Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 68247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
As she approached, she realized Grey stood in the circle of men, and she met his horrified gaze.
“He’s mine!” the woman shrieked, her red hair a frizzy mess, her breasts practically popping out of her barely there top.
Avery stepped closer, her gaze drawn to faded black writing on the woman’s chest. “Is that—Oh my God! Your name is on her breast!” she said to Grey, appalled.
His cheeks flamed a healthy shade of red.
“I told you he’s mine. I warned you to break up with him or else!” The redhead dove for Avery.
Avery flinched, but she was safe.
Rick held the woman tight.
“Cops are on their way,” Jack said. “Marco will meet them at the door and fill them in.”
Avery stared, the woman’s words buzzing in her head until suddenly they coalesced and made sense. “You warned me?” she repeated. “You broke into my building? Wrote on my door? Forced me to move out of my home?” Avery asked, her voice rising as she faced the person responsible for the upheaval in her life.
“Grey’s mine!” she spat back.
“The hell he is,” Avery replied.
“Avery, get inside,” Grey ordered, stepping toward her.
“Not happening.” She glared at the crazy woman and squared her shoulders. She was finished cowering, fainting, and anything else that involved not coping with her life.
The elevator doors opened, and uniformed officers strode out, handcuffs ready.
Crazy Lady took one look at the cuffs and screamed. “No! I’m not going down for this alone. He promised me Grey would be mine. He said all I had to do was scare the little blonde chick and everything would be fine!” She cried and broke down in sobs and tears.
Grey stepped in front of Avery, but she peeked around him, not wanting to miss a thing.
“He who?” Grey yanked the woman’s arms away from her now-makeup-stained face. “Who made those promises?” he asked, his voice harsh and biting.
To her surprise, her father stood beside her, pulling her away from the insanity. Protecting her.
“The British guy,” the woman wailed.
“Simon Colson?” Grey asked as the cops pushed him aside.
“Yes, that’s him. He helped me with the blog comments and told me where she lived.” She pointed a shaking hand at Avery. “He promised if I did what he said, Grey would be mine. He bugged your phone, told the press where to find you. And now it’s all going to be okay. Tonight is about us, baby,” she said to him, clearly delusional.
Simon had merely fed her fantasies for his own purposes, and it made Avery sick to her stomach.
“Can’t you see we’re meant to be?” She sniffed and pointed to the faded writing on her chest. “Remember that day? You couldn’t stop staring! They’re yours!”
“Eew,” Avery muttered, turning away. She was really ready to get back to the kids and let the cops deal with the crazy.
She turned away, her heart pounding hard in her chest. She had no doubt the woman would be arrested, and with luck, they’d be able to find Simon and take him in as well. More important things were going on behind those doors, Avery thought.
And as she headed back inside to the party, she realized she’d stayed strong. She hadn’t come close to fainting. She wasn’t threatened by Grey’s crazy fan nor did she feel the urge to run away. More progress, she thought. Now if she could just stop thinking about Grey’s signature on that woman’s boobs, she’d be even better.
* * *
After the police hauled Emerald away in handcuffs and promised to pick up Simon for questioning, Grey had every intention of finding Avery. Her expression after listening to Emerald’s ranting and, worse, seeing his signature on her chest, stayed with him. Remorse and regret building stronger all the time.
He couldn’t change his past, but he’d definitely changed his future, and he needed to make sure Avery still believed that. He couldn’t have all they’d built—were still building—wiped away on a night when he’d planned . . .
“Grey?” Lola’s voice cut off his thoughts.
“Yeah?”
She walked over to where he stood in the hallway and hooked her arm in his. “You okay?”
“Not really.”
“Rick filled me in on what went down. I’m so sorry. If I could get my hands on Simon . . .”
“He’s finished in the industry, and I hope they’ll find charges that’ll keep him tied up for a good long while.” But Grey didn’t want to think about the man anymore. “Is Rep here?”
Lola nodded. “He went inside. I wanted to talk to you. Are we still a go?”
He patted his tuxedo pants pocket, glanced at Lola, and nodded. “We are.” His chances for a yes to the biggest question of his life, however, had just plummeted exponentially. But he still had to try.
* * *
Sweat poured off Grey’s body, and his heart beat a too-rapid rhythm as Ella whistled and the room of expectant faces peered up at her in curiosity. From where Grey watched from the corner of the room, even Avery’s nose wrinkled in confusion. All part of the surprise, he thought, his pulse racing too fast.