“Really?” I probably shouldn't be beaming up at him while he’s all grumpy, but I can’t help it.
“Yes, really,” he grumbles, making me laugh.
“Well, it doesn’t matter because I’m yours.”
“Don’t forget it either.” He pulls me into him, giving my ass a squeeze. “You want to make breakfast or we can order something when we get to the office.”
“Order. I’m excited to see it.”
“You’ve never seen it before? Not even once?” he asks as I grab my purse, making sure my phone and Kindle are inside. I try not to go anywhere without those essential things.
“No. Maybe I would have met you sooner if I had.” I wrap my arms around his arm as he heads out of the house. I can sense his anger as we get into the car.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just hate how they shoved you off into boarding school. I was right there. I should have noticed.”
“Griff.” I crawl into his lap.
“Seatbelt.” He tries to protest, but I win out.
“I wasn’t your responsibility—besides, you’re making it up to me. I’ve never felt so loved.” I run my fingers through his short hair. “We’ll be different with our kids one day.” I feel him stiffen for a moment.
I rest my head on his shoulder, wondering if maybe he doesn’t want kids. He’d gotten a strange look on his face when he saw me holding baby Phoenix. I really hope that’s not the case. Each day that passes and as I settle in at Griff’s home it becomes clearer to me what I want, and it’s a family. One that is close. One that is normal. I should probably bring up the idea of maybe one baby and not tell him about how I might have been thinking about a whole bunch of them.
When we make it to his office, he shows me around. People openly gape at us. You’d think they’d never seen Griff before with all the staring that they're doing.
“Why are they all staring at you?” I ask him when we make it to his office and close the door.
“They aren’t used to seeing me with someone.” He lifts our hands. Our fingers are tangled together, and he kisses the back of mine.
“Oh, I thought I was going to have to claw some of those other girls' eyes out.”
“Did one of them bother you? Tell me which one it was.”
“I’m joking!” I rush to say. Okay, I’m not totally joking. It had crossed my mind a few times. I don’t love that other girls might be staring at him, but I get it’s probably because of me. I don’t want him to go fire anyone, because based on the look he’s currently wearing, that’s exactly what he’s about to do.
“All right, I’ve got a meeting in the conference room. Will you be okay in here by yourself until I’m done?”
“Yep.” I skip over to the sofa in his office and drop onto it. I pull out my phone and Kindle. He follows me over, bending down and laying a kiss on my mouth.
“I might be a few hours. If you need anything, Linn will get it for you.” He checks his watch. “She’ll be here in a bit. She had a few things to handle this morning.”
“Okay.”
“You can come get me too if you—”
“Griff, I’m fine.” I fight a laugh because he’s being adorable. He lays another kiss on me before he leaves his office but not before giving me one last long look.
I read for a bit before my phone goes off with a text from my brother. I texted him last night, but he hadn’t responded.
Charles: You’re at the office?
Someone must have told him. It’s possible he works here. He always worked for my parents, but I never actually knew what he did. That’s what I want to change. I’m hoping we can have a real relationship.
Me: Yeah, you should come by!
Charles: Meet me out front.