“Yeah, I have a ton of room in the Rover,” Griffin agrees easily.
“I’ll take them,” Jude volunteers. “You two have plans, and I won’t feel so bad about driving Zoey’s monster truck if it’s full of people and luggage.”
“It’s a hybrid,” Zoey reminds him, rolling her eyes. “Drama queen.”
“Come on.” Jude grabs Ty’s suitcase for him and waves goodbye to Griffin and me.
Dixie and Eli head to her Mini, and Jude, Zoey, Winnie, and Ty walk to Zoey’s Lexus SUV. Griffin looks down at me when they’re all out of earshot. “Who was that?”
“That was Ty. The love of Winnie’s life,” I say frankly, and he looks like I just told him the world was flat. “I know, right?”
“I’m not here to judge,” he says and reaches for my hand that’s not holding the roses.
“Sorry about all that,” I say as we walk to Griffin’s car. “I was hoping to wait a little while before releasing the family on you.”
“They’re great,” he replies without an ounce of hesitation. “I kind of caught on that you were hiding this from them when I asked Eli how your dad was on our road trip. I just wasn’t sure why.”
“Because they’re a lot,” I reply, and I feel a little guilty for some reason. “And I wasn’t sure if you wanted Jude and Eli to know, since you work with them. I was definitely going to ask you first. Also, I don’t know…I guess I just liked having something separate from the rest of my life, you know?”
He thinks about that and then nods. He seems to genuinely get it, thankfully. He glances at the flowers in my hand. “I wanted to get you something because you said you’d had such a rough week, and I originally thought wildflowers, obviously. But they had these, and when the sales lady told me the name I couldn’t resist.”
“Unicorn roses.” I laugh. As he opens the passenger door, I rock up on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek. My lips are still pressed to his cheek when he slowly turns his head, stubble grazing me, until our lips align. Then he wraps an arm around my waist, yanks me closer, and deepens the kiss.
The kiss breaks, and I look up at him with glassy eyes. “Since my family hijacked the first part of our date, can I hijack the second part?
He looks surprised but intrigued. “Why not? I didn’t have any solid plans.”
I reluctantly leave his lips and climb into the SUV, and he shuts the door for me. A second later he’s doing up his own seat belt and starting the engine. “Where to?”
I look out at the inky sky. The sun will set in the next fifteen or twenty minutes.
“Take a left when we get out of the parking lot,” I reply.
Griffin follows my directions without questioning me. I find that interesting. I don’t think I’ve dated a guy before who would be so chill about this. It’s a sign of confidence and maturity, and it’s such a fucking turn-on.
Finally when I tell him to turn on a little street called Bowley, his dark eyes light up. “Are we going to Baker Beach? To watch the sunset?’
“Yeah.” I hope he doesn’t think it’s cheesy or lame.
“Awesome,” he says, and I feel at ease again. He parks the car at the end of the lot, which only has three other cars in it. He picks a spot away from them, nose to the ocean, and turns off the engine. “I’ve got a blanket in the back.”
We get out of the car, and after going into the trunk he comes back with a big gray blanket with Dumbo the elephant all over it. I laugh, and he smiles sheepishly. “It’s Charlie’s, obviously, but we make her watchSesame Street, so she’ll be okay with sharing.”
“Ha!” I laugh as he takes the blanket and my hand in his and leads me down to the sand. I kick off my shoes and pick them up, digging my toes deep into the sand.
He lays out the blanket, and I drop onto it, close my eyes, and take a long, slow inhale of the cool, salty air. I feel the stubble on his chin rub my cheek and then his full, firm lips brush my earlobe. “You’re a beach girl, I can tell.”
I nod as a shiver of desire rolls down my spine. “I grew up spending summers in Maine. My family has a cottage there. We don’t go anymore because it’s too hard to get my dad there and too hard to go without him. I never seem to find the time to come here.”
“We should make a point of coming here,” he announces softly, his fingertips dancing along the side of my neck. “I think you have to make a point of it. You look so at peace.”
I twist my head to look over at him. “I feel at peace. But I think the company has a lot to do with it.”
“I know it does for me,” he replies, and then he points to the sky. “But that doesn’t hurt either.”
I turn to look at the setting sun. Every inch of the sky is a beautiful rose-gold color. The sound of the waves hitting the shore a few feet away immediately makes my shoulders start to loosen. I tilt my neck from side to side, and then I feel his hands on my waist.
“Come here,” he whispers and positions me between his legs on the blanket, my back to his front, facing the sinking sun. He starts to rub my shoulders, and it feels so incredible I accidently let out a moan.
