Then Came You (The Wilde Sisters #2) (8 page)

“I’m very grateful for your help with Maddie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Sure.” She shrugged again. He obviously didn’t say the right thing. Thyme had shrugged him off, literally and figuratively, more times than he could count.

However, one thing still bothered him. She thought him a pig for sleeping with a married woman. He wanted to clear things up, explain his side of the story. Why her opinion of him mattered, he wasn’t sure. But it did.

“About that other comment you made about me.”

“Which one?” She snorted.

“About my affair with Bethany Davenport.” Her relaxed posture tightened again. “I didn’t know she was married.” Her look said she didn’t believe him. “Really. I never saw her before in my entire life. I was at a conference at The Plaza Hotel and had a disagreement with my grandmother. Next thing I know, this beautiful woman is hitting on me. I’ve never, ever picked up a woman at a bar and I don’t know why I followed her up to her room. But I did.” She wasn’t handpicked by Sophia, which made her incredibly appealing.

“You’re trying to tell me that Bethany Davenport seduced you?” Again, Thyme snorted. “Please.”

His ego hurt. A little. “She wrote me a letter.”

“And so you slept with her?”

“No. Later. The letter was about Maddie.”

“And you never contacted her, asked to see your child?”

“I didn’t know. I read it for the first time a few weeks ago. The lawyer gave it to me.”

“Go on.”

Grayson ran his hand through his hair again. He hated speaking ill of the dead, but he felt Thyme needed to know. Maybe when Maddie was older he’d tell her too. “Apparently she and her husband had tried for years to have children. Her husband had recently been diagnosed with cancer and had to go through radiation, ultimately killing off any…sperm he may have had. She was desperate to have a child, saw me in the bar. I guess I look like a younger version of Eric Davenport, so the idea came to her…sperm donor.” Grayson leaned against the railing and watched as the waves built up into a beautiful crest and then crashed into the shore, retreated, came back, and crashed again. That seemed to be his life lately. A crescendo of elements, actions, and people coming together to form something beautiful—a resort, a daughter, an alluring woman—and moments when everything seemed to be collapsing around him.

The tide was slowly making its way back out to sea and Grayson wondered what his life would be like when everything, if everything, settled in around him. “In the letter she admitted to tampering with the…” he coughed uncomfortably “the condom. I never saw or heard from her again. I’m embarrassed to say I never even asked her name that night.” He couldn’t look Thyme in the eyes. She may not have liked him before, and this story was sure to put him on the bottom of her scumbag list.

“Wow.”

“Yeah. I read the letter right before knocking on your door that night. She went on to say how much she loved her husband. She lived with the guilt of betraying him, but the love that Maddie brought to their lives made it worth it. Or so she said in the letter.”

“Wow.” Thyme lowered herself to a chaise lounge and rested her chin in her hand. “I thought they were the perfect couple. They acted so in love. After twenty-some-odd years of marriage, great careers, ideal house, perfect child. I thought they had it all and that you took it away. I’m sorry, Grayson. I misjudged you.”

Her apology surprised him. “How so?”

“I thought you were swine for ruining a perfect couple. It looks like Bethany did that on her own.”

“Don’t disrespect her because of this. I’ll show you the letter when we get back to New York. It’s obvious how much she loved her husband. She was desperate. I get that now.”

“You’re actually defending her?” Thyme stood and braced her hands on her hips.

“I guess.”

Thyme shook her head. “I really didn’t want to like you, but you keep doing these things.” She waved her hand and turned from him. “Let’s get back to Maddie and your mom. Whom I adore, by the way.”

“Really?”

“Don’t act surprised. You must know how awesome Eva is.” Thyme led the way to the door and opened it for him. He held the door so she could exit first. “I won’t tell her about Maddie, but you better do it soon. She’s already in love with her granddaughter. She’ll understand and not tell Maddie that you’re her dad. Yet.”

“Yeah, about that.” He opened the door to the pool area for Thyme. “I need to tell Maddie. I just don’t know how. Or when. Maybe once we’re settled in to the apartment back home.”

Thyme stopped abruptly and opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it. She walked faster to the pool, dropped her towel, and dove into the water.

Taking his breath away once again.

***

Thyme

Maybe once we’re settled in to the apartment back home.

He was going to rip Maddie away from her comfortable home in Maine and make her grow up in some fancy-shmancy apartment in New York City. She’d have no back yard, no fresh air, forced to make her way through crowded streets to get to school, to the store, to anywhere.

Thyme spent a summer in New York City. She hated it. Sure, it had been fun for a few weeks. The constant parties, late night bar hopping, endless entertainment. But it was no place to raise a child. Or would Grayson send Maddie off to boarding school? She wouldn’t allow it. Eva wouldn’t allow it. However, Eva had sent Grayson off to boarding school.

Frustrated with the whole situation, Thyme dove into the water and came up inches from her favorite girl.

“That was a long ten minutes,” Maddie chastised.

“That Grayson can be quite the talker.”

“Really?” Eva smiled. She obviously thought a little hanky-panky was going on in his suite. Should she mislead or correct the assumption? Thyme turned to see Grayson slowly emerge in the water.

Oh, misleading would be so much more fun. Besides, she could play that part. Grayson’s chiseled torso definitely wasn’t an eyesore. It wasn’t as tan as his face and forearms. He must have caught some sun during his previous stay in Aruba. Before she and Maddie ventured down. To say he had the body of Adonis might be stretching it. He wasn’t bulky and ripped, but cut and toned. Incredibly broad shoulders tapered down to a narrow waist. Just a dusting of golden hair flocked his perfect chest.

A deliciously defined chest. His arms, however, were sexalicious, corded with muscle, but not vein-popping strength. She could easily envision being wrapped in between them.

He picked up Maddie and swung her above his head as if he did that sort of thing every day and, oh! His navy bathing suit dropped a little lower, revealing an amazing pelvic bone. Who knew pelvic bones were sexy? They didn’t grow men like this in Maine. Although her brother-in-law Trent was a hottie.

“Is everything all right?” Eva asked.

Caught staring—at her son, nonetheless—Thyme blushed and lowered herself so she sat on the bottom of the pool, the water coming to her shoulders. Eva sat next to her and leaned against the edge, as they both watched Grayson splash and play with Maddie.

“You never told me you two knew each other.”

Busted. “Not very well.” Crap. They should have worked on a cover story while in his suite. She was usually pretty good at making up stories on the fly. Sage questioned her enough growing up. “Where are you going? Who’s driving? When will you be home?” Sage had busted her and had come to her rescue numerous times during her teenage years. Rayne too.

“Maddie seems fond of him. Have you known each other long?”

Crap, crap, double, triple crap. She couldn’t say they met through work. Or that they met in Aruba. He’d had no time for socializing, and by the laughter coming from Maddie, they’d obviously spent time together before. There was only one cover she could think of.

“We’ve been sort of dating. Not long. Well, off and on for a bit now.” What if he had a girlfriend in New York? “It’s nothing serious. We’re just having fun, you know?”

Eva eyed her suspiciously. “Grayson? Have fun? I’d never believe it if I wasn’t witnessing it with my own eyes.”

“Um, yeah. I’ve been working on that with him. He’s pretty serious, isn’t he?”

“Yes. And I’m afraid that’s my fault. We never gave him much of a chance to be young and free.” Eva reached out and pushed a stray curl out of Thyme’s face. It was a motherly gesture that softened Thyme. “How did you two meet?”

“Oh, that’s a story for Grayson to tell.” She couldn’t let him off the hook completely. “I’m going to check on Maddie. I think she needs another layer of sunblock.” Thyme floated toward the splashing duo and asked Maddie if she was ready for a snack. When Maddie turned away Thyme filled Grayson in on her conversation with his mother. “Showtime, boyfriend. Make it good.” She winked and splashed him, hightailing it out of the pool before he could retaliate.

By the time she came back outside with a bowl of grapes and a box of crackers, Grayson and Eva had dried off and were sitting at a table under a large, straw umbrella.

“I ran into Scott Barry yesterday. He said he was taking people out on his yacht tomorrow. Are you going?” Eva asked as she played with Maddie’s hair.
Maddie wore Grayson’s gift, a butterfly necklace, and hadn’t stopped playing with it since he put it on her.

Grayson squirmed in his seat. “Maybe. Probably not.”

Eva looked at Thyme and smiled. “Why don’t you two go and I’ll watch Maddie?”

“No,” Grayson said while Thyme said, “What?”

“You two probably haven’t had a moment alone since you’ve been in Aruba. I insist.” She turned to Maddie. “What do you think? Would you mind hanging out with an old lady for a few hours while Grayson and Thyme have some grown-up time? We can get our nails done, watch a movie, and eat ice cream all night.”

“Mother,” Grayson started. Thyme thought he might tell his mother not to spoil Maddie, but he wouldn’t want to reveal an attachment to her.

“Eva, you’re very kind but you don’t need to do that. You didn’t come to Aruba to babysit.”

“And neither did you. Well, maybe a little since you’re responsible for Maddie. I’m assuming you came to Aruba to spend some time with Grayson as well.”

Thyme looked at Grayson and shrugged.

“Thanks, Eva. I’m sure Maddie will have a great time.”

“As will you.”

***

She sure the heck didn’t pack anything to wear on a billionaire’s yacht, and Grayson wasn’t helpful with wardrobe suggestions. Heck, what did a yacht even look like? Was it a casual affair? Formal attire? After a quick trip to a boutique Armand recommended, Thyme laid out the four dresses she purchased.

“Eenie.” She pointed to the red, strapless mini. Very sexy. “Meanie.” Next was the white, flowy dress. Very Marilyn Monroe. “Miney.” A fitted one-shoulder dress in deep eggplant. “Moe.” A pink satin sundress. Cute. Flirty.

She continued with the rhyme and pointing to each dress. “My mother said I pick you.” Her index finger stopped at the red. “Shit.” No, she couldn’t do it. The dress screamed sex. Besides, her mother had never been there to help her make a decision. The mini was out.

Oh, sex with Grayson. She could totally imagine it. It had been so long since she’d been with a guy. Months. And months. And Grayson was so…yummy. And now that she knew he wasn’t an intentional homewrecker he was even sexier.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. “Can I get it, Thyme?” Maddie yelled from the living room.

“Wait for me, Maddie. We don’t open the door unless we know who is on the other side, remember?” She prayed it wasn’t Grayson. She still had thirty minutes until he was due to pick her up and she was still wrapped in the hotel-issued white satin robe. Thyme took a deep breath and walked through the suite to the front door, looked through the peephole, and sighed in relief.

Opening the door, she smiled. “Hi, Eva. You’re early.”

“Oh, I hope I’m not intruding. I just thought I’d play with Maddie so you could get ready.” The woman was a saint. And a bit of a matchmaker.

“You’re very thoughtful, thank you. Now if I could only figure out what to wear. Do you know if this is a stuffy affair or a casual sail on the ocean?”

Eva contemplated for a moment and looked Thyme up and down, making her slightly self-conscious, before responding, “Dressy, but not formal. Would you like some help?”

“Yes, please. I’m a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. I went shopping this morning and plan on returning the three dresses I don’t wear tonight.” Thyme led Eva to her room, Maddie following behind.

“Can I pick your dress for you?” Maddie pleaded.

“I would love your help as well, princess.”

Eva ran her hand down all four dresses and Thyme was suddenly aware she was completely out of her element. The woman was used to designer clothing and top-quality material, not small town boutique store summer knock-offs. Heck, she was the heiress to a fashion empire.

“You have beautiful taste, Thyme. I think any of these would be appropriate. Which one do you feel most comfortable in?”

“I’m not a sexy dress kind of girl, but it was fun to try the white and red.” She pointed to the eggplant and pink dress. “These two don’t seem as slu—skimpy.”