As if sensing me staring, Griffin shifted slightly and opened his eyes. He smiled in greeting. “Good morning.”
“Morning.”
“How did you sleep?” Griffin moved to stretch, keeping me on top of him the entire time. “Did you get any sleep or did you stare at me all night?”
“I slept like a rock,” I replied. “I’ve been staring at you for only five minutes.”
“Not that I’m not flattered, but is there a reason you’ve been staring at me instead of sleeping?” Griffin asked, moving his hand up to smooth my mussed hair. “Your hair is wild this morning. I kind of like it.”
“That’s because we were up late messing it up and I forgot to braid it.”
“I like it like this,” Griffin said, nuzzling his face against my cheek. “Why were you staring, though?”
I shrugged. “You’re pretty in the morning.”
“Ah. Thank you … I think.”
“I was also thinking that as handsome as you are, I love your heart more than your face,” I admitted, my cheeks burning as his gaze sharpened.
“You still love me, huh?”
I nodded.
“Good. I love you, too,” Griffin said. “You could’ve slept longer and told me that in the shower later, though.”
“I want you to know that even though I love your heart more than your face, I still love your body best.”
Griffin chuckled, the sound warming me. “I’m glad you gave me the list.” He pressed my head down on his chest as he kissed my forehead. “Rest for a few minutes and then I’ll finish messing up your hair.”
“Okay.”
We lapsed into comfortable silence, me tracing the line of his abs as he rubbed the back of my neck. For once, I wasn’t the one to break the tranquility first.
“I want to talk to you,” Griffin said.
The giddiness I’d been feeling evaporated and my heart inadvertently rolled. “I … please don’t ruin this.”
“I’m not going to ruin anything, mouth,” Griffin said, shifting us so I had no choice but to meet his serious gaze. “I meant what I said last night. I love you and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Then why do you have your serious face on?” I whined. “I hate it when you have your serious face on. That means you’re going to say something serious.”
“That was almost profound.” Griffin smirked. “This is a continuation of our discussion from last night. I love you dearly, but we can’t keep going on the way we have been.”
I frowned, my stomach twisting. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It’s nothing bad, Aisling,” Griffin prodded. “It’s something good. Well, at least I hope you’ll think it’s good.”
I patiently waited for him to continue. Okay, “patiently” isn’t the right word. I wanted to pinch him until he spit it out, but I didn’t think that was the correct way to go.
“I want us to have a place of our own,” Griffin said.
I lifted my head, stunned by the words. “W-what?”
Griffin licked his lips. “I want us to have a place of our own,” he repeated. “We’re not ready for marriage. We haven’t been dating long enough for that. I don’t want to be away from you, though.
“I love this place and I love Jerry. I even like Aidan,” he continued. “This place is too small for four of us, though. We need our own space.”
“But … .” How was I supposed to live without Jerry? How was I supposed to admit to Griffin that was my main concern?
“Get in the shower,” Griffin instructed. “I have something I want to show you.”
My head was muddled. “I thought you wanted to talk about moving in together?”
“We will,” Griffin said. “I should’ve waited until after we celebrated again and got cleaned up, though. I can’t explain what I want until I show you the idea I have.”
“Is this what you wanted to show me yesterday before Mom showed up?”
“Yes.”
The possibilities were endless, and as much as I wanted to know, I also wanted to give Griffin the chance to make his case. Okay, that’s not entirely true. I needed to buy time to figure out how to tell him I didn’t think I could make it being separated from Jerry. How would he take that?
“Get in the shower, Aisling,” Griffin prodded. “I promise to buy you breakfast after I show you what I want to show you, and then I’ll answer all the questions I know are buzzing around that busy mind of yours. I’ll even answer the ones you haven’t thought of yet.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you suggesting I’m slow?”
“I’m suggesting this is a big deal and we have a lot to talk about,” Griffin clarified. “Now, get in the shower. I have something I want to show you in there, too.”
I WAS a bundle of nerves when Griffin led me out of the townhouse an hour later. He linked his fingers with mine and happily strolled down the sidewalk while I wondered how I would explain my fear of leaving Jerry.
We walked down our sidewalk branch and turned onto the main one. We’d gone only about ten steps when Griffin moved up our neighbors’ sidewalk and dug in his pocket for something. I narrowed my eyes, confused.
“What are we doing here?”
“This is where I want us to live,” Griffin answered, shoving a key in the lock and pushing the townhouse door open.
“But … .” My gaze bounced between Griffin’s townhouse and the one I shared with Jerry right next door.
“Ah, you didn’t see that coming, did you?” Griffin’s face split into a wide grin as he ushered me inside. “This way, please.”
I stepped into the townhouse, my eyes widening when I realized it was exactly like the one Jerry and I shared except the floorplan was flipped. The kitchen and living room were on the right side while the bedrooms were on the left. The paint job left a little to be desired – I hate the color red – but that could be easily remedied.
“I don’t understand,” I admitted as Griffin followed me inside.
“This place has been on the market for four months,” Griffin said. “I approached the owner three weeks ago and we hammered out a deal. He moved out completely four days ago and I’ve had possession of it since then.”
I widened my eyes. “You bought a place for us without telling me?” Did that sound shrill?
“Yes,” Griffin said, squaring his shoulders as he readied himself for my freakout.
“I thought you wanted us to live together?” I pressed, forcing myself to remain calm. Well, as calm as possible given the circumstances.
“I do want us to live together.”
“How can we live together if you bought this place and I’m still part-owner of the place next door?”
“You’re a lot calmer than I expected,” Griffin mused. “I thought for sure there would be screaming before we got to this point. Okay, this is good. Your name only needs to be transferred to the deed for this place. You’re going to have to sign some paperwork to make it official, though.”
“I can’t do that,” I scoffed. “I have to pay for half of it and … well … I don’t have that kind of money. You might think being a reaper pays well, but it only pays okay. I can’t sell my half of my townhouse because that would be horrible for Jerry. I don’t think he can afford to buy it from me.”
Jerry owns a bakery in downtown Royal Oak – Get Baked – and he makes a good income. He doesn’t make enough to buy me out of the townhouse on a whim, though.
“You’ve technically paid for your half of the townhouse,” Griffin said, shifting from one foot to the other. He was uncomfortable. That much was clear.
I was horrified by what I thought he was insinuating. “Did you go to my father?”
Griffin’s mouth dropped open. “Of course not! Do you think I would go to your dad and tell him I planned to move in with you and he had to pay me to do it?”
“No.” I flapped my hands. “I’m really confused.”
“That’s because I’m doing this in the worst pos
sible way,” Griffin said, grabbing my hands to still them. “I had big plans to bring you over here and set up a little picnic on the floor. Then I was going to lay everything out for you by candlelight, tell you I loved you, and then wait for the questions. That obviously didn’t happen.”
“You were going to do that yesterday?”
Griffin nodded. “I couldn’t wait any longer.”
“And then Mom showed up and ruined everything,” I grumbled. I blew out an exaggerated sigh. “Okay. Lay it on me. How have I already paid for half of this place?”
“Aidan paid for your half,” Griffin replied, holding up his hand to still me when I opened my mouth to argue. “He’s not technically paying for you to live here. He’s paying to buy you out of your half of the townhouse with Jerry. This just cut out the middleman and saved us some cash.”
Things clicked into place. “Aidan has been making noise about wanting to live with Jerry for months,” I said. “This is what you were whispering about the other day.”
“It’s been in the works for quite a while,” Griffin confirmed. “I love you. I want to live with you. I enjoy spending time with Aidan and Jerry, but we need our own space. Aidan feels the same way.
“I won’t lie. We were both worried about separating you and Jerry,” he continued. “I knew it wouldn’t go over well, and when I saw the look on your face this morning I knew you were thinking about Jerry.”
“That’s not entirely true,” I protested. “I was excited at the prospect of living with you. I just didn’t want to leave him.”
“I know,” Griffin said, pushing a strand of hair from my face. “I wasn’t sure I could afford this place, but it sat on the market long enough that I was able to negotiate a good deal with the owner. Don’t you see? This is the best of both worlds.
“This will be our home,” he continued. “Aidan and Jerry will be right next door. You and Jerry will be able to see each other whenever you want. We’ll be a family … we’ll just be one that has more room to spread out.”
I was dumbfounded. For lack of anything better to do while I thought things over, I paced.
“I can’t tell whether you’re about to start screaming,” Griffin said. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking it’s going to be like Three’s Company.”
Griffin tilted his head to the side. “Is that a good thing?”
“Jerry loves that show,” I said. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“You’re upset because I didn’t ask you before doing it, aren’t you?” Griffin looked sad. “Baby, I should’ve told you, but I wanted to make sure I could do it first. Then Aidan and I were really frightened you and Jerry would melt down, and we didn’t want to lose this place so we just did it. I’m really sorry.”
“You’re sorry for buying a place for us to live?”
“I’m sorry for not letting you in on the decision,” Griffin clarified. “I won’t do anything like this again, especially after last night. I woke up this morning and knew I needed to tell you. I just … I want us to be together and occasionally have some privacy.”
He must think I’m a witch or something. There can be no other explanation for his fear. Am I that hard to deal with? Don’t answer that.
I threw my arms around Griffin’s neck. He was so relieved I hugged him rather than stabbed him that he returned the enthusiastic embrace.
“Does this mean you’re not angry?” Griffin asked, his eyes wide when I locked gazes with him.
“I’m not angry,” I said. “Don’t do it again, though.”
“I promise.”
I offered him a soft kiss before moving away and studying the space. “It’s just like my place … er, my old place, I mean.”
“It’s technically still your place until we sign all of the paperwork,” Griffin cautioned. “You’re basically going to be signing your deed over to Aidan, and he’ll sign his over to you. We’ll stay there until we decide what color we want to paint this place – that red has to go – and buy furniture.”
“And this will be our place,” I said, glancing around as things sank in. “We could decorate it however we want and not pick up clothes if we don’t feel like it, right?”
Griffin narrowed his eyes. “I know Jerry cleans up after you, but you’re not to be a pig in our new home. You are to clean up after yourself.”
“Can I invite Jerry over to do it when you’re not here?”
Griffin rolled his eyes. “If that will make you happy, go nuts.”
I pressed my lips together but it didn’t drown out my squeal. I added a little dance, which made Griffin laugh. “This is so exciting.”
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am,” Griffin said, exhaling heavily. “I was so worried I screwed up doing this behind your back. I’m sorry.”
“I forgive you,” I said. “We’ve both screwed up over the past few months. We’re starting new, though. We’re going to have our own house, and I won’t have to put on a bra if I don’t feel like it.”
“I suggest you never wear a bra.”
“Ha, ha,” I intoned, moving back so I could hug him again. “This is great.”
“I’m happy you’re happy,” Griffin said, tightly squeezing me. “I really do love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Good.” Griffin kissed me, this time lingering long enough that we were both flushed when he finished. “What do you want to do first?”
I flashed him my prettiest smile. “First? Oh, the first task you’re going to have to do on your own. I can’t be a part of it.”
“Why?” Griffin asked, rueful. “Does it involve manual labor? Do you want me to take my shirt off so we can play lonely woman meets the sexy plumber?”
I shook my head, although I was filing that game away to play at a later date. “Someone has to tell Jerry the good news, and it’s not going to be me.”
Griffin’s face fell. “I saw that coming.”
“Just one of the joys of living with me,” I said, batting my eyelashes.
Griffin moved to chase me, but I raced out of his grip, laughing as he fought to get his hands on me. It might have been a new home, but everything else about it was familiar. This felt … right.
9
Nine
Griffin wanted to christen the new townhouse right away, but I wanted it to be special … or at least involve a bed and a time when we weren’t in a hurry because we had to get to work. He reluctantly agreed, bought me breakfast, and then promised to come up with a good way to break the news to Jerry. I wasn’t convinced that was possible, but I was willing to let Griffin try.
My morning was pretty easy. The only soul I had to collect belonged to one Mitch Dombrowski. He was pretty lackadaisical about dying in his sleep, and when I informed him he was going to a better place he readily let me absorb him. Well, to be fair, he let me absorb him after I informed him he wouldn’t have to walk anywhere. I had the feeling he was terminally lazy.
After breakfast I had a break in my schedule so I celebrated with a trip to Victoria’s Secret. Jerry’s nose would be out of joint when he found out, but I wanted a little something special – including those fragrant lotions – now that I would be living with someone, and then I went to my second job of the day.
Eli Pittman was a ball of energy compared to Mitch Dombrowski. Of course, I had a feeling that anyone would’ve been a ball of energy compared to Mitch. Eli paced the street behind the coffee shop where he worked, fretting because he was convinced no one would find his body. He was hopped up on caffeine, which is probably why he died of a heart attack while taking out the garbage.
He was harder to convince about “the better place,” but he finally relented and let me absorb him.
That left Patsy Stevens. She lived in a St. Clair Shores retirement home. I’d been to the facility before so I didn’t bother using my cloaking ring. I was hopeful I would be able to suck and run when Patsy expired, but if it became necessary I would put on the ring
to collect her soul.
I wasn’t surprised to find Aidan holding court in the cafeteria. We get a lot of jobs in retirement homes; sometimes they overlap if we get a late entry in our daily schedule. Aidan was the overflow guy this week, and he enjoyed visiting retirement centers because the women always doted on him – and they had fresh cookies.
Aidan smiled when he saw me. “I was hoping I’d run into you.”
The three women sitting at the table followed his gaze. I recognized them from previous visits. “Aidan,” I said, forcing a smile for the benefit of Dorothy, Dolores and Edna. “Ladies.”
“Did you hear that? She called us ladies,” Dolores said, cackling as she shuffled cards.
“She obviously hasn’t spent enough time with us,” Dorothy said.
I’d spent more time with these … hens … than I wanted to admit. Aidan got off on the way they talked to each other and gossiped. Me? I would be happier away from them. That didn’t look to be in the cards this afternoon.
“Have you talked to Griffin today?” I asked as I sat between Dorothy and Edna. Patsy wasn’t due to die for another twenty minutes. That gave me time for tea and cookies. What? The women are a pain, but the refreshments are to die for. No pun intended.
“I have talked to Griffin,” Aidan confirmed, shooting me a wide smile. “He told me you took the news of your imminent move with much more grace than he expected.”
I scowled. “Is that how he referred to it?”
Aidan shrugged. “He said you were excited, which made him excited.”
“Where are you moving to?” Dorothy asked. “Let me guess, your pimp is asking you to move street corners, right?”
Sadly, I saw a lot of myself in Dorothy. I worried Angelina and I would end up in the same retirement home and snark at one other in the same manner these biddies did until one of us finally managed to smother the other when no one was looking. What? That’s not mean. They’re horrible people.
Grim Reunion (Aisling Grimlock Book 4) Page 7
