AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 2
Gray stopped in front of his dad’s house and looked around. From the outside, it looked the same. As far as he knew, his dad hadn’t changed the exterior since he and Gray’s mom designed it a year after they married. The same couldn’t be said about the interior.
His mom had preferred a more classic style, much like her husband. His dad’s second wife, a woman Gray suspected his father had never truly loved, had preferred a contemporary look. Mere months after she’d moved in, she redecorated the entire mansion, erasing any hint of Gray’s mom. Thankfully, that marriage had lasted only a year—and everyone was happy when it ended.
Not long after the divorce, his dad had the place redecorated again, so it resembled the home Gray remembered. When his father remarried a third time eight years ago, the whole family had held their breath when Abby decided the place needed a few changes. Much to everyone’s relief, Abby’s changes were minor ones.
However, according to Allison, his stepmother had done some redecorating once again over the summer. He hoped the place didn’t resemble the inside of his father’s downtown office. Trent had told him all about the major changes Abby made there. According to his brother, the office resembled the set of a futuristic movie.
Gray pulled open the front door and stopped. Even after all these years, he sometimes expected his mom to be waiting inside for him. Today, though, like on his last visit, the foyer remained empty, the chandelier casting shadows on the floor.
“Gray, you’re here.” Abby walked into the foyer and smiled at him. “Your dad just got home.” Abby hugged him and kissed his cheek.
He didn’t hesitate to return the gesture. He liked and respected her, something he couldn’t say about his father’s second wife. Even more important than the fact that he liked her, was the fact that Abby made his dad happy.
“Allison is here, too,” Abby said as she started walking down the hallway.
He followed his stepmother through the house, a place he hadn’t lived in for years and avoided as much as possible. Not that he didn’t love his family; he adored them all, but being inside the house regardless of its current decorating trend always brought back memories of his mom, a woman who had died fifteen years ago whom he still missed.
He suspected his dad understood that and that was why he didn’t nag him about visiting. Instead, his dad came to see him in New York or saw him when Gray visited Cliff House in Newport.
“I thought we could visit for a little while before dinner.” Abby preceded him into the living room where his dad and sister sat deep in conversation. “Mathieu planned dinner for seven o’clock.”
The mention of Kiera’s dad brought her to the forefront of his mind, something that had occurred several times since his brother’s wedding.
“He promised he’d prepare one of your favorite dishes.” Abby took a seat next to his dad.
Gray sat, listening as his father and sister continued their discussion—or perhaps he should call it a disagreement. While he’d missed the beginning of the conversation, he caught enough to know his sister planned to move to Virginia and start working with their cousin, Jake. His dad wasn’t onboard with that decision. He wanted her to remain at Helping Hands Foundation, one of Sherbrooke Enterprises charitable foundations that was based right there in Providence.
While his dad argued that Helping Hands and their Aunt Marilyn needed her expertise, Gray suspected his dad disagreed with the decision because it would mean his only daughter would move several hours away. Dad might come across as a hard-ass judge in the courtroom, but when it came to family, he was anything but.
As the disagreement continued, Gray sat back and let his mind wander.
“Are you still leaving Friday?” His dad asked and Gray realized the conversation between Allison and his dad had ended.
“I think so.”
The flight crew expected him at the airport tomorrow. The idea of boarding a plane and flying back to New York City excited him about as much as Kiera’s neighbor had on Monday afternoon.
He’d kept busy this week. One afternoon, he’d had lunch with Aunt Marilyn, and another, he’d driven out to Connecticut to visit his cousin. Last night, he went out with his brother Derek, and William, an old college friend who lived in the city. However, his lunch with Kiera had been the highlight of the week. Prior to that lunch date, he hadn’t realized how much he missed her.
Gray had never lacked for friends, yet there had always been something special about his and Kiera’s friendship. Perhaps it was because they’d known each other their entire lives. They’d been born a month apart, and although her parents worked for his, they’d played together from the moment they could crawl.
His mother had loved gardening. She’d enjoyed working in her green house and in her many gardens alongside the gardeners more than she’d liked sipping tea with other wealthy women. Both he and Trent had spent hours outside with her as she worked with Annette Renault, In fact, thanks to his mom and Annette, he now knew more about plants and flowers than any man should.
As children, he, Trent, and Kiera had done everything from climbing trees to digging up worms. At the time, he hadn’t realized how strange it was that Kiera played alongside them. He didn’t view her parents as employees, but more like extended family. Not until he’d started going to friends’ homes did he learn how others interacted with their household staff. By that time, it was too late. His friendship with Kiera had been established.
They stayed close friends right up until the summer after ninth grade. He’d arrived home for the summer and gone looking for his mom in the green house. When he walked inside, rather than finding his mom, a cute ass and legs that went on for miles greeted him. His fifteen-year old body had taken immediate notice of her. Before he could do anything except stare and drool, Annette had walked in and asked the cute backside if she’d finished repotting the flowers. Then, like in a movie, Kiera had straightened up, turned around, and smiled at him.
All the breath had left his body. He’d muttered something that resembled a greeting and beat it. For a solid week after that, he avoided Kiera like the plague, opting to spend his time in the ocean, wondering how she’d changed so much while he’d been away at school.
After a while, he stopped avoiding her and began tossing round the idea of asking her out. A visit by a school friend killed that idea when his buddy so eloquently reminded him that it was okay to screw the help, but not date them.
Not once had he considered asking Kiera out again, and while they remained friends, their friendship changed that summer. He hadn’t intended for that to happen. However, it’d been the only way for him to handle the unwanted desire she evoked every time she came within ten feet of him.
Something she’d once again managed the night of Trent’s wedding and again on Monday afternoon.
“If you change your mind, stop in and visit Richard. He was asking about you over lunch this week. He was disappointed he didn’t get a chance to speak with you at the wedding.”
