Mistaken Identities (8 page)

Grayson opened the bathroom door, allowing steam to escape and the scent of bath gel. Her mouth watered at the sight of his slick, wet skin and the way the towel wrapped around his lean hips. She saw nothing, but the imagination and memory supplied all that was necessary. The words “drop the towel” trembled on her lips. She looked away.

“About last night,” she began.

“Come to the park with me and my godson.”

She blinked. “What?”

He left the bathroom doorway and approached her. The closer he drew, the more her pussy clenched. Obviously, her foolish body wasn’t done with him, but it could feel what it wanted. She was done.

He stopped before her, the bulge at the front of the towel too close for comfort, but it didn’t exactly sit in her face as if in invitation. “I said will you go to the park with me and Lukas? I arranged to pick him up at three.”

“Don’t you want to discuss what happened between us and how it can’t happen again?”

“I don’t see what you mean.”

She stood up and moved away. Doing so cleared her clouded mind. “Don’t play dumb, Gray. You know what I mean. I’m not saying the sex wasn’t hot as hell. It was, but we both know it has to end with that one experience.”

“I know nothing of the sort.”

She whirled to face him, her mouth hanging open. She had expected him to agree. “You hate me and—”

“And?”

She gritted her teeth.

“Emotions don’t have to enter this. We had a good time. We can again. In fact, I don’t see a reason not to have sex again. I’m not being arrogant in thinking you liked how I made you feel. While you’re here, I want to share a bed with you—no more, no less.”

“But the past—”

“Is in the past.”

She didn’t know what else to say. “I’m here for Aunt Linn. Spending time with you, in or out of bed, is not on the schedule.”

“Aunt Linn has several doctor’s appointments set up for today. You won’t be able to see her before two anyway, and the visits always wear her out until she can do nothing but sleep the rest of the day. Will you insist on going to see her?”

“Of course not!” She sighed. “I feel like you’re manipulating me.”

“I don’t know why. It’s a simple invitation.”

She rolled her eyes at him, but in the end, she gave in. The truth was, she had nothing else planned for the day, and for some reason, she wanted to watch Grayson with Lukas. Seeing his eyes light up and the way he spoke to the boy put an ache in her heart. Grayson loved Lukas, no doubt, and she couldn’t believe after all this time he didn’t have kids of his own.

To avoid falling back into bed with him, she claimed the need to run a couple errands and then put him out of her room. She spent the day working and then reading. All the while, she watched the clock for when two rolled around and she could start getting ready.

As she stood before the mirror adding a little liner around her eyes but foregoing foundation, she thought about Grayson’s offer to continue their sexual encounters as long as she remained in town. Temptation drove her to say yes, but stubbornness and feeling pissed off at Grayson for making her want to sleep with him knowing what he had done gave her the strength to at least think about saying no.

She laughed at her reflection. “Who am I kidding?”

A knock on her door made her freeze. She checked herself once more and then went to answer. Grayson appeared in T-shirt and jeans. Somehow, it disappointed her that he wasn’t wearing shorts to show off his incredible legs. She raised an eyebrow at him as he stepped into the room. “Ashamed of your legs?”

“You wanted me naked?”

“Big leap from talking about shorts.”

“Easier access to what really interests you.”

Their lightning quips continued. Why had she thought him cold? Interacting with him the way she did seemed to bring out a side she had never seen, except when he and Roman were together. To Roman, he had been friendly, but to her, aloof.

“Lukas not with you?” She glanced behind him in the doorway.

Grayson swung around and marched back through the doorway. She followed, and they found the little boy staring transfixed at a painting of two duelers on the hall wall. Grayson dropped a hand on Lukas’s shoulder. “You’re trying to get lost already?”

“Uncle Gray, did you see this picture? They’ve got swords. You think Dad will let me get a sword for my birthday?”

Grayson’s brows rose. “Your mom will have something to say about that whatever your dad might feel.”

“Aww.”

“Are we ready, Tonya? If I don’t get this one in the park soon and let him run off his energy, we will both be in trouble.”

She raised her hands, laughing, and turned back to the room. “Hey, don’t drag me into it. Looks like you’re not the one running the show already.”

He groaned but with good nature. Something told her Grayson could keep up with Lukas, and he’d love every minute of chasing behind the boy. Soon they had parked and were heading across the grass toward a set of swings. Lukas took off on short legs ahead of them, and she expected Grayson to call for him to stop or slow down, but he let him go.

“How old is he?”

“Five.”

“A handful.” She watched Lukas dive with little regard for his safety into a swing face down. She’d done the same as a kid, but still flinched in case he overshot and landed in the dirt. A peek at Grayson said he didn’t have the same fears.
Boys.

“He can be, but he’s a good kid, and I figure I’d take him today and give Roman and Abby a chance to—”

He cut his words off, and she wondered what he had been about to say. Give them alone time? Or was there more to it than that? She studied his face. If there were more, did he cut himself off because he thought she would care about Roman and his wife’s issues? Grayson couldn’t think she still had feelings for her ex, unless of course he thought she had the ability to want Roman and sleep with Grayson.
He
would
think that, which was why he had lied in the first place.

All of a sudden angry, she moved away from him and found a bench to sit on. She hoped he would go to Lukas and was both gratified and disappointed when he did. Grayson said something to Lukas to make him sit up on the swing, and Grayson pushed him. Lukas’s high-pitched voice reached her with his demand of “faster.” Grayson increased the speed until Lukas swung high. She gripped the handles of her purse.

Both man and child looked a lot alike with their dark hair. Abby must have dark hair, she mused, and then a new thought entered her head. She dismissed it no sooner than it rose. Grayson would not have cheated with Roman’s wife—would he?

While she tried focusing her mental processes, Grayson returned and sat down beside her. Lukas had moved on to the sliding board and shouted for Grayson and Tonya to watch him each time he slid down. They offered the appropriate
oohs
and
ahhs
when necessary.

“What are you thinking?” Grayson asked her, and she fidgeted.

“Nothing.”

His gaze riveted to her face exposed her, and she longed to find somewhere to hide. Then because she refused to be that woman, she straightened her back and looked him in the eye. For her pains, his amusement grew, and he grinned. The result brought goose bumps to her arms.

“Why aren’t you married?”

She blinked. “Didn’t we have this discussion?”

“Did we?”

“You don’t back off an inch, do you?” She shook her head and rubbed her arms. “I don’t know that I want to anymore.”

“That’s a surprise.” He laid a hand over hers, and she resisted pulling away. “For what it’s worth, I never meant for you to lose everything, Tonya.”

She tugged her hand free. “Just Roman.”

He frowned. “I love him like a brother.”

One didn’t have to be a genius to figure out his meaning, but she had no words to counter his view.

“I wanted you.”

She gaped. “What?”

He leaned closer, his face inches from hers. His green gaze locked hers in place so it was impossible to look away. “I wanted you so bad, but I would never have acted on it. Nor would I do anything to purposefully destroy your happiness.”

She didn’t know what to say. He denied ulterior motives, but admitted wanting what Roman had. They had been good together. She had been deliriously happy, and Grayson had the nerve to sit there and tell her he hadn’t screwed it all up on purpose?

“I think I should—” she began.

Grayson’s cell phone rang. He checked the display and held up a finger then moved away. She let him go, stewing in her anger. After a few moments when it appeared he would not get off the phone any time soon, she stood and walked over to Lukas. The little boy with large hazel eyes cast her a curious glance. When Grayson had introduced them earlier, Lukas had turned shy and offered her no more than a quick hello. Now he seemed more relaxed.

“Are you Uncle Gray’s girlfriend?”

“I…” Tonya stuttered and glanced over her shoulder at Grayson. The intensity on his face said he dealt with business, but every so often he looked at her and Lukas as if he never forgot they were there. “No, I knew him years ago before I moved away. In fact, I know your daddy and Aunt Linn.”

The boy’s eyes widened. “You know Dad?”

“Yup.” She regretted admitting it in case Lukas asked Roman about her. “Hey, Lukas, do you know how to swing across the monkey bars?”

“I never tried.”

Tonya winked. “I used to outdo all my friends as a kid. Let’s see if I can still do it, and if I can, I’ll show you how.”

The boy whooped with delight, and soon Tonya had him clapping as she swung from wrung to wrung. By the time she reached the other side, her palms burned at the base of her fingers, and she remembered she had developed calluses there as a child, but she never cared.

“Ah the tomboy resurfaces,” Grayson quipped.

She lost her focus halfway across the return trip and dropped to the ground, embarrassed. “I gave all that up ages ago.”

Grayson rubbed his chin. “I almost didn’t recognize the sophisticated woman I met in Los Angeles, but it turns out you’re still the same.”

She didn’t know if that was a compliment or an insult. “Whatever. Here, Lukas, I’ll hold you up so you can do it.”

Grayson remained silent as she showed his godson how to swing, and they both cheered when Lukas managed to make it halfway before she caught him in her arms. Grayson strode over and held out his hands to help her put Lukas down. He ruffled the boy’s hair. “I’m sorry to cut this trip short, but I have an emergency at the office. I tried to settle it over the phone, but it looks like I’m going to have to go in.”

“Oh, Uncle Gray, can I go too? They play ball, and there’s these games on the computers you can play. It’s cool, Tonya. You should try it.”

“
Miss
Tonya,” Grayson corrected. “She doesn’t want to be bored at the office.”

She eyed him. “Thanks, sweetheart, but I have some work to do too that I can only take care of back at my hotel room. It was fun hanging out with you. Maybe we can do it again sometime.”

Lukas gave her an impromptu hug around the legs, and she widened her eyes at Grayson. He peered at her in a sort of wonder.

“You can come to my house next time,” Lukas informed her, “and see Dad.”

Where Grayson’s expression had been light and full of amusement, Lukas’s words produced a thundercloud, and Grayson nabbed the boy by the shoulder and turned him toward the parking lot. “Let’s get going.”

The ride back to her hotel was silent between her and Grayson and full of tales of pirates, action figures, and swords from Lukas. At her hotel, Grayson stopped the car and stepped out. He came around to let her out and placed a hand on her arm to keep her from walking away.

“What made him say that about his dad and you? He shouldn’t know about your relationship.”

Her hackles rose. “Don’t get all huffy with me. Maybe you think I’m trying to worm my way back into Roman’s life by using his son. If that’s what you think, you can kiss my ass. Lukas asked if I was your girlfriend. I said I knew you from years ago, and I added that I knew his father and Aunt Linn. I regret it, but I did not have some ulterior motive. Have a nice day!”

She started to walk away again, but he pulled her back. She stumbled against him and raised her hands to ward off falling into his chest. The move turned out to be a mistake because the heat of touching him shot through her palms. She licked her lips and swallowed.

“Let me go, Grayson. Lukas is watching.”

He released her immediately and stepped back, driving fingers through his hair. “I want to come by later tonight.”

“No.” With her answer, she swung on her heel and marched away. He didn’t try grabbing her again, and she sighed in relief. Let him jump to conclusions about who she was and think he knew her. None of it mattered. She would not be alone with him again or go on little outings with him and Lukas, putting ideas in both their heads. In fact, it might be time to fly back to Los Angeles and leave all this firmly where it belonged—behind her.

Chapter Nine

Tonya didn’t know why she had been putting this off for all the time she had been in town. Maybe she thought she would have heard something first, but then that was ridiculous. Her cell phone number wasn’t the same. There could be some kind of etiquette for visits back home and whose responsibility it was to make first contact. She laughed at her silly thoughts and then sobered as she stepped into the taxi.

“Eighty-seven-oh-one Long Creek Drive,” she said to the cabbie.

“You got it.”

They pulled out of the hotel’s drive, and she settled back in her seat. If she was honest, she would admit that a week had passed since returning to Charlotte without her ever calling Letreece because she kind of held it against her old friend for not helping her when she needed it. At first they had stayed in touch with phone calls and emails. Then the contact stretched longer between each. Sometimes Tonya would “forget” to get back to Letreece, and Letreece did the same. Eventually, they broke off all contact, and it had been a few years since she had last heard from her. Now she longed to talk to her friend and reconnect. Maybe Letreece had grown as she felt she had. They were close to the same age, so why not?