Chapter 16 #2
“Did you see the way he went all broody, scooping her up in his arms like he was in an action movie and saving the woman he loves from all the falling buildings around them?” Shayna lets out a dreamy sigh, leaning against her car.
“What are you going to do, Mal?” Tess asks, looking at me knowingly. Since Kelsey started dating Tess’s brother, she’s become the perfect addition to our friend group, fitting in seamlessly like the puzzle piece we didn’t know we were missing.
“You looked like you were about to kiss each other like the world was ending.” Alyssa fans herself with her hand.
“I felt like I was watching a romance movie play out right in front of me.” Shayna giggles.
I’d be lying if I didn’t feel the same way. I felt more flutters in my stomach from Griffin’s eye contact alone than I’ve ever felt kissing another man. The only thing that beat that feeling was my first kiss with Griffin.
“I should go save my brother before Evie starts asking him where babies come from.” Tess blows us a kiss goodbye.
The rest of my friends pile into Daisy Mae.
“When are you going to see him next?” Alyssa shakes her shoulders and makes a kissy face.
I shove her arm. “Probably not until Christmas Eve at my parents’ house.”
“He’s coming to your house for Christmas?” They squeal again like a horde of schoolgirls at a boy band concert.
“Did I not tell y’all that?” I hum.
“You certainly did not.” Shayna frowns—as much as the epitome of sunshine can frown—at me in the rearview mirror.
“Oh, this is about to be good.” Kelsey turns in the passenger seat, grinning at me.
Once I’ve talked to Griffin about the interview, I think it might be time to see if the sparks are still there because they were definitely buzzing between us tonight.
If I still feel them, then I think it’ll be just like Kelsey said: the story of us is about to get good.
If the snow falling outside is any indication of how today will go, I’m hopeful for a peaceful day. A fresh start.
But I agreed to spend today with Griffin, so my anxious anticipation to see him doesn’t leave me feeling very peaceful.
I had told myself I wouldn’t see him again until the Christmas celebrations at my parents’ house.
However, Griffin made it impossible to deny his request to see me today.
He wants to find his granny a small tree from the local lot for her to have in her facility.
Once my mom learned what we were doing, she gave me all her extra Christmas decorations so we could jazz up the space.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared to see his granny again—to lie to her.
But Griffin said he couldn’t put her off any longer.
Turns out, she’s been asking to see me again since the day our faces appeared in the tabloids.
And I may be stubborn about many things, but I’d never deny her wishes to see her grandson happy, even if she doesn’t know that it’s not entirely real.
At least, not yet.
I glance outside just as Griffin’s driver, Ted, drops him off. He offered to have Ted chauffeur us, but I told him that wasn’t necessary.
Looking around, I let out a relieved sigh. It doesn’t look like there are any paparazzi here today, thanks to the security team that has been coming by our property around the clock.
I walk outside to greet Griffin. He opens his arms like he’s about to go in for a hug. As I’m about to step into his embrace, he must think better of the idea and extends his hand my way.
This results in an awkward embrace where I have my arms around him, and his hand is poking my stomach.
He jumps back. “Ah, sorry. I don’t know what I just did.”
“Don’t mention it.” I shove my hands in my pockets, realizing I forgot my gloves. “Shoot, I need to run back inside. Will you get her warming up?” I pull my car key from my key fob and toss it to him.
“Aye aye, Captain.” He salutes me before slowly shutting his eyes and shaking his head.
I hear him muttering to himself as I head into the house and grab my gloves and earmuffs off the coffee table where I left them. Winston runs over to me, excited that I’ve already returned.
“Sorry, boy.” I grimace. “I’ll give you a big treat later when Kelsey isn’t looking.”
I walk outside, locking the door behind me. I notice Griffin is in the driver’s seat, so I head to the passenger side. I’ve barely opened the door when I hear Griffin talking to my car.
“You’ve got this, Linda, girl.” He rubs his hand across the dashboard. “It’s just a little drive across the city. Don’t let the snow bother you.”
“What are you doing?” I sputter, sliding into the passenger seat, shocked to find him sweet-talking my vehicle.
He blushes, leaning back in his seat. “You said Linda hates the snow, so I was giving her a pep talk.”
“You remember that?” I can’t believe that he remembers something I casually mentioned in passing years ago.
Griffin’s eyes never leave mine as he says, “I remember everything about you, Mallory.”
I decide to test my friends’ observations from the Winter Market. “No one is around, Griffin. You don’t have to act.”
“What if I said that I wasn’t acting?”
I take a deep breath, mustering all my courage. “Then I think there’s a bigger conversation we need to have soon.”
He smiles, reaching across the center console and squeezing my hand. “I’d love that.”
Not ready to have that conversation yet, I say, “You don’t mind driving Linda?”
“Nope, you get to be my passenger princess today.” He leans over, his mouth a breath away from mine.
My whole body buzzes with awareness.
He’s about to kiss me. My head leans forward of its own accord, like my lips can’t help but be drawn to him. Except Griffin doesn’t kiss me. He reaches around me and grabs my seatbelt, pulling it ever so slowly across my body. I never knew buckling up could be so sexy.
Once he’s clicked my seatbelt in place, Griffin smiles at me, looking pleased with himself. “Safety first.”
As Kelsey would say, for the love of biscuits. Now this man has my own body betraying me.
If he keeps doing things like this, I’ve got no chance of surviving this ‘fake’ relationship without falling for him.