She smiles, cocks her head, and in a singsong voice says, “I playedfootballfor you, and you won’t even share a teensy cookie with me?”
Griffin’s face cracks into a smile that sends wrinkles across his face. Aria revels in it. As Griffin sighs in defeat, Aria looks on, butterflies of fun flapping in her middle.
“A little.” Griffin demonstrates a tiny amount between his thumb and pointer finger.
Aria snatches the cookie from the tabletop, and using both hands, she bends the cookie in half and breaks it apart. She holds out his half.
When Griffin reaches out and takes it, their fingers momentarily touch. Aria’s eyes fly to the spot where her hand feels like it’s sizzling. Before Griffin pulls his hand away, herubs his thumb once back and forth over the thin skin of her hand. It’s a seemingly unconscious motion, so small she almost misses it.
She hopes he doesn’t notice her sharp intake of breath.
Griffin doesn’t hesitate before taking a massive bite of the cookie. He chews with his eyes shut, and once he swallows, says, “Please never take no for an answer if you offer me a cookie like that again. Holy cow was I wrong.”
Aria looks on in smug delight. “A little bit of cookie won’t break the football machine.”
Griffin finishes the cookie, takes a sip of his tea, then checks the time on his phone.
“You rushing off?” Aria asks, attempting to mask the desperation threatening to resound in her voice.
She’s been looking forward to seeing him, and their planned discussion went far too quickly.
“Not unless you are. I want to get the full experience.” Griffin gestures to the coffee shop around them.
A calm settles inside Aria, and she drops her head to one side. “Isn’t it great? I feel so at home here.”
“Yeah? What about it feels like home?” Griffin holds eye contact even as he tilts his cup to sip.
A familiar twinge cuts across Aria’s chest, her body’s way of reminding her to keep her walls up, reminding her that most people can’t be trusted. It doesn’t take much for her to override the warning and barrel right in. Griffin is different. That much is obvious by now.
“I grew up in a small, old house. Nothing as cute or quaint as this, but there’s just something about being in a place like this that feels like being welcomed home. Getting to be myselfand not the ‘official’ Aria Wilder. Like I can kick my feet up and breathe for a moment.”
Griffin sets down his cup, and his gaze warms Aria. He’s almost inspecting her. “I’m glad you said it, because you really are so much more than the persona on all the promotional stuff.”
“Yeah? What do you make of it?”
The quiet that passes feels a bit like awaiting a verdict. Does Griffin like what he sees of her like she’s terribly intrigued by what she’s seeing of him? When a smile teases at the corner of his mouth and he runs a hand through his wavy hair, Aria can’t take her eyes off him.
She’s already hoping they get another round of drinks. Green tea is healthy, right?
Surely she could convince Griffin to stay, even if the time for him to go hasn’t yet come.
Chapter 15
Griffin
Griffin knows he needs to tread lightly when Aria asks him what he sees in her. He makes a deal with himself: Be honest but not sappy or weird.
“There’s far more to you,” he says. “Don’t get me wrong; your branding is amazing. It gets the whole ‘powerhouse performer’ down to a T. But in real life you have more details. You’re a loving big sister; you care about others, like the way you tracked down those clothing items for donation. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to be as funny or laid-back—” Griffin stops himself. “Am I rambling?”
“Trust me, I won’t ever ask you to stop saying nice things about me.”
“You’re softer, layered.”
“I’m like a quilt?”
Griffin pauses. In some ways, Aria really is like a quilt, evenif she’s joking. Because every time he’s around her, he feels warm and wrapped up in her.
“Not sure that was the direction I was going, but if you want to, say so.”
