“Which one do you think?” she asked as he walked up to her.
“Um, they both look burgundy to me. I can’t tell the difference.”
“This one is just a little darker.”
He shrugged. “I really don’t know. You’re the designer—go with your gut.”
“Thank you—I think I will. I choose this one.” She held the sample high, and he nodded.
“Good choice. So, listen. Can I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure.” She scooted over and made room for him on the stair next to her.
He sat down, but it was hard to find the words for what he wanted to say. “I know we cleared the air when I first came on this job site, but I don’t think I really properly said I was sorry.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary,” she began, but he held up a hand.
“No, I think it is. You deserve it. I pushed you away because I’d been too afraid to share my thoughts and feelings. If I’d been honest with you, I wouldn’t have hurt you, and I’m really sorry for the way I treated you.”
She smiled. “Honestly, Griffin, I’m not angry with you. I was for a long time, but as I looked back on it, I realized that you never actually said you wanted to marry me—I’d just assumed it. So I let go of the anger, knowing that I was putting a lot on you that you hadn’t earned. We both made mistakes in our relationship, but I think we both learned from it, and we’ve used those lessons to move on.”
“You’re a lot kinder to me than you ought to be.”
“No, I think you should be treated kindly. After all, if you’re going to be dating my very best friend in the whole world, we should be friends too, shouldn’t we?”
Griffin raised an eyebrow. “You know about that?”
Marissa grinned. “I have a cell phone. Tabs has a cell phone. You do the math.”
He chuckled. “I should have known. So, what do you say? Clean slate?”
“Absolutely. And for what it’s worth, Griffin, you’re a good man. You always have been. And if anyone can help smooth out your rough edges, it’ll be Tabs. She’ll be much better for you than I ever was.”
Griffin shook his head. “I know she’ll be good for me, but so were you, Marissa. I learned a lot from you.”
“Well, let Tabs benefit from it. She’s the best girl in the world—she will be loyal to you until she takes her last breath. Unless you give her reason not to be. Don’t give her those reasons, Griffin.”
He nodded. “Point taken. And respected.”
“Then you have my blessing.” She tapped him on both shoulders with the carpet sample, like she was knighting him. It was a bizarre little ceremony, but it felt good to know he was forgiven.
Chapter Twelve
Tabs hadn’t moved one inch from the spot on the couch where Griffin had kissed her. All she’d done was grab her cell phone and blabber incoherently at Marissa for five minutes. Then she stared into space. She needed to pull her thoughts together, but they were running around in her head like crazed hamsters without a wheel to give them some purpose.
Okay. She’d just leaped off a cliff and agreed to be Griffin’s girlfriend. She knew the risks, but she’d done it anyway. Why? Because she wanted to believe him—she desperately wanted to believe him. But now she needed to examine that thought. He had messed up his relationship with Marissa, yes. However, did that really make him a bad person? Or just a person who made some pretty big mistakes? She’d been calling him names in her head . . . and sometimes to his face . . . for so long that she’d lost sight of the actual issue. Yes, he’d made some mistakes, but she didn’t think he deserved all of the bad thoughts she’d had about him, and maybe that meant she could trust him more than she thought she could.
Or maybe he really was an evil, inconsiderate slob, and she was only cutting him more slack because she wanted to fool herself into thinking that she wasn’t in sudden and immediate danger.
This was just too complicated.
All she knew was that she had feelings for this guy—strong feelings. And it wasn’t just a bad-boy complex—she didn’t have one of those. It might have been a desire to save him, but she was coming to realize that he didn’t need saving as much as she thought he did. That was awesome, but it also spoiled that theory. It might just be that her feelings were genuine, and if his feelings were genuine, and they were genuine together . . .
They might stand a chance.
She finally stood up from the couch, knowing that she couldn’t stay there forever, although the idea sounded really appealing. She didn’t think she could pay the pizza delivery boy extra to break into her apartment and bring her food into the living room, so getting up was going to have to happen. A leap of faith required her to keep moving forward after she jumped, and so that’s what she was going to do. And she’d start by meeting him for dinner, which would be their first official date . . . kind of funny that they’d decided to be exclusive before they’d even dated.
She headed into the bathroom and washed her face, then reapplied her light makeup. Weird thing about crying—it leaves streaks on your cheeks. As she finished up, she looked in the mirror and studied herself. She wasn’t the same person she’d been when this rift with Griffin had started. She had grown and matured in a lot of ways since then, and maybe she was stronger than she gave herself credit for. If he did break her heart, she could likely handle it better than she would have before. And maybe that meant she didn’t have as much to fear. Knowing she could survive it made the risk seem less . . . risky.
And the reward? It would be a relationship with a man who had learned to overcome his faults and become the person he was supposed to be.
When she looked at it in that light, rather than being scared, she was excited. She was ready to cheer him on and walk by his side and see what the future held for both of them, together. This perspective was much better than dipping one toe in the water and hoping it didn’t get bitten off.
Instead, she was going to ride every wave, and enjoy them all.
***
Once they were seated at the restaurant, Griffin handed Tabs a sheaf of papers, then sat back, waiting for her reaction. She looked at the first page, then the second, a little confused. “What’s this?”
“My investors faxed that over as soon as I called them to accept their offer. I haven’t used my fax machine in so long, it startled me when it started up, but there it is—the contract. When I sign those papers, I’ll have everything I need to branch out and expand my company.”
Tabs handed the papers back. She didn’t think the terms were any of her business, and she figured he’d just wanted to show her that it was happening, not that he expected her to read it. “This is so amazing,” she told him. “You’re going to be successful—I just know you are.”
Griffin nodded. “My investor has a good feeling about it too, and he’s really shrewd with things like this, so hopefully, all these positive vibes mean something.”
Tabs tried to think back—he’d told her about this when he’d come to the house that morning, but she wasn’t sure she remembered all the details. “You said something about asking Rob to partner with you?”
“Yes. I think if we joined forces, we’d be way ahead of the game, and the guys he has on crew are exceptional.”
“Did you ask him already, or did you still need to? I’m sorry—you probably already told me about it this morning. I was just a little . . . distracted.”
“Yeah, I was too. See, this beautiful woman had just grabbed me and kissed me, and it was kind of hard to think after that.”
Tabs grinned. “I probably shouldn’t do that when you’re trying to talk business with me.”
He held up a hand. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it. I just said it was distracting. Distractions aren’t always bad. To answer your question, no, I haven’t talked to Rob yet. I wanted to see if you were on board . . . something tells me I’d be a lot more successful with you by my side than without you.”
Tabs
couldn’t remember that part of the conversation at all. “On board . . . to do what, again?”
Griffin laughed. “Wow. You really were distracted. I asked if you and Marissa wanted to work with me on the interiors. That way, one company could design, build, and decorate as one big process without having to hire a million subcontractors and whatnot.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea. Are you sure you said that earlier? It doesn’t sound familiar.”
“I definitely said it earlier. But it wasn’t too long after that when you told me you loved me, so you might have been thinking up the right words and thereby ignoring me altogether.”
“First of all, I said I thought I might be having feelings, remember? Nothing was solid. I was leaving lots of room for possibilities and waggle. And secondly, yes, I was thinking about what I was going to say, and also chastising myself for leaping at you the way I did. There was a lot going on in my brain at the time—I can’t be expected to remember everything.”
“True, true. I am putting a lot of pressure on you. I’ll give you a little breathing room.” Griffin sat back, as though that was going to give her the space she needed.
“I’ll forgive you. And I’ll even talk to Marissa—I like the idea a lot. And being able to help you—well, I think that would be fun.”
“Thank you.” Griffin laid his hand on the table, palm up, and she slid her fingers into his. “This week has been . . . wow. Everything hitting all at once. It’s kind of overwhelming, but in the best way.”
“Did that genealogist get back with you? Did he have any information?”
“He called me about half an hour ago asking for my blood type. He’s looking at this from every angle—some of which are more difficult than others because of the privacy laws at the hospitals where I might have been born. He’s asked me to be patient and said it might take some time.”
“And you’re all right with that?”
“Truthfully, I’m relieved. If one more thing were to happen this week . . . Here I am, jumping into a new business, and I’ve finally got the girlfriend of my dreams. That’s enough to keep me busy for a few minutes, I think.” He rubbed the back of her hand. “Tabs, thank you for taking this chance on us. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”
“I’ve had a few freaking-out moments today, I’ll be honest, but what it all comes down to is this—you make my heart sing. And if you ignore a singing heart, it’ll do dumb stuff like wake you up in the middle of the night or drown out your radio—those things can get pretty loud.” She loved watching his eyes light up with amusement. “We’re in this together, you know. I could mess up just as easily as you could—the promises you made me, I’m going to make in return. I promise to be truthful with you and to share my thoughts and feelings. And you know what I think?”
“No. But you’re going to tell me, because you promised.”
“That’s right. I think the past is in the past—there’s no point in bringing it up anymore. Will you forgive me for harboring such negative feelings for so long?”
“Yes, I will—you’ve forgiven me for so much, I can’t possibly refuse you anything.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
She pursed her lips. “What about dessert?”
He laughed. “I most certainly can’t refuse you dessert.”
***
After they finished eating, Griffin drove Tabs down by the river, where they sat and watched the water as it tumbled along. He draped his arm around her shoulders and held her close, loving the softness of her long, curly hair against his cheek and the way she fit so perfectly in the hollow of his shoulder.
“Rob’s going to have breakfast with me in the morning, and we’ll talk about my business plan,” he said, feeling his heart rate increase as he spoke. “This is a pretty exciting venture, but it’s also scary.”
“One step at a time. You don’t have to rush anything,” Tabs told him.
“I know. I haven’t signed the contract yet either—I want to talk to some people and get more numbers crunched. Getting my ducks in a row.”
“I like ducks,” Tabs replied. “They’re so cute and soft and quacky.”
“And I like you.” Griffin kissed the top of her head.
“Even though I’m not quacky?”
“Even though you’re not quacky. I’ve decided I can overlook that. You know why?”
“Why?”
He snuggled her in a little closer. “You might still be trying to figure out how you feel about me, but I know exactly how I feel about you. I’m in love with you, Tabitha Morrow, and I don’t care if you never quack at all.”
She twisted around a little to look at him. “That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. And maybe I might love you too. Although, I’m still thinking about it.”
He lowered his head and kissed her, the sound of rushing water and the whispering of the wind in the trees overhead drowning out any other noises and creating a bubble of solitude around them. Then he held her close, absolutely content. At that moment, he didn’t need to know what the future would bring because he knew it could only be good. Anything else was impossible with the way he was feeling just then. There would be challenges, no doubt, but he was prepared to meet them.
They would meet them together, actually. He and Tabs.
THE END
Don’t miss the continuing story of the Brody Hotel! Connections, book three, will be released August 7th, 2018.
If you’d like to know more about the McClain family and their boys’ ranch, check out the Seven Sons series by Kirsten Osbourne and Amelia C. Adams – Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frank, and Gideon.
About Amelia C. Adams
Amelia C. Adams is a wife, a mother, an eater of tacos, and a taker of naps. She spends her days thinking up stories and her nights writing them down. Her biggest hero is her husband, and you just might see bits and pieces of him as you read her novels.
You can reach her at [email protected].
Please join Amelia on her website to learn more about her, sign up for her newsletter, stay on top of news and upcoming releases, and follow her on Facebook. In fact, you can join her readers’ group by clicking here!
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The Kansas Crossroads Series:
A New Beginning (free!)
A Free Heart
The Dark and the Dawn
A Clean Slate
A Clear Hope
The Whisper of Morning
A Careless Wind
A Narrow Road
The Bitter and the Sweet
The Calm of Night
A Begrudging Bride
A Broken Wing (A Kansas Crossroads novella)
A Twisted Fate
An Unspoken Dream
A Joyful Noise
The Echo of Music (A Kansas Crossroads novella)
The Risk and the Reward (A Kansas Crossroads novella)
The Nurses of New York series:
Sea of Strangers (free!)
Cause of Conflict
Touch of Tenderness
Heart of Hearts
Test of Time
The American Mail-Order Brides series:
Hope: Bride of New Jersey
Tabitha: Bride of Missouri
The Hearts of Nashville series:
Whiskey and Women
Records and Rebels
As part of the Brides of Beckham series by Kirsten Osbourne:
Mail Order Molly
As part of the River’s End Ranch series:
Accidental Agent
Rugged Rockclimber
Welcome Wagon
Santa’s Shopkeeper
Delivering Destiny
Lucky Lifeguard
Poinsettia Promises
Christmas Catch-Up III
Candy Crush
Paislee’s Path
Pet Peeves
As part of the Grandma’s Wedding Quilts series:
Meredith’s Mistake
As part of the Magnolias and Moonshine series:
Sweet Georgia Peach
As part of the Burnt River series:
Ashley’s Hope
Phoebe’s Fate
As part of the Rocky Mountain Romances series:
Utah Sunrise
As part of the Mail Order Mounties series:
Bride for Joel
Bride for Jonathan
Bride for Samuel
Bride for Calvin
Bride for Peter
Bride for Michael
Bride for Richard
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Benjamin
Daniel
Frank
As part of the Cowboys and Angels series:
Bribing the Blacksmith
Tea for Two
Loving the Landlord
As part of the Main Street Merchants series:
And Something Blue
For Love or Money
Five Golden Rings
Just Desserts
In the Stars
Sugar and Spice
As part of the Brody Hotel series:
Generations
Short Fiction:
The Ghost of Dunlow Manor
The Best of Me
Heartstrings (Brody Hotel Book 2) Page 10
