The problem was that Gray was still dealing with the aftermath of the debacle. Obviously Caro had not noticed anything amiss at dinner, but Gray knew the elephant was in the room. His mistake. His stupidity ruined the dinner in his mind. He should have done something about it today. Not wait for a situation like this.
Gray stepped closer, "Because if it is," His eyes narrowed in warning and said coldly, "I suggest you think very carefully before you continue to abuse your position."
Regan blinked at him and her eyes flashed in temper, but she covered that with her eyelids. "Abuse my position, Mr Cardozo? Really?" She retorted calmly and barely restrained her anger. How dare him? She thought. Abuse my position? Which position? The one where you relegated me to an afterthought? She was close to the edge. She kept her feet on the ground when she was tempted to stomp in fury. Instead, she banked her glare. He was lucky that she had the fortitude to hold onto her temper. Obviously he does not know the outcomes of rattling her cage, for someone whose temperament was normally moderate. After seen Gray with Caro together, and the fact that Caro had the gall to park her car as if she owns the farm, ruined Regan's disposition and her mood.
Gray's good humour disappeared without trace. He glared, "My grandfather is not here to be at your beck and call whenever you are in a snit with me." He came closer and stood almost toe-to-toe with her. She did not move. He leaned in. Icily he warned, "Don't take your bad mood out on him." He folded his arms and banked his annoyance with her, and him! He could not understand why her actions could strip him of his control on his emotions. Things that he would normally ignore. Yes, his grandfather had moved her car, for whatever reasons, and normally he would overlook that. He would ordinarily disregard that. Usually that type of behaviour would not rile him at all. Yet, here he was, having a rant because her actions irritated him.
"My bad mood." She kept a lid on her temper.
His tone was cool and calm. "It was my call yesterday. And having a strop with me, and Caro, is not ok!"
She shuffled the two folders, and kept her tone neutral, she banked her glare under a frigid look. "Your call?" She repeated coolly, "A strop? Really?" She said firmly, "Do you even know the definition of a strop?"
His eyes widened in shock before he snapped, "Yes! I do not appreciate your tantrums and performances!" He all but roared. He ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to reining in his temper, "And the fact you are being unpleasant to other people is not what I expect from a grown woman. I expect polite manners! And you are sulking!"
She was ready to smack him, but she remembered she had reached a decision where she would treat them like acquaintances. "Mr Cardozo, obviously we do not share the same definition of a strop, tantrum or even sulking." She said firmly although calmly, "My understanding is that someone having a strop, is because they will not do as they are asked! And it is hostile, unkind and spiteful, to other people!" She kept her eyes on him. "The only person, who is having a strop, is an adult man, you! Your histrionics!" She said coolly. Gray blinked. Regan carried on, "I asked you and your guest to be considerate when you or she parks at my home driveway. Not an unreasonable request. Not hostile. Not spiteful. Just a plain, ordinary request."
Gray glared. She ignored her own responsibility: She sent an old man to reverse her car for his penitence for the dinner debacle, she is challenged about that, and she has the gall to claim she was right.
"Clearly, we do not share the same definition of a strop!" She said calmly and continued steadily, "Just for clarity, Mr Cardozo, I am not sulking. I simply asked your grandfather to help me, and reverse my car, while I collected some files and a book. He kindly agreed."
Gray glowered. "Yes, Granddad explained, you apparently had to retrieve huge files and a really heavy book!" He looked pointedly at the two folders and the paper book in her hands. Gray shook his head. "Unlike you, I did not make up excuses. Your histrionics, not mine!" Gray glared at her. "It was my call yesterday. I issued the invitations for yesterday dinner. I forgot to tell you about it and it was my decision not involved you at dinner because you are not at home at that time." He said disdainfully, "If you have a problem with that, then see me." His eyes practically erupted with fire despite his words were encase in ice, "And don't take it out on my grandfather." He almost wanted her to holler at him, he needed her to have a row, to argue with him, to help him deal with the guilt he had been feeling all through the night.
Regan was tempted to holler at him. Her eyes fired up as she fought off her temper and looked away for a second. She took a breath. She reached for serenity and composure. She turned back, to face him. She flicked the sign in her head and smiled. A frozen type of smile. Her equanimity nearly returned. "No problem. As I told you last night, you are old enough to invite anyone." Just a shame she tacked on, "Albeit without the wisdom that I would expect with age!" Regan quirked a brow and waited for a second. Gray threw is hands into the air. Was she questioning his decision to date Caro? Or questioning his decision not inviting Regan to dinner? Silence stretched. She held the folders and book to her chest, while he continued to glare. She waited for his verbal response and she quirked an eyebrow to prompt his reply. Nothing.
"Good. So. Ok. Well. I would love to stop and chat." She was pleased she was having the last word in this conversation! Gray glared. She feigned a smile, and said, "Excuse me." She kept her voice light, "Nice seeing you, Mrs Hanley." Regan opened her car door and she put her folders and book on the back seat in her car. She closed the door and reached for the driver door.
"It's Ms." Caro replied curtly having registered Gray's vibes. Her divorce had come through two years ago. She had married young and regretted it. Thankfully her husband had settled quickly and the sum he paid out had been sufficient for her to start her own boutique.
Of course Regan knew that, and she knew she was being mean spirited, but for a couple of seconds she had enjoyed the moment. "Oh dear. Terrible sorry about that." Regan replied as she climbed into her car. Regan smirked, "Bye, Ms Hanley." She quirked a brow at Gray, "Bye Mr Cardozo. Have a great day!" She closed the door, put the key in the ignition, pulled her seat belt across then put the car in gear and drove off, humming to herself.
Gray watched her departure and his mood got worse.
"She doesn't like me, does she?" Caro watched the woman in the car with open speculation as she considered Gray's reaction to Regan. He was watching the car as if he wanted to chase it. Caro was pretty sure, there was something between the two of them. Not sure what exactly. But Gray's reactions to Regan was a problem. Something didn't tally up.
Gray ran the tip of his tongue over his lips. "Regan is in a mood." He muttered. "She is sulking."
"True." Caro agreed, and put an arm around Gray's waist and leaned her head against his shoulder.
Then Gray looked at Caro and said, "Because she wasn't invited last night." He was making assumptions about Regan's mood and he acknowledged that with a niggling sense of guilt that he'd been responsible for that. She'd been very reserved just now, which was not like her at all. Even when he was berating her, she usually still had that warmth in her eyes. She always had a gentle thoughtful expression and it usually irritated him. That smile in her eyes usually made him exasperated. But there was no sign of the smile, or warmth, in the last couple of minutes. She was talking to him as if he was a stranger. Actually, she was a robot, no nuances in her speech.
"Oh." Caro tried not to look delighted with that statement. It also explained the hot exchange between Regan and Gray, albeit, passive-heating-exchange! "I thought she might be jealous."
"Jealous?" He asked, his mind still on his conversation with Regan.
"Yes." Caro nodded.
And her actions registered with Gray. He noticed that Caro had latched herself to him. He rubbed the back of his neck, which gave him an opportunity to extricate himself from Caro's clutch. He watched Regan's car and took a step away from Caro. "Jealous. Probably." Gray took a breath, and looked over at Caro, who was watching him with alarm.
"You know you are a beautiful woman, charming...."
Caro laughed and interrupted, "I meant jealous, because we've been out together and you invited me to dinner here." Caro was fairly certain that Regan had feelings for Gray. "She probably fancies you." And Caro wondered if Gray fancied Regan.
This time Gray laughed and said without thinking, "No, believe me, she's not interested in anyone but herself."
At least his statement washed away Caro's alarm. "Oh." Caro nearly hugged him, more than pleased with his statement about Regan.
"Self-centred and self-absorbed." He muttered as his mind switched back to Regan. Even as he'd said the words he knew that they were not accurate. The discussion he'd had with his grandfather a while back had been replaying in his mind with more frequency, for his grandfather was right, something didn't add up. The fact she recently helped him with his self-esteem, and her actions were not what you would associated with a self-absorbed, self-centred woman.
Caro feigned a wince and hid her smile of relief. "Really?"
Gray shrugged. "Anyway, why waste time talking about her?" He smiled, "Have you got time to stop for a coffee?" He glanced past Caro and tracked Regan's car as it disappeared down the drive.
"Thought you'd never ask." Caro beamed. At least now he was focussing on her, she thought silently. She knew, he nearly forgot about her
From debacle to catastrophe: Well that had gone well, Gray thought with irony. This morning when he woke up, he had the gist of a plan. He would talk to Regan, would offer a fulsome apology, and would suggest a dinner to make up for yesterday's dinner. But that plan vanished when his grandfather told him Regan wanted him to reverse her car for her.