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But, when I walked into my room, I nearly jumped out of my skin with fright.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Greyson said.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded. “You could have given me a heart attack lurking around in my room like that, and why did they even let you into my room?”
“I still had a spare key. I forgot to give it back to the front desk when I left the other day,” he said. “So when I got back, I told them I was going back up to my room and they didn’t question it.”
“They really need to do something about their security,” I said as I put my hand on my chest. “You could have been anyone.”
“At least the door was locked, so no one could have gotten in unless they had the key to the room,” he said.
“Even still. I hate to think of all the ways that could be abused by the wrong person,” I replied. “And you never answered my question.”
“What was that?” Greyson asked.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded.
“It’s kind of a long story,” he said as he ran his hand over the back of his head and looked out the window.
I sat on the bed and stared at him.
“You have all the time in the world,” I said. “I’m all ears.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
Greyson
“The only thingI can say right now is that I’m sorry,” I said.
She raised her eyebrows and waited for me to continue. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a bad sign, but I went on anyway.
“I shouldn’t have broken up with you like that. I fucked up, and in all honesty, it was the worst decision I have ever made. I don’t know how to tell you how sorry I am, or how to make it up to you, but I want you to know that I came back to help. I came back to support you,” I said.
“I appreciate that, but I’m done with the job,” she replied. “The only thing you can do to help me now is to fly me back to New York so I don’t have to share the plane with that old man.”
I smiled. I knew Gerald would be someone who would get the job done, but I hadn’t stopped to think of how Laurel would react to him being the one to come help her finish things up. But, I didn’t want her to misunderstand me. I wasn’t just back for the job, I was back for her.
“Of course I will, but I’m not just here to help you get back to New York, or to finish with the hotel,” I said. “I’m here to help you through anything you need. Even if it takes the next eighteen years to do it. I understand if you don’t want me to, or if you feel that I fucked up too badly to really be a good influence, but I know that I’m wrong for walking out on you like I did, and I want to make it up to you.”
I watched her as I spoke, and as her eyes widened, I figured she must have finally known what I was trying to say.
“You saw the pregnancy test, didn’t you?” she asked. “Is that what made you so upset?”
“I saw it, yes,” I said. “It was too faded for me to see whether it was positive or not, but with how you were talking to me about whether I wanted kids and everything I figure it must have been. I should have been more direct with you over it when I was breaking up with you, but I figured if you were, you would have said something when I asked if you had anything to tell me. I had to take a few days to think about it, and I now understand that you might not have been in the right frame of mind to want to tell me the news right then, and I understand that, too.”
“I’m not pregnant,” Laurel announced.
The words fell on my ears like a ringing bell. I stared at her with confusion.
“But, what about what you were asking me? And what about the pregnancy test?” I asked.
“I was asking you that because when I thought I might be pregnant, I took the test and saw it was negative, but it got me to thinking, what if I was? What would your response be?” she explained. “I wasn’t sure how you would take it if you found out I was pregnant, and since I wasn’t in that situation, I wanted to ask you what you thought about the whole thing.”
“I hope you know I didn’t walk out on you because of the possibility of a pregnancy. I tried to convince myself that when you didn’t tell me you were pregnant, that you must not have been. If you had been, I would have of course been there for you through it all,” I said. “I really don’t want you to feel like I would have walked because I didn’t want to be a father at this time in my life.”
“I think you proved that you would be there for me by coming back while you thought I must be pregnant,” she said. “What made you change your mind?”
“First of all, I wasn’t able to get you off my brain,” I said. “Every minute of every day I thought about you and what I did. I thought about how I had lost you, and that was the stupidest thing I could have done. I knew I had to find a way to get you back. The more I thought about it and considered the fact you might not have told me you were pregnant for your own reasons, the more I realized that I had to come back and ask you outright. I guess by the time I got here, I convinced myself that you were, and I had accepted that I was a father. So, I came back.”
