Chapter 22 Twin sense's
Meanwhile, while Greyson was getting ready in his hotel room, carefully knotting his tie and adjusting his cufflinks, he was running through a couple of scenarios in his head about how this night might turn out. He had done something impulsive, something completely out of character for him, and he was going to take full responsibility for what he had done. But he hadn't married Cassie out of a sense of responsibility or obligation—he had married Cassie because he loved her, and as much as he had wanted to deny it over the years, he had fallen in love at first sight and first kiss.
He hadn't thought that he was ready to love again until Cassie walked into his life and turned everything upside down. He had been with someone recently—Jenna—but that person was just with him to pass the time, and he didn't feel any real connection toward her. Jenna had shown a lot of interest and had wanted Greyson to commit to her, but no matter how many times she tried to get him to commit, he wasn't coming to the party. This was the first time in a long time that Grey was willing to come to the party and commit to a person, and it turned out to be the right person in his mind. For the first time in a while, he felt as if he could be himself with someone who wouldn't judge him for his past and understood where he came from.
His past relationships had been superficial at best, business arrangements at worst. Women were attracted to his success, his money, his status, but very few had ever been interested in getting to know the real him. Cassie was different. She had seen him at his worst and his best, and she had never tried to change him or mold him into someone he wasn't.
He was feeling a bit insecure about what had happened throughout the day because everybody at the wedding knew Cassie, but they didn't know him that well. They only knew him as the guy who was with Cassie, and the only person he thought really knew him was Brandon, the groom. But Brandon had a million and one things to do as the groom, and Greyson wasn't even the best man. He had friends and people around, but he wasn't that close with the wedding party because Brandon had at one point had a crush on his sister, and Greyson had told him that if he ever wanted to be with his sister, he had to prove he was worthy. According to Greyson, Brandon had never passed any of his tests. In his mind, no one could ever be good enough for his sister, and as her big brother, he had to take care of his little sister because they only had each other.
Greyson hadn't switched his phone on for the better part of the day, but he knew that he had to check in with his sister and his children. The thought of his kids made his chest tighten with emotion. He loved Eli as if he were his own son, even though he knew that one of his kids wasn't biologically his, and he didn't know to explain that situation to anyone. When he landed back home, he knew he needed to prepare for the possibility of saying goodbye to the boy he had raised as his own, because when Jake found out what had happened between him and Cassie, he had no doubt in his mind that Jake would react in the most inhumane way possible. Jake would be savage in his approach to make sure that Greyson didn't get access to the boy that he thought was his.
The custody battle that was sure to follow would be brutal and public, and Greyson wasn't sure he was ready for that fight. But he also wasn't sure he could live without Eli in his life.
He had a couple of minutes to kill before he needed to pick up Cassie, so he decided to call his sister. It was early morning in South Africa, and he wanted to make sure he wasn't disturbing her, but he also knew that she would be worried if she didn't hear from him.
The phone rang twice before she picked up, and he could immediately tell from her tone that she was not happy with him.
"Grey, what the hell is wrong with you? Why didn't you tell me that you were safe or just check in with me about what has been going on? I know that you've got a wedding to attend and I know you've got a million more things to do, but why the hell do we have a bill the size of—I don't know what—in our account? I gave you that card to go shopping for yourself, and you go and buy a dress that costs more than what I spend paying your employees in a month. Are you pretending to be a billionaire, or did you just win something at one of the casinos, Greyson?"
Her voice was sharp with concern and irritation, and he could picture her pacing around her kitchen, probably with a cup of coffee in her hand and that worried expression she got when she thought he was being reckless.
"First of all, calm down," he said, trying to keep his voice steady and reasonable. "I was buying my date a dress, and we were buying matching outfits. I'm taking your friend as a date because I don't have a date and I don't want to appear to look like a fool who just decided to come to a rehearsal dinner and a wedding without a date. And mind you, it is your ex-boyfriend that's getting married. I don't understand why you decided to let me go to your ex's wedding. I'm not going to stop anything that's going to happen—I didn't like the guy then, and I don't like the guy now—but somehow I'm supposed to attend your ex's wedding. That's messed up. I thought that Brandon was just one of the friends that you had made while you were on one of your trips, but now you're telling me that I'm about to meet your ex who I gave a hard time to. Mind you, I don't want to go there looking like I just landed and didn't have time to change and look good for the wedding."
There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and he could practically hear the gears turning in his sister's head.
"Please tell me that you're not taking Cassie as your date."
The question hung in the air between them, loaded with implications and warnings. He knew this was the moment of truth, the moment where he had to decide how much to reveal.
"I can't tell you that because I am taking her as my date, so you need to forgive me for once and just let me live my life. I know that I've messed up in the past by interfering with your relationships, but she makes me happy, and I'm not going to apologize for that. Trust me when I tell you that I've learned my lesson, and I also don't think that I should be asking for your permission to date anyone anymore. I can't seem to get ahold of Jenna. Do you know where she is?"
He threw in the question about Jenna as a distraction, hoping to steer the conversation away from his feelings for Cassie.
"She called in sick, and I can't seem to get ahold of her either. Even HR has told me to give her sick leave so that she can recover from whatever is going on with her. She said that you got food poisoning from eating seafood, but I haven't heard from her since, and it's unlike her not to tell me what's going on or where she is. I guess that she might be headed your way, but I didn't tell her where you were. I only told her that you were out on a business trip and you had a wedding to attend, so if she finds you, it will not be on me. Cassie has also gone MIA, which is unlike her too, because we talk all the time. We tell each other things, we tell each other what's going on in each other's lives, and we're basically like sisters. And if you dare embark on a relationship with her, I will not only disown the one person that I trust right now, I will make sure that I am the mean sister that you never knew existed. Are we clear?"
The threat in her voice was unmistakable, and Greyson felt his jaw clench with frustration.
"It's no surprise that I like her, but you're telling me who to love, and I don't appreciate that. So this is what's going to happen: if I happen to have feelings for any of your friends or anyone that you deem as a friend or connection of some sort, I'm going to have feelings for them. If I'm in love with them, so be it. If I want to break up with them, I will break up with them. It will not affect your friendship because their relationship is between me and that person, not between you and that person. I don't get why you don't understand that sometimes, but I'm going to love who I love."
"Grey, are you catching feelings for one of my friends, and if you are, please tell me who?"
"I'm not telling you who I have caught feelings for. It's between me and that person, not you. The one mistake that I've made when it came to dating in the past is that I married your problems into my relationships, so whatever problem I have or whoever I'm dating is between me and that person, not you. I know that you care and I know that you want to vet most of the girls that I date, but I'm going to tell you straight up that I like this one and I hope you'll like it in the long run, but I do not want to reveal who I am in a relationship with right now."
"I get where you're coming from and I respect that, but you have a track record of not dealing with your emotions properly."
"Everything that I have done has been for you and my family, but this time I need to do this for myself."
"The last time you said that, you got married, and I'm warning you: she is out of bounds, she's not your type, she is not your class, and she's just found out that she was the other woman. Leave her alone to deal with her feelings. Are we clear?"
The words stung because they contained just enough truth to hurt. He had gotten married impulsively before, and it had been a disaster. But this was different. Cassie was different.
"Misery loves company. I love you and I wouldn't do anything just to intentionally hurt you. If she needs a friend, I will be there for her since you are not here, so let's be friendly with each other and not fight about who to love and how to love. How's that?"
"Dude, you better behave yourself."
"I love you too. Bye. Tell my kid I will call him later, okay? Love you, bye."
As soon as he hung up, he looked at the time and realized it was almost time to pick up his wife. He loved the sound of that—his wife. He loved being called somebody else's man, and he hoped that Cassie loved being called his woman. He decided to put his wedding ring on and head out the door. He also left his phone behind because he didn't want any disturbances tonight.
Cassie was just about done getting ready when she heard a knock on the door. She was putting the finishing touches on her makeup, making sure everything was perfect.
"Grey, it's open."
Greyson walked in and took a seat, waiting for her to finish. He noticed all the gifts from the night before scattered around the room, and he spotted a box with his name on it sitting on the dresser.
"Cas, I could be an intruder."
"I took self-defense classes a while back, so I'm good."
She walked out of the bathroom wearing the blue ball gown dress that Greyson had bought her, and she looked absolutely flawless. The dress hugged her curves in all the right places, and the color brought out the warmth in her brown eyes.
"You look beautiful."
"I bet you say that to all the girls."
"Just one."
The sincerity in his voice made her heart skip a beat.
"Where is your ring?"
"In the safe with other important things. Shall we?"
"Let's."
Cassie had also decided to leave her phone behind, not wanting any distractions from what was sure to be an emotional evening. Unknown to her, her phone was buzzing with calls not only was Megan calling, but Jenna and Jake were trying to reach her too. The outside world was closing in on their secret, but for now, they had this moment, this night, and each other.