Just Us Box Set

Can’t Buy His Love-4

It wasn’t yet thirty minutes and there came a knock on my door. I went to open it and just barely suppressed the longing that wanted to burst out of my chest at the sight of Gregory with grocery bags in his arms, here in my home, with me.

“May I come in?” he asked, eyebrow raised, probably because I was staring at him like an i***t.

Feeling five times a fool, I stepped back to allow him entry. “Sorry. Please, make yourself at home.” I pointed him toward the kitchen.

The place was clean. I tended to be a bit of a neat freak, the result of an OCD mother and ex-military father. As I followed Gregory to the kitchen, I heard him say, “This is so not what I expected at all.”

I almost bumped into him where he was now standing at the kitchen table, grocery bags deposited on top, as he took a slow perusal of the adjacent living room. His ass was nice. Round and tight in dark purple jeans. He wore a short-sleeved white T-shirt with the logo from the daycare center on the front. Even as dressed-down as he was, Gregory was still a knockout. He was wearing trendy-looking glasses with thick black frames, too. He was simply…lovely.

I snapped back to the present. “Sorry? Oh, well, yes, it’s a bit eclectic, but I’ve traveled a lot and picked up things along the way. I’m also a bit of a stickler for neatness, I’m afraid.”

Gregory seemed surprised. “I suppose I need to dispense with my assumptions about you, at least some of them.”

“Such as?”

He smiled. “Spoiled, entitled rich kid who thinks money and charm will get him everything.” He started checking cabinets. “I thought I’d make pasta and meat sauce.” My stomach growled in response, and he said, “You like that idea, apparently.”

I sat at the table since my body was aching and I was tired. I would get up to fetch my bottle of painkillers in a bit, but the novelty of having Gregory Wang in my kitchen was not to be denied my starving fantasy. So he’d thought I was an entitled asshole. I couldn’t blame him, really, not with the way I’d acted in the past.

A short time later, I blurted, “Is the only reason you’re here because of what happened yesterday?” The minute I said that, I could have smacked my head. i***t! Now you might scare him away.

Gregory frowned as he watched the water boil in the big pot he’d found, and I thought I’d blown it when he said, “I can go, you know. I just thought you could use a decent meal, and so could I.”

I was quick to demur. “No, no. Please ignore me. Stupid s**t comes out of my mouth a lot. I’m not the most thoughtful guy in the world.”

He didn’t respond and so I watched as he made dinner, something that I absolutely enjoyed. He fit here, in this kitchen, with me.

“I wanted to do something nice for the small-town hero. But you need to understand that’s all this is. A ‘thank you’ meal for doing something so brave and selfless.”

I shrugged. “I appreciate it, but it was instinctual. Like I told Rebekah earlier, I reacted. That’s all it was. Anyone would have done it.”

Eventually, Gregory dished up the pasta and sauce on two plates and set them on the table. “Doesn’t matter how or why. It’s done and we’re all grateful.” I asked him to take out two cans of soda from the fridge and then we ate.

Throughout the meal, we engaged in small talk, which I expected, but was nonetheless frustrating. When I tried to ask him something personal, he would veer off into the mundane. Naturally, my curiosity to know everything about him grew with each bite.

After the meal, Gregory washed up since he wouldn’t let me do anything, and then I walked outside with him. At his minivan, I said, “Thank you for coming over. You didn’t have to do this, and I know you don’t trust me, or my intentions. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t trust me either. Before, I mean.”

Gregory fiddled with the keys he’d taken from his pocket as he stared into the night. “Before what, exactly?”

“Before you, Gregory. I laid eyes on you and I knew it would be different. I don’t know how to make you believe that, or see the truth of things, but I’ll do whatever it takes for you to trust me. This is new territory for me, you know.”

He gazed at me with a sad half-smile. “I’ve given my trust before and been burned.” He unlocked his minivan and sat in the driver’s seat. “See you at noon, tomorrow? You can put it off until another day, if you’re not up to it.”

“Are you kidding me? You willingly invited me into your sacred domain for lunch. No way am I going to give that up. I’ll be there.”

Gregory shook his head. “I figured you’d say that.” He started the minivan. “Take some painkillers and go to bed early, Wheeler. ‘Night.”

I waved as he drove off, wondering what I had gotten myself into for tomorrow’s lunch. Getting through to Gregory was like navigating a minefield. I was definitely up for the challenge.