She gave a hard swallow. "But you just said you're gonna move – "
"Yeah, from the place I'm livingnow, but that doesn't mean it's the end ofus."Something twisted in my chest as I reluctantly finished the thought. "Unless that's what you want."
She let out a long, unsteady breath. "No. It's not, actually. But…" She bit her lower lip and never did finish.
"But what?" I prompted.
"But…well, it would be really nice if I knew more about you."
I went for a joke. "That's whatyouthink."
But Maisie didn't laugh. She didn't even smile. "I'm serious," she said. "I don't even know your name."
My response was automatic. "It's Griff. You know that."
Her mouth tightened. "Griff what?"
Fuck.I didn't want to say.Not yet.That scene with Sierra was still too fresh for my liking, reminding me that things could get weird really fast.
But this wasn't about Sierra. It was about Maisie. Back in the beginning, when she'd figured me for some silver spoon jackass, she'd been different.
We'dbeen different.
For whatever reason, she hadn't truly let down her guard until I'd told her that I'd grown up in a trailer.
Of course, the trailer was just the beginning.
The rest of it was therealissue. And there was something I wanted to handle before giving her the full story. It was a good plan. Call it a nice surprise for her – except now she was staring like I'd just tried to ghost her without warning.
In a small voice, she asked, "So you still don't want to tell me?"
I forced a laugh. "What, my last name?"
She crossed her arms. "Thatwasthe question."
I didn't want to be an asshole.This was Maisie. I'd held her naked. I'd stroked her hair while she slept. I'd heard her story and told her some of mine. Her question wasn't unreasonable, and only a dick would think so. Before I could overthink it, I heard myself say, "It's Griffin."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "Sorry, what?"
"That's my last name."
"Really?" Her expression cleared. "Ohhhh. I get it."
Well, that made one of us.I said nothing.
She continued with a little laugh. "Griff Griffin, huh? You must've loved that, growing up."
She was reading it wrong.But I gave her a faint smile and let it slide – for now. We could save the sorting for later. First, I had some questions of my own. "Now you tellmesomething."
"What?"
"That loan you mentioned last week – what's the status?"
She shook her head. "The status?"
"Yeah. What's going on?" She didn't look happy with the question, but I wasn't about to let it drop. One way or another, Iwouldbe finding out.
Preferably today.
