Griff was still frowning. "You mean me? We didn't have plans."
No kidding."Maybeyoudidn't. ButIdid." Except those plans had been with Tessa, who was too responsible for her own good.
Griff suggested, "So ask the barista. Maybe you'll have better luck thanIdid."
I stiffened. "What?" I gave him a long, penetrating look. "So you've been hitting on her?" If so, his thing with Maisie made no sense. And more to the point, Tessa was all mine.
Griff replied, "Not hardly." He gave me a funny look, likeIwas the one losing it. "I've been trying to get information like you asked."
"Oh."Right. I'd almost forgotten.Ihadasked him for info, hadn't I? And now, I felt like an asshole.
Worse, Griff was watching me now,reallywatching, like I'd just slipped up. Looking far too suspicious, he said, "Wait…is there something you wanna tell me?"
Nope.I glanced toward the exit. "Sorry, gotta check out." I turned and headed toward the register, grabbing a bag of pretzels on the way – not because I liked them, but because I needed something to justify my being here at all.
Still, my recon had paid off.I'd learned something important.
Griff was in deeper than he realized.
And here was the real kicker.Probably, so was I.
73
Storm Debris and Other Baggage
Tessa
Outside the coffee shop, my stomach knotted as I told Ryder, "I need to say something, and I'm worried you'll be mad."
He gave me a careful look."Howmad?"
I winced. "Actually, I don't know." I had just gotten off work, and both of us were standing just outside the coffee shop's rear door. For the first time in forever, I'd left the shop before Skip – but only because he'd fallen asleep in his recliner, and I hadn't bothered to wake him.
But Ihadlocked everything up, so it wasn't like I'd abandoned him with a shop full of customers.
As for Ryder, he'd been waiting for me, just as we'd planned, which was almost surprising, considering I'd canceled our plans for lunch.
Perversely, this made it even harder for me to say what needed saying. He would almost surely be offended. The only question was how much.
As if reading my mind, Ryder said with a smile, "You do realize, you'll never know if you don't tell me." And even though he was smiling, something in his eyes suggested he was waiting to hear something crazy, like I'd just set the coffee shop on fire.
Then again, he'd probably lovethat, because it would finally push me to quit.Terrific. Now I'd bedoublydisappointing him.
I glanced around before lowering my voice. "I've been thinking…"
"Yeah?"
"The thing with you and me – I'm kind of hoping we can keep it under wraps."
Confusion flashed across his face. "What do you mean?"
"You know…" I swallowed hard and finished in a rush. "That we're seeing each other. I just mean, we should probably keep it a secret."
Ryder blinked. Once. And then again. "Huh."
When he said nothing else, I shifted from foot to foot. "I'm guessing you want to know why, huh?"
He wasn't smiling anymore. "Sure, why not?" His words were casual, but his tone was anything but.
