Page 78 of How Not to Date a Griffin

The man had said it himself. Reid had fallen for Nolan.

But Nolan didn’t know if that was better or worse.

His screen went dark from inactivity, pulling him from his thoughts, reminding him of his purpose.

Right. There was no time to dwell on it, at least not now. So he swallowed back the tightness in his throat and continued searching through local news reports for more ties to his father’s shady dealings.

The scent of whatever Reid was concocting in the kitchen drifted out, a tease, and despite the way Nolan’s stomach still swirled, it grumbled as well.

Reid returned a handful of moments later with avocado toast and eggs and bacon filling two plates.

“Wow,” Nolan breathed. It was hard to believe this was the first time Reid had cooked for him. Because it felt natural to accept the plate from him, as if they’d done this a thousand times before in a thousand other lives.

Now his throat hurt again.

It was pretty, a work of art in the form of a simple breakfast, and he remembered Reid talking about fancy meals without fancy pricing. Because everyone deserves to feel special every now and then. “You’re truly impressive.”

Reid’s cheeks darkened as he ducked his head, as if swerving to avoid the compliment. Or Nolan’s gaze.

“Thanks, man.”

They ate, more of that uncomfortable silence making his skin itch. He tried not to think of the obvious. Like: what did this mean for them?

It wasn’t until this moment that Nolan realized, while he’d considered that the week would come to an end, he’d never been able to envision leaving. Even though he’d have to leave Reid, eventually. But it just didn’t fit in the image he’d slowly been creating as the days went by too quickly.

And if, in the meantime, he’d actually been considering… not leaving? Staying, saying goodbye to his father and his job and the company and his lonely apartment for good? Well, that was just crazy, wasn’t it? Uprooting his whole life for a man he’d known less than a week?

Reid must have been having the same thoughts. If he’d fallen for Nolan, like he claimed.

“What are you thinking about so loudly?” Reid asked, voice soft and yet sounding like a gunshot in the silence.

“I don’t think you want to know,” Nolan admitted.

“I do, or I wouldn’t have asked,” he retorted. “Are you… mad?”

Nolan swallowed, the bite of perfectly fluffy egg going down like chalk.

“Reid. You lied to me. Or at least omitted the truth, which is...” He trailed off. This wasn’t Reid’s fault. “How I feel about the matter doesn’t change that what my father is doing is real. And putting an end to it takes precedence. So I think – I think we should focus on that.”

“Yes. Of course,” Reid said. Nolan didn’t miss the way his fingers tightened around the fork in his hand. “What do you need me to do?”

“Call your friend to meet us, so he can start writing his story.”

“Okay. But finish eating first.”

Nolan did, because wasting a single bite of this delicious meal that Reid had prepared for him was unacceptable.

Nolan was trying very hard not to think of Reid’s role in all of this. If it wasn’t for his father, would Reid have come back at all?

He would laugh if his chest didn’t feel cracked open.

Nolan Whittier, just a pawn in other people’s games.

Well, it was about damn time he played his own.

Starting with his father.

Nolan