Page 7 of Since I First Laid Eyes On You

Paige

Shit . I have thirty minutes before I’m supposed to meet her. I slide my phone back onto the night table and gradually begin the task of untangling myself from Gray.

What feels like an hour later, I’ve managed to extract a foot. One foot.

“What are you doing?” His sleepy voice rumbles in my ear. “Keep still.”

“I need to get up.”

“No, you don’t.” Honestly, this man, I’ve never met someone so bossy.

“I have to go, Gray. Chloe messaged me.”

“Absolutely not. You’re not going anywhere. My cock seems to have slipped out of you in the night, and that’s totally unacceptable.”

“Gray,” I laugh, “I have to go. It’s Chloe’s wedding weekend and apparently there’s a problem with the florist. I’m meant to meet her at nine.”

“Then we have plenty of time.” He pulls me in even tighter.

“No, we don’t, it’s got to be after half-eight by now.”

“Impossible. I never sleep past six.” Is he serious? Never? Who doesn’t sleep in on the weekend?

“You’re joking right? That’s just when you’re working, you sleep in on the weekend? Everyone sleeps in on a weekend.”

“Not me. I don’t sleep well. This is actually one of the first nights I can remember that I’ve slept through.” I smile to myself, not only has he slept through the night, but without even realising, he’s laid in well past 6.00 am.

“Well, your old age is catching up with you because it really is gone half-eight, and I really need to get up or I’m going to be late.

” One of his arms releases me and I hear him rustling around on his night-stand.

His phone appears in front of me, the home screen lit up showing the time.

It’s already gone eight-thirty. Shit . I really need to go.

“Well, it appears you’re good for me in many ways.”

“That’s sweet, but you’re not going to be good for me if you don’t let me go.”

“I always knew that girl was going to turn into a brat. My first morning with you and she’s already stealing you from me,” he grumbles, but his arms relax from around me allowing me to slip free and get out of bed.

I glance back at him as I make my way into the bathroom.

His hair is mussed, his eyes are sleepy, and he looks so damn adorable.

I’m also internally screaming that Chloe is indeed a brat.

***

Grayson

I had plans this morning, plans that involved spending hours inside of Paige.

Instead, I got a peck on the lips and a wave goodbye as she walked out the door.

It’s been six hours since I saw her. Six goddamn hours, since I held her, smelt her, kissed her.

The issue with the florist was more complicated than they thought and apparently her and Chloe went straight from there to the afternoon event the women are all attending, whilst us men get to go pheasant shooting.

I’ve heard all this from Angus, because like the absolute idiot I am, I don’t have Paige’s number.

A call sounds up ahead and the dogs charge, I ready my gun for the inevitable flush that’s coming.

My body is performing the familiar tasks, not that I’m a regular, but Angus and I tend to go on a shoot each winter when I visit.

But my brain is still focused on Paige. What are her and the girls up to?

Is she having fun? Why the fuck did I not think to get her number?

“Looking forward to the dinner tonight?” Angus comes up beside me, I lower my gun and turn to him.

“Yes, very much.” It’s true, I am, more than he realises.

Tonight’s dinner is a close family and friends affair, I believe there’s about twenty or so of us in the ballroom, which means I get to spend the evening with Paige.

We’re going to have to talk about how we’re going to play that.

If I had my way, I’d walk in holding her hand and let everyone know that she belongs to me.

However, I’m not sure how she’ll feel about that.

“How are you feeling? Ready to see Chloe get married?” My best friend's daughter is getting married this weekend; I probably should have asked him before now.

“Are we ever ready to see our kids marry? I’m happy for her, beyond happy for her, and David is a wonderful man.

I’m not sure I could have picked better myself,” he pauses, gathering his thoughts before he continues.

“But I can’t look at her and not see the little girl who used to run to me when I picked her up from school.

Or the girl who asked me to kiss her ‘ouchies’ when she hurt herself.

Seeing her with Paige this weekend reminds me of the summers they’d spend up here together, of how they used to beg me to take them out on the loch.

I guess what I’m getting at is, that although Chloe hasn’t been that little girl that needs me for a long time now, her getting married this weekend feels like the final goodbye. ”

Well shit, I actually feel a little choked up at that. Grabbing him, I pull him into a hug, probably not the wisest move when on a hunt, but my best friend needs this.

“She’ll always need you, Gus. You might not always be her first choice, but there will be no time in your life, when Chloe doesn’t still need her Dad.” He squeezes me back and gives me the universal manly shoulder slap.

“Thank you, Gray, I needed that. Now, shall we go shoot a pheasant?”

“Sure, let's give it a go.” Shaking his head at me, we move through the woods.

“So, you’ve known Paige a long time then?” Am I fishing? Damn right I am.

“Paige is like another daughter to me. She was always close to us, like extended family. Then, when her parents died, and she moved in with a distant Aunt, she spent every minute she could with us. Every holiday, long weekend, she was with us.” Fuck.

Her parents died? I’d wondered why they weren’t here.

“How old was she?”

“Sixteen. They died in a car accident, a collision with a drunk driver. One day she had everything a girl could need, next thing her life was ripped apart.” Oh Sweetheart. I’m here now. I want to be her home, the one who cares for her, the one she turns to for help, for anything.

“We wanted her to live with us, but her Aunt had legal custody and unfortunately, Carol and Stephen hadn’t changed their will.

We’d discussed it, but nothing had been put in writing.

I guess you always think you’ve got more time.

Thankfully, she only had to stay with her for about eighteen months before she finished school and started university.

I’d hoped she would attend St Andrews with Chloe, I wanted her close, to be there for her.

But she wanted a fresh start, somewhere with no memories, and I can hardly complain about her attending Oxford.

” Oxford? Doesn’t he mean Oxford Brookes?

I know my son had said she was at uni with him. Did he lie about that too?

“You mean Oxford Brookes, right?”

He scoffs at me, “Oxford Brookes?! Where on earth did you get an idea like that? That girl has a first-class honours degree from Oxford University in Business and Economics; she’s a genius.

She could give you a run for your money.

” Great. Another thing my son lied about.

I can hear the love and pride Angus has for Paige in his voice.

That girl means so much to him, so much to both of us.

I’m beyond proud of her. An unwanted thought comes to me.

He’s her father figure. Well shit. At some point I’m going to have to tell my best friend I’m fucking his pseudo daughter.

***

Paige

This morning was a nightmare. The florist’s software crashed and the order for the wedding was lost. We had to go through everything again.

Thankfully, Chloe is anal-retentive with things like this, so she knew everything and had pictures for most things.

Still, it took forever, every bouquet, buttonhole; all the decorations for rooms, anything and everything had to be handwritten by the florist. Luckily, the flowers had already been ordered, they just needed to know how and where to arrange them.

As we walk out of the door of the shop, I take a look at my watch and realise it’s after lunch.

“Shit, it’s gone one already,” I mutter.

“That was a nightmare. I just want to be married already, I should have eloped.”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Give me a beach, a sexy dress, my groom and a couple of guests and I’m done.

” Why does Gray pop into my head when I think of the groom?

Would he even want to get married? He’s in his forties and already has an adult son.

He could be perfectly happy with his life, never wanting a wife or any more children.

Stop . I need to stop thinking about him as anything more than a weekend affair.

I barely know him, I cannot be picturing him as the groom to my imaginary wedding.

“We need to go straight to the lodge, the lady who is doing our nails is going to arrive at one-thirty, then we’ve got the hair and makeup artist coming to meet everyone and see if what we’ve discussed will actually work on each individual.

” She unlocks her Range Rover and we climb in, heading straight back to Highlands Manor.

“Just feed me, Chlo. Feed me and you can do whatever you need.”

“You and me both, hun. Would you really elope?” It takes me a second to realise she’s questioning my comment from earlier.

This is the thing with Chloe, her brain can hold on to things and then she’ll carry on the conversation minutes, hours, sometimes even days later and expect you to keep up with her.

Thankfully, this time round, it’s only minutes and I can follow her train of thought.

“Yes, I would. I’ve never really wanted the big white wedding and with Mum and Dad gone, I just want something small. A beach, my groom and you and David as witnesses.”

She grabs my hand and squeezes, “I love you, Paige, so much.” I can hear the tears in her voice, she misses them too.