12. gray
12
GRAY
“ D id you realize that most of the conversations I overheard all day were about you?" Wilder asked the question again, phrased differently, and, unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to ignore it a third time.
To distract myself, I twirled the glass in my hand, fully aware that Amelia was behind me at one of the pool tables, playing a game with Soraya—one of my employees.
"About me?" I repeated, pretending not to know exactly what he was talking about.
"There are these rumors."
"Rumors, huh? I started them, so yes, I'm aware of them."
Wilder shook his head. "Even that Amelia is pregnant?"
Three days and the residents of Wolf Creek were behaving worse than the tabloids. I glanced over my shoulder at Amelia, who was leaning over the table.
The white dress barely covered her backside, hiding some of her figure, yet it could not have been more appealing to me, particularly since I knew very well whose clothing she had repurposed.
"I would probably remember if I had been in bed with her, don't you think?"
"What I think is irrelevant. I also know that no one can tell they're pregnant just three days in. But I can't say the same for my regulars." The town hadn't seen a scandal in far too long. "So… did the rumors still come from you?"
I didn't really need to answer that.
"Are you going to do something about it?"
"What? Stop them from talking about it? Appeal to their common sense?"
"Perhaps tell the truth?" he suggested, which only made me dismiss him with a wave of my hand.
On a certain level, the circulating rumors amused me, and as long as they didn't negatively impact anything, I wouldn't bother addressing them. Amelia kept the situation well under control; she had reported to me about the little incident in the bookstore mere seconds after getting out of her car.
"So you're still dancing around each other?" Wilder truly lived up to his job as a bartender; I had to give him that. Although, I would have preferred if he'd paid attention to some of the other patrons at the bar.
In response, I emptied my glass, pushed it toward him, and stood up to join Amelia and Soraya at the pool table.
Soraya had been working for the bed-and-breakfast almost as long as I had known Wilder, making her an essential part of the business. Back then, her wild, loud personality had made it difficult for her to find a job elsewhere, so I had taken her under my wing. Over all these years, I had never once regretted it, and when she welcomed Amelia with open arms, my decision was reaffirmed. The two women also seemed immune to the glances now increasingly thrown our way.
Everyone seemed to be waiting to see a show, which almost tempted me to toe the line a bit. But this wasn't about proving anything or adding fuel to an already blazing fire.
"You've got yourself a really talented player, boss," Soraya announced after Amelia had skillfully pocketed a ball. She leaned on her cue before handing it to me.
It might have disrupted the game, but I leaned in anyway and pocketed the next ball. Amelia snatched the cue from my hand and positioned herself right in front of me, immediately conjuring up images in my mind.
I completely missed what was happening on the pool table because as she straightened up, I stepped up behind her.
"Think you can manage to follow me outside without drawing attention?" I whispered to her.
She was anything but discreet but definitely entertaining. Before I even finished my sentence, she had already let her cue drop on the table as if the game had suddenly lost all its appeal.
As she followed me, the tension inside the bar was palpable, as were the pairs of eyes that followed us to the exit. Likely, someone would get up and discreetly position themselves behind the door to eavesdrop on us.
For this reason, I only paused when we reached the corner of the building.
"Why are we outside, Gray?" she demanded to know.
"Because I don't want to do something I might regret later just because I wasn't able to control myself."
Amelia raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
"It's tempting to give them a show. Do you realize how easy it would be for me to place my hands on your hips, lean over you, and follow your movement as you bend over that damn table?"
"Then at least they wouldn't have to just speculate that we're in a relationship."
"Which we are not," I reminded her.
"Nobody inside cares about that. I've heard them placing bets." Amelia didn't need to elaborate further.
"Don't get me wrong, darling," I said, backing her up against the wall and placing my hands on either side of her head. She hadn't shown any signs of pulling away, yet I found myself enjoying the thrill of trapping her between my body and the wall. When she looked up at me, I could feel her breath. See her lips slightly part.
If she were to rise on her tiptoes now and catch me off guard as she did in her bathroom, she wouldn't see the inside of the bar again today.
"Misunderstand you how?" She reminded me that I had started a sentence but hadn't finished it.
"As long as you don't belong to me," I continued in a lower tone, "I won’t act like you do.”
We both knew it wasn't about other women. My eyes had been fixed on her from that first second in the restaurant. It was more about not acting like we were in a relationship since we weren’t in one. I didn’t mind giving the locals something to gossip about, but I also didn’t need it messing with my head.
I felt Amelia's fingers at my belt before they slowly moved up my stomach to my chest. "You want me."
"Isn't that obvious?"
Amelia almost smiled, which stirred some new emotions in me. Someday, I would coax a full one out of her, and it will be everything.
"You've never really said it outright."
Incredulous, I opened my mouth and let out a soft laugh. "How much clearer do I need to be without throwing you over my shoulder and?—"
I didn't finish my sentence because just then, I heard the bar's entrance door open, and I pushed off from the wall, creating distance between Amelia and myself.
Which turned out to be a mistake because the rest of the evening, she conspicuously kept her distance from me.