Gray had been quiet on the trip back and I wondered just what he and my brother had talked about. While my mother had been yammering at me to stop being an idiot and go with the billionaire, my brother had probably been reaming Gray with death threats. But as I stood there and watched the sunrise cascade incredible colors across a sky that blanketed over the vineyards of Gray’s home, I still wasn’t sure I’d made the right choice.
But at least Gray had kept his promise of being polite.
He’d been a gentleman since we’d gotten in from North Dakota. Opening doors for me and giving me space. Allowing me free reign of the house while promising to never enter the corner of the world he designated for me. Gray was at work all day and I’d been walking around the house in nothing but knee-high socks and a long t-shirt. He told me he wouldn’t be back until late, but that his private chef would be around to cook me up whatever I wanted.
Of course the man had a private chef.
I sat on his terrace and zoned out at the beauty of the sunrise. And I didn’t come to until I heard the door open. I stood up and whipped around, watching as Gray and another woman walked in through the corridor to his extensive room. He had a phone shouldered to his ear and the woman was older. With dark features and a set of eyes that reminded me of how a mother might look at someone.
I felt very out of place as Gray lifted his eyes and took me in.
“Gotta go,” Gray said. “Talk soon.”
I felt a tint of embarrassment flood my cheeks.
“Sorry. I didn’t know what you meant by late, and this is the only room with a view of the sunrise,” I said.
“You’re not a bother,” Gray said. “Michelle, this is Maria.”
I felt my heart plummet to my toes as Gray’s phone rang. That Maria? The woman from the letter, Maria?
“Hold on just a sec,” he said, as he held up his finger. “Yeah? Uh huh. I’ve got a few minutes. Hold on. I’ll be right back, Maria.”
“We’ll be fine until you get back,” she said.
Gray stepped out of the room and the silence hung heavy between the two of us. Her gaze was kind, but I felt even more out of place standing there without Gray to buffer us. She walked towards me, acting as if I wasn’t half naked on Gray’s porch, then she stood beside me while the two of us turned back out towards the sunrise.
“I’ve been wondering about you for a long time,” Maria said.
“You have?” I asked.
“I knew Gray wasn’t sticking around that hometown of his just to sell an old house.”
“Well, that’s mostly why he was there.”
“Not from what I can see,” she said, as she looked over at me. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Gray’s been a different man since the two of you returned a few days ago. More polite with the people around him. Energized for his business again. He’s been in a slump for a very long time. I credit you bring that better side out in him.”
I felt my cheeks flush a deeper shade of crimson.
“I don’t think I do anything of the sort,” I said.
“Trust me, I’ve known Gray for many years now. I know how he works. It’s you that’s done this to him, and I’m glad you decided to come back with him.”
“So you knew what he was doing?” I asked.
“Not really. I had an idea of what might have been going on, but that’s about it. When the two of you stepped into the house and I saw that familiar light in his eyes, it confirmed what I figured.”
“And what did you figure?”
But before Maria could answer me, Gray walked back into the room.
“Maria,” he said, as he approached us, “reschedule my meetings. I want to take the rest of the day and show Michelle around the property in case she wanders away from the main house. I don’t want her getting lost in all the acreage.”
“You mean there’s more?” I asked.