Carter Grayson

  “I’m going to head back to bed. I think it would be a good idea if you slept in your room.”

  I swallowed hard as I felt the stabbing of a knife go through my heart.

  “I will if that’s what you really want,” I sadly spoke.

  “It is. I’m sorry.”

  He looked at me and then got up from his chair and went back inside. After a few moments, when I knew he was in bed, I went through the adjoining door, closed it, and climbed into my own bed. The truth was out and how he chose to deal with it had nothing to do with me. I couldn’t make him accept it. That would be something he’d have to do on his own.

  “Give him time,” Nora whispered as she placed her hand on mine. “Eventually, he will accept it and he’ll see things differently.”

  But I wasn’t so sure about that.

  The next morning around eight a.m., I climbed out of bed, showered, and got dressed. I didn’t know if Carter was up and I wasn’t about to find out, so I went down to the café in the hotel for a cup of coffee and a donut. As I was sitting there, I saw Carter approaching my table.

  “I knocked on your door and you didn’t answer. I also tried to call you, but I heard your phone ringing in your room,” he spoke in a stern tone.

  “Sorry, I just came down for a cup of coffee. How did you sleep?” I cautiously asked.

  “How the hell do you think I slept after what you told me last night?”

  “I’m sure you still have questions,” I spoke.

  “Actually, I don’t. I’ve rented a boat and we’ll be heading out in about an hour. I’m going back up to my room. I’ll knock when it’s time to leave.” He turned and walked away.

  I rolled my eyes and slowly shook my head. I could feel the tears emerging and I tried to stop them. After I finished my coffee and donut, I went back up to my room.

  ****

  Carter

  I lay on the bed with my hands behind my head still thinking about everything she told me last night. I didn’t know what to think or even how to process any of it. All of it was crazy to me. I heard her door shut and I jumped off the bed because I needed to tell her something and I couldn’t wait any longer. When I knocked on the adjoining door, she opened it.

  “Are we leaving now?” she asked.

  “No. There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’m going to Hawaii alone, so you’ll need to book a flight home.” I turned and began to walk away.

  Suddenly, I felt a tight grip on my arm.

  “Why?” Zoey shouted.

  “Because I want to be alone!” I shouted back.

  “Ah, of course you do because that’s what you’re good at. You’re a perfectionist when it comes to pushing people away. If anyone says something you don’t like or don’t want to hear, you run the other way. I’ve seen you do it with Nora and with me!” she continued to shout.

  “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. We aren’t good together and we never will be! Get that through your head! I’m not looking for a girlfriend or anyone to connect with. I’m happy living my life the way I do.”

  “Who said anything about wanting to be your girlfriend? I can’t even stand you!” she shouted and caught me off guard.

  I stood there and stared into her angry eyes.

  “The only goddamn fucking reason I’m here is because they won’t let me leave!” she angrily spewed.

  I’d never heard her talk like that before and I was taken aback.

  “Who won’t let you leave?”

  “Nora and Angelique! You think it was just a coincidence that my plane had mechanical problems and your rental car wouldn’t start? You think us meeting in the airport was an accident? What about LaGuardia and JFK having power outages? What about my flight getting canceled and there only being one seat left on the flight here?! The one directly across from you! I’m supposed to finish this trip with you and they’ll make sure it happens!”

  “And why the fuck would they do that?” I angrily shouted at her.

  “Because I’m supposed to help you! Damn it, Carter. Open your eyes and your mind. Leave your dark world for a minute and think about this.”

  “You’re nuts! You fabricated that whole little story because you needed something to cling to because of the trauma from the plane crash!”

  She stood there, a few feet from me, trembling from head to toe.

  “Tell him to stay cool and not give Miss Harper a hard time anymore. Tell him that he was the best friend I ever had and he’s going to be okay.”

  I swallowed hard and stood there, feeling paralyzed.

  “What did you just say?”

  She placed her hand on her head and turned away from me. I grabbed her arm and forced her to look at me.

  “What did you just say?!”

  “Let go of me.” She tried to get out of my grip, but I wasn’t letting her.

  “Not until you answer my question!” I yelled through gritted teeth.

  “Your friend, Andy. You were in an accident with him and his mom. He died and you broke your leg and needed surgery.”

  “How the fuck do you know that?”

  “Because I was the little girl who was on the other side of the curtain. I was the one who spoke those very words to you that day.”

  My heart started to pound and I loosened my grip from her arm. Taking a seat on the bed, I rested my face in my hands as the memories of that day came flooding back. The little girl who came to my bedside. The feeling I felt when she placed her hand on mine. Those words. The ones Andy told her to tell me. I believed her then because there was no way she knew about my teacher, Miss Harper.

  “Angelique told you that she loved you first, in the Empire State Building, about a month after you started seeing each other. You were having dinner and you reached across the table and knocked over her glass of red wine, spilling it all over the beige dress she was wearing. You felt so bad, and as you tried to clean the spots off her dress, she whispered that she loved you in your ear.”

  I looked up at her in disbelief.

  “After she died, you were going through her things and you found the cuff links she had bought you as a gift for your birthday. You wrapped them in a black silk cloth and keep them hidden in a small black box on the top shelf of your bedroom closet.”

  “How the hell do you know that? I never told anyone about those cufflinks. Not even Nora.”

  “How do you think I know, Carter? I’ll leave you alone now.”

  She turned and went back in her room, closing and locking the adjoining door behind her. I sat there for a moment and then fell back onto the bed, closing my eyes for a moment to get hold of myself, my thoughts, and my feelings.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Zoey

  I didn’t know what was going to happen and I wasn’t going to sit around and wait. I was done being treated like I was nothing. His hot and cold personality made me want to rip my hair out. I tried. I gave everything I had and I was more than patient. Not only was I physically and mentally exhausted, I was hurt and broken. No one had ever made me feel this way and I didn’t care if I ever saw Carter Grayson again. Wiping the tears that fell down my face, I grabbed my suitcase and headed to the airport. I was getting home one way or another.

  I managed to get on the first flight back to New York. There were no hiccups and I landed safely. I took a cab to Carter’s penthouse and called Sadie from the lobby to let her know I was there to pick up the rest of my things. As I stepped off the elevator, she greeted me with a hug.

  “Why are you back already? And where’s Mr. Grayson?”

  “Mr. Grayson is still in Seattle or probably on his way to Hawaii. Who the hell knows and who the hell cares,” I spoke as I walked to the bedroom to collect my things.

  “You didn’t kill him, did you?” She smirked.

  “Unfortunately, no. Not that he didn’t deserve it, though. We got into a huge fight and to be honest, Sadie, I don’t
ever want to see that man again.”

  “I’m sorry, Zoey. I had hoped you would have helped him.”

  “He can’t be helped. I tried and I did everything I could. You can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved.”

  I gathered the rest of my things, hugged Sadie goodbye, and climbed into Holly’s car that was waiting for me at the curb. The moment I shut the door, she reached over and hugged me as tears filled my eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Zoey. He’s an asshole and you need to forget about him. Put him out of your mind the best you can and go on with your life. You were fine before him and you’ll be fine now.”

  “I know,” I lied.

  She pulled up in the driveway, and I took my suitcases from the back. After thanking her for picking me up and saying goodbye, I opened the door and stepped into my house. It felt good to be home again.

  “Sweetheart.” John stood in front of me with his arms out.

  Setting my suitcases down, I cried in his arms. Scott walked over and wrapped his arms around both of us.

  “Why don’t you go upstairs, take a hot relaxing bath, and climb into bed. I made some homemade chicken noodle soup and I’ll bring it up,” Scott spoke.

  I nodded my head, wiped my tears, and went upstairs. Climbing into the bubbly filled water, I lay back and closed my eyes.

  ****

  Carter

  I heard the door to her room shut. She was probably going down to get some coffee or something. I replayed everything she said over and over again in my head. Nothing that happened was a coincidence, and now I knew that. I said some horrible things to her. Things she didn’t deserve to hear. But everything she said to me, I fully deserved. Zoey Benson was special. Not just to the world, but to me, and that was something I was ready to accept.

  I got up from the bed and headed down to the lobby to find her. I checked the restaurants and the café, and when I couldn’t find her, I went up to the lobby desk.

  “May I help you?” an older gentleman asked.

  “I’m looking for the woman who was with me. Tall, blonde, beautiful. Have you by any chance seen her?”

  “I’m afraid I haven’t, sir.”

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  I walked away, and as I was heading to the lobby door, one of the bellhops stopped me.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Grayson?”

  “Yes.” I stopped.

  “The woman who was with you, Zoey. She left.”

  “What do you mean she left?”

  “I helped her with her suitcase. She got into a cab and headed to the airport.”

  I let out a long sigh.

  “Thank you.” I reached into my pocket and handed him a twenty-dollar bill.

  There was no way she went home. She specifically told me they wouldn’t let her. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I called the airport.

  “Could you tell me if any flights to Connecticut or New York were canceled or delayed today?”

  “All flights are leaving and arriving on time, sir. There haven’t been any cancellations or delays to either of those places.”

  “Thank you.”

  I went back to my room and threw my phone on the bed.

  “Really?” I threw my hands up and looked up at the ceiling. “After all this, you let her go?”

  I shook my head and a rush of coldness flowed through me.

  “I know you’re here, Nora. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything and I’m going to make things right with her. I fucked up. I now know why you did what you did. Why you sent us on this trip to scatter your ashes. Why you wanted us together. You saw it and you knew that she was the one who could save me.”

  I sat down on the edge of the bed and placed my elbows on my knees.

  “Maybe I knew it all along too and that’s why I reacted the way I did. I felt the connection between us from the moment my eyes laid sight on her in Starbucks that day, and that’s why I freaked out. I hadn’t felt that in so long. But don’t you worry, little sister, I’m going to fix this. And by the way, you’re going to have to wait to have your ashes scattered in Hawaii because I’m not doing it alone.”

  I grabbed my phone and got up from the bed. I was late for the boat and I needed to get Nora’s ashes out in Puget Sound before I headed back home to talk to Zoey.

  I was on the boat, drifting in the open waters, when my phone rang.

  “Cliff, what’s up?” I answered.

  “Good news, Carter. There are three offers on your Malibu beach house. Actually, all three clients are fighting over it. One client is offering a quarter million more than you’re asking. Will you accept it?”

  “No. In fact, take the house off the market. I’ve changed my mind. I’m not selling it after all.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. Give my apologies to the buyers.”

  I ended the call, and as Nora’s ashes scattered over the open water, I spoke, “Did you hear that, Nora? I’m not selling the beach house. There are too many good memories there and I’m not willing to give them up. The memories that we made there and that Angelique and I made were made out of love and I want to keep it and make new memories without forgetting the old ones. That house will stay in the Grayson family and memories will be made there for years to come.”

  I took the boat back in, called the pilot of my private jet that was flying me to Hawaii, and asked him to take me back to New York instead. As I sat on the plane, I knew I needed to devise a plan to see Zoey. It wasn’t like I could just call her up and ask her to meet me. She hated me at the moment and there was no way she would come. I thought about going to her, but she’d probably just slam the door in my face.

  When I arrived back at my penthouse, Sadie was waiting for me like I had asked.

  “Welcome home, Mr. Grayson,” she spoke.

  “Thank you, Sadie. It’s good to see you.” I kissed her cheek.

  “I can take your luggage up for you.”

  “No need. I can do it myself. I need your help.”

  “Okay. What would you like me to do?”

  “I need you to call Zoey and tell her that she left a couple things here. Tell her they were in the dryer or something. I need her to come here so I can talk to her.”

  “Mr. Grayson, she doesn’t want to talk to you ever again.”

  “Did she say that?”

  “Yes.” She looked down.

  “Well, that’s just too bad because she’s going to listen to what I have to say. Now, when she comes to collect her things, I’ll be here waiting for her.”

  “But she didn’t leave anything behind,” Sadie spoke.

  “I know, and that doesn’t matter. I just need you to get her in this penthouse. I’ll take it from there. Go ahead, give her a call.”

  “But it’s late and she’ll wonder why I’m still here. I think it would be better to wait until the morning.”

  I sighed. “I suppose you’re right. We don’t want her to get suspicious. Fine, call her in the morning and let me know when she’ll be stopping by. I’m heading to the office first thing.”

  “I will. Is that all?”

  “Yes. Have a good night, Sadie.”

  “You as well, Mr. Grayson.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Zoey

  After my bath, I climbed into bed and Scott brought up a tray with a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a roll on it.

  “Here you go, sweetheart,” he spoke as he set the tray over me and then gently kissed my forehead.

  “We’re happy you’re home.” John smiled.

  Both of them took a seat on the edge of the bed.

  “Do you remember a boy on the other side of the curtain from me that day of the plane crash?” I asked John. “He was in a bad car accident and broke his leg in three places and needed surgery?”

  “Yeah. I think I do remember. He was the boy you were talking to when I came to get you and take you down for x-rays. Why?”

  “That little boy was Carter Grayson.”
r />   “What?” He shook his head in disbelief.

  “How do you know that for sure?” Scott asked.

  “It came to me in a dream and I remembered. Now, twenty years later, I met him again.”

  “You were supposed to, sweetheart,” John spoke. “We all know nothing happens by coincidence. This meeting had been lined up for twenty years. I believe you had to go through some things over the years before you were ready to meet him again and the same for him. The brief encounter in the hospital was just a taste of what the future held. You of all people know that. So don’t try to deny it.”

  “I know he hurt you, Zoey. Your first heartbreak at twenty-five years old.” Scott ran his finger down my cheek. “You never let anyone get really close to you because you knew they weren’t the one you were meant to be with.”

  “I don’t want to be with a man like him. He’s horrible, and the things he said to me.”

  “Eat your soup and get some rest. You’ll feel better about things in the morning,” John spoke as he kissed my forehead.

  I loved them both, but they were wrong. It would take me a long time to get over this.

  ****

  The next morning, I climbed out of bed around noon and checked my phone. I noticed I had a missed call from Sadie.

  “Hello,” she answered.

  “Hi, Sadie, it’s Zoey. You called earlier?”

  “Hi, Zoey. You left a couple of things here.”

  “I don’t think so. I double checked before I left the penthouse.”

  “I found two of your shirts sitting on top of the dryer. You must have forgotten they were there.”

  “Oh. Okay. I’ll head into the city tomorrow. There’s a couple things I need to do. I’ll call you before I come. He won’t be there, right?”

  “No. He’s not back from his trip yet. So don’t worry about that. It’ll just be me here.”

  “Okay. Good. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “See you then, sweetie.”

  That was odd. I didn’t remember doing laundry before we left for California. Oh well, I wanted to go into the city anyway for the day and do some retail therapy. Today, I had an appointment with Holly to get my hair highlighted and trimmed.