Page 24 of Stargazer

I’d forewarned mum that I’d be coming home with a guest. My mum would kill me if she didn’t have time to prepare the house a little before I brought someone home and I didn’t want to start off the introductions with her in a bad mood.

She’d agreed to letting a Knight stay at the house straight away, though I hadn’t mentioned who exactly had come down early.

Celeste was watching some trash TV when we entered, a rare moment of her actually unwinding, which she seemed to only really do with reality dating shows, loving the way her brain could just switch off. It was one of the things we loved doing together.

I had given her a warning text too and her only reply to the fact that I was bringing Griffin to the house was:

the hot hunter came for you?!

omggggg

Opening the door to my family home in my small town with Griffin Gray tailing me was an extremely odd occurrence. It felt so surreal that he was here. In my old life. That was my current life. Again.

It was just … odd.

I looked back at him with a nervous smile as I stepped out of the doorway, letting him in.

“Welcome to Casa Stone.” I waved my arm out, showing off the entryway that opened into the lounge on the left and mum's study on the right.

His eyes held mine a moment, something glistening in them as his lip twitched before he swept over the space, taking in the staircase in front of us and the hall beyond it that led to the kitchen and dining area.

“Yep,” he nodded his head.

“Yep, what?”

“This is basically how I pictured it.”

“You pictured it?”

“Of course I did, Supernova.” He smiled to himself. “It’s very you.”

“What does that even mean?”

He didn’t bother replying, instead choosing to smile down at me.

A throat cleared and Celeste stood in the doorway of the lounge looking more than a little amused as she waited for me to introduce her, a knowing and cheeky smirk on her face.

“Griff, this is my sister, Celeste.” I gestured towards her. “Celeste, this is Griff.” He looked at me again at the casual introduction and use of his nickname, something like satisfaction on his face.

Then he turned to my sister and flashed her one of his flirty smiles that he’d don whenever he was in the company of a beautiful female. The one that instantly made them blush and fawn over him. And it worked a charm on her too. Though Celeste wasn’t really the fawning type, but her answering smile and the way she took him in was enough.

She shot wide eyes in my direction, a silent message for me to decode: “Wow.”

Griffin’s husky timbre broke our eye contact and commanded her attention. “Cel,” he smiled wider, “pleasure to meet you.”

Her brows rose at the nickname and she held back a smile. He went in for the hug, dwarfing her small body the way he did mine.

“Pleasure is all mine,” she managed to get out when she pulled away from him.

At that moment, my mother walked down the hall from the kitchen, taking in the large male in her entryway.

Probably expecting Kit, she looked surprised for a moment but then greeted him with a warm expression. Griff crossed over to her, meeting her by the stairs with his hand already extended.

“Mumma Stone,” he drawled, “you’re as beautiful as your daughters. It’s not every day I get to be in the presence of a Knight legend. I’ve heard so much about you from my mother and your lovely daughter.” He shook her hand as she lapped up the compliment. “I’m Griffin Gray.”

“Ahh, so you’re Griffin,” she stated—but directed her smile at me. Turning back to him she added, “Flattery will get you everywhere. The last time I saw you, you would have been a young boy, running around the compound with swords.” A half smile graced her lips at the memory.

“Sounds about right,” Griff chuckled, rubbing his neck.

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