I nodded.Yeah, good question.
"Thishome," Ryder said. "Except last night, you bunked somewhere else."
No. That couldn't be right.
Could it?
When Griff replied, his voice was tight. "And you know this how?"
"Because I was here,"
"What?" Griff sounded more annoyed than ever."When?"
"The whole night."
My stomach lurched.Oh, my God. Seriously?
Somewhere below, Griff said, "You're joking."
Ryder chuckled. "I wish."
"You and me both." Griff's voice sharpened. "All fucking night?Why?"
"Because I figured you'd show eventually." Ryder cleared his throat. "And, uh…I might've had too much whiskey. Your bed sucks, by the way."
"You're shitting me."
Ryder snorted. "So, youlikethe bed?"
"Forget the bed," Griff said. "You crashedhereof all places?" He didn't sound happy – even less so when he asked, "How'd you get in?"
"Your lock's cheap and old." Ryder said. "And hey, you knowme."
Forget the lock. I was still reeling from that first bombshell.Griff didn't come home last night.
At all.
Was that true?
If so, why hadn't he mentioned it?
I didn't mean to Ryder.
I meant to me.
And down below, Griff wasn't denying anything.
Yesterday, he hadn't said a single word about planning to spend the night somewhere else. So of course, I had naturally assumed that he'd be sleeping at home.
Apparently, I'd assumed wrong.
So, wherehadhe spent the night?
Surely not…?
My chest tightened as I recalled Sierra's weird overture – the smile, the touch, the implication. And Griff – he hadn't shut her down right away.
There'd been that godawful moment in the shop when she'd been gripping onto him, and he'd just stood there, like he wasn't sure whether to push her off or not.
