CHAPTER ELEVEN
After a long, tedious day at work, all she wanted was to go straight home and take a hot bubble bath while sipping a glass of white wine. She considered asking Skylar for a rain-check. Tonight wasn’t the best time for their first date. She could barely think straight. But every time she started to text him to postpone it she got a bad feeling in her gut.
So she took a shower instead of a bath and slipped into a slinky black dress. She stepped into her sexiest shoes, five-inch heels that shimmered in a silvery hue and showed off her slender ankles. They went well with her pearls and cream-colored clutch with tiny sequins. She checked herself in the full-length mirror. Her cheeks were a touch too pink, and her eyes seemed a bit too wide... like a deer caught in headlights.
Once again she wondered if she should cancel.
Instead, she pushed herself to climb into her car and drove to his condo. The trip took several minutes, giving her plenty of time to calm her nerves. She parked across the street and stared up at the tall brick building. It didn’t look like much from the outside, but it boasted a pricey address.
She had to take an elevator to the sixth floor. Unlike at work, this elevator shimmied and groaned when it first started to move. She grabbed onto the metal bar screwed into the wall and held on for dear life. Her stomach muscles clenched until they hurt.
When she reached his door, she undid the belt around her tweed coat and shook it off. She wanted him to see her slinky black dress, not the coat. Before she could ring the bell he jerked the door open. He stepped into the hallway with a grimace on his face. “I am so sorry about this,” he said.
Sorry forwhat? She opened her mouth to ask as she crossed the threshold in front of him. People jumped out at her and yelled, “Happy birthday!”
She stumbled back. Skylar’s solid body kept her from falling. It took her a moment to put together, what was happening. Skylar’s family filled his narrow entryway with bright shiny smiles.
A wave of claustrophobia threatened to overtake her. She felt smothered worse than when she was in the elevator. Starting with Joann, they all rushed forward to hug her and wish her a happy thirtieth.
Anna shook her head and held a hand up. “My birthday is tomorrow.”
“We know,” Joann said. “We wanted to surprise you. Besides, Skylar wants to have you all to himself on your big day. Knowing my son, he has plans for you.”
When she looked at him, he raised his shoulders and made a face to convey that his mother might be right. As if reading her mind, he gently nudged everyone into the bigger part of the condo. They passed a curving breakfast bar that separated the working part of the kitchen from the eating part. They kept going until they reached the formal living room. Brick walls and crisscrossing wood beams on the ceiling gave the place a rustic feel. One whole living room wall consisted of tall black-framed windows. The glass had been cut in perfect squares stacked five high and three across on each separate window with a spider web pattern on top. The four duplicate windows filled Anna with envy, especially when she caught a glimpse of his incredible view.
His condo was just high enough to spy on half the city. If it wasn’t so close to Christmas, she’d be looking at golden lights, but there were a lot of red and green mixed in for the holiday. Skylar came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. With a sigh, she rested against him. Total bliss, she couldn’t think of a better way to spend an evening.
From that point on the night was a comfortable blur. They parked themselves on overstuffed furniture and ate Chinese food out of cartons. A roaring fire in the classic white hearth kept the large room warm enough to suit everyone. They laughed and talked about unimportant things until Joann stood up, drawing all eyes to her.
She spoke directly to Anna. “We thought we’d introduce you to something we like to do when we all get together. Do you play video games by any chance?” She held a racing game up. “This is our favorite.”
“Sorry,” Anna said. “I haven’t even heard of that game.”
The entire Griffin family seemed excited about introducing her to it.
“You are in for a treat,” Dottie said, blue eyes twinkling.
Becca nodded. “We play in pairs with the winners facing off until someone takes the championship, but tonight we can play by threes to make it fair.”
They left the Chinese cartons on the coffee table and retraced their earlier steps to the kitchen. Anna hadn’t noticed the cozy sitting area before. Off to the right and three steps up, the nook had several comfy chairs in various shades of brown. The chairs pointed at a flat-screen TV in a black console.
Joann put an arm around her while Becca got the game ready. “I apologize upfront. We love you, Anna, but we won’t go easy on you just because you’re new.”
They went up the steps. The men took a seat while Anna rested a hand on the dark brown railing that separated the nook from the kitchen. For a moment, she simply enjoyed the view, a loving family teasing each other over who the best player was and who would end up in a virtual ditch.
She smiled to herself.
Becca dragged her forward, handed her a controller, and motioned for her to take the middle seat. “Our family gets super competitive,” Becca told her. “Things will be said. Try not to take it personally. They love their trash talk.”
“Anna can give as good as she gets,” Skylar said. He winked at her. “Isn’t that right, darling?”
The endearment softened her insides, turning them to molten jelly. But then she realized every flirtatious word or move on his part added up to fooling his parents. They thought they were playing one game while he was playing another. Deep down the whole complicated mess made her sad.
“Since Anna has never played before, we’ll give her our worst player.” Joann gestured to her husband. “Honey? You ready?”
John nodded, and Dottie volunteered to be the third player.
Before the game began, Skylar bent over to give Anna a hug ‘for luck.’ He whispered in her ear. “Pick the white car. It doesn’t stop for gas, and Dad hasn’t figured that out yet.”