Chapter 13 #2
He nods. “I’ve been working there, helping with the horses. Decent money, honest work. Jed’s the one running it—been in the saddle forever. Owns a farm a few miles up the road.”
Relief hits so fast it’s almost dizzying. Not a client. Not another woman. For a ridiculous, dangerous second, I let myself believe maybe I’m not competing with a revolving door of beautiful strangers. Maybe the kiss at the bar meant something to him too.
“You really are a cowboy. Here I thought it was all an act.”
Griffin tips the brim of his hat, the corners of his mouth quirking. “Something like that. You’ll have to come out one day. Meet Jed. See the farm.”
I nod, my heart light and stupid with possibility. “I’d like that.”
He leans in and brushes his lips softly against mine. “Then it’s a date.”
“I say, go for it. Go for Griffin. One hundred percent.” Piper meets my shocked gaze over her sushi roll, before popping a bite into her mouth.
She’s joking, right?
“It’s not that easy. He’s an escort, remember?”
Piper shrugs, returning her attention to her spicy tuna roll. “Didn’t seem to bother you the other night.”
I huff and jab my chopsticks at a California roll, stabbing straight through it like it personally offended me. “But it should, right? It’s not like we can have something together. Hell, you said so yourself. Rule number one: don’t mingle with the locals.”
“You’re not a local. You work at the ranch, so it basically falls under the whole co-worker addendum.” Piper leans forward, resting her chin in her hand, blue eyes glinting. “Fess up, Reese. When was your last terrific orgasm? When was your last amazing lay?”
I choke on my water, coughing at her unexpected segue. “I am not having this conversation, Piper.”
“That long, huh?”
Guess we are having this conversation.
“Honestly…” My gaze drops to the table, voice low. “I don’t remember. It’s been forever. The best orgasms I’ve had are with my vibrator.”
“Well, that’s a tragedy. Griffin can fix that for you. Let’s face it. He’s a ridiculously nice and gorgeous guy who has the hots for you,” she replies with a smug grin. “He wants to treat you like a queen, Reese? Well, let him. It’s about damn time someone did.”
She makes it sound so damn easy.
Sorry to break it to you, sis, but it’s not.
It’s a whole new level of heartache.
I smack my palms down against the table. “That doesn’t erase the fact that he sleeps with people for money. Lots of people.”
Damn, those words taste horrible in my mouth.
Piper chews thoughtfully on her spicy tuna roll, considering my statement. “I’m not so sure about that anymore.”
My brows furrow. “Not so sure? He works at the ranch, and he’s an escort. Pretty straightforward setup.”
She lowers her voice, eyes flicking around the restaurant. “Well, Sabine said something the other day. Something about his retiring. Didn’t go into detail, but it stuck with me.”
Retiring. The word crashes over me, my heart surging into a gallop.
Calm down, Reese. It’s probably nothing. Just Sabine running her mouth.
But then I remember Griffin out at the cabin, repairing the irrigation pump. Recall his talking about working at the stables. A normal job. A real life.
Hope sparks bright and dangerous, no matter how hard I try to smother it.
Piper shrugs. “Point is, maybe he’s not doing the whole escort thing anymore. I think you should ask him.”
I rub my hand across my forehead. “I don’t know, Piper. I’m not sure how much more my heart can handle.”
“Look, you don’t have to marry the man. All I’m saying is—go and have some fun. Let Griffin treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Realize what you deserve.”
“You don’t think I’ll make a fool of myself?”
Piper sets down her chopsticks, leveling me with a look. “He went to the drugstore and bought you ibuprofen and a heating pad. No, I think you’re pretty safe from making a fool of yourself, sis.”
I turn my sister’s words over in my mind, weighing them against the way Griffin makes me feel. By the time we roll back to the ranch, I’ve made up my mind.
I’m baking him cookies.
Oatmeal chocolate chip—his favorite.
And then I’m taking them down to his cabin to see what happens.
I’m setting aside all my preconceived notions and just going with it. Piper’s right—there’s no reason I can’t have some fun with Griffin. I’m wickedly attracted to him, I enjoy his company, and damn it, I feel safe around the man. That’s saying something.
I slide into a sundress—similar to the one from the night at the bar, only this time, the buttons are intact.
A denim jacket. My new pair of cowgirl boots.
I fluff my hair, check the mirror, and yeah.
I look good. Damn good. Good enough to earn a few more of those amazing kisses from the man who’s been haunting my dreams.
With my Tupperware of cookies tucked under my arm, I weave down the path toward his cabin, my pulse skipping, then racing, with every step.
I climb the two steps to his porch and knock.
But when he swings the door open, instead of his trademark smile, I get an expression of pure shock.
“Hi. I wasn’t expecting you.”
Oh, shit.
I know this look—the locked jaw, stiff shoulders, classic deer in headlights.
I caught it on Vander’s face the day I showed up early at the country club. Then again, when I surprised him at his office, and learned that surprises can be a terrible idea. Mostly for me.
Case in point: now.
God, please don’t let there be a woman in Griffin’s cabin. I’ll never recover.
“I, um… brought you cookies.” I thrust the container toward him like a peace offering. “Your favorite. Oatmeal chocolate chip.”
“Wow,” he says, taking them. “That’s amazing. Thank you.”
I force a smile, already backing away. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were busy. I’ll go.”
“No, wait.” He catches my arm. “I’m just packing.”
“Packing?”
His gaze flicks away. “Yeah. Heading out of town for a few days.”
“Is everything okay?” I’m praying—begging—that it’s a coincidence. That maybe he has a family emergency. Something. Anything .
But when he finally meets my eyes, I know.
I know where he’s going, and what he’ll do once he arrives.
There is no retirement for Griffin Topete.
Turns out my sister’s a liar—well-intentioned, maybe, but still a liar.
And Sabine? Sabine is forever a bitch.
“It’s a weekend away,” he says. “A business trip.”
Not sure why he’s glossing over it, because I know exactly what kind of business Griffin conducts.
I spent the afternoon baking Griffin’s favorite cookies, pulling on a sundress, curling my hair, dressing like a woman who hoped to be kissed. And for a few stupid seconds, I thought it might happen.
Just like in the movies.
Instead, I’m standing here, looking every bit the fool while the man I can’t stop thinking about gets ready to leave to spend the weekend with someone who’s paying for him.
God, I’m an idiot.
And I can’t be mad, because he isn’t doing anything wrong. This is his job. I knew that from the first day.
I’m the one who read more into it. I should’ve known better. Once again, stupidity trumps common sense.
I back up a step, hoping every emotion doesn’t show on my face. “Well. Have fun. Be safe.”
I turn and hurry onto the path, desperate to escape.
“Reese, wait.”
I stop, fists curling at my sides, holding myself together as I pivot toward him. “What?”
“Do you want to come in and keep me company? Help me pick the right tie? Have a cookie?”
Is he seriously asking me to help him select an outfit that he’ll be fucked out of later?
I screw my eyes shut and swallow— hard . “Sorry, I’m no good at that sort of thing.”
“Are you sure?”
Of nothing, Griffin. Not of you. Not of this. Not of whatever game I thought we were playing.
But I nod, holding my composure in check. “See you later.”
“I’ll be back in a few days. We’ll do something together.”
God, he’s trying so hard to be my friend. Now at least I understand the no-kissing clause the other night.
I force a smile, lifting my hand in a feeble wave. “Sure.”
Can I please go now? Return to my room and bawl my eyes out?
“If you need me, call me, okay? For any reason.”
Right. Let me interrupt your client’s playtime with my trivial nonsense. No doubt she’ll love that.
“Thanks.” It’s all I can manage at the moment.
He rests his hand on the doorframe, screwing his mouth to the side. “Can I just say that you, standing there with the sunlight in your hair, are the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
The man is so damn good at that, and for a breath, I almost believe him. I want to believe him.
But wanting doesn’t make it true.
They’re just words. You know what words amount to? Not a damn thing.