Chapter 34
thirty-four
GRIFFIN
TWO WEEKS LATER
Q uynh had been gone for two weeks. He’d tried to call her after he realized she had left town, but didn’t leave a message when her voicemail picked up.
Hearing the sound of her voice sent a fresh stab of pain through his chest. His stomach has been in knots ever since she left town.
He’d typed up a hundred messages but never sent them.
Words were inadequate.
Life continued on in the shop as if she were never there, but her absence was like a missing limb.
Julio and Sean asked him where Quynh was, but they didn’t press for answers when all he managed to do was growl at them in response.
He didn’t have it in him to go into the office and see how she took care of his business.
Everything she touched was better for it.
He knew the office was spotless and well-organized.
He possessed half a mind to go in there and make a mess so he wouldn’t be reminded of her in there anymore.
Griffin didn’t even bother answering the phones at the risk of biting off the heads of anyone on the other line.
Even his bed felt empty without her and that mangy cat of hers warming it. His sheets still smelled like her sweet vanilla scent. Griffin stopped sleeping in his bed for fear her scent would disappear completely. He couldn’t handle knowing all traces of her were gone.
It was pathetic how he was moping over a woman.
Someone he barely even knew, no less. But he was man enough to admit when he missed her.
He missed waking up next to her. Her face being the first thing he saw when he woke up was something he took for granted.
If he ever got a second chance, he’d never take any moment spent with her for granted ever again.
Griffin was banging around under the hood of a Ford Escalade when he lost his grip on the wrench. Letting out a growl of frustration, he backed up and kicked the tire. If not for his steel-toed boots, he’d break his foot for sure.
“Whoa, there, buddy. You okay?” The sound of Sean’s worried voice made him whip his head around with a snarl.
“I’m fine,” he spat out between clenched teeth.
“You seem fine…” Sean replied, though he was obviously being sarcastic.
The urge to tell Sean to fuck off was strong, but Griffin resisted. Barely.
“Listen, uh, I know it’s been slow around here, so if you need to take off for a couple days or anything, you know Julio and I can handle the shop while you’re away, don’tcha?”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, nothing. I was just saying if you wanted to go chase after that city girl of yours, she left her address on her invoice.”
Her address on the invoice?
As if a lightbulb went off, he realized Sean was right. When she ordered the parts he’d needed to fix her beater, she’d left her contact information behind.
Why didn’t I think of that?
“It’s alright, buddy. You’ve been a little preoccupied.” Sean chuckled at Griffin’s expression.
Griffin moved to punch Sean in the shoulder, but he was too slow. Must be his old age slowing him down.
“Well, go on. Get outta here, already!” Sean’s shout made Griffin jump into gear.
If he left in the next twenty minutes, he could probably make it there in time to find a hotel to crash for the night before trying to look for her apartment.
“Thanks, Sean,” Griffin shouted over his shoulder before running across the street to shower and change. He couldn’t show up smelling like grease and motor oil. He’d have to figure out what he wanted to say when he got there. There were plenty of miles between him and his prize.
When he got out of the shower, he threw on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved tee. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and opened up her message thread.
Griffin
I miss you.
He probably should have said something more, but it was the most important thing he wanted to tell her at the moment. Whistling to Rover, he grabbed his car keys, and the two of them jumped into his truck.
“You ready to go get our girl back?” he asked Rover, who barked in response and licked his face. “Gross.” Griffin shoved Rover’s face away.
He pulled up to the auto shop and ran into the office. It didn’t take him long to locate the invoice. Snapping a picture of her information, he put the address into his navigation app and ran back out the door.
He could hear Julio and Sean whistling and laughing at him as he ran like his ass was on fire.
Griffin was a man on a mission.
He had a woman to bring back home.