“I guess I’m not getting an invite for dinner tonight.”
I frowned. “Did you want an invite?”
“I’d never knock back dinner that you cook, because not only are you the best cook I know, but it gets me out of the house which means I don’t have to eat the dinner Sue cooks me.” Sue was her foster mother – a prime example of a person who should never have been accepted into the foster care system. She didn’t abuse her foster kids, but she certainly didn’t show them much love.
“I’ll cook. What would you like?” I’d do anything for Magan to try and give her the family experience I’d never had.
Her smile made me happy. “Can you cook those sticky ribs you made that one time for me? They were so good.”
“Sounds good. I’ll let Griff know you’re coming to meet him and have dinner with us.” As I said this, the lady giving me the pedicure distracted me, and all thoughts of dinner were forgotten for now.
* * *
Griff: Get naked. I’ll be there in ten minutes.
Me: Shit, I forgot to tell you my sister is coming for dinner with us.
He didn’t reply for what felt like an hour but was
probably more like a minute.
Griff: Your punishment for not telling me this is going to be exquisite.
I squeezed my legs together as I placed my phone down on the kitchen counter.
Oh, my.
He arrived eleven minutes later and I met him at the front door. His hand landed on my ass and he dragged my body up against his. “Just so you’re aware, making me wait to have you is a form of fucking torture,” he growled into my ear.
Lust somersaulted in my belly.
“I feel the same way, handsome,” I murmured.
Letting me go, he entered my house. “Is your sister here yet?”
I nodded. “Yeah, she’s out on the patio waiting for you. And Griff?”
He stopped and gave me his full attention. “Yeah?”
“Magan’s really excited to spend time with you,” I said softly.
His eyes held mine. “The feeling is mutual, sweetheart.”
I followed him out to the patio and watched as my sister met my boyfriend.
She greeted him with a handshake – something I’d never seen her do before. And her voice was all formal at the beginning of the conversation. It was like she was making a huge effort with him. “Hi, Griff.”
He shook her hand, and from the way she winced a little, I figured he’d forgotten to go easy. Grimacing, he apologized, “Sorry about that.”
She pulled her hand back. “It’s all good.”
The atmosphere turned a little awkward with neither knowing what to say, so I intervened and offered drinks. Once we were all settled at the table with drinks, I asked Griff, “Did you have a good day?”
He took a sip of his drink, and answered, “Yeah, we got through a lot of stuff today that needed taking care of.”
Magan tilted her head. “What do bikers do all day?”
Placing his drink on the table, he looked at her. “Storm has businesses that we run – restaurants and a club – so most of my days are spent working on that.” His shoulders were tense, almost as if he didn’t really want to be discussing this. I was impressed at how open he was being.