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Yet, for seven minutes, I was his, and he was mine. This was a chance I might never get again, and I was going to make every minute count. When Griggs's lips met mine, I didn’t hold back and gave him everything I had dreamed of my entire life.
So, when I peeked over my shoulder to find an older, more handsome man standing at the hedges that separate our yards, I was pleasantly surprised. His arms adorned more tats, his hair had a few strands of gray in it, and he was sexier than he had ever been in high school.
“Hello?” Griggs's gravely tone tickled my lower belly, and I squeezed my thighs together as I started to daydream about him again.
That’s until my toddler yanked me out of my revelry. “Momma nakey.”
“Not yet, but she’s close.” Griggs chimes in, dragging me into a myriad of torment and embarrassment.
I slowly turn toward him, holding Taylor close as I grapple with my loosening towel. “Hey. How are you?”
“Good,” Griggs's gaze roams my body, and I'm not ashamed for the first time in my life. What does that even mean? “and getting better by the minute.”
“Yeah, I’m dying here.” I swallow hard as my mouth goes dry by how he looks at me. I shuffle my feet as the towel and my son close in on winning this battle.
“I’m not trying to be rude; I apologize,” Griggs tilts his head, offering me a smoldering smirk. “But I must admit, this isn’t the homecoming I expected.”
“Oh, was there a parade or something planned that would help to add to my plunging humility?” I shudder at the image of anyone else witnessing this interaction, quickly glancing around at my surroundings. “And with that thought, I should get us in the house.”
“Just one more thing,” He holds up a finger as Taylor squirms. My grip on this towel, my son, and my sanity is fading rapidly.
I force an awkward smile, slowly releasing a long sigh. “Yes?”
“I’m told you have the key to my house?” He grins wickedly, working my dusty and tired libido into overdrive.
“Oh, yeah. I forgot you’re here to sell your parents’ home.” Probably not the conversation I should be having now as I struggle with my son and this damn towel.
“No, not yet.” He shakes his head as he reaches over and strokes Taylor’s hair off his face. “I couldn’t bring myself to do it after dad passed, following my mom so soon.
I bite my tongue this time, hating I brought the subject up. I lived in Charleston when his parents died, and after Steve left, I moved into my parents’ home now that they live in the Outer Banks.
It was a fast fix for my impending homelessness. Once Steve disappeared from us, I found out he hadn’t been paying any of the bills, including rent, and I was stuck in debt to everything and everyone.
I didn’t have the money to move, and I worked from home, making it hard to earn money and take care of the twins. So, moving home rent-free was a God send, but it also meant that I wasn’t here during this challenging time.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”
He glances at me before looking back at Taylor. “You were a little busy, I understand.”
“Still, it’s not an excuse.” I tug at my towel. “Let me get him inside, and I’ll grab the keys.”
He steps through the hedges, waiting for me to turn toward my house. “After y’all.”
“Y’all?” I smirk. “You can take the southern boy outta the south, but you can’t take the southern draw from him.”
Griggs laughs in earnest. “Right? New York often feels like another world than what it is down here.”
“I can only imagine,” I say, reaching for my front door knob, only to find it locked. “Shit!”
“Shit.” Taylor echoes me.
“Momma didn’t say that; it’s a bad word,” I mumble as I ponder, running around to the back of the house as I turn to face him. “It’s locked; I’ll need to go around.”
He reaches for Taylor, who buries his face into my neck. “Want me to hold him?”
“Apparently, my resident streaker is shy now.” I pat on Taylor’s back; when it dawns on me that there’s a key under the mat as I start to kneel. “Oh, there’s a key.”
Griggs holds his hand up, “It might be best if I get it.”
