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I nodded.
“All right. After I left your place, I went to a bar and got drunk. Apparently, my boss called to thank me for talking to his daughter, and he realized I was drunk. He showed up and took me home with him. Because I don’t want any misunderstanding between us, I’ll tell you now I did wake up in his bed, but nothing happened.”
I stiffened and narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean you woke up in his bed?”
Griff held up his hands. “I swear nothing happened. It wasn’t like that. He slept in the guest room. He’s also straight and not my type. Do I have to remind you what my type is?”
“Are you sure he doesn’t want a piece of you? He seems to be going through a lot of trouble for an employee.”
“Honestly, I thought the same, but I think he’s genuine. I don’t meet too many of those around, Scottie.”
“So what happened?”
“He found out I was turned down for the house, so he brought me here to show me this place.” A smile played on Griff’s lips, and he rubbed my cheek with the back of his hand. “Are you satisfied now?”
“Maybe.”
He groaned. “Scottie, don’t give me a hard time.” He buried his face in my neck. “Either you move in willingly, or I follow you back to the motel and kidnap you.”
I tried to keep it together. I really did, but a giggle escaped. Then Griff’s fingers were playing my ribs like a violin, and I laughed even louder. After the morning I’d just had, laughing again felt good, and I held out answering him for as long as I could before my bladder felt like it was bursting.
“All right, all right!” I cried, throwing myself at his mercy. “I’ll move in with you. Stop, or I’ll pee on the floor.”
Griff ruffled my hair. “That’s more like it.”
“Seriously, where’s the bathroom?”
“Why don’t I show you?” He swept me over his shoulder like a caveman and strode toward a short flight of stairs to the left I hadn’t noticed.
“Show me! I know exactly what you want to show me, Griffin.”
“Good. Then you’ll show me where to put it.”
My cheeks heated. Thank god I was upside down on his shoulder so he couldn’t see my face. My smile dimmed at the memory of leaving Jay earlier today, but I shoved the image from my mind. The ball was in his court now, but I sure hoped he would forgive Griff and me. Our lives would be incomplete without him. But in the meantime, I would cherish every moment I had with Griff, so the sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
30
GRIFF
Had I known a sweaty, tired man holding a bouquet of roses would have attracted women, I might have tried that trick years ago. No less than half a dozen women smiled at me between the time I picked the flowers out and paid. One lady with fire-red hair even smacked her husband and said, “Why can’t you be more like him?”
The sort of attention the simple act brought would have been welcomed years ago, but as I held the door open for another woman, all I could think of was going home to Scottie. Almost two weeks had passed since we moved into our new apartment. The first week had been a lot of trial and error, with us learning each other’s habits.
We were opposites. Living together had its challenges, but with compromise and change, we’d found our rhythm by the second week. He’d needed more time adjusting to me than the other way around, so the flowers and chocolates were my way of thanking him for not running out on me after the nth time he tripped over the boots I’d left in the hall.
I crossed the street to my truck. Selling my motorcycle was the toughest choice I had made, but a truck made more sense, given my job. I could have used the money from Jarrod, but I was saving for a house for Scottie and me.
Funny how loving someone made me yearn for a house with a white picket fence. And a child. I wouldn’t mind a child, raising them right, and making better decisions than I had with Jay. But I didn’t dare share that thought with Scottie. He’d never even mentioned marriage. I had to remind myself more than once that we hadn’t been together for long. Years of sending each other letters just made it seem like much longer than it was in reality.
As I slammed the door to the truck shut, my phone rang. Jarrod. We talked almost every day and not always about work either. When Scottie and I finally settled in, he’d been out of town, but last night we had him over for dinner. Scottie had been so nervous at first, but as the night wore on, he’d relaxed to the point where I’d left him talking with Jarrod about some computer game I didn’t understand while I washed up the dishes. From living with Scottie, I’d learned his obsession with video games, computer games, and superheroes was a lot more than I’d thought.
“Hey, what’s up?” I secured my seat belt and started the engine.
“I heard about the hiccup at the construction site today.”
“Yeah, some equipment malfunction, but we checked all the equipment before using them, so we were just set back a bit. No harm done.”
“I already knew you’d be on top of it. I’m referring to the basketball game we’re supposed to see tonight. Will you still be able to make it?”
