One Bad Day (One Day) (3 page)

Tessa took a deep breath and braced herself.

Gray pushed the door open.

“Oh crap!” Tessa covered her mouth with both hands.

Her loveseat was torn to shreds, little cotton bunnies dusted the floor. Stuffing popped out of her couch where the cushions had been ripped. Pictures were knocked off the walls and there were various belongings strewn everywhere.

She made her way further in. Kitchen drawers were dumped and silverware and broken glass littered the linoleum floor.

An officer with blond hair came out of her bedroom and walked over to her. “Hi...” he glanced down at a notepad in his hand, “Ms. Manville. I’m Officer Burgess and I’m going to need to ask you some questions.”

Chapter Seven

Gray stood next to Legs, who had just finished answering all of Burg’s questions.

She turned and looked at him with shimmering blue eyes. “Um... Thanks for the ride and everything. I, uh, guess I’ll see you later.” Gray watched her lower lip quiver.

Aw, hell!

Legs—aka Tessa, as he now knew—was attacked in a parking garage, and came home to a trashed apartment, and she thought he was just going to leave? He knew he could be a jerk at times, but he wasn’t heartless.

He blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. He heard Burg snicker. The asshole.

“You can go now, Burg.” He walked over and opened the door.

Burg elbowed him on his way out. “See you later,
Stanley
.”

Gray gave him the finger and closed the door in his face.

“Stanley?” Tessa cocked her head to the side and smirked.

“My first name is Stanley,” he mumbled.

“Stanley?” she repeated, a small smile spread across her face.

“Stanley Grayson Kingsley.” He stared her down. “You’re one to talk,
Misty
.”

She had an “oh shit” look on her face. “Are you going to arrest me?” she asked, her eyes wide. She had the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. Her lower lip quivered again.

Shit
. “Why would I arrest you?” He’d had Burg check her out and knew that she wasn’t guilty of anything illegal. He still couldn’t figure out why she wouldn’t tell him her real name.

“Parking tickets,” she whispered.

“Tickets?” He put his hands on his hips and looked at the ceiling. “You mean this whole time you wouldn’t tell me your name because you’ve got unpaid tickets?”

She nodded, looking miserable.

“Jesus, Tessa.” He took a step toward her. “Your place is trashed and you’re worried about parking tickets?” He crouched down to look in her face.

A lone tear slid unhurried down her cheek.

He scrubbed his hands over his face and through his hair, then moved closer, gearing himself to comfort her with a pat her on the back. Instead, before he knew it, she’d thrown herself into him and he found his arms full of soft, quivering woman. She made a noise that sounded like a muffled sob.

“Aw, hell. Please don’t cry.” He felt his gut twist. “I swear I’m not going to arrest you. They’re just fucking parking tickets, hon.”

“I’ve had a very, very bad day!” She sobbed into his shirt.

He pulled her to an armchair nearby and sat down, adjusting her in his lap. He felt helpless. He did not do crying women.

At a loss for what to do, he clumsily rubbed her back. “Tell me about your day. Get it all out.”

“First I had to dress like a giant hooker light bulb, then I lost my clothes!” She lifted her head and sniffled. “And I had to wear these!” She gestured to her skirt and nylons. “And then... And then...” She gulped air. “I couldn’t find my car and got chased through a dark parking lot!” Tears were streaming down her face. “I lost my shoooe!” She pressed her face into his chest.

“When did you lose your shoe, honey?” Gray continued rubbing her back.

“When I hit the scary guy with it in the stairwell.” She clutched at Gray’s shirt. “I...I... hid...and...” She gasped. “I hit him when he grabbed me.” She burrowed deeper into his shoulder. “And I...was...really scared!”

“I know,” he murmured.

“All I wanted to do was come home and go to bed.” Her voice was muffled. “I can’t even do that!” She took a deep breath. “And I look like a freakin’ prostitute!”

Chapter Eight

Tessa was mortified. She was clutching Gray, whose shirt was damp from her tears and wrinkled from being tightly fisted in her hands. She couldn’t believe that she’d lost it like that.

She did feel better, though. Much better. Gray was strong and warm. And he smelled good. Really good. She knew that she should pull away, but with his hand making lazy circles on her back and hearing his heartbeat beneath her cheek, she felt safe. Instead of getting up, she took a deep breath and inhaled Gray’s yummy guy smell.

She peeked up at him. He was even better looking in regular light. He gazed down at her with his chocolate eyes and she melted. His huge frame dwarfed her small one. Cuddling deeper in his lap, she watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. She released her grip on his shirt and slid her hands over his rock hard chest. Mmm... She wondered what he would look like without his shirt.

Gray made a noise in his throat that sounded like a strangled groan. His fingers stopped their lazy circles and one hand moved to the small of her back while the other burrowed in her hair.

She opened her eyes to see Gray looking at her like she was a feast and he was going to devour her in one bite. He glanced down at her mouth and warmth flooded through her. She pressed herself tightly against him.

“Aw, hell,” he groaned. “We can’t do this.”

“We can’t?”

He caressed her cheek. “You’ve had a shitty day.” He took a deep breath and then stood up, setting her on her feet. “I don’t want to make it worse for you.”

Ugh. Now she’d thrown herself at a man who didn’t want her. Her nose was running and she probably had mascara streaming down her face. Could she be any more pathetic?

“Well, ah, thanks for...” She waved an arm. “Everything.” She felt her face redden and blew out a breath, causing a few loose strands to float around her face. “I’ll lock up after you go.”

Gray laughed. “You can’t stay here. Your place is trashed.”

“I’ll clean it.”

Gray frowned. “Tessa, it’s late. You’re tired. You can’t stay here.”

“Sure I can.” She knew she was being stubborn, but she couldn’t help herself.

“Well you’re not going to.” Gray placed his hand behind her back and guided her toward her bedroom. “Pack a bag. You’ll stay at my place tonight.”

Once in the bedroom, she turned, hands on her hips, ready to argue.

“Look, you’ve had a really fucked up day.” He bent down to look her in the eye and his voice gentled. “A lot has happened.” He tucked a curl behind her ear. “Pack a bag, stay at my place. I’ll feed you, you can take a shower, get some sleep, and tomorrow I’ll bring you back here and help you clean.”

Dammit. Why did he have to look at her like that? And why did he have to be so nice? She thought about staying in her apartment alone and knew she couldn’t do it after the day she’d had.

“Fine,” she mumbled and turned away.

She walked over to the closet and he helped her shuffle through the mess until they found a bag.

When she looked over and saw her underwear scattered across the floor, her eyes began to burn.

A barely audible “son of a bitch” came from Gray’s direction before he gently pushed her in the attached bathroom. “Why don’t you freshen up a little, get whatever you need in here and I’ll get your clothes together.” He closed the door.

She glanced at herself in the mirror and was horrified. She had mascara rings around her eyes and her hair was a wild mass of tangles. No wonder he didn’t want her. She turned on the cold water and splashed her face. Her towel was still hanging on the back of the door so she grabbed it, dampened a corner, and used it to remove the mascara from around her eyes. Using the remainder of the towel, she dried her face.

She found her brush in the bathtub and brushed the tangles out of her hair. She felt a little more human at least. Her toiletries were scattered throughout the bathroom and she went to work collecting what she’d need.

She opened the bathroom door a few moments later and saw that Gray had cleaned up a bit. Her mattress was ripped, but now it was on the frame. Her drawers were all placed back in the dresser and most of the clothes had been picked up off the floor.

Gray turned from the window and grabbed the bag off the bed. “Let’s go.”

She’d barely stuffed her toiletries in the bag before Gray herded her through the bedroom door.

“Are we in a hurry?” She stumbled.

Gray reached out an arm to steady her and tugged her toward the exit.

“Something is not adding up.”

She stopped to look at him. “What do you mean?”

With a gentle push, he guided her through the front door. “There have been too many coincidences. I have a bad feeling.” He yanked hard on the door to get it to close it behind them. “Someone is looking for something and you seem to be right in the middle of it.”

What could she possibly have gotten herself in the middle of? “Okaaaay. So why the hurry?”

“The first time they came looking you weren’t here. They are going to keep coming back until they either find you or whatever they’re looking for. I’d rather you not be here when they return.” They stood on the front step looking at each other for a moment. “Lock up,” Gray said, breaking the silence.

When she pulled out her keys, something fell out her pocket and dropped on the ground. Gray took the keys from her and locked the door while she bent to retrieve what had fallen out. It was small and black.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

He grabbed it from her hands and glanced at it. Scrutinizing the parking lot, he took hold of her arm. “Come on.” They hustled to the car and got in.

“Get down.” He hissed, putting one hand on her head and pushing her toward the floor of the car.

He was scrunched low in his seat, watching out the window.

“What is it?” she whispered.

“Looks like you’ve got company.” He laughed.

“And why is this funny?”

“You clobbered him good, honey. He’s got a nice goose egg.” He turned his head a little toward her. “Remind me to never piss you off when you’re wearing heels.”

“I’m glad you’re finding this so funny,” she snapped, her hands trembling. She concentrated on taking slow, even breaths as she struggled to fight off the panic that overwhelmed her. How did this happen? Who the hell was this guy and why was he after her?

Chapter Nine

He heard her mumble, “My life sucks” from her squished position on the floor of the car as he pulled out of the lot. For the second time that night, he drove around aimlessly and after taking hard turns and random side streets he was sure that no one was following them. Then he headed to his lake house.

He looked at her scrunched up on the floor. She was still wearing those damn hot pants and he couldn’t help but wonder what kind of underwear she was wearing. He thought about how good she’d felt when he was holding her earlier. He’d been more than a little attracted to her, but he couldn’t take advantage of her.

Gray held out a hand to her. “It’s safe now.” He pulled her up and she settled in the seat with a sigh.

“Do you have any idea what’s on that SD card?”

“SD Card?” She turned to look at him. She looked beat.

“The thing that fell out of your pocket was an SD card.”

“Oh. I have no idea what’s on the card.” Her brows scrunched. “I don’t even think it’s mine. I’ve never seen it before.”

“We’ll take a look at it when we get to my place. We’re almost there.” She looked so tiny and lost. He wanted to hold her again. He reached over and squeezed her hand instead.

She looked down at his hand and then over at him and smiled.

They rode in silence the rest of the way and within minutes he was driving up his street and pulling into his garage.

Gray got out of the car and grabbed her bag before coming around to the other side of the car to help her out. He tried to not be a jerk and look at her fabulous ass, but he couldn’t help himself.

***

Tessa followed Gray into his house. His spicy scent greeted her the moment she walked through the door. He had an oversized coffee-colored sofa and chair set in his living room that looked both masculine and comfortable. Two modern glass end tables sat on either side of the sofa, opposite from a huge fireplace with a wooden mantle. Above it hung an abstract painting in various shades of burgundy and brown that pulled the room together. Nothing looked out of place.

With vaulted ceilings throughout, and an open layout, she could see all the way to the kitchen, which had an enormous stainless steel refrigerator with matching dishwasher and stove. The granite counters were black and, except for a can opener, spice rack, and Keurig machine, clear of clutter. Big French doors flanked an eat-in kitchen framing a sandy beach that was steps from the house.

Gray led her to a door off the living room furthest from the fireplace. “Here’s the guest room.”

She took in the cozy space, which was decorated in a welcoming periwinkle blue.

“There’s an attached bath,” he said, waving in the direction of the bathroom. “And fresh towels in the closet in the bathroom if you want to take a shower.” He ran a hand through his hair.

Tessa nodded.

“Make yourself comfortable.” He put her bag on the bed. “I’ll make something to eat, so come on into the kitchen when you’re ready.”

“Thanks, Gray,” she said. “This is really nice of you.”

He shrugged. “You needed a safe place to stay. After the day you’ve had, it’s the least I can do. Let me know if you need anything.” He left the room, closing the door behind him.

***

Gray was whistling ZZ Top’s “Legs” while he whisked eggs when heard Tessa walk into the kitchen.

“Really?” Sarcasm oozed from her voice.

Gray turned to look at her. “What?”

She stood in the doorway still dressed in her hot pants and tank top, holding up a couple pairs of g-string underwear. “Was this all you could find?”