Chapter 32
Chapter 32
~BLAIR
I heard the laughing before even opened the front door.
50 voucher
It was light, familiar, and completely at home in a kitchen that was supposed to be mine for the duration of this arrangement.
For a second I stood in the entryway with my keys still in my hand, listening, telling myself it didn’t matter.
I had always known where Grayson’s heart was. He had never pretended otherwise. Lily Sinclair had been the plan long before I became the obligation.
Knowing it and walking in on it were two different things.
Was this why he’d asked if I was home? To bring her over here?
I stepped into the kitchen.
They were at the island like it was the most natural scene in the world. Lily sat on one of the stools in one of his hoodies, hair loose, a half-eaten plate of eggs in front of her.
Grayson stood close enough that their shoulders nearly touched, coffee in hand, the faintest hint of a smile still on his face from whatever she had just said.
It died the second he saw me.
He stiffened. The guilt that flickered across his expression was brief, but it was there, and somehow that made everything worse.
Lily noticed the shift, followed his gaze, and smiled slowly as she reached out and rested her fingers on his forearm. The touch was light.
Deliberate. Meant to be seen.
“You’re back,” she said pleasantly. “We didn’t know when to expect you.”
I set my keys down with more care than necessary.
The hurt felt sharper than I wanted it to. I had no right to it-not really, but it still sat hot and humiliating within me. I refused to let either of them watch it settle.
So I smiled.
“Don’t mind me,” I said, walking further in. “I’ll just be a minute.”
I opened the fridge, took out the orange juice, and poured myself a glass like I had all the time in the world.
Then I turned, leaned a hip against the counter directly across from them, and looked at Grayson with bright, fake sweetness.
“Husband,” I said clearly. “The photographer from the island sent over the rest of the honeymoon shots today. There’s one of us by the pool he wants approval on before it goes to the publicist. I told him you’d look at it tonight with me. Together.”
Lily’s fingers stilled on his arm.
Grayson’s jaw tightened. “Blair.”
“What?” I took a sip of juice. “That’s what these things are for, right? Public unity. Strong marriage. I figured you’d want input since your father was so specific about it.” I glanced at Lily, still smiling. “Sorry-am l interrupting this? You two look so uncomfortable.”
Lily recovered faster than he did. “Grayson Successfully unlockedine. Some things don’t change just because paperwork does.”
“Of course,” I said. “History is important. So is the present, though. Especially when the present involves
press, sponsors, and a father in law who gets irritated when the arrangement looks shaky Shayne ishodd avite him over to join us.”
I set the glass down and tilted my head at Grayson “Speaking of which-your jersey from the last game is still in my bag. I was going to return it for a new one, but if you’d rather I keep wearing it to the next one, y Say the word.”
The muscle in his cheek jurped
Lily looked between us, smile sharper now.”You seem very committed to the role all of a sudden
“I learn fast.” I pushed off the counter and walked around the island, stopping close enough to Grayson that Lily had to either move her hand or leave it there in open challenge. She left it. I ignored it.
“Also, the housekeeper texted. She’s coming tomorrow to redesign the master bedroom the way I want it. Since I live here now.”
Silence stretched.
I could feel how tightly Grayson was holding himself, caught between the woman touching his arm and the wife deliberately claiming space in front of her.
The quilt in his eyes had hardened into something more complicated. Lily, for her part, was no longer looking quite as pleased with her entrance.
I should have stopped there.
Instead I rose onto my toes and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of Grayson’s mouth-nothing deep, nothing that could be called passionate, but intimate enough to make things switch in my favor. He went completely still. When I pulled back, I smoothed an imaginary wrinkle on his shirt and spoke softly, as if Lily weren’t two feet away.
“I’ll be upstairs if you need me. Try not to let this run too long. We have that call with the publicist in an hour about the rumor cleanup.”
Then I walked out of the kitchen without waiting for an answer, spine straight.
Only when I reached the bedroom and shut the door did I let the smile drop.
I leaned back against the bed and pressed my palms to my eyes.
I had known. From day one. He loved her. He had said it. He had planned a future with her. I was the debt payment, the temporary complication, the woman he had promised to make hate him so the divorce would
come easier.
None of that should have hurt this much.
The fact that it did, that walking in on them laughing over their little date in the kitchen had knocked the air out of me, was a problem I was not ready to name.
So I did what I always did when something got too close, I turned it into a performance. A boundary. A small, controlled act of war that let me leave the room with my pride intact even while my chest ached.
I dropped my hands and stared at the bed I was supposed to share with a man who still looked most at home beside someone else.
“Get it together,” I whispered to the empty room.
Then I made a quick call, asking for a large picture frame…one that would surely cause trouble once hung it in the living room for all to see.
Dex Morgan
Dex works to elevate each story with clean writing, emotional balance, and thoughtful flow for readers.