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“I’m her cousin, Ava.” She stuck out her hand as she introduced herself.
“The bridezilla.” Griffin wrapped his fingers around Ava’s.
Ava shot Marin a look over her shoulder, then she mouthed the word “Wow.”
Marin bit back a smile. She was still trying to figure out how and why Griffin was standing a mere two feet from her when he was supposed to be in Greece. Doing what he lived to do. Saving people. Taking down the bad guys.
“Technically I’m arunawaybridezilla, tonight,” Ava clarified. “And on that note, I think this is my cue to start running.”
“Wait!” Marin lurched toward her cousin. While she wanted a private moment to question Griffin, she wasn’t so sure she wanted Ava to leave her alone with him. Her heart was still too tender. “Where are you planning to go?”
Her cousin rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry. I haven’t completely slipped this family’s leash. Grandfather is making me work at the Chevalier in London for two years. I’m his indentured servant until I pay back every penny”—she made air quotes with her fingers—“for the wedding-that-wasn’t.” Ava shrugged. “It’s fair. Who knows? My adventure might be waiting in Europe for me.” She wrapped her arms around Marin in a warm embrace. “I’ll call you every day.”
“Let’s not go overboard,” Marin teased.
“I’ll miss you.” Ava glanced over her shoulder at Griffin. “I’m guessing more than you’ll miss me with that stud warming your bed,” she whispered.
Marin hugged her cousin tightly, brushing her lips across Ava’s cheek. “I really hope you find what you’re looking for,” she said around the lump in her throat. “But always remember that I love you. No matter what.”
“Take this,” Ava slipped a keycard out of the back pocket of her jeans and placed it on the table. “There’s no reason to let the honeymoon suite go to waste since I’m paying for it with my blood, sweat, and tears. Seize the day!”
With a wink, she turned to leave the ballroom.
“Be good to her, special agent,” Ava called from the doorway. “Because if you don’t, I know people.”
Griffin dropped his chin to his chest and let out a beleaguered sigh.
“She used to always want to play Thelma and Louise when we were kids,” Marin explained for no other reason than to diffuse Ava’s dramatic exit.
“Remind me never to introduce her to Leslie,” he said with a grin.
Marin’s breath hitched at the sight of his smile. She really needed to pull herself together.
“Elena?” she asked.
“Interpol rescued her about two hours ago.”
“Interpol? Not you?”
He stepped closer to her so that their bodies were separated by inches. Griffin reached up and lightly traced a finger over her healing lip. Marin couldn’t stop her sigh.
“It was pointed out to me by the other half of Thelma and Louise that I had already set Elena’s rescue into motion and it was redundant for me to actually travel to Greece.” He pulled apart the hands that Marin was wringing together and inspected each palm. “Besides, I had something more important to do. Like this.” He pressed a gentle kiss to each hand.
Marin was embarrassed by the soft keening sound that escaped the back of her throat. Griffin’s smile turned smug as he wrapped his arms loosely around her waist and pulled her in closer to him.
“And this,” he said before tenderly pressing his lips to hers. “And to tell you that you were wrong.”
“About what?” she asked as her lips grazed his jaw. Not that she even cared what she was wrong about at this point.
“You said I couldn’t give you what you wanted. But to be fair, you never gave me a chance to.”
She pulled back to look into his eyes. Staring back at her was the passion guaranteed to always make her insides quiver. But there was vulnerability shining in them, too.
“When did you figure that out?”
He groaned before leaning his forehead against hers. “About an hour into a ten-hour flight. Thefirstten-hour flight.”
Marin ran her hands up his back as she kissed his neck. “I could never ask you to give everything up.”
