I froze.Fuck off?That ship had sailed – and set itself on fire. But I was a little surprised that he wouldn't open up so we could settle this in person. I cupped my hands around my mouth and hollered, "Open the damn door!"
He was silent for half a beat before calling back, "Maisie?"
My heart hiccupped, but my rage steamrolled right over it. "Great guess," I yelled, hoping the sarcasm carried. "Now open up, so you can say it face-to-face."
A moment later, the door flung open, and there stood Griff, dripping wet, clutching a white bath towel around his waist.
And of course, the jerkwad looked insanely good doing it. Yes, I meant standing there, nearly naked with pecs glistening and water droplets sliding down his six pack, heading southward toward the promised land.
My heart gave a dangerous little flutter that only served to piss me off.Bastard.
I put my hands on my hips. "So? Are you gonna say it?"
He frowned. "Say what?"
I gave a defiant jerk of my chin. "Go ahead. Tell me to fuck off."
He winced. "Shit. Sorry, Maisie." He gave me a sheepish smile. "I thought you were Ryder."
When I replied with only a scoff, he added, "He left maybe ten minutes ago. I figured he'd forgot something." Adjusting the towel, Griff stepped aside before asking with obvious reluctance, "So…you wanna come in?"
I gave him a thin smile. "You don't look so welcoming."
"No kidding," he said with a half-hearted chuckle.
I was in no mood to laugh. "Because…?"
"Because the place is a dump."
Yes. It was.And this, too, explained a lot. Nobody in their right mind would want to stay here, so of course, he'd prefer to camp in my shop.
Sure, I'd known this already. But a new question, dark and sinister, skittered across my brain.Had that been his plan all along?
To find a better place to crash?
If my funny-bone weren't broken, I might've laughed.
He should've taken up with Sandy Grabowski. She ran a bed & breakfast with percale sheets and killer omelets. Then again, Sandy was no fool. Unlike me, she had a working bullshit detector and would've seen straight through Griff's act.
But me?
Not so much.
Damn it.All throughout college, Delaney had told me I was too nice, too trusting, and too eager to believe the best of people. She had never liked Devon, not even at the start.
She'd called him a rat.
In the end, she'd been proven right.
And me? I'd been proven a fool.
Even worse, I hadn't wised up at all, not even with Griff, a guy whose story had never quite added up.
Something hard squeezed in my chest as I considered where all of us stood now. Devon was sticking with Sierra. Delaney and I weren't even friends. And even Tessa, who'd helped fill the empty spot left by her sister, had been MIA for the past couple of days.
I'd been planning to apologize –andask her about letting Griff crash at the house. But now, at the mere thought of it, my mouth thinned with disgust. No need forthatanymore – and I didn't mean the apology.
Griff wouldn't be crashing anywhere nearme– or near Tessa, if I could help it.
