Once inside, Griffin asked, “Are you okay?”
I put on my seat belt, shimmying in my seat. “Yes. It went better than I expected. Although, I didn’t count on having to do it again.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
I looked at him as he drove off. “What do you mean? We agreed to go to their house.”
“There was no way to say no to their faces. They would have just kept insisting.”
“Exactly,” I said slowly.
“But sometime this week, I’ll find an excuse. An urgent business matter or something else. And then when they invite us the next time, I’ll find another excuse, and so on.”
“How is that going to help your business deal?”
“It’s not,” Griffin said, now driving even faster. “But I really need to think this through. It’s not fair to ask you to keep putting up with this charade. I thought it would be just a one-and-done thing.”
“Me too,” I admitted.
The idea of him leaving Emma and Jude high and dry didn’t sit well with me, but what was the alternative? He was right, this didn’t make any sense. If we tried to keep this up for two days, they were bound to catch on that something was off. That would surely hurt his deal more than simply being a no-show. At most, Jude would think Griffin was a busy man or someone who wouldn’t keep his word.
We didn’t talk much on the way home. I was too busy thinking about the pros and cons of getting out of the commitment.
Griffin groaned as we arrived in front of my house. Marshall was pacing in front of it.
“What is that douchebag doing here?” he asked.
“No clue. Look, thanks for bringing me home.”
“Nonsense, I’m getting out with you.”
“What? Why?” I asked.
“Because the second you realized he was here, you practically withdrew into yourself.” I was surprised he’d noticed this. He was right, too, and I hadn’t even realized it.
“That’s because I don’t want to talk to him.”
“Then let’s make sure he won’t bother you again.”
“What are you talking about?”
Before I realized what was going on, he got out of the car and came over to my side. I opened the door, but he grabbed the handle from outside, then took my hand as I stepped out of the Range Rover.
Marshall jumped down from the porch, looking straight at us as we came closer to the house. “What’s he doing here?” he asked, pointing at Griffin.
“The question is, why the hell are you here?” Griffin asked. He put a possessive arm around my waist, tucking me into him.
“You’re not serious,” Marshall said. “You’re really dating this braggart?”
“Shut your mouth,” I said. “You’ve got no right coming here.”
“My name is on the deed.”
“Then talk to her through your fucking realtor,” Griffin growled.
“You can’t tell me what to do.”
“You’ll find that I can, actually, because I’ll do anything to keep you from annoying her or hurting her again. You’ve done more than enough.”
