Page 37 of Stuck with the Grump

Leigh ended her call and looked up, a soft frown taking over. “Where are you going?”

I pulled on a coat and boots, pausing to listen to the rain still falling outside. “I need to get out of here and think.”

“About what?”

With a sigh, I opened the door and looked at her. “Leigh, until you make a decision about what it is you want, I don’t know if I want to share that with you.”

The shell-shocked look on her face when I walked out nearly ripped me in two. I wanted to go back inside and beg her to forgive me, but I took off toward the street, trying to push all thoughts of Leigh from my mind.

“Fuck,” I said, kicking a rock down a slope and into the bushes.

Nothing was making sense anymore. Not Leigh and the way I felt about her. Not my business. Not the future I had once wanted for myself. Everything was a jumbled mess inside my mind and there was no sign of being able to unravel it.

I watched as people walked outside, not caring about the rain pouring down around them or the howling wind. Nobody seemed bothered by the thunder crashing overhead. The days of monotony hadn’t only just affected me.

Why does it have to be this hard?

When I was younger, I used to think that making my fortune would be more than enough. I would be able to have a comfortable life and there would be no worry about the bills being paid. I could do whatever I wanted and go wherever I wanted.

Then came the women whenever I wanted. None of them seemed to want me. They wanted my money, yes. They wanted all the things that my wealth and status would get them but none of them had wanted me for me.

Even though I knew Leigh wasn’t like them, that she was going through her own horrible situation in life, she had still started to build that wall after I had gotten her what she wanted. She would open her new business in a building I bought, and she would continue to push me out of her life.

“Leigh wouldn’t do that to you,” I said, though I didn’t know who I was talking to. “Leigh is too stubborn to take anything from me without insisting on paying me back.”

And yet, there were parts of Leigh that I didn’t know. Parts of her that hadn’t surfaced and wouldn’t until we had spent time outside the lake house together.

I scowled and turned back toward the house, not quite ready to face whatever Leigh was going to throw at me.

“What’s bothering you?” Leigh asked as soon as I walked through the front door. It looked as if she hadn’t moved more than an inch since I had left.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, heading down the hall to my room.

“Oh hell no,” Leigh said, her voice following me as her feet thudded against the hardwood. “Nope. Not doing this. You want me to be honest with you? How about you be honest with me? This is the fucking pot calling the kettle black.”

“Leave it alone, Leigh.”

“Why?” she asked, her tone sharp.

I spun and stepped toward her, invading her space and backing her up against the wall. “I told you to leave it alone, Leigh. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“And I do. Give me one good reason to leave it alone and I will.”

“You are infuriating.”

“And you’re a hypocrite.” Leigh glared up at me, trying to be intimidating though she was close to a foot shorter. “You want me to leave it alone? Why? Because you’re the adult and I’m a stupid child?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Leigh!” I ran a hand through my hair, looking up at the ceiling and wishing for the strength to not throttle her. “Why the fuck do you give a damn now?”

“Stop swearing at me like a belligerent asshole!”

“Fucking pot meet kettle, to quote yourself.”

The fight seemed to flood from her as quickly as it had come. I was still pissed off. I had never wanted to pin her against a wall and kiss her senseless more than I did in that moment.

I leaned closer to her, one hand on either side of her head as I braced myself against the wall. “Why does it matter, Leigh? No strings attached, remember?”

She rolled her eyes, her mouth smoothing into a thin line. “You are driving me insane.”

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