“My father threw money around at a rate I didn’t fully grasp because home finances were above my pay grade back then, yet he also tried to instill some form of appreciation in us,” I continued. “I know that seems weird to say given how he lives, but it’s true. We were expected to have summer jobs. Sure, they were for him, but we still had to work. We were the only ones in school who did that, though.”
“So, what? Are you saying that guy is a pretentious ass?” Griffin asked. “I kind of already figured that out myself.”
“He’s definitely an ass,” I said. “I never liked him. Although, I guess that’s not fair. I didn’t hate him. There were plenty of people I hated. I just didn’t know him. When he stopped to talk to me, it was weird. It was as though he remembered high school differently than I did.”
“What did he say to you?”
“Just that I grew up hot.”
Griffin made a face. “Ah.”
That was definitely a loaded “ah.” I shifted so I could study his profile. “Why did you say it like that?”
“I know you find this strange, but people look at you all of the time because you’re beautiful,” Griffin replied. “I think you don’t see it because your brothers and father overprotected you as a kid. I’m not surprised he was hitting on you.”
“It was more than that,” I said. “He wanted to make sure I knew he was buying a house in our old neighborhood.”
“That means he has money, right?”
I nodded.
“Do you miss having that much money?” Griffin asked after a beat. “I didn’t realize you actually even thought about it until you worried I couldn’t pay for dinner. I’m not rich, but I’m good with money. You don’t have to worry about stuff like that.”
“I have all the money I need,” I said. “I don’t want a lot of money. I definitely don’t want a house like Grimlock Manor. It’s great to visit and I have wonderful memories, but it doesn’t feel … homey. Does that make sense?”
“I think it does,” Griffin said. “You’re basically saying you’re happy with our life.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “I am.”
“That’s good,” Griffin said, rolling to his side so he could look at me. “I’m happy, too. I’ll be even happier when we’re all moved in and you can go over there to be rowdy with Jerry.”
“Duly noted.”
Griffin pressed a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth and I sighed as I sank into it. I was ready to give romance a shot even though I still felt stuffed. That wasn’t in the cards, though, because he pulled away after a few minutes. “Tell me what happened on your job today.”
Crap! I should’ve known he wouldn’t forget that. “It’s not a big deal,” I said, averting my eyes. “I thought you were going to romance the crap out of me.”
“I’m definitely going to do that,” Griffin said. “I want to know what happened first. I’m not going to let it go, so you might as well tell me.”
I blew out a sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose. “My mother was on the sidewalk outside the final job.”
“Uh-huh.” Griffin didn’t seem surprised, but he certainly didn’t look happy. “That makes five jobs in the past two weeks where she’s just showed up without you inviting her, right?”
“I haven’t been keeping score. I’m not great at math.”
“Cute,” Griffin intoned. “I’ve been keeping score, though. That’s five jobs. What was her excuse this time?”
“She wanted to go to lunch.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That I was going home to you,” I replied. “Then she asked me if I wanted to go shopping for things for the new townhouse. I told her that was something I was doing with Jerry. She said she would keep stopping by until I found some time for her.”
“Okay.” Griffin rubbed his jaw with his free hand. “How did she look?”
“No scary veins. Otherwise she looked the same.”
“What do you think she wants?”
He’d asked me that question so many times I’d lost count. “I wish I knew. I don’t, though. She acts as if she’s a concerned mother trying to spend time with her children but it feels like something more is going on.”
“I’d be lying if I said that this didn’t concern me, but I understand why you’re having trouble completely cutting her out of your life,” Griffin said. “She’s your mother. Part of you wants to believe she’s the woman you remember. You want her back in your life.”
“I’m not sure that’s true.”
“You don’t want to admit it’s true, which is fine,” Griffin said. “I’m not going to ask you to cut her out of your life. I am going to ask you to be careful, though. I would be really sad if something happened to you.”
His words warmed me, as did the emotion flitting across his handsome features. “Thank you, but I’ve been really cold with her. I’m being careful.”
“I know you are,” Griffin said, tugging on my wrist to pull me closer. “I like it when you’re careful. I also like it when you’re cuddly. Are you feeling cuddly?”
I sensed the storm had passed, at least this time. “Maybe,” I hedged. “Are you going to romance the crap out of me now?”
“Oh, baby, you have no idea.”
WAKING up with Griffin is like opening your eyes to warmth and comfort. He always snuggles close without invading my space. I don’t know how I managed to sleep without him for the bulk of my adult life, because I’ve been restless the few times we’ve been separated overnight the past few months. His work takes him away occasionally, but we’re always together when it’s possible.
“What are you thinking?” Griffin murmured, pressing a kiss to my ear as he cuddled closer behind me. “I can practically smell the smoke from your brain grinding gears.”
Of course, he’s also a pain when he wants to be. “I was just thinking how happy I am to wake up with you every morning.”
“What were you really thinking?”
I waited a beat. “That.”
“Oh.” Griffin slipped his arm beneath my waist and rolled me so I was facing him. “I guess you’re going to romance the crap out of me this morning, huh?” His smile was impish. “I’m sorry. Sometimes I forget that you’re at your nicest when you just wake up.”
I frowned. “I’m always nice.”
“Oh, you’re very pretty and fun to be around, but you’re very rarely nice,” Griffin said. “I think it happens most when you’re sleeping.”
“You suck,” I muttered, moving to push him away.
“I know, but you love me anyway,” Griffin said, refusing to increase the space between us. “What time is it?”
“Time to get up,” I replied. “I need a shower, and we don’t have towels over here yet.”
“We should definitely get some so I don’t have to listen to Aidan complain about the hot water situation again,” Griffin said. “What’s on your schedule today?”
“I haven’t looked yet. My iPad is in my other room.”
“That won’t be your room much longer,” Griffin said, kissing my forehead before releasing me. “Soon, this will be your room.”
“No, it won’t,” I argued. “Soon this will be our room.”
“Oh, so cute,” Griffin said, tickling me. “You really are feeling sweet today. I should play the lottery.”
I ignored the teasing as I climbed to my feet and searched for my clothes from the night before. “We should get our robes over here, too. I can’t find my bra.”
“It’s on the floor in the kitchen.”
“Why is it in there?”
“Because that’s where I threw it,” Griffin said. “I have quite the arm when I’m being romantic.”
He was in a remarkable mood, and I couldn’t help but marvel at how easy it was for him to bounce back from a long day. Eight hours of sleep revived him. Eight hours of sleep made me wish for two more.
“Come on,” I prodded. “I’m hungry and it’s blueberry pancak
e day next door.”
Griffin perked up. “I didn’t think I would ever be hungry again after that mountain of food we put away last night.”
“And?”
“And I was wrong,” Griffin said, rolling out from beneath the covers. “Get dressed quickly. Now that you’ve told me it’s blueberry pancake day, I’m definitely going to play the lottery.”
“You’re a funny guy, Griffin Taylor.”
“And don’t you forget it.”
JERRY AND Aidan were already seated at the small kitchen table when we entered the townhouse. We headed straight for our regular seats, and I already had butter and syrup on my pancakes before anyone spoke.
“And good morning to you, too,” Aidan drawled, rustling the paper as he stared at it.
“Good morning, Aidan,” I sang out, causing Griffin to chuckle and my brother to make a face.
“You two are shiny this morning,” Jerry said. “Did you have a good night?”
“We did,” I confirmed. “Griffin took me out for a nice seafood dinner at that place on the lake Dad used to take us to. Oh, and guess who I ran into?”
“Cher?” Jerry looked hopeful.
“Why would I run into Cher?”
“Because she’s fantastic.”
“She’s definitely fantastic,” I agreed. “I did not run into Cher, however. I would’ve raced over here and woken you for that.”
“Well, don’t keep us in suspense,” Aidan prodded. “Who did you run into?”
“Nathan Waldorf.”
Jerry and Aidan exchanged disappointed looks.
“Oh, I was hoping for someone exciting,” Jerry said. “I never liked Nate. He was always such a turd. He accused me of looking at him in the locker room after gym one day. As if. He had a chest like a malnourished Chihuahua.”
Griffin barked out a laugh. “He looks a little more buff these days. He hit on Aisling.”
“He didn’t hit on me,” I clarified when Aidan raised an eyebrow. “It was more that he said I was hot and then made sure I knew he was looking for a house in the old neighborhood.”
“Oh, he was humble-bragging, huh?” Aidan made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. “I hate when people do that.”
“He was definitely full of himself,” I said. “I also got the feeling that he thought I was making up Griffin. Griffin was in the bathroom while I was waiting in the lobby and Nathan kept giving me sympathetic looks, as if I was making up a boyfriend and was really running home to dress up my cats in superhero outfits or something.”
Griffin rubbed his cheek as he chuckled. “Oh, geez. Your mind never ceases to amaze me.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m not sure it was a compliment, Ais,” Aidan said. “Still, it’s weird that he’s back. I heard that he was making a lot of money out in California.”
“Where did you hear that?” Jerry asked, genuinely curious.
“His mother. That was a year or so ago, though. I think she’s died since then.”
“Well, she was probably lying,” I offered. “He seemed so desperate for me to know that he was doing well the cynical side of me couldn’t help but jump to the conclusion that he was lying.”
“You think everyone is lying when they tell you good things about themselves,” Aidan argued. “Do you remember that time we ran into Ellen Chambers at the zoo and she told us she was getting married and you naturally assumed that meant she was becoming a nun?”
“I still haven’t been proven wrong on that,” I pointed out.
“Who is Ellen Chambers?” Griffin asked. “Wait … do I want to know?” He asked himself that question a lot these days when it came to family conversations. “I do want to know. Who is Ellen Chambers?”
“She was a friend of Angelina’s in high school,” Aidan replied. “She was a real … piece of work.”
“I don’t know what that means,” Griffin said.
“He’s saying she was a whore,” I said. “That’s why I thought she was going to join a nunnery. She needed to atone for her sins.”
“Ah, well, that totally makes sense,” Griffin said, shifting his eyes to the clock on the wall. “We need to get ready for work. I’d suggest showering together, but you have to keep your hands to yourself if we do that.”
He was just messing with me. There could be no other explanation. “You’re the one with wandering hands.”
“Yes, well, I’m going to be late if I’m not careful, so nobody’s hands can wander this morning.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I won’t touch you. I promise.”
“Good.”
“I’m just going to romance the crap out of you,” I said, smirking when Aidan made a disgusted face.
“Oh, well, I guess I have five minutes,” Griffin said, grabbing my hand. “Let’s get moving. I can’t think of a better way to start my day.”
“I can’t wait until you guys move out of here,” Aidan called to our backs.
“That makes two of us,” Griffin shot back. “Your wait is almost over. Trust me.”
5
Five
“Wait, I’m going where?”
My brother Redmond met me on the front porch as I was leaving for work. He exchanged a head nod with Griffin, and looked the other way when we exchanged a goodbye kiss before focusing his full attention on me. He came with a change in the work orders, which was common because of how busy we are these days.
“You’re going to that co-op urban farm on the city’s east side,” Redmond replied. “One of the workers is going to have a heart attack in the greenhouse. It might be tricky because that place is supposed to be busy, so make sure to take your ring. I’m hoping it will be mostly deserted because of the weather, though.”
Being a reaper means that occasionally you have to collect souls in busy hotspots. When the person dies alone, it’s easy to slip in and out without anyone seeing you. When there’s a crowd, though, you have to be careful because no one wants the big secret getting out. We’re all issued rings that make us invisible. I hate wearing mine. I thought it would be cool after reading Harry Potter books when I was younger. I was very wrong.
“Oh, man,” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Why me?”
“Because the other job that was on your list is in a male prison and Dad decided after looking over the assignments that he didn’t want to risk you going in there alone.”
I made a face. “What? Are you saying my own father doesn’t trust me?” I managed to muster some fake outrage, but just barely.
“Dad trusts you,” Redmond said, chuckling. “Prisons are rough, though. Some of the inmates do … creepy things.”
“I know all about masturbation,” I said. “I grew up with four brothers.”
Redmond scorched me with a dark look. “You are a gross little thing sometimes. You know that, right?”
“I’m proud of it,” I said. “I’m actually happy about avoiding the prison, if you must know the truth. I didn’t even know I was going there. I haven’t even looked at my list yet.”
“You’re like the worst worker ever,” Redmond muttered, shaking his head. “I looked at my list first thing this morning.”
“Were you sitting on the toilet when you did it?”
“Maybe.”
“That doesn’t count,” I said. “Men like reading in the bathroom. Women just like to get in and get out. We’re not gross.”
“You’re totally gross,” Redmond countered. “You’re the one who mentioned the other thing.”
He couldn’t even say it. What a prude. “Whatever,” I said, pursing my lips. “Have you had an update on the Grimleys yet? I’m dying to know when they’re going to come back and ease our workload.”
“Dad has been unnaturally tightlipped about that,” Redmond replied. “I’m not sure what’s going on. He’s been taking a lot of calls behind closed doors. I think something else is happening and he doesn’t want to tell us what it is.”
“Like what?”
Redmond shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine,” he said. “I think Dad is definitely worried about something, though. Maybe we’ll be able to team up on him at family dinner this week and figure out what it is.”
“Yes, that always works out to our advantage,” I deadpanned. “Do you remember when we all teamed up on him right before Christmas when we were kids because we wanted a puppy? What happened?”
“We got stuffed puppies in our stockings.”
“Yes. That wasn’t fun. I was all set to walk a dog. I looked like an idiot yanking a stuffed dog down the sidewalk. I really wanted that puppy, too. I was going to name it Lucky.”
“That’s a stupid name.”
“You’re stupid.”
“You’re stupider,” Redmond shot back, tweaking my nose. “How is your move coming? Do you need help shifting boxes from one townhouse to the other?”
“According to Griffin, no,” I answered. “According to me, yes. He says I’m lazy, but I think I’m pragmatic.”
“I think you two are going to have a funny first week getting used to living with one another,” Redmond said. “It’s going to be an adjustment.”
“We practically live together now.”
“Not really,” Redmond said. “He spends the night under your roof with you, Jerry and Aidan. That’s not the same thing as being equal partners under the same roof. You won’t be able to bully him any longer because you’ll be equals.”
“I don’t bully him!”
“He’s whipped and we both know it,” Redmond said. “He’s also tough when he needs to be. That’s good, because you’ve been spoiled your entire life and you’re going to run roughshod over him if you’re not careful. That’s enough to annoy any man, even Griffin, who seems to find your whims entertaining.”
That was an interesting point. “Do you really think I’m a bully?”
“I think you’re the queen of bullies,” Redmond said. “I also think you’ve had to be a bully because you’ve been smothered in testosterone your whole life. It’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
Grim Expectations (Aisling Grimlock Book 5) Page 4
