Regan realised she was cornered. So she turned around.
Gray glowered at her when he spoke. "I will not tolerate your rudeness to my guest." She was behaving like a spoilt brat. He was not going to put up with it. A few moments ago, he realised his old self was still around, rattling in the background. He could do charm. He could flirt. The last half hour showed him he was making progress with his personal social life. A social life that had been shelved after that unexpected vicious episode in his life which robbed him of his esteem. The easy-going chap was stored and enclosed with grumpiness. Mulish and obstinate.
Gray knew his stubborn attitude had helped him to recover from his injuries, but it, like opium was addictive. He knew he relied on that tenacious, boorish attitude, even now, to back his actions. Returning to the charming, kind, thoughtful, gentleman was a risk: he had trusted people, and his trust was rewarded with injuries. Until today, he had not accepted he could take a risk. He had not been out, on a date, since that episode. And today Caro provided a turning point. She flirted with him, from the moment she stepped out of her car. And his response was automatic. His old self, eluded his bounds that shackled his emotions. And he realised there was no risk in chatting up a beautiful woman. Just plain fun. The fact that Caro appreciated his company, that she really enjoyed his company, to the extent that she was happy when he suggested he could carry her back to the house to avoid ruining her shoes before the next rainstorm.
In the back of his mind, he was not sure if his happiness this afternoon was due to their flirting or the fact that he had found his old temperament. He thought his old nature, his appeal, was long gone, but today, he realised his personality and temperament was intact.
"Too bad." Regan muttered quietly. He appeared to ignore her words. But from the way his eyes had narrowed she knew he had heard her. She did not care! Today could be written-off. It would not matter what she said now, because either way, her world was in a mess. A mess she had constructed when she realised her dreams had no foundations.
Gray kept his tone low, because he knew his fury was barely held in check. "I manage this farm." He rubbed his cheek and jaw and took a moment to stem his vitriolic response. A second later he said, "And I will not tolerate your rudeness to my guest, my family and me." He came closer. She remained in position. "I repeat, I manage this farm for you." He reminded her. Gray was beyond incensed.
To avoid looking at his eyes, "So?" Regan retorted and turned away, saddened by the emotion she saw in his eyes. In any case, surly was back and with a vengeance. Guess charm was only available for the blonde. And Regan also acknowledged she was wrong. He was right. She was rude to his guest, and him. Being rude is not normal for her. She can't blame her awful day, because, as a doctor she had experience dealing with death. She knew her rudeness was due to jealousy. Watching him flirt, which seemed natural to him, she knew she was really jealous. This unpleasant situation was her fault. She should have walked away when Gray and Caro appeared at the front door. She should have said, hi, and walk away. She could have used the excuse that she was soaked to the skin. She could have made a brief reply about not wanting to be a gooseberry and walk away. Instead, she had stayed and watched him and Caro flirting. Instead she made a pithy reply. And even then, it was about a car parked. Time to apologise, her brain said. But she could not bring herself to make that apology!
Gray wanted to shake her. She stood still, her back to him. He stalked closer. "We are entitled to offer hospitality to our friends."
"Fine." She muttered. Gray took a breath and squared his shoulder, to allow her mutter to pass.
He grumbled, "Then do that!"
"Fine!" She repeated. "Remember she is still here! Enjoying my hospitality!" That was enough, to unleash Gray from the chains that bound his fury. He took her shoulder and spun her around so that she faced him, and could see that he was far from pleased with her
His eyes glared but his tone was soft. "Even if we do board with you."
"Board?" Regan mumbled and folded her arms. They do not board with her: They do not pay rent. They live here.
"Yes. Board!" He snapped. Fury raced through his eyes. "That does not give you the right to be rude to our friends. Churlish. Bad-manners. Truculent." He snapped at her and released her shoulders. Regan could see that he was really very angry so she said nothing.
His actions were taking her back, to the time when her parents used to admonish her for what they considered to be rudeness: if she appeared in front of their guests, uninvited, that was rude. If she spoke when she had not been asked a question, they considered that bad manners. Their admonishments had not been warranted. But today she knew she had been rude and she knew that his chastisement was warranted. But that did not mean she had the stomach to accept his criticism. Not today. Not after seeing her fantasy vanish. She lowered her gaze, but her feet kept her glued to the floor.
"The world does not revolve around you." He took a step way because he was tempted to tipped her chin forward so that he could see her eyes.
She mumbled, "I never claimed that..."
"You think that you can bloody well get everything your way, and for the most part you can demand what you like from me." He grated, furious with her. "Because you are my boss. Despite the fact that my boss doesn't have the skills to run a farm."
Regan felt her gut clench, hurt by his words as much as his tone. And she could not challenge his statement, because he was right, she didn't have the skills to run a farm.
"My guests and my family's guests are out of bounds to you and your ego." Loosing his control he grabbed her shoulders, leaned in, his nose almost touching her nose as he demanded, "You need to learn some manners."
Regan tipped her chin and her eyes remained trained on him as she stated in a very measured voice, "I suggest you ask your guest to move her car," she ignored the glare in Gray's eyes, "that she so thoughtfully parked in my driveway in such a considerate way." Regan pushed his hands off her shoulders and then marched past him.
He followed instantly. "You are one spoilt, rude, bitch, you know that?"
Regan drew a deep breath turned around and faced him. Her eyes sparked with heat. "No. I do not know that. And in any case, I am not." She stated flatly. Then she glowered, "While I accept I do not have the skills to run this farm, like you, but I am the owner of this property, unlike you!" She spun back around intending to leave.
Gray blinked, clamped a hand on her shoulder and spun her around to face him. He was absolutely livid. "Apologise to Caro." He ordered with eyes that were dark and ominous.
That order was enough to tip Regan over the edge. Regan threw her chin up. It was obvious she was not going to do anything of the sort. "No. I. Will. Not!" She flung his hand off and her eyes flashed with equal temper. "Your guest is waiting for you somewhere in my house. You could have this conversation with me, after your guest left, instead you wanted her to see that you are the boss here, that you make the decisions here. Too bad that is not the case!"
Gray straightened his spine and interrupted her, "Really? You make decisions for the farm?"
She glared at him. He was about to continue with his argument, when she held up her hand, palm facing him, she said in frigid tones, "This is my house. This is my farm. And if you invited someone to my farm, my home, ensure that they have enough sense to park with responsibility and courtesy. Not just abandon their car to suit their whim!" He was about to challenged that statement when her hand, with her palm still facing him, jerked to stop his interruption and she continued, "Is that clear?" His eyes sparked with fury. "Now, given you invited that woman to my farm, she is your guest, so I suggest that you attend to your guest right now. Don't let her wait for you to continue to wait on her! I am sure your charm is intact, albeit no sign of it right now. I suggest you find her and your sister, and you can continue to flirt with your guest before she runs out of patience waiting for your return!" She quirked an eyebrow and added, "So get out of my way." And with that she turned, walked to the door and yanked it open.
"We have not finished!" Gray growled.
She stopped at the door, her eyes flashing with fury said firmly, "Too. Bad. I. Have. Excuse me!" And she marched out of the kitchen. She was livid. It wasn't just what he'd said to her, it was the fact that she had spent weeks trying to get him to play nice, and got nowhere, yet Loretta's boss did it with a simple smile.
She left Gray puzzled. What had just happened? How come she had walked away, again.
Gray rubbed his hand around the back of his neck as he watched the door close. He couldn't remember the last time he had ever heard this tone in her voice. She usually just smiled sweetly as she took aim, and she never ever lost her temper. Yet, for the last few seconds he had definitely been on the receiving end of her temper. Her eyes were practically molten with temper and something else. He could see that she was furious. He shook his head. What did she have to be angry about? She was the one in the wrong. She was the one who had been rude.
He blew out a long calming breath, ok, so maybe in her haste Caro had abandoned her car without considering other people might need access. But walking fifty odd metres to get to the front door was no big deal. It certainly did not warrant the level of rudeness Regan had displayed.
This 'discussion' was to point out her boorish behaviour, but she had left with the last word! With both palms he rubbed his face, threaded his hair with his fingers, left his fingers at the back of his skull and shook his head in utter incredulity. She was not intimidated by his statements and she left without offering an apology to him or his guest. What the hell just happened?