Addy And The Smart Guy (Big Girl Panties #3) (24 page)

"Heartless and womanizing. Wow. This should be an interesting lunch. Should I ask your mother about her womanizing husband?"

"Go ahead. Last time I asked her about it, she said she didn't give a shit. I'm just saying, it's not going to help you make a decision. Either you want to go with me or you don't."

Addy studied him feeling like she'd just ripped open a window to his soul. He was wrong. This lunch was going to provide her with more answers than she'd imagined possible.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

There was a little sandwich shop and café near the river. When Addison arrived, Mrs. McDaniel was already sitting at a table, dressed nicely in blue slacks and a pale blue blouse.
 

Addy went to the counter, placed her order, and joined Grey's mother. "I'm so happy to be meeting with you, Addison."

"Likewise. I told Grey about our lunch plans, and he had quite the reaction."

"Really?" Gloria said, leaning in. "Do tell?"

After Addy described Grey's behavior, she said, "I was surprised. But then I thought about all his talk about not believing in love and marriage and all that. I'd always assumed this was an intellectual choice. Now I'm wondering if it isn't the result of an emotional wound."

Gloria smiled sadly and leaned back. A young man brought their sandwiches and drinks. When he was gone, Gloria said, "Probably more than one wound. He was a surprise, you know? We'd been told we couldn't have children, so we'd never bothered with protection. Then he came along. We weren't prepared. I'm afraid we weren't very good parents. More distant than we should have been. Unwilling or unable to provide the closeness and comfort that a young boy needs.

"Still, he loved and respected us well into his young adulthood. He was seventeen when everything changed. He was on a date in the city with his girlfriend. I remember how excited he was, taking her to dinner and dancing and the theater…a real grown-up date. When he came home a few hours later, he was different.
 

"It took him three months to confess to me what happened. He'd been out with his girl at the same restaurant where my husband was dining with some young piece of ass. Greyson said he followed them to a hotel and saw them go in together. He was devastated. He'd held the secret for as long as he could, not sure whether it was right to tell me. But when he discovered that it wasn't just a one-time thing, he decided to tell me."

"Good Lord, that would be horrible. I'm so sorry for him and you both."

"Well, don't be sorry for me. I'm the other half of his problem. I already knew about Donald's mistresses. He'd been having them for years, and he has them still. At any given moment he could be nailing some stupid, twenty-something bimbo. It was something I accepted early in our marriage. He's still loving and kind to me, still provides for me. I'm still the primary beneficiary in his trust…and that's the root of it all. I married for security and comfort. I do love Donald, in my own way. But it isn't the same as the way you love Grey."

Addy swallowed. "You told him all this? Back then when he came to you?"

Gloria nodded. "Yes. I thought he took it rather well. He's always such a cheerful young man. But then I noticed how shallow his relationships always seem to be. I'd never heard him outright claim to not believe in love until after he went away with you for the week. I assume he's falling in love and doing his best to deny it."

Addy smiled down at her hands. "Yes, I suppose that's what's happening."

Gloria sighed. "Well, I'm afraid that's all there is to it. Truthfully, I never regretted marrying Donald until I saw what it had done to Greyson. Now, as much as I'd like to tell him to give love a chance, I feel like I've lost all credibility."

"You've certainly created a challenging situation for me," Addy muttered as she nibbled at her sandwich.
 

"What will you do?"

"I don't know." She sighed, feeling a little sadder than she had before lunch. This mountain was looking harder to climb all the time.

"Can't you just be with him? On his terms? He's so happy with you, Addison. And I mean, he has been since he's known you. I remember when his attitude changed. He'd been so depressed after the leg injury and being stuck here with us for a year while he recovered. And he did seem to enjoy teaching, but then one day I was having lunch with him and he just seemed brighter. I noticed he kept talking about this eager new student who showed so much promise. That was you, wasn't it? You've been making him happy all this time. I hope you won't stop."

Addy just stared at her, letting all her own sadness show. "That's what he wants. How can you all put that on my shoulders?"

Gloria only shook her head.

"I need to at least know he'll fight for me. This morning, he was just three words away from ending this. I just don't see how I can go away with him without at least a promise to try, you know?"

"I know, dear. It's just, I really think he'll come around."

"You do? Do you know how stubborn your son is? How set in his beliefs? I wish I had your confidence, but I just don't."

Gloria didn't argue anymore. They finished their lunch, and Addy thought the conversation was over until they stepped out the door.

"Wait," Gloria said.

Addy turned to face her.
 

"Come to dinner tonight," she said.
 

"Why?"

"So you can meet his father. So he can feel what it's like to have you with his family. So we can have an opportunity to prove to him that he's wrong about love. I don't know why, Addison, I just know I'm not ready to give up on him. And you shouldn't be either."

Addy smiled, encouraged by her spirit. "Okay. Dinner. Where and what time?"

They exchanged email addresses so Gloria could email her directions to Grey's childhood home. They agreed to let it be a surprise to Grey, then they hugged and went their separate ways.

At seven o'clock, Addy pulled down the long, driveway and felt her jaw drop. She thought she'd grown up in a mansion, this one was at least twice the size of her parent's home. More like three times. There was a circle at the end of the driveway with a fountain at the center. Addy parked behind Grey's car.
 

She'd avoided him the rest of the day and was half worried Gloria wouldn't be able to get him here for dinner. But it looked like she'd succeeded after all.

Addy stepped out of her car, clutching her purse in one hand with a light sweater draped over her other arm. She had on a yellow sundress she'd picked out based on Grey's interest in the dress she'd worn to the clinic. She'd also left her hair down for the same reason.

Holding her breath, she walked up the rock portico to the massive double doors and rang the bell. It was Grey who answered. He smiled immediately. "Addison," he said, clearly surprised. Then just like that, his smile vanished, he turned around, and shouted, "Mom, what the fuck?"

Addy just shrugged and followed him in, closing the door behind her and following Grey to a sitting room where Gloria was reading a book and sipping a glass of wine by the fireplace.
 

"A quiet, family dinner?" Grey asked. He turned on Addy. "What are you doing here?"

"Your mom invited me."
 

He turned back to his mom. "I don't bring girlfriends home for dinner. That's my policy."

Gloria turned wide, amused eyes to Addy.
 

Grey turned back to Addy. "Come on. I'll take you out."

"Greyson, you're not embarrassed to be seen with me, are you?" Gloria asked.

"Maybe he's embarrassed to be seen with me," Addy chimed in.

"I'm not embarrassed to be seen with either of you, I—"

"Greyson!" said a cheerful, booming voice.
 

Addy saw Grey's face go stony. She turned and watched Donald McDaniel enter the room. He stood about an inch shorter than Grey, had a head of thick, dark hair, probably dyed since there wasn't even a hint of gray in it. "You've finally brought a woman home for dinner," Donald said, taking Addy's hand and kissing it.

Addy turned and arched a brow at Grey.

"I didn't invite her," Grey said. "She just showed up."

Addy's mouth dropped open in shock. What a thing to say.

But Donald didn't appear to hear. "I see what finally got him hooked," he said. "You are quite a lovely creature."

God, really? Creature? "Thanks," Addy said flatly, and firmly extricated her hand from his grasp.
 

"She's a lesbian and a militant feminist, Dad. She's not interested in your compliments."

Donald just laughed. "Oh, son, I'm sure that's not true. Come on, ladies, I hear dinner is ready."

Gloria walked by her husband's side. Addy hung back with Grey, slowly making their way to the dining room.
 

"This is a truly different side to you, Grey," Addy said in wonderment. "The two of you have the oddest way of jesting with each other."

"It's not jesting. He literally doesn't listen to me. Barely knows I exist. Don't let him touch you again, he's a complete sleaze."

Addy gripped Grey's arm, not because she feared for herself, but because she worried for him. In the dining room, Grey pulled out a chair for her and took the seat next to her, regardless of the fact that his place setting was on the other side of the table. He simply reached across the table and dragged his plate and silverware to her side. Donald and Gloria sat at the ends.
 

A servant brought dinner out. Addy was a little in awe of this. She'd always thought of her family as rich, but they'd never had servants. They had a maid who came in twice a week. She'd had a nanny growing up, and for a while they'd had a personal chef, but no one actually serving the food. She found herself looking around, waiting for cues as to when and how to eat.

"So tell us about yourself, young lady," Donald said.

"Addison," Addy said. "I'm a graduate student at the university."

"Really? So how did you meet?"

Addy had thought the answer to that was quite obvious, so she failed to answer swiftly enough.
 

Grey jumped in and said, "We met at a swinger's club. She was sixty-nining some hot blond, and I got in on the action."

Addy gaped at him.
 

"Greyson, really," Gloria muttered.

Grey just chuckled as he took a bite of the poached salmon on his plate.

"Son, I'm trying to have a conversation with the first woman you've ever brought home to us." This came from Donald and was in a completely different tone than his previous dialogue.

Even Grey looked up in surprise. "I'm sorry, Dad, I didn't know you were interested in her. You want Mom and I to go?"

Donald actually turned red at this. "What is your problem?" he blustered.

Addy slid her hand over Grey's thigh and squeezed, but he didn't appear to notice as he laughed bitterly. "My problem is I was tricked into coming over here tonight. If it's all the same, mother, I think I'll take Addy home. If she hadn't already decided to reject me, I'm fairly certain this is the last nail in my coffin. Come on, sweetheart."

He stood, taking Addy's wrist and pulling her to her feet. Addy cast an apologetic look to Gloria as she hurriedly dropped her fork and dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a napkin before being dragged out of the room.

"Son, sit down!" Donald boomed.

Grey ignored him. He made it to the front door, retrieving Addy's sweater and purse from the armoire someone had stored them in. "You look lovely in that dress, Addy," he said, as he slipped the sweater over her shoulders.

"I thought you would like it."

"I do. I like you in it. Come on." He opened the door for her, but Donald caught up to them out on the portico.
 

"Greyson!" Donald shouted, grabbing Grey by the arm.

Grey jerked his arm free and spun to face his dad. "What? What the fuck do you want?"

"I want to know why you insist on being such an asshole all the time."

Grey laughed bitterly and shook his head. Addy couldn't help but notice how he kept himself protectively in front of her.

"Well?" Donald prodded. "Do you intend to answer me, you self-righteous son-of-a-bitch."

This silenced Grey's laughter. "Self-righteous? I was conceived by a gold-digger and a lecherous creep. I assure you, I have nothing to be self-righteous about."

"You call me lecherous? You knock up one of your students and you have the nerve to look down on me?"

"Oh, I see. You've been waiting all these years for some ammunition, is that it? That why you've never confronted me? Now you think you've got something to prove I'm just as shitty a human being as you are, you think you can hurt me? Let me tell you something. Sons look to their fathers for examples of what it means to be a man. Know what you taught me? You taught me to hate myself. But I guess you're right, I am self-righteous, because as much as I hate myself, at least I know I'm better than you."

Donald's face was contorted, his body shaking with rage. Addy would have stood rooted to the spot in shock if Grey hadn't dragged her away to her car. He opened the door for her and helped her in. Then he got in his own car and drove away without looking back.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Grey drove. He just drove, fast and hard. This was new. He was always so cool. In his world, people were passive aggressive. They didn't show the true depths of their anger. They kept it buried under masks and dropped snide comments, now and then, just to make clear where they stood.

How had this happened? How had his father managed to get the better of him? Those words that had come out of his mouth had shocked Grey as much as they'd shocked Donald. Grey had never delved deep enough into his own psyche to consciously realize how much he hated himself. But he did. It was absolutely true.
 

He drove with tears blurring his vision, down I-55 toward St. Claire. He didn't know why. He thought maybe he would drive there, turn around, and drive back. Instead, he found himself meandering down the main street and turning at a corner, parking behind a bar, and dragging his feet to the front entrance.