Page 131 of Fighting the Forbidden

“Let’s go!” Hayden shouts, her heels clacking over the sidewalk. “More photos to take at my mom’s.”

I cast a nervous glance at Griff, not sure how much more of all this pre-prom stuff he’s willing to tolerate. But he only smiles at me.

As Hayden slides into her BMW, I notice the big, boxy, matte black Mercedes-Benz AMG G-Class parked behind her car. “Wait, where’d that come from?”

Griff dangles a black key fob in front of my face. “Ours for the night.”

Remy chuckles.

“Really!?” My gaze darts between the Mercedes and my boyfriend’s satisfied grin.

“I’ll ride with you guys.” Kyla’s gaze swings between Hayden’s car and ours.

Hayden doesn’t seem to care—she’s in too much of a hurry to leave. “Figure it out, ladies,” she shouts through the open passenger-side window.

Darcy and Kyla end up in our back seat. I don’t want to ask how Griff managed to procure such an expensive vehicle in front of them. Renting a tux was bad enough. I didn’t want him to drop a fortune taking me to my prom.

He drives the unfamiliar SUV with the same mesmerizing ease he handles every vehicle. Thankfully, it’s a short ride to Hayden’s. Griff has barely stopped the car when the girls jump out and race over Hayden’s front lawn.

“What’s wrong, Muffin?” Griff places his hand on my leg.

“You didn’t have to go out of your way to find a different vehicle.” I flap my hands at the fancy dashboard. “I love the Chevelle.”

“You said you didn’t want to do the limo thing.” The corner of his mouth tips up, and he lifts one shoulder. “I still wanted to upgrade my princess to a nicer carriage for her big night.”

“But…”

He leans closer. “Do you like it?”

“Yes. But I didn’t want you to spend a lot of?—”

“I borrowed it.” He tilts his head, and a cocky smile plays over his lips. “Well, I won it for the night.”

“What? How?”

“At Zips. This guy who’s been showing up to race a lot lately. I knew I could smoke him easily. Instead of racing for money, I asked him to race for the keys so I could take my girl to prom.”

My jaw drops, and I stare at him. “Seriously?”

“Yup.” He chuckles softly. “I think he was amused by my plight.”

“I’m impressed by your resourcefulness.” I frown, reconsidering his explanation. “Wait a second. What did you put up?”

“Don’t worry about it.” He glances away. “I wasn’t in danger of losing.”

“Griff!”

“I won.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “I do have to return it Monday morning, though.”

We get out and talk to Hayden’s mom for a few minutes. After we’ve taken dozens of pictures, Wade’s white Lexus rolls to a stop at the curb. He hurries out of the passenger side and Wesley slowly peels himself out of the driver’s seat.

My stomach churns. I squeeze Griff’s hand tighter, so happy he’s here tonight to keep Wesley away from me. My eyes stray toward Kyla. Should I have warned her better? No. She seems to like Wesley and she’s excited about tonight.

“I’m sorry.” Wade apologizes to Hayden. “We had to run to the?—”

“It’s fine.” Hayden forces a smile. “You’re here. Let’s take some pictures.”

Kyla lifts the hem of her dress and hurries over to Wesley. “I told you my dress was pale orange.”

---