked worse than I felt. It seemed unlikely we would order any more pitchers at Pete’s while she was here.

“How long do you have to work today?” she asked.

I led her to the pool gate and let her in, noticing how loudly it squeaked. “Not very long. Grey’s coming by to bring us lunch, and then we have wedding planning with Marin.”

I tossed a few pool towels on an open chaise for my friend.

She lowered herself onto the first one as if she was worried the world might tip. “Ok, good, so I can just veg here all morning?”

“Yep. Veg away. I’ll text you before lunch.” I headed to the gate.

She pulled a bottle of water from her beach bag. “I’ll take a little nap, catch some rays, and—” She stifled a yawn. “—relax.”

“Have fun. You know where to find me if you need anything.” I pointed to the office.

My step picked up as I crossed the parking lot. If I could knock out a couple hours in the office, I’d be free to spend the afternoon with my two closest friends. The two had never met and I had a few reservations about them hanging out together. I brushed that aside. It would be fine. Marin was getting married. That would be the focus.