Rm w/a Vu(144)
“Hi,” I greet with a smile, holding my hand out toward him. “I’m Juliette. Greyston’s girlfriend.”
Dom returns my smile and takes my outstretched hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” He looks past me to Greyston and shakes his hand next. “Gem’s told me so much about you.”
A cold breeze slips past us, making me shiver. “Please, come in,” I tell them, ushering them inside. “Let me take your jackets. Greyston, why don’t you offer our guests some wine?”
While I hang the thick winter jackets in the main closet, Greyston shows them to the living room before he heads to the kitchen and pours the wine. I join him, helping him carry the glasses to our guests, and we sit on the loveseat across from them and engage in conversation while our dinner finishes up.
“So, Gem tells me this is your first time in the mountains?” Dom asks me.
I sip my wine and nod. “It is. It’s pretty amazing, too. Cold, sure, but a truly wonderful experience.” I look at Greyston as he settles his hand on my knee. “Unforgettable, really.”
Greyston leans over and presses his lips to mine. When I glance back at our guests, I notice Gemma has looked away and is taking a large pull from her glass.
The timer on the oven goes off, so Greyston and I excuse ourselves to make the final preparations on dinner. While he carves the roast, I butter and season the vegetables and mash the potatoes. I make a quick gravy, and Greyston sets the table before calling Dom and Gemma to join us.
As we sit around the table, Dom talks about his job as a personal trainer. Turns out, he and Gemma met at the gym; he was her trainer during her off-season. They’d been seeing each other for just over a year when he proposed, and they tell us that the rest is history.
After dinner, Greyston offers up a chocolate cream pie and coffee with Bailey’s for dessert, and we head back to the living room to enjoy it. About halfway through our dessert, Dom’s cell phone rings, and he excuses himself to take the call, grabbing his jacket and stepping out onto the front porch for some privacy. The three of us carry on our conversation, Greyston telling Gemma how this might be his last time staying in the cabin because his parents are planning to sell. She seems sad to hear this, but is quick to offer up alternative solutions for him to keep vacationing out here.
Even with the fire roaring, I notice Gemma shiver when she sets her plate on the coffee table. “Cold?” I ask, confused, because I’m quite warm, and no one else has complained. Though, her shirt is a little on the lighter side while I’m wearing a sweater, so that could have something to do with it.
“Freezing.”
Feeling generous, I set my coffee down and stand up. “I’ll go grab you a sweater,” I offer.
“Oh, Juliette, that’s not necces—“
“Nonsense. I’ll be right back.”
As I ascend the stairs, I hear Gemma exclaim, “Oh my God! I remember this!”
Greyston’s voice is barely audible, but I catch a few words and deduce they must be looking at one of the photos on the mantle. A flare of jealousy fills my belly again. I don’t like that they have a history, regardless of how much he reassures me that it was just that: history.
Laughing at myself, I shake off the feeling, because Greyston isn’t Ben. He’d never do anything to intentionally hurt me, and I know it’s just my past insecurities that are making me question everything.
I grab a sweater from my suitcase and head back downstairs to rejoin the dinner party, but as I hit the bottom stair, I stop dead in my tracks and watch Gemma press her lips to Greyston’s. I’m about to make my presence known when Greyston pushes Gemma away from him, eyes narrowed, cheeks flushed, and chest heaving.
“What the hell are you doing?” he demands.
It takes me a moment to fully realize what I just walked in on, and it isn’t until Greyston asks her what the hell she thinks she’s doing that I fully comprehend.
Every fear I felt before came rushing back, slamming into me like a tidal wave and pulling me under. I struggled against the riptide of emotions, trying to see through it all clearly in order to act rationally.
“Juliette,” Greyston says, his eyes wide with panic when he sees me standing there. I only glance at him for a second before I hone my icy glare on Gemma as she turns to face me.
“Oh, hey,” she says innocently, as though she wasn’t just making a move on my boyfriend while her fiancé is outside. She approaches me, eyes darting around nervously as she tucks her hair behind her ear. “Great sweater. I bet that blue looks killer on you and brings out your eyes.” She reaches for it, but I yank it from her reach just as the front door opens.