“I like you too,” she whispers. A slow, unbelievably sensuous smile spreads across her face as her cheeks get pink. She has this way of looking angelic and sly the very same time, and it’s making my dick hard. I can’t remember the last time I had such an intense reaction to a smile. I don’t know if I ever have. We’re standing as close to each other as we can without touching. “But are you attracted to me?”
“So much I can barely stand it,” I admit in a rough whisper.
“Me too.” She gently bites her bottom lip before she blinks, steps away from me and the sexy-as-fuck, wicked smile disappears, and her professional smile is back. “And that’s why we can’t just be friends. I understand, Griffin, why the timing is off and I accept it. Honestly I’m dealing with a lot in my life too, and all my emotions and energy should be directed at my family right now, so this is probably for the best.”
She says out loud what I’ve been telling myself every day since I bailed on our date. It should make me feel better, it should validate my decision…Why doesn’t it? She steps back behind the computer.
“Shelda should be back with Charlie by now,” Sadie explains, and then her expression softens a little. “It was good to see you again, Griffin…and to meet Charlie, even though it wasn’t the best circumstances. She seems like a great kid.”
“She is” is all I can think to say because everything else running through my mind goes against what we just mutually established—this isn’t the right time for us.
“Take care.” I take one last, long look at Sadie’s beautiful face and leave the room to find my daughter.
11
Sadie
Iyawn as I grab my coat and purse out of my locker in our nurses’ lounge. Shelda is at her locker next to mine, pulling on her own jacket and primping her short honey blond hair in the small mirror she keeps in her locker. “I am way more exhausted than usual,” I tell her.
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Shelda says airily. “Fooling yourself takes a lot out of you.”
“Oh, my gosh, teasing me for the last five hours wasn’t enough?” I ask, and she firmly shakes her head no.
“Honey, it’s not teasing. I’m trying to make you see the truth,” she explains as she grabs her purse and shuts her locker. “That there is no right time for the right man. When he shows up, you make it work. The end.”
I made the mistake of confiding in Shelda about everything that has happened with Griffin—from the text flirting, to the non-date, to the fact I thought he was married, to his confession he isn’t. I hadn’t intended on telling her, but for some reason, after he left with Charlie, I was all mixed up inside and needed to talk to someone. The chemistry between us when we’re in the same room is so real and strong it’s like its own entity. But we keep trying to ignore it, and it’s beginning to feel like more work than just giving in to it. But he isn’t offering to give in to it. In fairness, I didn’t offer to either, despite the overwhelming urge I had to grab him by his jacket, shove him down on that hospital bed, and do a hell of a lot more than kiss him.
“But he can’t make it work,” I argue back, because that’s the truth. I can’t make him date me and he said he’s “unready.” “Plus you’re being dramatic. You don’t even know him. I don’t even really know him. You can’t call him the right man.”
“Sadie, I have known you for almost a year, and in that time you haven’t so much as talked about a hot celebrity, let alone had your face light up like a firework when someone walks by.” Shelda grins and points at me. “But you did when you were talking to that man the first time he was here, and you did it again this time. That’s the right man. At least right now.”
I laugh, and she winks at me and wiggles her eyebrows. “When was the last time you had some hanky-panky?”
“Stop!” I laugh louder as we exit the lounge together.
“Well?” Shelda demands, clearly not letting this go.
“It’s been a long time,” I confess quietly and feel a flush hit my cheeks. “Too long.”
We both wave goodbye to the new shift and head toward the exit. Shelda zips up her coat. “That is a tragedy, honey. You’re young, you’re beautiful and smart, and you should be having all the fun the world has to offer.”
I laugh. “I have a lot going on, Shel. You know that.”
“I do, but that’s even more reason to get some,” Shelda says, and her smile gets softer, sympathetic and filled with understanding. “Life is short and it can be hard, so never turn away a chance at good hanky-panky…or better yet, true love.”
“Oh, Lord, now you’ve gone too far!” I warn her because, hell, I don’t even know this guy…I mean not really. I just really, really wish I did.
She pushes open the doors, and we step out into the crisp, early-morning air. It may be spring, but someone forgot to inform mother nature today. I glance up, and my feet stop moving as soon as I see him. He’s leaning against the side of a dark green Land Rover. He’s wearing a white cable-knit sweater and a pair of dark jeans, and he hasn’t shaved. Ray-Bans cover his sexy eyes and a smile spreads those delicious, wide lips when he sees me. I feel like I’m in a romance movie and some uplifting music should start playing, or angels should sing or something. Because damn, this is a moment.
“Oh! Girl…” Shelda grins at me and nudges me toward him. “If you don’t reconsider I’m calling the psych ward for an immediate assessment of your mental health.”
“See you on Friday, Shelda,” I reply and wave her off.
Griffin is walking toward me now, since it’s clear I’m not moving. I notice a piece of paper—it looks like purple construction paper—in his hand. He stops about a foot in front of me. His smile widens, and I’m mesmerized by the sun glinting off the salt in his salt-and-pepper stubble. I have never, in my entire life, seen anything sexier. “Hi.”
“Good morning,” I reply.
“My brother is dropping Charlie off at school so I can swing by and bring you this. She made it as a thank-you and I promised I would give it to you as soon as possible.” He hands me the paper he’s been holding. It’s a homemade card. It has a bunch of flowers she drew on the front and a cute little note inside thanking me for getting rid of her raisin. “And I wanted to thank you for handling her so well and talking her through that life lesson with me.”
