Chapter 6
T hey drove to the Hawthorne House. Despite being the second day of the class reunion, this was the first time she’d seen many of the people she’d grown up with and hadn’t seen since high school.
Karaoke. How did she let Griffin talk her into this? Well, she didn’t have to get up on stage and sing. She could reconnect with some old friends and mill about with Griffin. There would be talk. There always was, and the years wouldn’t make it any different. Besides, word had already gotten out that Griffin was in town, and they’d been seen together, thanks to social media posts about the class reunion.
But Meredith refused to be the source of gossip. Despite being in a different building, she was surrounded by familiar faces that brought back shared memories.
“Hey, Colonel! It’s Colonel, right?”
“Good to see you, Jared.”
“You ended up making the Air Force a career. How did that work out for you?”
Jared Slocum had always been status-conscious. Age hadn’t changed him. He’d never been subtle in asking about someone’s personal business.
“Living the dream in Hawaii.”
Jared’s eyes widen. “Paradise, huh? That has to hurt financially. What about you, Meredith? Last I heard, you were working in some big marketing job. What company are you with now?”
“I didn’t realize you were keeping tabs on me, Jared. ”
He laughed as he touched his slightly bald head while trying to keep his drink upright with the other hand. At one point, the top of his head was a riot of curls. Now, it had thinned to just wisps. “I keep tabs on everyone. You got to know who your competition is.”
“Everyone is the competition?” Griffin said. “Even old friends?”
“What’s a little competition between friends? Looks like Meredith did you double.”
“Excuse me?” they said in unison.
“CEO of marketing. Am I right? Wow! That’s bank. What were you? Mid-six figures with bennies?”
“Why does it matter?”
“It doesn’t. Just curious.” He turned to Griffin. “That has to pay more than double or triple that of a Colonel, right?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Griffin said.
“It’s a good thing old friends don’t care about such things,” Meredith added. “It’s good seeing you, Jared. ”
Meredith pulled Griffin’s arm to move on to another group of people. Jared’s protests grew more faint as they walked on. “Oh, come on. I was only kidding. It’s good seeing you two love birds together.”
Reading the expression on Griffin’s face was hard. She knew him too well.
“Don’t listen to him,” she said. “Jared has always been on a status trip. I thought age would have made him less of a jerk. It looks like nothing’s changed.”
“He’s right, though.”
She stopped walking short of meeting up with a group she recognized. “How?”
“You were the CEO of marketing? That is impressive. Really big. Now, you work as an event planner.”
“I like working as an event planner. Is there anything wrong with doing a job you like?”
“No. But CEO of marketing! Jared wasn’t wrong. It does make quite a bit more than an Air Force Colonel. And quite a lot more than an event planner.”
She scrutinized his face. “Does that bother you?”
“No. Not at all. But I can’t help but wonder why you left such an important job.”
“To do what? A job that is not important?”
He shook his head. “No, that’s not what I mean. I am sure the people you work with are grateful for your expertise. You said you enjoyed it. That’s all that matters. I certainly wouldn’t know the first thing about throwing a party for more than five people unless it’s a BBQ. And even then, I need the local butcher to help me with how much meat to buy.”
Her lips were resistant, but they finally stretched into a smile. “It’s a job, Griffin. I had a well-paying job for a long time. I was good at it. But after a while, I wanted to cry every morning when I woke up. Being good at something doesn’t mean you enjoy doing it. Now, I have a job that doesn’t make nearly as much money, but it makes me smile when I see happy people. I don’t miss my old job even a little. It served me well. I never even think about it anymore.”
“Was it a problem when you were married?”
“What?”
“The amount of money you made.”
His words felt like a gut punch. “Not for me.”
“But for your husband.”
“Ex-husband. And maybe.” They’d already talked about Rafe. But suddenly, Meredith felt so exposed talking about him in a room full of people, even though none of them were paying attention to her except for Griffin. “I don’t know. Rafe never really talked about it. He did very well on his own.”
Rafe had never wanted to talk about money. He’d been very old-fashioned. He wanted to be able to provide for her, and he did. He never asked about her salary. He never asked how she invested her money, either. He’d insisted she keep her money separate. She’d made good investments, and Rafe was shocked when she divulged her assets in the paperwork during their divorce. He’d rejected her proposal to split their assets equally. He hadn’t wanted any of the money she’d invested.
“Money has broken up a lot of marriages,” Griffin said.
“We’re not married.”
“No. But that is only because you broke things off.”
“Why are we talking about this? Would it have been a problem if we were married?”
“I told you it wasn’t a problem.”
“Then why are you letting someone like Jared rattle you about money.”
His smile was slow. But then he sighed and said, “I’m being ridiculous. I don’t know how to say this without sounding sexist or condescending. ”
“Then just say it, and I’ll decide how to feel.”
“You never needed me. I can see that now. But somehow, all these years, I just assumed…”
“That I needed you?”
“Yeah.”
“I did need you for a long time.”
“Then you didn’t.”
“I figured out a way not to need you. It wasn’t easy.”
He drew in a deep breath. “We came here to sing, didn’t we?”
“No, you came here to sing. I’m just here for the free food and the laughs.”
Griffin’s phone rang. It was hard to hear it above the noise in the room, and nearly impossible to hear the ring when the music started. But as he pulled the phone out of his pocket, the bright screen lighting up made it unmistakable. He quickly pressed a button and put the phone back in his pocket.
It took a drink or two, but after a few of the classmates got up and sang, somehow Griffin and Meredith got the courage to get up on the stage for a rendition of Money for Nothing by Dire Straights. They laughed through most of it and danced as they did at Dames Point Park, as if no one was watching. But they reached the end and came off the stage laughing like fools walking hand in hand. When the music died down again, the ringtone of Griffin’s phone pealing rose above the sound of the laughter in the crowd.
Griffin glanced at the caller ID, hit a button and then shoved his phone in his pocket.
“That’s the second time you’ve done that,” she said.
“It can wait.”
“Are you sure? Sounds like someone clearly wants your attention.”
“It’s…I’ll call back.”
Meredith hadn’t been prone to jealousy for many years, but somehow, it crept through her veins and coiled around her, squeezing at her chest. She loathed the feeling.
What did Griffin say was the name of his ex? Karen? Or maybe there was someone new in his life. Damn her for wondering.
The phone rang again, and Meredith said, “Oh, for God’s sake, just take the call. You know, it could be a world crisis or something,” she said, trying to stay light.
“It’s not. It’s…personal.”
After all that laughter, her mood soured. “It’s okay. I’m going to get a drink. Maybe get drunk now that I’ve completed my contribution to this week’s social media circus by making a fool of myself at your class reunion. You can call back whoever has been hounding you all night. I’ll get a beer for you?”
“Sure.”
Griffin watched Meredith’s hips sway as she walked toward the bar and let his gaze linger, enjoying the view. Normally, he would get the drinks instead of letting her navigate the crowded bar. But Lucas was anxious. Griffin knew he would be. He’d already called four times tonight.
He couldn’t put off talking to Lucas any longer.
Walking to the doorway, Griffin watched Meredith talk with Gabby Collins at the bar and hit Lucas’s number on his favorites list.
“Hey,” he said, answering the phone.
“How’s it going?” Lucas asked.
“Karaoke tonight. Picture your most humiliating nightmare. I’ll be sure to send you videos. Someone must be posting a bunch on social media as we speak.”
“I can’t wait.” Lucas laughed, which brought a smile to Griffin’s face and washed away some of the anxiety he’d been feeling about what was coming next.
“Have you said anything yet?”
His stomach fell. “Not yet.”
Silence.
“I will, Lucas. Not tonight, but…maybe tomorrow.”
“You only have a few days left.”
“I will.”
“What’s she like? ”
“I’ve already told you. Many times.”
“No, you told me about a twenty-year-old girl you almost married. I want to know what she’s like now.”
He saw Meredith searching the room for him. “I’ll get back to you on that. Just give me some time.”
A few minutes later, Meredith handed Griffin his beer. “Rumor has it there will be a rendition of We Are the World . Do you want in on it?”
“Definitely. But not if they wait until the end of the night when everyone is too drunk to sing.”
“I draw the line if Gabby pushes one of us to sing any Journey song. She’s on a mission to get someone to sing Open Arms so she can recreate her prom dance with Jared.”
“Interesting.”
“Not.” She took a sip of her drink. “Phone call taken care of? Is the world order unraveling?”
She had questions in her eyes. He had to tell her about Lucas. He was just being a coward, and there was no reason he should be. He hadn’t done anything wrong.
“No world crisis.”
“Good to know.”
Just as the tension seemed insurmountable, music began to blare over the speakers, and a group of classmates ran onto the dance floor.
“Who’s singing?” Gabby yelled into the microphone. “Has Sean shown up yet? He did such a great concert on the beach earlier, and I’m hoping to get more of that tonight.”
Sean West was one of the classmates who always dreamed of making it big in the music industry. And he did exactly that using the stage name Sammy Fedder with his band.
Meredith leaned into him. “I missed the concert on the beach. It must have wrapped up by the time I took my walk. I’m sure he sang his top song, Born to Be My Baby .”
“I forgot about that one,” Griffin said, leaning into her.
“When it was released, it played endlessly in every store and restaurant in Crystal Cove. People were so excited that a local boy had made it big in music.”
“Come on, everyone,” Gabby called out from on the stage. “Let’s get Sean on the phone and convince him to come up to the stage. I know some of you have his cell number.”
The music started playing again, and the crowd started dancing.
“ Love Shack ?” Meredith said, glancing at Griffin.
“Not exactly Sean’s or Sammy Fender’s style.”
“He’s always going to be Sean to me.”
“How about I snatch a bottle of wine from the bar, and we get out of here before Gabby starts looking desperate?”
“Sounds like a plan. Gabby’s determined to get Sean here to sing one of his songs tonight. It might get ugly.”
“I did see Violet Slyk earlier. At least, I think it was her. ”
“It was,” Meredith confirmed. “They were on the beach for the concert and filmed a segment for their show Chart Toppers in Music . The kids at the hotel were talking about it. The feature must have been Sammy Fender.”
“Everyone seems like they’re on their way to getting drunk. No one will care if we slip out and get drunk on the beach by ourselves.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
Griffin walked over to the bar and talked with one of the bartenders. After exchanging money, he slipped a bottle into his jacket and returned to Meredith.
“Beach or the jetty?” he asked.
“Rocks and alcohol don’t sound like a good plan.”
“Point taken.”
Within minutes, they slipped out the side door. He ignored the few inquiring glances they got when they saw Griffin and Meredith together. He heard his name being called, but he ignored it. He was sure he’d connect with whoever called him at the Glory Days banquet tomorrow night, so it was easier to pretend he hadn’t heard.
Connecting with old friends he shared history with was fun. But the woman who’d pulled off her shoes and held them in each hand as she danced to the music barefoot as they left commanded all his attention. The beauty who dug her toes in the sand and swayed her body back and forth playfully. She’d been his best friend, and he’d forgotten just how much he’d missed that until he revisited old memories by creating a new one as if the years between them had never happened.
He didn’t recognize himself much these last few days. He wasn’t this man who was afraid of talking to a woman. Any woman. Or bringing up a difficult subject. He dealt with difficult circumstances all the time.
But that was him, and he loathed himself for it.
Meredith spun around to face him. “Hey, you didn’t happen to swipe any glasses, did you? ”
He shook his head as he pulled at his tie to loosen it. “I was more concerned with getting something that didn’t need a corkscrew.”
Meredith laughed as she twirled. “Good thinking. We don’t want to make that mistake again.”
She ran her fingers through her hair as the wind whipped her dress back as they walked toward the surf. The sun had long since sunk behind them, and there was nothing but blackness. What they could make out was lit by the lights behind them from the hotel leading to the water.
“Oh, I love the ocean. I hated living in Ohio because I could never get my feet in the sand. The beach is so therapeutic, don’t you think?”
She turned to him and stumbled just a bit. She was giddy, happy, and on her way to tying on a good drunk. He was way behind her and wasn’t sure this bottle would help him get there. But Griffin laughed as he watched Meredith.
He’d forgotten. He’d loved this wild and carefree part of Meredith. He…he’d loved her . How insanely crazy was that after all these years? No matter how he tried to pretend he had aged and moved on, he still did couldn't shake the feeling that it had always been there and my God, he still loved her as he did over thirty years ago. Maybe it was just memories unearthing themselves from a deep part of his brain. Maybe they belonged there, not on the beach where it felt real.
But Griffin loved it as much as he loved that first peek of the sun in the morning over the water after he’d spent the night on his boat so he could catch paradise in the quiet while drinking his first cup of coffee. There was still so much left unsaid between the two of them. There was so much he wanted to discover about who Meredith had become. He’d known the girl. But this woman was intoxicating. They’d lived more years apart than they’d shared, and he couldn’t wait to discover what had formed her into this incredible beauty.
Memories of the last time they’d been on the beach at night swirled around his mind and clouded his judgment. Griffin should be telling Meredith about Lucas. But it would ruin the magic that was happening right now.
His time in Crystal Cove wasn’t over. There was still time—tomorrow. Tonight, he just wanted to enjoy being with Meredith, a woman who had commanded his whole heart all these years, even if he didn’t realize it.
“It’s time for a swim,” Griffin said.
“Are you crazy? I have a dress on.” She laughed as she gazed at him for a long time. “Oh, no, no, no. You just want to see me naked.”
“I can’t see anything in the dark. But I can’t deny that I wouldn’t mind seeing you naked again.”
“Nothing’s changed except…”
“Except what?”
“I used to like my behind.”
“It still looks good. ”
“Yeah? You checked it out?”
“I’m still me. You always had a great behind.”
“It’s covered in clothes. You haven’t seen me naked in a long time.”
“I thought I already confessed I wouldn’t mind.”
Her laughter floated into the air and swirled around him, making him dizzy. He could barely see her face, but he could feel her energy. It flowed through him. The slight change in her voice told a story he’d forgotten. He walked slowly toward her in the dark, listening to the music in the background. It was so far away, far enough that he didn’t worry about being impulsive and taking Meredith in his arms the way he’d done years ago—the way he wanted to do it now.
“I think it’s time for a little more wine, don’t you think?” she said.
He’d forgotten about the wine he was gripping in his hand. It wasn’t an expensive bottle of wine. They never stocked the bar with the good stuff during functions like a class reunion. But the screw top came off without a struggle, and when he pressed his lips to the mouth of the bottle, the first sip of wine went down his throat easily. Maybe too easy.
And then she was standing in front of him, and it was all he could do not to reach out to her and tangle his fingers in her wind-blown hair.
“You want to kiss me again,” she said, taking the bottle from his hand.
“What makes you think that?”
“Because I know you, Griffin Cole. You like kissing me.”
“I do?”
She took a long drink. “You absolutely do.”
His chuckle rumbled in his chest as desire stirred inside him until he felt his whole body hum.
“What makes you so sure?”
She pointed a finger at him. “I know that look even though it’s hard to see in the dark. And we’re both going to taste good with wine on our tongues.”
His body immediately responded to her words, and he felt himself grow hard. He could barely see it in the dark and wondered how she could possibly see any expression on his face. Even though he couldn’t see her with his eyes, his mind wandered to the way her head tilted to one side when she was looking up at him and the way she pursed her lips as if she were about to lay a few humorous words directed at him before she kissed him. They were old memories, but they lived so close to the surface of his mind that it was hard to ignore, even in the dark.
What he wanted would complicate everything. It was reckless. And he didn’t care. They had a lot to discuss, not the least of which was what was happening between them now. He wasn’t exactly sure what that was.
He’d been a fool. Time had not erased the pain. Anger had not replaced the love. It had only served to mask what he didn’t want to accept. One look at Meredith, and all those feelings of love came rushing back. He’d never been over her. He’d just disappeared in his career in the military, the very thing that had caused their split up all those years ago.
“You’re so beautiful,” he finally said. That wasn’t what he wanted to say. What he wanted would only complicate things more than he dared.
“You can’t see me,” she said quietly.
“I see you all the time. I hear your voice all the time in my mind. I didn’t realize how much until I came here. It’s never left me, Meredith. You are in me.”
She dragged her bare feet in the sand. He still had his shoes on, and the sand was spilling in, pressing against his feet and making his shoes uncomfortable. But he didn’t care. He wanted to kiss her.
“I think that’s the wine talking,” she said so quietly he almost didn’t hear it over the sound of the surf crashing into the beach. “But I like you saying it.”
“Do you, now.”
She chuckled and came close to him, running the flat of her palm across his chest. “I do.”
Those words had haunted him. They’d never been able to say them in front of family and friends. Now the words rolled off her tongue as if…
Who knew what life would have brought them if she’d been honest with him, if Meredith hadn’t angrily walked away without telling him why she was ending a romance that he’d depended on in so many ways while he’d been in Iraq?
“I’m going to let you kiss me, Colonel Griffin Cole,” she said.
He reached for her and put his fingers on her arm as she moved. He didn’t claim her. He had no right. It had been too long since he’d been comfortable dragging her into his arms and covering her lips with his with the kind of hunger he felt now.
“For the record, I think it’s a bad idea,” she said as she stepped forward.
“Then why are we doing it?”
She was so close, and he had to fight to keep himself from being too demanding. Meredith liked the dance. He’d forgotten how fun that was, if not maddening.
Reaching up, she placed her hands on his shoulders and lifted on her toes. He bent his head, and his mouth was only inches from her lips.
“Because I want to. I’ve missed kissing you.”
Somehow, she was in his arms, and his fingers were tangled in her hair as the wind whipped it around their faces. He wasted no time crushing her lips with his and tasting her. She didn’t just taste like the wine they’d been drinking. It was her, a sweet drug that filled him completely as he coaxed her lips apart with his tongue and joined hers.
He could swear he heard the soft moan rise in her throat above the sound of the pounding surf. His fingers itched to touch the spot where her pleasure rumbled and made him want to drop to the sand and take her. He kissed her deeply as she melded into him as if they were one. And when they parted, he wanted more. He wanted it all. He wanted her. He’d always wanted Meredith.
She gazed up at him and said, “We’re screwed.”