Not Planning on You (8 page)

Suzy woke to a wonderful smell, and her nose twitched in appreciation. At first, disoriented from the unfamiliar surroundings, it took her several minutes to put the pieces together again. She was with Gray at his home. Apparently, he’d either left for take-out or had something delivered and whatever it was, it smelled delicious. Her stomach rumbled in appreciation.

 

Soon the object of various fantasies and a lot of denial came into view. “Oh good, the patient is awake. I thought you might be hungry by now. “

 

Suzy surveyed Gray’s casual attire and hadn’t thought it possible for her mouth to water any more than it already was…she was wrong. The man might look like a GQ model in a suite but in jeans, he was drop-dead gorgeous. He was wearing a Nike t-shirt and jeans that were faded from use and almost lovingly hugged his physique.
Great, I look like a hag, smell even worse, and he looks as fresh as a daisy. Where is the justice in the world?

 

“Are you ready for something to eat? It’s just simple vegetable soup and grilled-cheese sandwiches. I thought we would have something light and then maybe a slice of lemon pound cake later this evening if you like.”

 

“Wow, I’m impressed. When did you go out to pick all that up?”

 

Gray looked at her and laughed. “I didn’t pick it up; I made it.”

 

Impressed despite herself, Suzy said, “Wow, now opening the soup can and making a sandwich I can see, but actually using a cake mix is more than most men I know could handle.”

 

Obviously amused by her statement, Gray said, “Prepare to be blown away then. I didn’t open a can, its homemade soup and I didn’t use a mix, I made the cake from scratch. Now while you tuck that bottom lip that’s hanging open back in, I’m going to go collect our trays.”

 

When Gray returned, he set two trays containing steaming bowls of soup, cornbread and ice tea on the coffee table. He grabbed another pillow, and positioned it behind her head as gently as possible. Then he picked up a tray and arranged it over her lap.

 

Suzy looked down at the tray on her lap in shock, “Holy shit, you have got to be kidding me! There is only one thing that I haven’t seen yet that could be wrong with you.”

 

A smile of supreme masculine confidence crossed Gray’s face as he leaned over her on the couch and put his lips to her ear. “Sweetheart, if you’re looking for a flaw, I promise you, it’s not that as you will soon find out.”
 
Shivers ran down her spine as his warm lips paused to trace the contours of her ear and then dropped a brief kiss onto her lips before straightening up.

 

Her heart raced, and heat rushed through her body at the feel of his lips on hers.
Good grief, girl, get it together. He barely touched you and you’re ready to roll your injured body off the couch and ride him like Sea Biscuit, geez.
Suzy hoped the throw would hide the fact that her nipples were now standing at full attention. If a simple kiss could do this to her, she could only imagine how it would feel to have Gray inside of her.
Stop before you experience your first thought-induced orgasm.

 

Suzy cleared her throat as she looked down at the tray that Gray had arranged on her lap. “I’m impressed, slick, I really am. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you actually cut up all these vegetables yourself.”

 

Gray sat in his own chair and tried to settle his tray over the throbbing bulge in his jeans. The feel of her lips still burned on his. To think that if not for the accident, he’d already know her body as well as he knew his own. Living with her and being unable to make love to her would be equal parts of heaven and hell.

 

Gray pointed to the large, flat-panel television that hung over the fireplace and said, “If you aren’t too tired, I thought we could watch a movie after dinner. I’m even willing to do a chick-flick for you. “

 

“Hey, it’s Thursday, right? What time is it?”

 

Gray quickly checked his watch, worried by the urgent tone in her voice. “It’s just after seven, did you have prior plans? I’ll grab my phone when we finish dinner if you need to make a call.”
Surely, she didn’t have a date. Damned if he’d have her in his home making her apologies to another man.

 

“No, nothing like that, the Gamecocks are playing tonight on ESPN. Do you mind if we watch that instead? I have season tickets and I never miss a game if possible. If you don’t like football, maybe I could watch it in the bedroom.”

 

Gray couldn’t help it; he threw his head back and laughed. Here he was trying to earn points with her by watching a romantic movie without complaint, and she wanted to watch a college football game. If he didn’t already love her, this would do it for him. Every time he thought he knew her, he found another layer. What you saw with Suzy wasn’t even close to what you got. “I really had my heart set on Sleepless in Seattle, but for you, I’ll sacrifice. Meg Ryan will always be there tomorrow.”

 

“You’re messing with me, right?” Suzy took a bite of her soup while waiting for his answer and almost swooned in pleasure. “You know what? I don’t even care if you’re a little light in the loafers, this soup more than makes up for it. Where did you learn to cook like this?”

 

“Light in the loafers, now that’s something I’ve never been accused of.” Gray couldn’t remember laughing this much in an evening in years. The things that came out of that beautiful mouth were a constant source of amusement. She’d questioned his manhood at least twice this evening. That had to be some type of record. He’d so enjoy showing her that he was all the man she’d ever need.

 

“My mother believed that we should never be dependent on someone else to take care of us. Nick and I learned to cook at an early age. My parents, although financially secure, didn’t believe in having others take care of them. Nick and I planned, shopped for, and prepared dinner once a week for the family. Everything had to be made from scratch, and sandwiches were not allowed. My mother loved to cook, and I find I enjoy it as well. It’s a great stress reliever. Of course with my busy schedule, I don’t have time to cook every evening, but when I do, I much prefer it to dining out.”

 

Despite herself, Suzy was impressed. Gray was nothing like she’d imagined. She always pictured him as an uptight, rich guy, with an uptight, rich family. As she enjoyed the rest of her meal, she said, “Tell me more about your parents, what was it like growing up?”

 

A warm feeling spread through Gray at Suzy’s interest in his life. She’d always been so careful to maintain a distance between them. He knew she was trying to protect herself from being hurt again, and he’d tried to give her the time that she needed. She’d knocked him on his ass the first time they’d met and time had done nothing to change that.

 

“My parents are wonderful. Nothing like you’d expect. You will love my mother. You never know what’s going to come out of her mouth. She’s outspoken, funny, and always finds a positive in something or someone. She’s very affectionate, but doesn’t mind busting our balls…Um giving us a piece of her mind when she feels we deserve it. She reminds me a lot of you actually, well, minus the leopard skin. My father is her opposite. He’s quiet and dotes on my mother like some poor sap. She in turn treats him like a king. Don’t get me wrong, my father can be ruthless in business and is very shrewd, but where my mother is concerned, he’s putty in her hands. Even after all of these years, you would swear they’re newlyweds.”

 

Suzy smiled at the love she could hear so plainly in Gray’s voice, and waited for him to continue. “My mother’s favorite quest of the moment is to see her boys, as she still calls us, settled down and happy. She feels that there may be hope for me, but has her work cut out for her with Nick. He’s the baby of the family, and even though he has a hard time keeping his pants zipped, she can’t stay mad at him. Nick’s charm makes him a favorite with all the ladies, even our mother.” Affection was apparent in his voice; there wasn’t a hint of jealously that Suzy could detect.

 

“It sounds like you have a wonderful family, Gray. You’re very lucky.” With a smile, she continued, “I don’t think anyone could ever accuse our parents of doting on each other or us. Displays of affection make them uncomfortable.” She paused to gather her thoughts and said, “They aren’t bad people. Work is their life, and I accepted that long ago. Like most kids, I rebelled as often as I could, but it doesn’t change anything. I think at one point, they seriously considered trying to get a grant to study me I so confused them. But after many years, we all adapted to each other and the rest, as they say, is history.”

 

Gray didn’t think it was as simple as Suzy made it out to be, but she clearly didn’t want to talk about her parents anymore, and he respected her wishes. “If you’re all done, I’ll clean up and find your football game on the television.”

 

Suzy let out a groan and said, “If you don’t help me to the bathroom Gray, I’m going to christen this couch for you in style. “

 

He grabbed her tray and set it back on the table. “I’m sorry, it’s been a while.”

 

“Maybe I could try to walk this time if you help me up?”

 

With a leer, Gray said, “I don’t think so. Give a guy a break. This is the only thrill I’m getting right now.”

 

Suzy couldn’t help herself—she laughed and then clutched her ribs as the pain pierced her.
Ok, note to self, no fun of any kind until I’m well.
She waved Gray off as concern filled his eyes. “It’s ok. Just try not to be so amusing. Now please carry me to the bathroom before I embarrass myself right here.”

 

Gray gently picked her up and Suzy finally got a glimpse of more of the house. Gray carried her down a long hallway with the same color scheme as the living area they had just left. The hallway appeared to only have one set of double doors at the end. Suzy was intrigued. Surely, the bathroom didn’t take up one entire end of the house. As they approached the doors, Suzy could see that the room was plainly a bedroom, and obviously, the master.

 

“Wow, now this is impressive.” The room was huge and contained a full seating area with a leather couch, matching chair and ottoman and built-in bookcases. A king-size bed dominated the center of the room, with a wall of windows to the right. The room was painted a taupe color with white trim and a tray ceiling. A wrought iron chandelier was suspended from the ceiling in the middle of the room with what appeared to be matching bedside lamps. The room was cozy, yet elegant. You would feel comfortable kicking off your shoes and cuddling up on one of the couches with a good book, but still be proud to show this room off. A fireplace of similar design to the one in the living room stood on the wall at the foot of the bed. Another huge, flat-panel television dominated the space above the mantel. You
gotta
love people that know how to enjoy television.

 

Gray had paused to let her look around for a few moments, and continued on to the master bath. “You do know that I’m going to have to um…help you here, right?”

 

Suzy wanted to laugh again; Gray was actually almost stuttering. Had the man never seen a woman in panties before? He did it at the hospital, but she’d made him leave the light off until he left the bathroom. She was also wearing a gown then and didn’t need his help pulling her pants back up. Oh shit, no wonder he was stuttering, this was going to get bad.

 

“How about I get your night-gown from your bag? We might as well get you changed while we are in here.”