Page 53 of Griffin
“So no condom, then. Bare?” I clear my throat, feeling myself getting a little hot. I’ve never gone bare. Not since I was a teen and didn’t know anything different. Since then, I’ve wrapped it every single time without fail.
“That's better for this particular outcome.” Hudson’s trying to be professional, but I know he’s having too much fun with this.
I blow out a breath. “Fuck.”
“Hmm, something for you to mull over for the evening…” His grin wraps around his whiskey glass as he sips, and I shake my head, trying to get my thoughts on other things, yet failing. Because now, all I want is Savannah, naked, moving on me, swaying her hips like she does when she dances.
“Hey, Griff, did you talk with Mother Maven?” Sawyer asks out of the blue, and all of the guys look at me, teasing grins pulling at their lips.
I blink at him a few times, my mind scrambling, trying to catch on to the conversation.
“Mother Maven?” Tanner asks.
“Yeah, Griffin wanted to help Savannah with a few things, so he called the experts.” Sawyer lifts his eyebrows, and Tanner looks at me pointedly.
“I spoke with her. Organized a few things. She’s on call for whatever Savannah needs,” I tell them, because I have. I practically bought a whole store of things. I have no fucking idea what to get her and what she needs. Hell, I don’t even know how to change a diaper, and with her mom and sister not in her life, I guess she’ll be winging it too.
“Sounds like you’ve got it all organized,” Tanner says, seemingly amused, and I nod.
“I got it handled.” My eyes find the man again over Tanner’s shoulder on the other side of the bar. I don’t know what it is about him that has my attention. Maybe because he looks so out of place. I follow his gaze as he stares at something nearby, and my frown is instant.
“What is it?” Tanner notices immediately, his voice leaning into a warning tone, making the other guys fall quiet and watch us.
My eyes trail his line of sight until they rest on the group of women. Our women.
“Who’s that guy?” I nod toward the man at the bar, not wanting to jump to conclusions, when he could be the local gardener around Whispers, for all I know.
“No idea… Connor?” Tanner barks at his son, and Connor takes a hard look at the man.
“I don’t know him.”
“Me neither,” Hudson says, and Sawyer takes a look.
“Never seen him before,” Sawyer says as Sutton shakes his head.
“Do you see what he’s looking at?” Tanner's eyes are glued on him. This guy is so focused on the girls he can’t even feel our gazes burning into him.
I put my glass down, thinking I might go have a word with him. But he stands, pushing his empty beer glass across the bar, and walks out. Alone.
I look back at Savannah, her and the girls completely oblivious to the man who was watching them so closely. But they remain smiling and laughing, sounding like a gaggle of geese.
She must feel me watching her, because she looks over, her face relaxed and happy, her eyes glistening in delight, and she gives me her sunshine smile. The one that thaws me from the inside out.
She thinks I feel obligated. But if she only knew what her smile does to me. How it melts every restraint I’ve built. Crumbles every wall I’ve erected over decades. She’d understand this isn’t duty. It’s desire. It’s longing. And I’m one breath away from showing her exactly how much.
22
Savannah
“Let’s go.” Griffin helps me out of his truck, his hands wrapping around my enormous belly as I slide to the ground in front of him. The move is now a familiar one between us, yet my heart races every time he touches me.
“Tonight was nice.” I look up at him, grateful for his suggestion of going to the bar. We weren’t there for long, but it was long enough for me to chat to the girls, get to know them all a little more. Solidify those relationships to the point where they’re now inviting me to places and offering to help in the bakery or with the baby when it arrives.
“You looked like you had a good time.” Griffin walks us into the bakery, the space dark and quiet, a little spooky without the lights on. His hand slips into mine, where it feels like it’s right where it’s meant to be.
“They’re nice people. I’m so glad you introduced me. I haven’t had a lot of genuine friends before.”
“What do you mean?” He frowns as we step inside.
