“I can’t believe you did all of this,” she gushes as she takes her seat at the table.
I sit across from her. “I wanted to give you the vacation you’ve always dreamed of.”
She smiles softly and looks deep into my eyes. “This is too much, Griffin. You don’t have to do all of this. There’s no need to impress me with your money. I like you. I liked you the first time I saw you.”
I pick up her hand that’s resting on the table and softly kiss it. “I’m not trying to impress you, El. I’m just trying to spoil you. You deserve it.” I smile. “Now, let’s eat.”
I lift the lid of the silver platter and the smell of shrimp scampi wafts up my nose, making my mouth water.
I think her eyes roll into the back of her head. “It smells amazing! I’m starving. Junk food and airplane food don’t stick with you long.”
I laugh as I serve us both a big helping. I remove the bottle of wine from the bucket and pop the cork, pouring each of us a large glass.
She grins. “Why, Mr. Karlsson, are you trying to get me drunk?”
I shoot her a wink. “Maybe a little. I’m looking forward to stripping that bikini off you later.”
She leans in slowly. “Well, how about I save you the trouble and wear nothing?”
I think my mouth starts to water. “Don’t tease me. You know what happened the last time you did that.” I think back to her restroom punishment in the crowded club.
She offers up a coy smile. “I remember quite well, and if you remember correctly, that’s basically the moment that brought us together, so I don’t think it’ll be that bad.”
“You have no idea, Ms. Ryder.” I train my eyes on her, already wanting to be done with dinner so I can spend the rest of my night inside her.
After dinner, El excuses herself to go freshen up, while I get to work on cleaning up the table. While I have a cleaning crew coming in the morning, I don’t want to be woken up by seagulls snatching shrimp off the patio. I carry all the dishes to the kitchen and load the dishwasher. I turn around, pull my shirt over my head, and move into the living room to get my swim trunks out of my bag, but stop when I come face to face with a very naked Janelle.
She’s leaning against the corner of the hallway, one hand tangling into her wild, dark locks, eyes trained on me. And the look on her face says nothing short of fuck me.
I swallow down the saliva pooling in my mouth and take a step toward her. “Decide to skip out on our swim, did you?”
She shrugs one shoulder and presses her lips together seductively. “Only if you can catch me.” She smiles wide before turning and making a run for it. She dashes down the hall and into the bedroom, where the patio door is. She’s intending on running out the door, but I reach out and grab her wrist, sending her flying right into my arms. We both fall onto the bed, tangled up together.
I press a soft kiss to her plump lips, then pull away enough to study her beautiful face. “I don’t know how you do it,” I whisper, staring down in awe at her.
“Do what?” she asks softly.
“Steal the breath from my lungs, and make me forget that I’m a broken old man.”
Her hand comes up to rest on my jaw as her eyes darken with intensity. “You’re not broken, Griffin. You’re just lost—stumbling through life the same way we all are. Luckily for you, I found you. Now we can get lost together,” she whispers before picking up her head and pressing her mouth to mine once again.
And with one small action, I’m lost. But I don’t care anymore, because I’m not alone. I’m with her.
Chapter Fifteen
Janelle
“I’m serious, Sam. I’m on my own private island,” I gush as I’m lying on the beach, completely topless while sipping a frozen daiquiri.
“You lucky bitch. And here I am freezing because Chicago decided to host a nonstop rainstorm. When are you coming back?”
I sigh just thinking about leaving this tropical paradise. “We have to leave early tomorrow to make it home Monday morning. I’ll be going straight from vacation to work. God, I wish I could stay here forever.”
“What does your sister think of you macking all over this rich guy who just so happens to be close with her man?”
“She’s the one who talked me into giving Griffin a chance. He’s so different from what I thought he’d be, you know? I mean, initially, I thought he was only about expensive suits and work, work, work. But since we’ve been together, he’s full of surprises. It kind of makes me a little sad.”
“Sad? What the hell for?” Her voice is high-pitched and squeaky.
“Because I think I’m falling for him. And I know it’s only a matter of time before it all ends and I get my heart broken,” I confess.
“Have you two talked about what it is you’re doing?”
“A little. But I don’t know if he means those things or if he’s just telling me what he thinks I want to hear. And, to be honest, it’s been more of a broad spectrum of what our futures hold. He hasn’t come out and said anything to make me believe I’m the one he’s referring to when he envisions his future.”
“Listen, El, I don’t have the answers you’re looking for. But for now, just relax and enjoy this vacation. He’s right about one thing: you deserve it.”
I smile and take a deep breath. “You’re right. I should just chill and enjoy the moment. I’ll think about the future when it becomes the present.”
“That’s my girl!” she cheers and it makes me giggle.
“Thanks, Sam.”
“Anytime.” Without another word, she hangs up the phone and I let mine fall to my side.
Griffin walks out and sits on the big white blanket next to me.
“Did the cleaning team leave?”
“Yep. It took a miracle to get them to stay in the house and not worry about the patio.”
I turn and look at him with a confused frown. “Why?”
He motions toward me. “You’re not exactly in a state to entertain guests, you know.”
I laugh. I’d already forgotten that this isn’t how normal people live. “Oh yeah. You should’ve said something. I would’ve covered up.”
He scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Not a chance.” He rolls to his side, leaning in for a kiss. “I prefer you this way,” he whispers, pressing his lips against mine.
I kiss him deeply, and while I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, a little of that fear comes sneaking in. I tell it to go away—that this is vacation and I shouldn’t be worrying about those things—but it keeps nagging me.
Griffin and I lie on the beach, soaking up the sun for the rest of the day. We talk and laugh. We nap and play. Then, when the sun goes down, we head inside to find something for dinner. He looks through the fridge and I dig through the cabinets.
“Anything?” I ask.
“Nothing that I know how to cook,” he replies. “Do you know how to cook chicken, steak, or whatever this is?” he asks, turning to show me what’s in his hands.
I wrinkle my nose and shake my head. “Nope, but I found bread. Are there any sandwich fixings in there?”
He turns around, tosses whatever meat is in his hands back in, and digs around. “I found some lunch meat.”
“Score! What else?”
“Mustard, mayo, lettuce, and a tomato.”
“Perfect. Bring them to me.”
I open the bread and start putting together two sandwiches.
Finally, our dinner is served, and we head to the living room, where he’s laid out a blanket in the center of the floor. We both sit down and he opens a bottle of wine.
I laugh. “Really? Wine with our fine dining?”
“Wine goes with any meal,” he tells me, just as a jagged flash of nearby lightning illuminates the room. Seconds later, the house goes pitch black and thunder rolls as the sky opens up and pours down.
“There goes our movie night.”
He laughs and stands up. “Help me find some candles?” He holds out his hand and pul
ls me to my feet. “Now we’ll have a candlelit dinner of sandwiches and wine.”
We both search the house and come back with a dozen candles. We light them and litter them around the room before taking our place back on the floor.
The room is softly lit, and the only sound is the rain pounding against the metal roof of the house. It’s relaxing, yet it shoots a thrill through my body. The rest of the world around us is going crazy, all hell cutting loose, but here we are, completely warm and safe. It’s like nothing can touch us.
When we’ve finished eating, I make my way over to his lap. “Tell me something,” I request.
“Like what?”
I shrug as my fingers slowly start unbuttoning his white shirt. “Anything. Something nobody else knows. A secret you can only share with me.”
He bites his lower lip as he thinks it over. Finally, his eyes pop up to mine just as I have his shirt open completely. I push his chest back until he’s lying flat on the floor, then lower my lips to his jaw, slowly moving down his neck and chest.
“I almost sold this place,” he tells me. “I bought it for my honeymoon, and when that went to shit, I thought this place would forever be ruined for me. Until you,” he whispers as his breathing picks up from my kisses. “You’ve changed everything for me, El. You’ve changed my outlook on life. You’ve changed me for the better. I’m not the same man you met a couple weeks ago, and I’ll never be that man again as long as I have you with me.”
Coming back to the city feels foreign after spending the weekend on our own little island. The city is busy and loud as usual—fast-paced instead of everything waiting for us. Griffin has his car deliver me home, where I quickly shower and dress for another day in the office, then I catch the train to work like any other day.
Walking into the conference room, I find coffee and bagels. I quickly grab one of each for myself and have a seat.
“Hey, where were you this weekend? We all got together at the Joker Club again, and it was such a blast. Chase got busted by his fiancée and she made the biggest scene in front of everyone,” Carolyn says, sitting next to me.
I snort with the laughter that escapes around my bite of bagel. “Really? Was he cheating on her or something?”
Carolyn’s eye double in size. “He met this girl there, and they were all over each other. They were grinding on the dance floor and making out. Ugh, it was disgusting.” She shivers just from thinking about it. “So, what were you up to?” She studies me for a moment. “Did you go tanning? You look darker and have a hint of pink on your cheeks and nose.”
I swallow down a bite that I forgot to chew. “Oh, um, yeah. I went tanning with my roommate.” I roll my eyes and shake my head. “We went Friday afternoon, and I spent the rest of my weekend unable to move since I was so red. I’m thanking God today that I don’t look like a Red Hot anymore.”
She giggles. “That is so bad for you, El. Seriously, join the twenty-first century already and get that shit sprayed on like the rest of us.”
“I know. I should have,” I agree.
Griffin walks into the conference room and his eyes immediately jump to mine.
“All right, everyone. Please take your seats,” he says, coming to a stop at the head of the table.
“Lookin’ good, Mr. Karlsson. You got your tan on,” Carolyn says, eyes quickly flashing over to me.
I freeze, knowing that she’s no longer believing my lie, but now making up a story on her own. I can only pray that she doesn’t tell anyone else.
Before I can get too worked up, I look at Griffin and admire how sexy he looks with a tint to his skin. Unlike me, he doesn’t burn. Instead, every hard muscle is covered in tan skin, and just picturing that tan ass of his has me squeezing my thighs together and wetting my dry lips.
“Thank you, Carolyn,” Griffin says with a smirk. “Now that we all got to enjoy a long weekend, let’s force our minds back to work.” He dims the lights and turns on a projector. “I want to show you all the hard work Ms. Ryder has been putting in on our new magazine cover.”
The small group hoots and hollers as he clicks a button on the remote. The new magazine cover is lit up on the wall, and it looks amazing. It reminds me of one of those fancy magazines featuring all of the newest home decorating trends—one you buy in the hopes of one day being able to afford one piece of furniture out of it. It’s elegant and sophisticated. It screams five-star hotel, and draws you in, making you want to visit this location so you can be just as elegant and sophisticated.
Everyone claps. “That’s awesome, El,” Carolyn says, turning to look at me.
I smile shyly as my face flushes.
“Writers,” Griffin says, quieting everyone down, “I have assignments for you.” He begins passing out a paper. “We need articles written on these subjects. When you finish, please send them over to the e-mail listed for final say and editing.”
I look at the paper and see that my e-mail is listed. I get final say on which articles go into the magazine, and I get to edit them. I’m editor-in-chief. My heart begins to pound.
“Everyone who works on this magazine will be listed on the contents page,” Griffin says. “Now, writers, get to work. The rest of you, see your mentor for your assigned jobs.” He smiles, looking only at me, pride radiating from his expression. “You are dismissed.” Without another word, he leaves the room.
All the writers go off to work on their assignments. The legal team and the art department also leave—everyone but Carolyn.
I stand and grab my belongings.
“Well, isn’t that nice of Mr. Karlsson?” Carolyn says.
“Hmm?” I ask, turning to face her.
“I just think it’s weird, is all. You come in with a sunburn, and he comes in with a fresh tan. You get to be editor-in-chief of the magazine you’ve been working on exclusively with him. Sounds to me like someone is sleeping with the boss.” She winks. “Kudos to you. I mean, I would’ve jumped at the opportunity, too.”
My mouth drops open. “I am not sleeping with the boss.” I cross my arms over my chest. “How dare you even say that? I mean, I could say that you slept with the owner of the hotel to get this internship, but I haven’t.”
“I haven’t been caught behind closed doors with him all alone, now have I?”
“What are you even talking about?” I ask, anger pushing me to do or say something to make all this go away.
“Chase told us about when he went into his office. You two were all alone, and you both had guilty looks on your faces.”
I laugh. “So you’re listening to Chase now? The guy who tries to sleep with everyone he can while he’s engaged?”
“Chase doesn’t have a reason to lie. You do,” she points out.
I bite my lower lip and think up a quick response. “Chase has every reason to make up a rumor about me. Think about it before you go accusing people, Carolyn.” Without another word, I step out of the conference room and rush to the elevator.
I take the few seconds I have alone to calm down. When the doors open and I step out into the lobby of Griffin’s office, I freeze as I watch a blonde with long, tan legs walk through his open door.
Without thinking, I walk up to his secretary. “Mary, I’m needing something out of Mr. Karlsson’s office, but I just saw someone go in. Is this not a good time?”
She looks up at me with a smile, completely oblivious to what’s going on. “Not now, dear. Mr. Karlsson has a meeting with Ms. Candice Adams.”
My head cocks to the side. “Candice? His ex?”
She holds her finger to her lips. “Shhh, this meeting is supposed to be a secret. If Vincent catches word that she’s here, he’ll blow up after everything she’s put Griffin through.”
I nod once, but a sinking feeling hits my gut like a brick. I turn to leave.
“Would you like me to tell Mr. Karlsson you were here?” she asks behind me.
I stop and look over my shoulder. “No, thanks. I’ll just come back later.” I f
orce a smile so she doesn’t pick up on anything, but inside, jealously rears its ugly head.
Chapter Sixteen
Griffin
“Is everything okay?” I ask as I watch El quietly pick at her food on the opposite end of the table.
“Huh? Oh, everything is fine,” she says absentmindedly.
“You seem a million miles away.” I pick up my wine and finish off the glass. “To be honest, I thought you’d be acting much happier than you are. I mean, you did land the title of editor-in-chief of the magazine.”
She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, because I’m sleeping with you.”
“Janelle? How could you even say that? You know you’re the most qualified.”
“Am I?” She looks up, meeting my eyes, but something is off. “I mean, even Carolyn could pick up on it. She knows about us. At least, she thinks she knows. I did my best to shoot it down, but who knows what she believes?”
“Carolyn?” I ask, trying to catch up.
She nods. “Yep.” The ‘p’ makes a popping sound as it leaves her lips. “After the meeting this morning. I came to tell you, but didn’t want to interrupt your meeting.”
“My meeting?” Oh, my meeting with Candice. Fuck!
I take a deep breath and lean forward. “It’s not what you’re thinking, El.”
One eyebrow arches. “It’s not? Care to fill me in?”
I throw myself back in my chair, pick up my glass of wine, and finish it off. “I can’t right now.”
“You can’t right now?” she repeats.
I stand and walk to the drink cart, pouring myself a stronger drink and tossing it back. I pour another and take it back to the table with me, but this time, I sit at her side instead of at the end of the table. “You have nothing to worry about, El,” I breathe out, praying she believes me.
“Then tell me what’s going on. She’s your ex, and she came to your office today. You were in a room alone with her. And don’t think I didn’t notice her stripper heels or leather skirt. I mean, who dresses like that?” She stands and begins pacing.
Baby Mistake: An Accidental Pregnancy Romance Page 10
