Authors: Jo Briggs

No Strings (Broken Strings) (13 page)

BOOK: No Strings (Broken Strings)

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The frustration of the last couple of days raged through him
as he banged his clenched fist on the wooden coffee table in front of him,
causing the amber liquid within the glass he’d placed upon it to slosh upwards
with the force of the blow. “I said no more games, Caitlin.” His voice was
thunderous and imposing, causing Caitlin to flinch, he had her full attention
at last.

“Grey, I don’t appreciate you shouting at me, think of our
child!” Caitlin said.

“The child is exactly what I’m thinking about, you know as
well as I that there is not a hell’s chance it is mine.”

“Have you forgotten my visit to your tour bus in Sydney?”
She said mockingly.

“You know as well as I do that you spent ninety nine percent
of that visit on the supporting band’s bus snorting whatever the latest powder
up your nose. You may well have flaked out on my bed afterwards, but I certainly
didn’t make you pregnant that night.”

“So, you don’t remember our union?” Caitlin goaded, raising
a perfectly plucked brow.

“To be frank, I am perfectly sure I never touched you then
or since. And whatever plan you and my father concocted is not going to work on
me. In fact, you can tell him from me that the agreement is off. There will be
no marriage.” He leant forward to grab his glass from the table, and swigged a
large gulp of its contents.

Caitlin huffed, “You can’t just rescind on our deal.”

“I can and I am.”

“I will sue you for alimony.” She blurted, her voice was
becoming more indignant with each exchange as she touched her protruding belly.

“I think you are mixing me up with the wrong Bailey. You
would be better off suing the right father or you are going to look mighty
stupid in court when the DNA results show your child is actually my half
sibling rather than my offspring.”

The colour drained from her face. “I don’t know what you’re
talking about.” The enormity of finally saying that aloud made him feel so
better.

Grey took a last swig of the remnants of amber fluid from
his glass, and stood from his chair, anger flashing in his eyes as he strode
purposefully over to her, his face just inches from hers. “Yeah sure you
don’t. I think you will find as of now you are frozen out by your lover. Some
romantic pictures of you two together landed on his desk some time ago, so I am
sure he won’t be taking your calls anymore if he wants to adhere to my demands.”

“Damn you what have you done to me.” She cried in anguish,
placing her perfectly manicured hands on his chest to push him backwards,
placing a larger gap from his menacing stance looming over her.

“Nothing more than you deserve,”
Grey countered, a satisfied smile on his face as he walked away, slamming the
door to his room behind him.

The next morning, Grey had
arisen early, to avoid seeing Caitlin before he left. He sat in the back of the
car, with Adam and Hayden in the front, heading to the airport, his mobile
attached to his ear as he spoke to Olivia. He started relaying the events of
Caitlin’s pathetic pregnancy ruse and telling her that he would be heading to Warwickshire
as soon as he landed from Sicily and to get the rest of the family together
before they confronted John Bailey once and for all.

Untangling II - Indi

Indi had entered the small, but bustling airport with only a
little time to spare for check-in before the three-hour flight into Gatwick,
she’d felt on tenterhooks that Grey would appear and try to make her talk to
him. She’d accepted she probably would have to answer one of his calls or
texts eventually, but she wasn’t ready for that today.

After handing over her luggage at check in, she made her way
to her the large departure hall, she scanned the sea of people to see if he
might be there and felt a lessening of her anxiety when she could
not.
Sitting down next to a pillar to obscure any view of her from the main
entrance, Indi pulled her tablet computer from her oversized handbag and tried
to distract herself with answering some emails until they started to call to
board the flight.

Indi opened one from her other sister, Lexi. She was close
enough to Lexi, but it wasn’t the same tenderness as she shared with Aimee.

Hi Indi,

Aimee said she was picking you up today. So much has
happened while you have been gone. I see you later as I am bringing someone for
you all to meet. His name is Jack; he is drop dead gorgeous and tremendously
rich. Although I hear, you’re landed a gorgeous man of your own while you were
away, but he probably is not as wonderful as my Jack is!

Speak soon

Lexi x

Indi rolled her eyes at the last comment. Presumptuous as
always that she’d a better something than anyone else. Lexi had always been
viewed as the perfect one, and she had let this pedestal treatment rub off on
her so that everything she did or had, had bec
o
me all about being better
than her sisters.

Indi couldn’t recall, what made her look up at the entrance
as she moved through the remaining list of unread emails, but as she did her
worst fear had been realised; Grey was standing no more than thirty feet from
her.

Despite his impeccable clothing, he looked crumpled and
tired with dark creases starting to form under his eyes as he casually stood
talking to an airline rep.

Not wanting to draw his attention to her, Indi got up from
the seating area while he continued facing the rep and stood as far behind the
pillar as she could manage, allowing her to continue her viewpoint of him
without him being able to catch sight of her. All the while, her heart was
beating so fast and loud she was sure all the people around her could hear it.

She just prayed he wasn’t on the same flight as her as there
was no hiding her presence from him then. She tried to reason to herself that
she was sure the uniform of the check in rep of her flight was a very different
colour scheme to the airline rep that Grey was still chatting with.

To her relief, Indi only had to linger by the pillar for a
few more moments before Grey walked off with the uniformed female. The woman
had seemed overly friendly with Grey for Indi’s liking. Indi tutted to herself
as the woman placed a hand on Grey’s suited arm as she guided him off to
another part of the airport that Indi couldn’t see.
Probably some
exclusive VIP lounge
, Indi mused. In spite of the fact she was hiding
from Grey, she still felt a surge of raging jealousy that the woman had dared
to touch Grey.

It wasn’t too much longer before her flight was called to
board. As she took her seat, she felt an overwhelming wave of relief wash over
her that she was heading home, fresh in the knowledge that she finally could relax
knowing Grey wouldn’t be popping up unexpectedly wherever she happened to be.

The flight and retrieving luggage went quickly. Aimee was
already waiting at arrivals when she came through from customs.

Aimee rushed forward through the swell of the crowd to
embrace Indi tightly. To any passer-by, they looked almost identical: same
height and weight, long swirling locks of chocolate caramel curls, the one difference
being their eye colour – Indi’s being green and Aimee’s being blue.

“I’ve missed you so.” Aimee exclaimed.

Being back in England and feeling safe in the company of her
sister all the turmoil of her bottled up emotions burst the dam she’d put in place
since she’d seen his pregnant wife, tears began to weep as Indi buried her face
in Aimee’s shoulder.

“Oh my goodness, what is wrong?”

“Everything.” Indi wailed dejectedly though her quiet sobs.

Aimee sighed, unsure of what could have distressed the normally
composed Indi. “Come on; let me get you into the car so you can tell me all
about it.”

Indi nodded slightly as her fingers came up to her cheeks to
brush away some of the tear streaks.

Grabbing her sister’s hand in hers and taking her luggage
off her with the other, Aimee, guided them out of the terminal building to the
car park. With the luggage in the boot, Aimee sat behind the wheel of her car
and turned to Indi, a worried expression on her face.

“So do you want to tell me what had you so distressed?”

Indi solemnly began to detail how she’d met Grey, realised who
he was and let her admiration override her better judgment by agreeing to a no
strings fling.

Aimee shook her head in disbelief that Indi had gotten
involved with such a well-known womaniser. “I don’t understand how you could
put yourself in that position, you must have known you were going to get hurt
when it came to an end.”

“I know it sounds crazy, but it was as if we were in our own
little bubble, we became a couple in every way. He took me to Florence and
horse-riding up Mount Etna, I even went to a vineyard, which he was talking to
the owner about purchasing it. He immersed me in his life, so it was easy to
get swept up in every single moment.”

Despite her incredulity at Indi’s out of character
behaviour, Aimee couldn’t help but soften as her gaze rested on her sister’s
forlorn expression. “You seemed blissfully happy when we spoke while you were
in Florence. So what changed?”

“This woman arrived at his villa the night we came back in
Florence. He remained adamant that she was just someone who worked for his
father, but the next day I saw her in his neighbouring villa and she’d the most
prominent pregnancy bump. I overheard saying that it was his.”

“You’re joking me! What a loser to hide something like that
from you. As much as it hurts at the moment least you’re found out before you
got involved even deeper.”

Indi knew Aimee was talking sense, but it didn’t make it any
easier to swallow. How naive she’d been to fall for his charm simply because
he was her idol so soon after all the shit she’d been through. She was going to
avoid any men until she could learn to trust her instincts again.

Indi and Grey’s
journey continues in

Muse

Follow the Broken Strings Series

No Strings – Available
February 2013

Muse

Sacrifice

Gravity

Fame

Celebrity

Stardom

All coming in 2013
and beyond.

Contact
Jo Briggs