Part of her was relieved, but another part didn’t want to leave the Griffin’s beautiful home. The family she’d longed for seemed to be right at her fingertips. It was too bad none of it was real. They had only welcomed her because they believed she was about to marry Skylar. Someday they would be disappointed to learn the marriage wasn’t going to happen. A break-up was coming. It didn’t matter that he was open to dating her. He was only doing that to keep her from blowing up his plan.
“What if your mother doesn’t believe you?” Anna asked.
“I do this all the time.” He shrugged before slipping on a snug blue jersey with a football logo and the number 23 on it. “My parents have been giving me thepoor Skylartreatment for years. I can only take it for so long. Then I get an emergency phone call. Maybe they don’t believe me. I don’t know. If they don’t, they never say anything.”
“What if they say something this time?”
“They won’t.” He gave her his patented grin. “Even if they suspect I’m lying, they’ll just assume you and I want to be alone. They know we have limited free time. If we were in love, I would want to have you all to myself for as long as possible.”
The sexy timbre of his voice turned her insides to mush. If he loved her... what would that be like? Would he be controlling or supportive? Attentive or too busy for her? Trusting or jealous?
He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. “Mmm. You taste like maple syrup.”
He picked the second coffee cup off the tray and took a long drink from it. She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. Even that was sexy. She fantasized about pulling the sheet back in invitation. Then she remembered they were in a house full of people. If they ever made it to the point that they both wanted to get intimate, they would find a better place and time.
She cleared her throat. “Guess I’d better get dressed and start packing then.”
He winked at her. “Wish me luck.”
Then he was gone. With a sigh, she collapsed against the pillows trapped between her and the padded headboard. That man could be so infuriating, but he was right about one thing. Dating meant they weren’t lying to his family, not totally. That made her feel so much better about the deception.
♥♥♥
Growing up, Anna had been forced to say goodbye over and over to both family and friends, never seeing them again. That’s why she’d purposely stopped getting close to people. She could be friendly, hang out, have fun. She could be there for people in times of trouble and accept their help when she needed it. But that’s where it began and ended. She did not get too close. She didn’t open her heart to them. In fact, she hadn’t felt capable of letting anyone into her heart for years.
That was before she’d met Skylar’s family. Somehow they’d gotten past her defenses, past the wall she’d so carefully constructed. Maybe it was her fault. Since she was forced to lie to them she had opened up in other ways. As crazy as the idea seemed they felt like family to her.
Saying goodbye was the hardest thing she’d done in years.
John wasn’t that bad. She hadn’t seen much of him during her visit. He’d either been holed up in his den or spending time outdoors. She went to shake his hand, but he bent down to kiss her cheek instead.
Dottie threw her arms around Anna’s neck and hugged her tightly while whispering in her ear. “You take care of our boy.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Anna said.
Next came Joann. Saying goodbye to her was rough because Anna could see a bit of her own mother in the woman. Joann placed a wrapped loaf of pumpkin bread in her hands. “Make sure you call to let us know you’ve arrived home safely.”
They hugged.
Becca walked her to the car, her last goodbye of the day. “Don’t let Skylar run all over you now that he’s your boss. If he tries, you just call me. We can gang up on him.”
Anna laughed. “I would like to see that.”
After a quick embrace and promises to call, she slid into the passenger seat. Max was already asleep in the back, and Skylar had the engine running. He seemed ready to get out of there; she wished she could stay. His family waved to them until they rounded the corner and couldn’t see them through the thick line of trees.
Skylar sighed. “We survived a visit with my family.”
Anna turned her face to keep him from seeing the tears flooding her eyes. She swallowed, working hard to stop the dam from bursting wide open. Crying in front of him last night had been embarrassing enough. If he caught her doing it again, he might think she was unstable.
And he was herbossnow.
As soon as she knew her voice wouldn’t tremble, she said, “Remember what you promised. Even though you’re my boss, I can take the cases I want without interference.”
“I remember. A deal is a deal, and I will keep my end of it. But you need to remember I’m not the only senior partner. Pierce won’t let you get away with doing too many pro-bono cases, and Hyde will be all over you if she thinks you’re getting special treatment from me.”
Totally in control now, she looked at him. “Let’s take it one case at a time. You said you would help me keep Kyle Jensen out of prison.”
“No. I said I would look at the file and interview him. If I believe he’s innocent, I will help you with the case. But if I still think he’s guilty, I won’t. I can’t let you set a murderer free.”