AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I leaned in and whispered, “Who do you think donated to your gallery?”
“Dad?” she whispered back and I shook my head.
“Me.”
My fingers stroked down the side of her face. “So, what do you say?”
She sighed heavily, “I need to think about it?”
“What’s there to think about? You’ll get to live in the house, and it’s six months. After that, you can walk away, away from me and everything you hate.”
She shrugged, “It’s whether I want the inheritance that much. Do I need it so badly that I have to spend six months with you?”
“Do you hate me that much? Because it definitely didn’t feel like that earlier. In fact, if that was a hate fuck, I’d love to see if you really had feelings for me.”
“You really do think highly of yourself don’t you, Troy.” She stared at me for a heartbeat and lifted an eyebrow, “Let’s do it. Let’s see who walks away first.”
“There’s just one stipulation.”
“Another?” her voice rose to a higher pitch.
“Yes, another. We share the same bed every night. Think you can handle that?” I grinned at her and rocked back on my heels.
She stepped forward this time and used her pointer finger to poke me in the chest, “I can handle anything you throw at me, Troy Parker.”
“We’ll see.” I turned around and grabbed my wine from the breakfast bar and went back over to her, “Let’s drink on it shall we?”
She lifted her glass and we clinked, a bit like a handshake. We lifted our glasses at the same time but our eyes were fixed on the other.
I gulped my wine and placed the glass down. “I’ll get something drawn up. I wouldn't want you to think I was taking you for a ride or trying to cheat you out of your inheritance a second time.” I leaned down and kissed her cheek, she tensed when my lips came into contact with her skin and I smiled.
Six months to get her out of my system was all I needed. I left her house and jumped into my car feeling smug. Finally, I’d get her just where I’d wanted her after all these years.
Chapter Eight
EMILY
I heard the door close and my heart thundered in my chest. I sipped on my wine and my body sagged against the counter as I sighed. What the hell had I just agreed to? I took my glass and my phone and entered the living room; I sank into the soft cushions of the couch, rested my head back and closed my eyes for a second. There was no denying how he made me feel, as soon as the man was near me, I turned into mush. My heartbeat quickened and a hot flush covered my whole body, my skin tingled as he touched me. Could I really live with him for six months? Did I have the nerve to try? I know I told him yes, but now he'd gone and I was alone, I wasn’t so sure.
My eyelids began to get heavy and I could feel myself drifting off to sleep. I blamed Troy for everything. What with the reading of the will, the emotions of it all, oh and the amazing sex, I was exhausted and then there was his proposal on top of everything else? It’s been a whirlwind. Maybe I should order takeaway and get an early night. I needed to be at the gallery tomorrow anyway. I looked at my watch and saw it was almost five. I plucked the Chinese takeaway menu from the magazine rack and scanned it, then grabbed my phone and saw a message on my home screen from Troy. I’d not heard my phone chime; it must've still been on silent. I ignored his message for now, it was only going to be some smug comment and I’d had my fill of cockiness today. I rang the number for the restaurant and ordered my favourite, sweet and sour chicken and egg fried rice, prawn crackers and a side of spring rolls. Once the order was in, I topped up my wine glass and turned on the TV while I waited. I fancied a romcom, something that would take away the seriousness of the day and what better than Bridget Jones’ Diary.
Once my glass was filled, I tuned into Netflix, found my movie and clicked play. I curled up into the corner of the couch and waited for my dinner to arrive.
My head was banging with the worst kind of headache… wine flu. I hadn’t slept the way I thought I would when I polished off that first bottle of wine and started on the next. My early night ended up with me going to bed at almost midnight, because not only did I watch the first Bridget Jones movie, I ended up watching numbers two and three. I didn’t even concentrate on the films; no, my mind had been on Troy fuckhead Parker and his proposal. He could have his pick of women, why me? Why would he want to drag up the past and have me on his arm? It’s no secret that I didn't trust him fully, my heart may have yearned for him once upon a time but I’d like to think I’d gotten over that, or maybe I hadn’t which was how I ended up fucking him in my childhood home.
I cringed as my phone chimed with my alarm so I turned it off before it got any louder. I couldn’t take that noise today. I noticed that Troy’s message was still unopened in my inbox, oops. I threw it on the duvet and rolled to the edge of bed and sat up. My head hurt even more. I dropped my head in my hands and circled my temples. “Fuck.” I needed coffee, paracetamol, and another shower, all in that order. The time was already seven so I shot Kellie a text and let her know I’d be in around nine. I had to get ready for work and pack a suitcase.
As I stood up, my head felt like someone was chipping away at it with a chisel, a steady bang, bang, bang reverberated around it. Maybe that extra half a bottle of wine wasn’t such a good idea after all, I thought as I slowly took the stairs. My fingers curled around the banister and I gripped it tightly in case I misplaced my footing. It wouldn’t be hard; my body wasn’t in sync with my brain yet.
I made it to the kitchen without occurrence and clicked on the kettle. It was as though I was on auto-pilot, I grabbed my cup, added two sugars and a spoon of coffee and waited for it to boil. Once I’d found the box of tablets in the drawer, I popped two from the blister pack and cupped them in my hand. I used last night's wine glass and washed it out before I filled it with water and swallowed them down. The kettle clicked off, I poured the water into my cup and stirred. I couldn’t wait for that first sip. I usually have milk with my coffee, but not today. Today I needed it black and strong, anything to rid me of this godforsaken hangover. My fingers threaded through the handle and I took it back upstairs with me and after another sip I left it on the dressing table while I went to shower.
My phone sat on the bed, like a flashing beacon. I knew I had to open Troy’s message but I couldn’t bring myself to open it yet. It could wait a bit longer.
I started the shower and stepped under the spray. The warm water was nice on my head and I stood there for a few minutes and relaxed.
Once I was dressed for work, I pulled a case from the spare room and started throwing my clothes in. I wasn’t going to fit six months worth in, so I packed my favourites, packed my mac, my iPad, chargers and my kindle. Then went into the bathroom to grab my toiletries. Once they were packed in a holdall, I threw them into the car. It was going to be a long day and I couldn’t even come home and relax. I picked up my cup and took a large gulp of cold coffee and cringed as it hit the back of my throat. “Yuck.” I took it into the kitchen and threw the rest down the sink and rinsed it out beneath the hot tap. I grabbed the tea towel, dried it up and hung it on the mug tree on the counter.
I looked around at my small kitchen, I felt like I was leaving the place for good not just for six months. That was if I made it the whole six months. If I had to put up with his shit for the whole time, I’d just end up telling him to shove the inheritance up his arse. But then a part of me wanted to try. I know it’s not conventional, but who knows.
