He crossed his arms, which of course, flexed every last muscle of his ridiculously sculpted chest. "You're not walking across the island in the middle of the night by yourselves."
It wasn't nearlythatfar, but I smiled just the same. His offer wasreallythoughtful. And if he walked us home, we'd have that much more time together – even if wewouldbe a threesome.
Moving closer to join us, Tessa told him with a little laugh, "Oh come on. We're not helpless."
Griff frowned. "I never said you were."
"And besides," Tessa added, "Maisie's stayinghere." She glanced away. "I mean…I didn't come here to interrupt."
I spoke up. "You didn't."
She gave me a look that suggested she knew better.
I smiled. "Seriously, we were just sleeping." It was true. Even so, my face burst into new flames as I considered all of the things we'd donebeforedrifting off to sleep.
Next to me, Griff said, "A friend of mine lost a toe to frostbite."
Wait, what?Tessa and I turned to look. In unison, we both said, "Seriously?"
Griff chuckled. "No. But you should still get inside." He gave me a smile that melted my heart. "Grab your shoes, I'll walk you back." His gaze drifted to Tessa. "Both of you."
I glanced toward the window. "But what about the mess?" I lowered my voice. "You know…the tent and all that."
"I'll get it tomorrow."
"But what if we don't get back in time? Like, what if someone sees?"
He gave me a funny look. "Like who?"
This should've been obvious."Like a customer."
"There won'tbeany."
Even for Griff, this was beyond pessimistic. "Why not?"
"Because tomorrow's Wednesday." He grinned. "We're closed, remember?"
Oh my God.
Of course.I'd forgotten my own schedule, not to mention the fact thatIwas the one who'd first mentioned the Wednesday schedule – or rather, the lack thereof.
But in my own defense, this was before he'd sexed me silly. I fought a sudden urge to giggle like a madwoman. But I didn't. Instead, I let Griff lead me back into the shop as I dragged Tessa along for the ride.
Ten minutes later, everything was locked up, and we were just three figures walking down Main Street.
I was walking in the middle with Griff and Tessa on either side – a setup that didn't seem an accident, especially when Griff reached for my hand and held it all the way home as the three of us chatted about the storm.
The topic was safe and easy, unlike the guy walked next to me.Hewas the most dangerous guy in the world – not because of what he'd done in the tent, but because of what he might do outside of it.
Somewhere deep down, I just knew he'd break my heart – and probably any minute by making it clear this was just a seasonal fling.
But then he surprised me on my own front porch by pulling me close after Tessa disappeared inside. Into my hair, he whispered, "Got any plans for tomorrow?"
I'd been planning to spend the day on paperwork and getting things around the house – plus, obsessing over the sorry state of my finances. But at the moment, I couldn't care about any of that, so with hope in my heart, I whispered, "Not yet."
"Good," he said, nuzzling my neck. "Wanna spend the day with me?"
In the soft light of the porch, I couldn't help but smile. "Definitely."
