Page 64 of The Curveball
“Baby,” Parker starts, but stops when Skye shakes her head.
“No, I want to know because I’m overthinking this entire thing. You two have never been like this. Wren, girl, what’s going on? Griffin will sugar coat it.”
“Skye, my love, you wound me. I would not,” Griffin says.
“Wren,” Skye says, leaning forward over the table. Her dark hair drapes over her shoulder, and her eyes light up, ready for a story. “Tell me what’s going on. I didn’t think Griffin was a favorite of yours. Was that rude to say?”
I chuckle. Skye suffered a brain injury a decade before and always frets over her bluntness.
“It wasn’t rude,” I say, but guilt tugs at the center of my chest. Did Griffin think I hated him? If he did, it makes all this even worse. To know Griffin Marks stayed at my side through my weird fear of hospital scans, then gave up half his house to me, possibly all while believing I despised him, makes his big, gooey heart all the sweeter.
I look his direction; he faces me, then smiles in a way it wrinkles his nose. Almost like it’s an instinct now, I let my hand fall to his back. “It’s hard to keep up the ice queen act when the man holds your hand through a concussion and gives you a house.”
“Wait, he gave you a house?”
Ah, that’s what catches Kiera’s attention. Ryder’s date lifts her head, but I keep my eyes on Griffin. “He did.”
My voice is soft, my fingers tease the back of his hair. Griffin’s smile fades. In the hinge of his jaw, a muscle pulses as heat builds in his eyes.
For a moment there isn’t anyone else but us. Sound fades to a muffled white noise. A magnetic pull tethers me to the man. I’ve been firmly planted against falling into an implausible relationship. Now, not even two weeks in his duplex I’m shivering the moment he walks into a room?
No. This has been building for over a year. I’ve simply refused to admit it.
“Wren.” Skye’s voice breaks my trance. She looks like she’s trembling in her seat. “Are you twotogether?”
The question I’ve wanted to avoid all night, and I don’t know what to say. The more we have to define the relationship, the more I wish we didn’t. I wish we could simply be. My tongue is heavy, as if protesting the idea of forming a complete sentence.
Under the table Griffin drops his hand to my knee. “We’re together.”
Skye shudders, her mouth goes tight, and I’m guessing she’s seconds away from imploding from excitement.
“Really?” Ryder asks, quirking a brow.
“Yep. Really. As long as she wants me.” Griffin glances at me, but his smile is flat.
I hold my breath. He’s not hinting he doesn’t want the temporary, is he?
To break the cycle of inner thoughts is like trying to crack through a cement block with your fist. Every look, every flirty comment made from Griffin, I’ve accepted, only to follow it up with the thought he’s simply being himself. They don’t mean anything because he’s charming, sweet, and friendly.
I’ve never allowed myself to believe there could be something genuine beneath his jokes and winks. If there is, what do I do with it now? Am I willing to take the risk? If I do, I’d need to open my moth-eaten heart.
Griffin deserves someone who’d give him her all.
I should fit our norm and return his comment with something witty or taunting. Tonight, I can’t bring myself to do anything more than take his hand, and shrug.
“Keep telling me I look hot in sweats, and it might be a long time before I let you go, Marks.”
Skye fans her cheeks, a big, gummy smile cuts over her face. “I knew it was only a matter of time. Even ask Alice. I’ve been saying this for months. You two jab at each other, but you can’t stay away. I’m so excited for you!”
“Cool, guys,” Parker says. He smiles, but he still looks at Griffin with a touch of suspicion.
Ryder has said nothing. He’s in the process of peeling our skin back with his glare.
“You good, Ryd?” Griffin asks.
“Great.” Ryder harrumphs, then leans forward, as if staring harder at Griffin’s skull will let him see into his thoughts. “Don’t hurt her, man. She’s a Kings lady, and you know the rules when it comes to the Kings ladies.”
Did . . . did Ryder Huntington just make my heart grow two sizes? I think he did.