"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For tonight. For all of this."
I kissed her forehead, breathing in her scent. "Thank you for letting me show you my world."
As we made our way back down the trail, her hand in mine, I couldn't shake the feeling that everything had changed. That whatever game we'd been playing was over, and something real had taken its place.
Something that scared the hell out of me and made me hope for the first time in a long damn time.
Chapter Seven
Lila
I woke in Griffin's guest room with sunlight streaming across the white cotton sheets and the memory of his hands on my body still burning under my skin. Every nerve ending felt alive, sensitized in a way that made even the soft fabric against my naked flesh feel like a caress.
What had I done?
The rational part of my brain—the part that had kept me safe and in control for so many years—was screaming warnings. I'd let myself get swept away by a man I'd known for less than a week. Worse, I'd let him see me completely vulnerable, crying out his name under a canopy of stars like some lovesick romance novel heroine.
But God, the way he'd touched me. The way he'd looked at me like I was something precious instead of damaged goods.
I pressed my fingers to my lips, still feeling the ghost of his kisses, and tried to sort through the tangle of emotions in my chest. Want. Fear. Hope. Confusion. They all twisted together until I couldn't tell where one ended and another began.
A soft knock on the door made me jump. "Lila? You awake? I made coffee."
Griffin's voice, rough with sleep and something else that made my stomach flutter. I grabbed a robe from my suitcase and wrapped it around myself before opening the door.
He stood in the hallway holding two steaming mugs, his hair still messed from sleep, wearing nothing but a pair of low-slung sweatpants cut off at the knee. The sight of his bare chest, marked with the faint scratches my nails had left last night, sent heat flooding through me.
"Morning," he said, his dark eyes searching my face. "Sleep okay?"
"Yes, thank you." The words came out more formal than I intended, and I saw something flicker in his expression. Disappointment? Hurt?
He handed me a mug, his fingers brushing mine. "We should probably hit the road soon if you want to make it to Oakcrest Bay in time for your meeting with Madeline."
Right. The meeting. My new job. The life I'd been planning before Griffin Rhodes turned everything upside down.
"Of course," I said, wrapping my hands around the warm ceramic. "I should get ready."
An awkward silence stretched between us, filled with everything we weren't saying. Finally, Griffin nodded. "I'll go throw some things in a bag. Take your time."
He turned to go, then paused. "Lila—"
"It's fine," I said quickly, not sure I could handle whatever he was about to say. "Last night was... it was beautiful. But we both know this is temporary."
Something shuttered in his expression. "Right. Temporary."
After he disappeared into his room, I leaned against the doorframe and tried to steady my breathing. This was for the best. I had a job to focus on, a career to build. Getting tangled up with a man who lived hours away, no matter how incredible the sex had been, would only complicate things.
So why did my chest feel like it was caving in?
An hour later, we were on the road. Griffin had been polite but distant as we loaded my bags into his truck, the easy camaraderie we'd built over the past few days replaced by awkward silence. I missed his teasing already, missed the way he'd looked at me like I was a puzzle he wanted to solve.
The scenery changed as we drove, desert giving way to rolling hills and finally to the coastal mountains of Oakcrest Bay. Vineyards stretched across the landscape like green quilts, and the air smelled of salt and growing things. It should have been exciting—the first glimpse of my new home. Instead, all I could think about was the man beside me and the wall that had sprung up between us.
"It's beautiful," I said, trying to break the tension.
"Yeah," Griffin replied, but he didn't elaborate.
