Jane snickered. “Boys. So, Erin, tell me about yourself.”
Jane ferreted all of Erin’s history in between pastries from Sofa’s—only the best bakery in all of Seattle, according to Jane—brioche French toast, and spinach and mushroom omelets. The conversation stalled when Jane left to get coffee and asked Smith, not Evan, to help her.
As soon as the pair left, Evan nodded for Erin to follow him out onto the back veranda overlooking Puget Sound. The sun glittered off the deep blue waves, ripples of wind pushing the dark caps and light-colored sail boats in the distance.
“Oh my gosh. This is beautiful!”
“I know.” Evan sighed. “I’m so happy Mom is marrying a guy who can take care of her. We’re not big money people. I mean, I’m a CPA, and I’ve worked with big money. Mom was in middle management in business. She had some money when Dad left, but not like this.”
Erin hugged herself against the cold and blinked in surprise when Evan wrapped a blanket around her. “Thanks.”
Then he took one from the outdoor closet for himself and smiled. “No problem.”
“Does this ever make you nervous?”
“Why should it? It’s just money.”
“Maybe to you. It’s overwhelming, I have to say.”
Evan studied her.
“What?”
“I heard nice things about you from Reid, Cash, and Naomi.” He nodded. “I’m glad Smith has found someone special. He’s so much more than what people see.”
“I know.” She looked inside through the glass doors to see him drying dishes with Jane and laughing at something she said.
“He smiles now. Laughs too. He was so angry when I first met him.”
“He’s still angry,” she said. “But I think he sees that he can be happy if he lets himself.”
Evan nodded. “I do our accounting at Vets on the Go! But when Cash broke his arm, I filled in for him. They paired me with Smith a lot.”
“I’m sorry.”
He laughed. “Yeah, at first, so was I. But as I got to know him, to see beneath all the digs at Reid and Cash, the obnoxious comments to anyone who tried to, God forbid, be nice to him, I saw a pretty decent guy.”
“He’s a sweetie, but he’d rather die than admit it.”
“Yep.” They watched his mother snap her towel at Smith, who dodged and grinned. He saw Evan watching, and frowned. “The best Smith story, that just shows you who he really is, is the tea party story.”
“I have to hear this.”
Evan smiled, and she had to admit he had the looks and charisma that all the Griffiths seemed to possess. “We were moving this rich family, and they had a ton of stuff. So, I’m working, and I happen to go by the little girl’s bedroom. And there, at the tiniest table known to man, sits Smith drinking pretend tea with the girl and her stuffed gorilla. It was so surreal.”
She could easily see that scene happening.
“Then I overhear the sweetest conversation. She’s sad because her parents are getting a divorce, and he’s telling her it’s never a kid’s fault, that sometimes grownups have problems. I can’t remember exactly what he said, but it really touched me. He was swinging her around and making her laugh when he saw me watching and turned beet-red. That’s when I knew Smith was quality people.”
She sighed, watching him through the glass, his image in no way distorted by anything she’d seen or heard. “Yeah, he’s the best.”
“He’s also a major pain and refuses to see that he’s worth more than he thinks he is. Keep that in mind when he pushes you away. Because if he hasn’t yet, he will.” Evan paused. “He never stopped watching you today. Even when he was talking to me and my mom, he had you in his sights. He’s into you, Erin. I don’t know how much, but take care with him. He’s a lot more fragile than his big mouth would have you believe.
She had to laugh at that. They turned and watched a few boats in the water before Smith came to save his girlfriend from his lazy-ass cousin.
Evan tossed him his blanket before joining his mom for after-brunch coffee.
“We’ll be right in,” Smith called. “Okay, what did lover boy have to say about me? Did he warn you off?” His teasing couldn’t cover his unease.
