“All right,” I said. “I’ll just go change into my dress, and thenwe can chat more.” I looked around, then groaned. “Oh my God, I didn’t offer you anything to drink.”
He flashed me a charming smile. “Don’t worry about it. Go change.”
I hurried to the bathroom, taking off my camisole and putting on my golden dress, carefully tucking my hair so I didn’t mess it up. I didn’t want to get dressed before applying makeup, mainly because I often ended up making a mess. After zipping and checking myself in the mirror, I sauntered to the living room, where I found Griffin pacing.
“This is my outfit. What do you think?”
He was completely silent as I twirled. When I stopped, he still said nothing. I chanced a glance at him. His eyes had darkened a bit, and he was pinning me with his gaze.
“Uh, Griffin? I’m going to need a reaction here. Is it too much, not enough? Should I change?”
“You look fucking perfect,” he said. “Like a million bucks.”
That filled me with pride. “Thank you,” I murmured.
Why was I so nervous around him? Why did I care so much if he liked my appearance?
This isn’t a real date, Phoebe. Somehow, I was starting to forget that, and I wasn’t sure why.
“About the drinks. I can give you a glass of white wine. I opened a bottle yesterday. Or we can open a bottle of red.”
“Just some water, please.”
“Okay.” I lifted the hem of my dress to keep from stepping on it because it was far too long without heels.
While I poured water into two glasses, I felt Griffin move behind me.
“Tell me about your parents,” I said. “You’ve spoken a lot about your brothers, but are your parents around? Would I know them?”
“That’s also a hell yes,” Griffin said as I handed him one of the glasses. He narrowed his eyes. “My parents have an interesting story.”
“I’m all ears,” I said, taking a swig of water. I should have put even more ice in it. I was burning inside and needed to cool down.
We walked back to the couch. He sat at one end, and I ended up sitting on the other.
“They divorced when we were kids. And now they’re actually getting along.”
“That’s great. And not something that happens often.”
“The birth of my nephew started bringing them closer. And now… I’ve heard themflirtinga few times. My brothers don’t believe me, but I actually think my parents might be dating.”
“I wasnotexpecting that.”
He laughed, undoing one cuff link and then the other, then pushing his sleeves to the elbows rather than rolling them. The rumpled appearance fit Griffin well.
“Mom has a pottery and yoga studio. And my father runs a fishing store in the same building.”
I widened my eyes at that. “They are truly friendly, then.”
“That’s a complicated story in itself. They used to own the store back when we were kids. They had to sell it in the divorce. Then some time ago, my brother Chase bought it back and gifted it to them.”
I was starting to understand that the Sterling brothers were something special.
“I think that covered everything. Your turn. Are your parents in San Diego?” he asked.
“No. I was born and raised here. And my parents lived here for years along with my grandparents.” I smiled, remembering those happy days. “They had a house next to ours, and they often watched over me. But my grandparents now live in Montana. They moved there when they retired. And now that my parents have retired, they moved there as well, mainly to look after my grandparents. Old age isn’t being very kind to them. I always hoped that I’d have kids really soon, and we’d get to do one of those cute pictures with four generations and—”I pressed my lips together. “I’m not sure why I said that. That’s not something you need to know.”
Griffin’s gaze was soft. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out with your ex.”
