I swallowed.Holy crap.
That voice…it belonged to Griff.
26
Rescue Me (Again)
Maisie
The voice hit like a bolt of static as those three surprising words echoed in my brain.Babe? Everything okay?
Slowly, I turned, half expecting to find a random tourist talking to hisactualbabe. Sure, I'd been positive that the shop had been empty except for me and the dynamic duo, but at this point, I would've believed just about anything.
Or rather, I would've believed anything except for a surprise "babing" from Griff of all people.
But no.I blinked. There he was. Not a customer. Not a hallucination. It was definitely Griff, standing in the now-open doorway to the back room.
His posture was casual, with one hand braced against the doorframe and the other stuffed in his pocket – like he hadn't just overheard my ex-boyfriend's fiancée trying to give me a pep talk out of loneliness.
My mouth opened, and a single word tumbled out. "Babe?"
Shit.Why-oh-why had I added that question mark? If this was some sort of rescue, I was already mucking it up. On the upside, I hadn't yet tossed my cookies, so that was good.
Griff smiled at my unwanted guests. "Normally, I call her 'hot stuff,' but she's shy in public." He returned his attention to me, offering a look that conjured images of tangled sheets and naked skin. "Aren't ya, babe?"
I think I might've nodded, but as for the rest of it, I wasn't so sure. That look – it was doing funny things to my insides –dangerous things that I didn't want to contemplate under the light of day.
That, combined with my sudden gratitude, was making me feel tongue-tied and senseless – not that I was complaining.
I should've been mortified that I needed his rescue at all, especially about something like this, which made me look just a little pathetic. But it was hard to feeltoodown with What's-Her-Face looking suddenly disgruntled.
Her gaze zoomed in on Griff. "And who areyou?"
Call me petty, but I almost smiled at the tone of her voice.She didn't sound so smug anymore.She sounded peevish, like a seagull had just pooped in her favorite shoes.
But it was Griff's response that really got me going. With just a few easy strides, he claimed a spot just beside me and slipped a muscular arm around my waist like it was the most natural thing in the world. He grinned at my tormenter. "What, you can't guess?"
She frowned. "So…you're her – "
Griff replied before she could finish. "Boyfriend." The word came out smooth as sin, sealed with a look so convincing, I might have believed it myself.
She blinked. Devon flinched. And for a long moment, nobody breathed.
But then, her eyes narrowed, and she asked, "But not her fiancé?"
I stiffened.Seriously? What a witch.And why did it matter? What was this? Some kind of competition?
But of course, that'sexactlywhat this was – which made me insanely glad not to be standing here alone. Even so, I wasn't about to let Griff take the brunt ofthisone.
I spoke up. "Actually – "
Griff cut me off. "Hey, a guy can ask, but the girl's gotta say yes." He gave me a playful hip bump that made my knees go just a little wobbly. "Am I right?"
Oh, wow.We were faking it, sure, but I still leaned into him – maybe for the act, maybe not. Either way, he felt nicer than he should have – all muscly and warm, like trouble wrapped in temptation.
And now, What's-Her-Face was frowning. "So you've asked?"
I jumped in before Griff could answer. "Oh, come on. A girl's gotta havesomesecrets." As I said it, I looked toward Devon, whose expression had gone utterly blank.
