Page 93 of The Holiday Clause

“When?”

“Seven. We’ll finish this then.” He scooped Tinsel out of the basket.

When he grabbed his coat, she quickly slipped back into her robe and followed him to the front door. “Grey, you can’t fight with Soren over this. You’ve won.”

“That doesn’t erase what he did.”

She caught his arm. “Greyson, please! Don’t turn this into a scandal.”

“It’s only a scandal if no one backs off. He’ll back off. You’ll see.”

CHAPTER 13

“Ding, Dong, Ding, Dong, Ding”

Greyson blewinto Soren’s house like an unwelcome blizzard, his presence crackling with barely restrained fury.“Soren!”he bellowed, shaking the rafters. “Get your fucking ass out here!”

His brother appeared at the top of the landing, strategically keeping a flight of stairs between them like a shield. “I’m not doing this, Greyson.”

“The fuck you aren’t.”

“Look, the check was her idea.”

“It’s over.” His words sliced through the air with deadly finality.

“No. I’m not going through this with you again. She’s thirty fucking years old, Grey. You don’t get to control us like kids anymore.”

“She’s done with you.”

“Bull. Shit. We have something?—”

“You have nothing.”

“Says who? You?”

“Says Wren. It’s over between you two.”

Soren’s spine stiffened as suspicion crawled up his rigid back. “What did you do?” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and shot Wren a text.

Greyson crossed his arms over his chest and waited, every muscle in his body coiled like a predator ready to strike.

The awkward silence stretched taut between them as they waited for her to respond.

“She’ll get back to me in a second.”

“I’m sure.” Greyson’s words dripped with skepticism.

“She will.”

“Maybe if you stare at the screen a little harder, text bubbles will appear.”

Tension radiated from his brother as he forked his fingers through his dark hair, sweat beading at his temples despite the cool air, the strands falling in disheveled waves. “She typically answers right away. Maybe it’s a bad signal.”

Bullshit. Wren was surgically attached to her phone, her lifeline to the world. She paid extra for her plan to ensure she had the best service, while everyone else barely got by with two bars.

She was probably panicking as much as Soren right now, her pulse hammering against her throat as she bit that sexy lip of hers. Greyson wouldn’t let things get any further between them until they cleared this up. Best his brother learned the truth sooner rather than later.

“She’s obviously ignoring you.”