Page 1 of Holding Out

1

Torture.

The universe clearly had it out for Griff Ambrose.A room full of beautiful women, all of whom were completely off limits.And, as if it weren’t bad enough to be the only bachelor at a dinner party with his happily attached friends, Becca Drake had just walked in.She wasn’t dating anyone as far as Griff knew, but she was a firm no-go all the same.

Their hostess, Alia, jumped up from the dining room table to greet her sister with a big hug.“Becca!What the hell are you doing here?I thought you had a date tonight.”

Becca waved a hand airily.“Didn’t happen.And then I saw on Facebook that you guys were doing Indian tonight, so I booked it down here.”

“You drove almost five hours to have Indian?”

“I drove almost five hours to see some of my favorite people in the world,” Becca corrected.

Griff’s other friends leapt in, telling Becca how glad they were to see her, and how she had to have some of theamazingchicken.Becca greeted them all with smiles and big hugs, but she wasn’t fooling Griff with the “no biggie” hand wave or the claim that she’d made the drive just to see them.She was bummed about the date that had fallen through.What was that all about?

Becca was twenty-four and had been single for as long as Griff had known her, which made no sense, becausereasons.

Guys should be falling all over themselves to date her.She was tall with pale blond hair, big blue eyes, and a sweet, wide smile.Also, she had big, perky tits, a curvy ass, and a Betty Boop–tiny waist.Despite the screaming sexiness of the package, she gave off a young, fresh, innocent vibe that slayed him.

Of course, that was also the reason he wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole.He had a weakness for that type, and he knew from past, painful experience where that road led.Not that he ever planned to venture into serious relationship territory again, but if he did, it would be with someone well-seasoned.

Besides, Becca was Alia’s little sister, and Alia was married to Griff’s best friend.Nate and Alia were extra protective of Becca because she’d been hurt badly before.

If that wasn’t a flashing neon warning sign, he didn’t know what was.

As the greetings concluded, everyone returned to the dinner table.Griff had stood up when everyone else did—it would have been rude not to—but he hadn’t rushed in for the hug.For, well,reasons.

“Hey, Griff.Good to see you.”

“You, too, Bex.”

As they embraced, Griff kept himself at a respectful distance and did his best to ignore the softness of her breasts and the way her hair smelled.

Nate dragged an extra chair into the dining room and set a plate and silverware in front of Becca.

“Hit me,” Becca said, extending her plate.

Alia filled Becca’s plate to heaping with chicken tikka masala and rice.That was something else Griff appreciated about Becca: her willingness to eat.Eat-eat, not just a few nibbles here and there like she didn’t need food to sustain her.

“A beer wouldn’t go to waste, either,” Becca said, eyeing Griff’s with enough lust that he wrapped his fingers around his glass protectively.That made Becca laugh.

Nate went to the kitchen and came back with a frosted mug, which he set in front of Becca.She took a good slug, then licked her lips.A tiny speck of foam remained on her upper lip, and Griff contemplated all the ways he’d like to remove it.

Clearly, if he was paying this much attention to a woman he’d already crossed off the list, he needed to get his head in a different place.It had definitely been a while since he’d gotten laid—shit, a couple of months, maybe?—which was probably why he was such a horndog tonight.He would drive into town after everyone else went to bed, spend a couple of hours drinking and flirting, and blow off some steam afterward.

For now, though, he intended to get every last drop of pleasure out of the meal in front of him.He considered himself a simple man.Give him a plate full of home-cooked food, a decent beer, and plenty of good friends and conversation, and he’d call an evening a success.

“More bread?”Alia asked.She had her infant son, Robbie, neatly bound to her front in one of those cotton knit wrap things, and she cupped his head as she leaned over to pass Griff the basket.

“Hell yes.”Griff took another piece of the tender, buttery flatbread.So damn good.

“You guys ever think about opening a restaurant?”

That was Jake, Griff and Nate’s good friend who ran the veterans’ retreat where they all worked.

“And quit working for you?No way,” Alia said, laughing.

Her words were light, but Griff knew she meant it: Jake was a great boss, and they all had a shit-ton of respect for him.He and his wife, Mira, were regulars at Friday Night Dinner, a tradition that Nate and Alia had started after Robbie was born to make sure they still saw their friends regularly.Babies—Griff was learning from observation—fucked up your social life.

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