Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
GRAY
“ Y ou are absolutely not skinny-dipping tonight,” Olivia says to a guy smiling smugly back at her. I can’t keep all the names straight. How do they remember without name tags? I know Stella said that her family was big, but I had no idea. “Liam Montgomery, I forbid it.”
“You forbid it?” he says and reaches over his shoulder to strip out of his wild, lime-green shirt. “You know that’s the fastest way to make me do anything.”
“Why can’t he keep his clothes on?” Lucy asks the room. I remember her name because she made a point to come and ask me about my law firm, my family, and anything else I wanted to tell her. She’s cute and personable, and I was surprised to hear that she’s Sidney’s age at almost twenty-three. Lucy seems much older than that. “No one wants to see your bare ass, Liam.”
Liam rolls his eyes and returns to the grill, picking up the tongs to turn the ribs.
Stella, Liv, and some of the other girls are chatting by a table that’s filled with snacks and drinks. Others are inside, talking and laughing.
And I’m standing by the grill with Liam, Keaton, and Drew.
“So, you’re a lawyer?” Keaton says and sips his beer. “What kind?”
“I do mostly corporate law,” I reply.
“You’re a jerk,” Stella yells at Danny, who’s laughing his ass off at something he said.
“Is that any way to speak to your husband?” he demands and props his hands on his waist.
Everyone on the patio goes quiet.
“Uh, what?” Keaton asks. “Your what ?”
“ Fake husband,” Stella clarifies. “Gray’s handling the divorce as we speak.”
All eyes turn to me, and Keaton raises an eyebrow. “So, not just corporate law, then.”
“I’m doing a favor on this one,” I reply.
“How…what… why ?” Liam stumbles.
Stella and Danny explain what happened in Vegas, and Liam just shakes his head.
“That’s some shit I would pull,” he mutters, but he’s staring at his cousin with pride. “Good job, Stel.”
“So, you like to do favors,” Keaton says as he seasons the meat on the grill, but he doesn’t meet my eyes. “What else do you do in your free time? Besides my cousin.”
“Looks like the meat isn’t the only thing getting grilled at this party,” I point out, making Drew and Liam chuckle.
Keaton just stares at me.
He’s an intense guy.
I like him.
“I work a lot,” I reply, thinking it over. “I have neighbors that I’m fairly close to, and I help the teen boy with his homework. I go to the gym. I like long walks on the beach and action-adventure movies starring Bruce Willis.”
Now Keaton’s mouth twitches with humor.
“This is the question that will seal this deal,” he says and shares a look with Drew and Liam.
“Let’s hear it.”
“Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?”
The three of them wait with bated breath while I hold Keaton’s gaze with mine for a loaded three seconds before answering, “Of course, and anyone who says otherwise is a moron.”
“He can stay,” Drew announces and holds up his red Solo cup in cheers. “He passed the test.”
“Okay, enough,” Stella says as she walks away from her group and over to ours. “Stop ganging up on him, you big jerks.”
“That’s literally our job ,” Liam points out. “Do you think we could do anything else, given who our dads are?”
“Cavemen,” Stella mutters and takes my hand to pull me away. We go inside, and she takes a long breath.
“Things okay with Olivia now?”
“We’re okay ,” she says slowly. “We’ll talk through the other crap later. I’m sorry that my family is ganging up on you.”
“That’s what families do,” I remind her and then tilt my head when a knowing smile spreads across her face. “What is it?”
“That’s exactly what I said to your sisters the other day. So, do you want a tour?”
“Of course. Lead the way.”
She leads me through the house, showing me the laundry room and the office on the first floor.
Then we head for the stairs.
She’s ahead of me, three steps up, and I’m at eye level with her perfectly round ass as it sways back and forth in front of me. I want to lean in and bite it.
Instead, I give it a friendly little pat as we reach the top of the steps.
“Haley and Erin have those bedrooms.”
“Where is Drew’s pad?” I ask her.
“He has the guest house out back. He mostly just comes inside to eat all the food.”
“And this one is your bedroom?” I ask, pointing to the closed door.
“Yep.”
I watch as she opens the door and steps inside. The room is neat, with a king bed, a simple dresser, and a chair by the window.
“This used to be Liv’s room,” she says. “But I took it when she moved out. The oldest gets the owner’s suite.”
“Sounds fair,” I reply and close the door behind us. She turns and stares at me with lust-filled eyes. “Do you know how torturous it is to be near you, in a room full of people, and want to touch you so badly that you ache with it?”
She licks her lips and leisurely looks me up and down. “Yeah, in fact, I do.”
Without another word, I pull her to me, frame her face, and kiss the fuck out of her, the way I’ve wanted to do all night.
She moans, and her hands make a dive for my jeans.
When my cock is free, Stella wiggles out of her jeans, and before she can shed her panties with them, I twirl her around, boost her up against the wall, and grind myself against her as I yank her shirt down, exposing her breast.
“Fast,” she says against my lips before baring her teeth and biting me. “Hard and fast. Right now.”
“Fuck, yes. Right now.” I tug her panties aside and push into her already slick heat. I don’t pause like I normally would. Instead, I thrust, over and over, harder each time, pushing us hard and quick toward the finish line.
And when she buries her fingers in my hair and pulls, I know she’s about to go over.
“Now,” I repeat and bite the ball of her shoulder. “Go over, baby.”
“Christ,” she whispers as her pussy convulses around me. I push once more and moan into her neck as I fall over the edge.
Panting, braced against the door, I lift my head and stare into her blue eyes.
“That’s the appetizer,” I inform her.
“Yum,” is all she says in return.
“Don’t clean yourself up.”
Her eyes fly to mine in surprise. “What?”
“I want you to walk around for the rest of the night with me inside of you. With the gorgeous mess we made right there. ”
I reach down and drag my fingers along her messy slit and watch as her eyes dilate.
“Okay, then.”
I wink at her, tuck myself away, then walk into the bathroom to wash my hands.
“So, you like my room, then,” she says from the other room.
“Honey, I barely saw your room. I only have eyes for you.”
I take her hand and kiss her knuckles as I open the door.
“Let’s party.”
“I think we just did,” she says with a laugh. “I’m really squishy.”
“Good.”
She grins as she leads me downstairs.
“There you are,” Olivia says as she runs over to grab Stella’s hand. “We’re going to sing karaoke.”
“Who’s we ?” Stella asks.
“You and me,” Olivia replies.
“I am not drunk enough for that.” Stella shakes her head, but Olivia just drags Stella into the living room, where they have the whole system already set up. “Wait, we’re singing Islands in the Stream ?”
“I get to be Kenny Rogers,” Liv says with a nod as the music starts.
I hang back and cross my arms over my chest, watching as the two women sing with all the passion and enthusiasm in their hearts.
“Stella mentioned that your sister is Sidney Sterling,” Lucy says as she joins me.
“She is,” I confirm.
“Maybe you should sing one or two.”
I grin at her and shake my head. “Sid’s the singer in the family, not me.”
“I’m a fan,” Lucy replies. “And if you have a country megastar as your sister, you know what it’s like to have a celebrity in the family.”
“I do. Though we don’t deal with a lot of paparazzi and shit because when Sid comes home to Idaho, she’s able to lie low.”
“Our family is all about the celebrity life, whether we like it or not,” she replies, the look in her eyes serious now. “Sometimes, it gets intense. It’s one of the reasons we have this house—and now the one next door—in the family. Because our parents want to keep us safe.”
I lick my lips and nod. “I understand what you’re trying to say, Lucy.”
“Do you? Because no one understands until they live it. We don’t have the luxury of being careless.”
“I’m not a careless man.”
Lucy smiles and pats my arm. “I’m glad to hear it.”
I look over to where Stella and Olivia have their arms around each other, belting out the classic song that my sister coincidentally covered last year with Sam Hunt.
It sat on the charts for ten weeks.
That song turns into another, and then Liam steals the mic so he can sing an off-key rendition of a Nirvana song.
Stella hurries over to me, a huge smile brightening her face.
“Who doesn’t love Dolly?” she asks.
“What’s not to love?” I confirm. “You’ve got a set of pipes.”
“No, I have liquid courage and a karaoke machine,” she replies and takes a sip of water. I noticed she’d switched from alcohol about an hour ago. “I need more food.”
“Let’s go get some,” I suggest.
“Are you having fun?” she asks.
“More than I expected to,” I confirm. “I especially enjoyed the tour of the house.”
She smirks and loads a pile of ribs onto her plate. “Just wait until we get to the entrée.”
I haven’t seen her in three days.
And I’ve discovered that I get twitchy if I haven’t seen Stella in too long. I’ve never felt the need to be with someone every day, but I miss her as soon as I’m away from her.
It’s…startling.
And because I haven’t seen her, I need to work out some energy.
It may be five in the damn morning, but I drag my ass out of bed and head down to the gym. Going to Idaho last week threw me off my stride, but I’m so damn glad I went.
I use my card to unlock the door of the basement gym in my building, not at all surprised to see that it’s empty. I start on the treadmill and am about ten minutes into running a 5k when the door opens, and a man I haven’t seen before walks in.
He’s older, with long, dark hair that he’s pulled into a tail at the nape of his neck. He’s wearing a white tank, revealing a full sleeve of tribal ink.
He scans the room, and his eyes narrow when he sees me.
I nod once.
He does the same.
And with that, I focus on my running form. I’d like to run a half marathon early next year if I can fit in the training time.
Happy with my 5k splits, I hop off the treadmill and clean it before I move over to the rack for some squats and pull-ups.
There are two racks in this gym, and the stranger is on the other one, completing a set of pull-ups himself. The rack I’m using is the only one set up for squats, though.
He walks over to work on his arms as I set the weights for my squats and get to work.
After the third set, I check the time. I’ve been here for thirty minutes, and I have another thirty before I have to hit the shower and get ready to go to court.
I take my earbuds out of my ears and let them hang around my neck as I take a drink from my water bottle.
The other man isn’t listening to music.
“Are you new to the building?” I ask him.
“No,” he replies. “I live in the building next door. They’re renovating our gym, so I thought I’d come over here.”
“Ah, nice. I’m Gray.”
“Nate,” he says with a nod. “I thought it would be busier in here this time of the morning.”
“I usually have the place to myself.”
“Maybe I’ll come over here more often, where it’s quieter,” he says and reaches into his bag. He pulls out a jump rope, and to my surprise, starts to jump. At the raise of my eyebrow, he grins. “Habit from my MMA days.”
“You used to fight?”
“Long time ago,” he confirms, not even breathing hard. “This is good cardio, and I fucking hate to run.”
We’re quiet for a long time, working out solo.
Before I walk out with my bag to head home, Nate says simply, “I’m Stella’s father.”
I stop and slowly turn to him. He’s not looking my way.
“So, not a coincidence that you’re here, then.”
“No, it is.” He jumps up and completes ten easy pull-ups, then drops to his feet. “I didn’t know you’d be in here. But I know who you are. Our family is big, and no one keeps their mouth shut.”
“I don’t think that Stella or I were trying to keep a secret,” I reply evenly.
Nate nods once. “It seems the cousins like you.”
“I like them, too. And your daughter is an amazing human.”
“She’s more than that,” he says, now looking me in the eyes. “She’s fucking everything.”
I set my bag on the floor and walk over to the other man, holding out my hand for his.
“I’m Grayson Sterling, Mr. McKenna. And despite only knowing her for a short time, I’m falling in love with your daughter.”
Something moves through his eyes as he shakes my hand. His grip is firm but not in an egotistical way.
It just is.
“Julianne and I would like to have you and Stella over for dinner, sooner rather than later.”
“I’d like that, too. Thank you.”
Nate releases my hand and steps back, but he doesn’t look away from me.
“I don’t like the age gap.”
“It’s less than ten years.”
“Still don’t like it,” he repeats. “But if you’re what she wants, I’ll stand behind her. She is the best thing that will ever come into your life.”
“Yeah.” I push my hand through my hair and take a deep breath. “I know. Is it crazy that it’s happening so fast?”
“Some of the best things do,” he says. “I’ve seen too many relationships that happen that way and thrive for many years to think it’s crazy. Just be careful.”
I nod, backing away. “Yeah. I will. I would stay and talk, but I’m due in court soon, and I can’t show up looking like this.”
Nate’s eyes fill with humor. “Then you’d better get going. We’ll be in touch about dinner.”
“Looking forward to it.”
I hurry to the elevator, and when I’m on my way up to my floor, I sigh.
I don’t know what I expected in Stella’s dad, but it wasn’t the fierce, steady, badass man I just met in the gym.
Which is silly because I’d use all those words to describe Stella, too.
The morning flies by. After two back-to-back court appearances, I have a three-hour break, so I text Stella.
Me : You busy?
My phone rings less than ten seconds later, and I see Stella’s name on the screen.
“Hey,” I say in greeting.
“Well, hi there. I’m not busy this very second, what’s up?”
“I have a few hours before I have to be back in the office and thought I’d see if you’d like to meet me for lunch.”
“I absolutely would, but I already have a lunch date.”
“What’s his name?”
I hear her chuckle. “His name is Olivia.”
“Oh, good. You’re finally going to talk.”
“Yeah, we need to. I want to clear the air for good. I don’t like fighting with her, you know?”
“I definitely get it. Have a good lunch. Oh, and you’ll probably be hearing from your dad soon.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I ran into him this morning. Nice guy.”
“Gray, my father is a lot of things, but a simple nice guy isn’t usually one of them.”
“I like him. I’ll tell you about it later. Have a good lunch.”
“Damn it, why did I have to pick a fight with Liv? I’d rather hear all about this.”
“Dinner tonight. My place.”
“I’ll be there.”