The Borrowed Boyfriend (12 page)

“Everything go okay?” she asked him.

Grady heaved a breath before volunteering, “You’re never going to believe this.”

An hour later, the two of them laughed companionably while finishing up their glasses of Grady’s delicious wine. The wine tasted just as good as Allison remembered, and she hadn’t had it in years. She sat on the bed, her back bolstered by pillows, and had kicked off her boots onto the floor. She’d been too tired to hang up her belongings so had left most of them in the suitcase, while laying her coat, gloves and scarf across the dresser. Her purse was around here somewhere.
Oh yeah, there! On the floor, and thankfully closed this time.
Grady relaxed in the armchair by the hearth, his face catching the glow from the fire. They’d decided to light it after Grady had returned with the sleeping gear and he’d filled Allison in on his hilarious encounter with Bruce.

They’d been reliving the highlights of the evening and presenting various imagined plot twists to Brevard’s book, each of their proposed scenarios designed to outlandishly outdo the other’s.

“Maybe the dean’s wife isn’t his wife at all,” Allison suggested. “Perhaps she’s an impostor put in place to impersonate the real wife, who’s being held hostage somewhere! Maybe by the…tenure committee!”

Grady laughed heartily and raised his glass. “I still say the butler did it. In the conservatory. With the candlestick.”

Allison roared, then pulled a throw pillow over her mouth to stifle her hilarity. “We’re going to wake the others up!”

“No, we’re not,” Grady said. “Bruce and Carla are having a romantic moment by the fire, and the others are either…um…occupied or fast asleep. Speaking of slumber parties…” Grady’s eyes sparkled in the firelight and Allison’s cheeks warmed. “You tired yet?”

Allison fought back a yawn. “A little.”

“Maybe we should hit the hay.” Grady stood and reached for the bedding beside his chair. “If you want to wash up first, I can set things up here.”

“All right.” Allison scooted off the bed and nabbed her toiletries and pajamas from her suitcase, while discarding the items that were in the way on the floor. Who knew she’d packed so much stuff! Three more pairs of shoes, including the cute cowgirl boots with swirly stitching, and six new scarves with matching gloves and hats! What did Allison think? That she was preparing for a fashion show?

“Are you sure you’re color coordinated enough?” Grady teased her.

Her hand landed on a mound of silky undergarments and she shoved them down below the pile of stuff still in her bag. Grady certainly didn’t need to know that all her bras and panties matched as well, even though she was fairly proud of her fashion choices.

Allison flushed and set a fourth pair of stretch jeans aside before laughing lightly. “Just enough!” Then she clutched her nighttime supplies to her chest and scurried toward the bathroom, nearly tripping over a pile of designer sweaters as she went.
 

As soon as Grady heard the door lock turn, he set down the bedroll and took out his phone. That was odd. There was still no reply from Kate. Perhaps she’d arrived in San Francisco exhausted, had grabbed a quick bite and had gone to bed early. She’d shared that her conference registration wasn’t until Sunday morning, with most of the activities beginning on Monday.

Grady shrugged, then got to work setting up the bedroll and sleeping bag, carefully stepping around Allison’s belongings. It wasn’t as if she’d unpacked, it was more like her suitcase had exploded. Grady had no idea how she’d been able to cram so many things into such a small bag. Perhaps she’d had years of practice. Allison certainly was skilled at making a mess of things quickly, he thought, glancing around. Ah, well, he could deal with that tomorrow. For now, he was feeling beat from the drive and the long night of conversation.

He stretched the bedroll and sleeping bag out before the fire, adding a pillow and a throw blanket from the bed. At least he’d be warm on the floor, and his sleeping gear was comfortable enough. He’d broken it in during several trips to the mountains outside of Marydale. Camping was one thing Kate absolutely wouldn’t do, so he’d taken those trips solo. That had actually suited him fine. Grady enjoyed being outdoors, and there were several hiking trails and waterfalls within less than an hour’s drive of downtown.

One reason he’d pursued acquiring a new company in that part of Virginia had been due to the area’s natural beauty. It was also obviously very good wine country, and the operation in question was booming. Though Total Wines had been performing well prior to his arrival, once Grady took charge, their profits soared. Grady had been there less than ten months, and already their revenues were predicted to double by the end of the year. Largely, this was due to the company’s rapid expansion, which had led to increased distribution. This international deal would be the final feather in his cap for the fiscal year, if he could pull it off as intended.

Allison exited the bathroom, looking fresh faced and wearing pajama pants and a T-shirt. “It’s all yours!” She headed for the sleeping bag and stumbled over a mound of balled up socks. Grady reached out his hands and caught her. The woman was a menace to herself!
 

Her eyes rounded and her cheeks tinged pink.

“Allison,” he said sincerely. “I’ve thought it over. I’ll take the floor, so you don’t have to.”

“But I… We made a—”
 

“I know, but you’re probably not as used to sleeping bags as I am.”

She lifted an eyebrow and responded, “First Class Girl Scout.”

“Were you really?”

Her smile was captivating. “I can hold my own in the wilderness.”

Grady surreptitiously scanned the room, thinking,
Even the bears would be scared of her. She’d bury them alive in outfits.
“Huh. Who knew?”

“There are likely many things you don’t know about me, Grady O’Brien,” she said lightly, and Grady had the keen sensation she was flirting with him.

“That so? Name one.”

Allison appeared to be considering it, then changed her mind. “I’m afraid you’ll just have to discover them on your own.”

Grady chuckled, then said warmly, “Challenge accepted.”

Allison plopped down on the floor and snuggled down in his sleeping bag, zipping it up around her. She yawned and brought a hand to her mouth. “Do me a favor, and turn out the light when you’re done?”

Grady nodded and carried some things from his suitcase toward the bathroom. When he reached for the doorknob she called his name. He turned to find her looking sleepy-eyed and cozy by the fire. “You don’t have to keep thanking me,” he said, anticipating her words.

“I know.” She smiled sweetly, and Grady felt that
ping
again. That little heartstring
ping
that he suspected spelled trouble. “But thank you, anyway.”

Grady got ready for bed in the bathroom, preparing to insist he take the floor. Even if Allison had been in Girl Scouts, that was bound to have been years ago. Besides, Grady was buff and trained up for harsh sleeping environments. His rugged mountain excursions had conditioned him. He was ready to say so, and offer to swap sleeping locales with Allison again. But when he returned to the room, she’d already drifted off to sleep, her long blond tresses catching the firelight’s glow.

Chapter Sixteen

Allison awoke feeling chipper until she heard rumbling thunder. She sat up with a jolt to find a sleeping bag pooling around her waist, and a man’s arm draped over the edge of a mattress beside her. The sound boomed again, and her mind whipped into focus. That wasn’t a rainstorm, it was snoring…
Grady!
Allison gasped, seeing the sheets were folded back, exposing Grady’s torso. He lay on his stomach, his head turned away from her, his bare back streaked with morning sunlight. Just at the point where the rumpled comforter met his tailbone, Allison spied the elastic band of a plaid pair of boxers. Grady stirred, and Allison quickly collapsed back on the floor, shimmying down in her sleeping bag.

Grady lazily lifted his head, then thunked it down on the pillow, opening one dazed eye to face her. “Morning,” he said groggily. “Is it coffee yet?”

Coffee sounded like a great idea. Allison had nearly forgotten where she was or what they were doing here. She stared out the window, catching a glimpse of a bright blue sky dotted by puffy white clouds. Seagulls sailed below them and darted into the waves. That’s right; they were at the beach in Maine. And Grady was pretending to be her boyfriend. He pushed himself up on his elbows and shook his head, apparently trying to clear it. “Where’s Kate?” he asked, obviously still foggy-brained.

Allison tried to avert her gaze from his broad chest and the smattering of dark hair that covered his pecs, then trailed down his taut six-pack in a tantalizing V. Allison had never seen Grady shirtless before and he afforded quite a view. She swallowed hard, then spoke with a squeak. “San Fran-
cis-
co.” Hopefully, Grady just thought that was her morning voice.

“Oh, yeah.” He sank back into his pillow facedown and mumbled something unintelligible.

“What?”
 

He turned his face to hers again, apparently with great effort.
“Coffee?”

Allison sat up and clutched the front of the sleeping bag against her. “Are you asking me to bring you coffee?”

Grady groaned plaintively. “Please?”

“I take it you’re not a morning person.”

His arm flopped back over the bed, dangling off the mattress. “You’re a goddess. You know that.”

Allison laughed in amusement. “Well, I don’t know about the goddess part, but I
do
know how you like your coffee.”

She wiggled out of the sleeping bag, retrieved a bathrobe from the bottom of her suitcase and slipped into it. “Maybe you could think about putting some clothes on while I’m gone?” she suggested, her back to him.

Grady didn’t utter a word until she was halfway to the door. It was hard to make out since he seemed to be talking into his pillow again, but Allison distinctly thought she heard the words
party pooper.

“So?” Queenie asked with a gleam in her eye. “How did everybody
sleep
last night?”

Allison glanced around the great room and saw no one else there, except Brevard, who was sitting by the fireplace and busily typing on his laptop. Considering that she and Queenie were the only occupants of the kitchen, Allison understood the query was specifically addressed to her. “Brevard appears rested,” she answered brightly, avoiding the question.

Queenie noisily cleared her throat. “Ah-hum, and so—love bug—do you!” She stared into Allison’s eyes, waiting. What did Queenie imagine? That Allison would provide blow-by-blow details?

“That’s because I did sleep well. Like a rock, really. Thanks so much for asking!”

Queenie scrutinized her oddly as Allison poured two coffees and added sugar to one of them. “Where’s your man?”

“Grady’s having a little trouble getting started this morning.”

Queenie became suddenly animated and nudged her. “You go, girl! That must have been some night, huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, purposely naïve. She turned to grab some milk from the fridge. Deb and Patrick had laid in the initial supplies, and they’d all take turns picking up more groceries later.
 

Allison’s hand had just settled on the milk carton when Queenie jokingly purred behind her, “Don’t play cute with me, Miss Sex-on-the-Beach Kitten.”

Allison spun to face her, nearly dropping the milk. “What?”

Queenie sported an informed look. “We all heard about the sleeping bag, sister.”

Allison’s jaw dropped open. “Sleeping bag?” she asked lamely. Oh no, it couldn’t have possibly gotten around. Not when Bruce promised Grady…

Queenie clapped her hands together and roared, “Doing it in the dunes!” She threw her hands up with glee, and Brevard stopped what he was doing to stare at her. “What, sugar?” she told him. “We can do it too.”

Brevard’s natural skin tone deepened.

“But look at you!” she said, squeezing Allison’s shoulders with approval. “You thought of it first! No, wait…” Queenie brought a hand to her chin. “I guess that was Carla.”

“Carla?” Allison asked, flummoxed. She suddenly felt chilled and realized she was standing in front of the open refrigerator door. She reached behind her and slammed it shut, setting the milk on the counter. “What’s Carla got to do with anything?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Queenie said authoritatively. “That was a long time ago. That’s what comes of being married, I guess.”

Allison tried to keep up the pretense of ignorance. “Carla and Bruce seem very happy to me.”

“Oh, they are! That’s one reason they’re so excited for you! Bruce couldn’t wait to tell Carla, who naturally had to tell me. She thought I’d gone to bed, but then she spotted me in the hall… Of course, after that, we simply couldn’t leave Deb out! So Carla and I shoved a note under her door! She and Patrick
obviously
were still awake, because she sent one back. Very efficient. Just
WTG Allison
. But, you know.” Queenie shrugged. “That’s Deb. I suppose she has to be concise in court.”

Allison’s cheeks grew warm. Wait until she told Grady! They’d been here less than twenty-four hours, and already, as a couple, they were legendary. “Yes, well.” Allison licked her lips and spoke primly. “I guess I’ll just finish fixing our coffees then. No doubt Grady needs his.”