When he turned, it was clear that Gryphen wasn’t having it.
“How about you let us see if it’s going to collapse before you run in there like a lunatic?” he asked. “You know, so I don’t have a goddamn stroke?”
The man sighed.
“Fine,” he stated.
Gabby opened her mouth, and Finn put his foot down. In fact, he pointed at his woman.
“Sadly, Lass, that means you, too. Stay right here, and let us go do our thing. I’ll be having the same kind of stroke as Gryphen if you even move closer to that hole of potential death.”
She pouted, but knew it was for the best.
“I guess Velma is staying with Shaggy.”
Ian stared at her.
“Really? I’m more of a Fred. I can rock out an ascot.”
Gryphen just snorted as he walked past his fiancé.
As he, Finn, and Michael moved closer to the opening to check it out, Graham stayed with the other two—mostly to keep them from following.
They didn’t need anyone stroking out.
“I’m so excited,” Gabby said, practically ready to explode from the energy. Her coco-brown curls bounced as she moved from foot-to-foot as she was ready to go.
It was beyond exciting to see that they were given more access to the castle, and something might be in there.
It was like a treasure hunt.
“Babe,” Michael called back to the three people, getting Graham’s attention.
Did he just call him…babe?
Wait.
What?
“Yes?” he asked, dumbfounded that the man called him that, and without it seeming to be bothersome.
It sounded…natural.
In fact, he’d called him that all of the time when they’d been a couple.
“Do you have a light you can give me?” Michael asked as he was trying to see into the darkness in front of him.
“Uh, yes,” he offered.
Then, he grabbed a light that was on the floor, left by the construction guys, and turned it on before passing it off to him.
Graham just focused on D’Artangnan as he easily moved around, not tripped up by what he’d said.
Did he hear him right?
Was it an inadvertent slip?
It was clear that Ian saw him struggling, because he touched his back with his hand, and ran it up and down it.
