Page 102 of Holding Out

Becca’s mother nodded, her damp eyes raking over her daughter hungrily.In times past the needy look on her face would have set up a panicked craving in Becca—she does love me!—but now it only stirred the faint memory of a small girl who’d been disappointed too many times.It’s okay, little Becca, Becca 3.0 told her oldest self.We’re good, no matter what.

And she believed it.

“You don’t by any chance still have any of those supplies lying around, do you?”

Griff pickedher up two hours later.He took one look at her and said, “We’re going to Voodoo Donuts.”

“Do I look that bad?”

“You look like you need Voodoo Donuts.Anyway, we need to do a comparison with Dundee’s.”

He didn’t ask what had happened with her mother.He talked at her instead, about CJ, who had driven his smoking hot Shelby Mustang to a bar the other night and taken home a leggy brunette.(“I saw him the next day.He was like a different man.”)

She was super grateful to Griff for giving her a reprieve from having to talk about her mother.She needed a few minutes to put herself back together.

When they got to Voodoo and Becca saw the cases with all the crazy donuts—some topped with Froot Loops, others frosted in outrageous colors, every one a donutevent—she said, “There’s no comparison!”

Several minutes later, Griff bit into an eight mile cake and frowned.“I don’t know,” he said.“This is good, sure, but it’s—it’s distracting, you know?From the essence of donut.”

Becca sampled a blueberry cake donut and had to agree.“It’s like they’re two different things, you know?A successful life would have to have both Voodoo and Dundee’s donuts.Dundee’s for Sunday mornings and Voodoo for celebrations.”

“I think we can manage that.”

It wasn’t until he’d filled her with donuts that he asked her how it had gone.

“It was—it was really good to see her.I hugged her when I left, and she smelled like my mother, and that was—” Becca’s eyes filled with tears.“I didn’twantto love her, you know?But I think it might turn out to be one of those things I can’t help.”

“I know the feeling,” he said, reaching out and pushing her hair behind her ear.They smiled at each other.She could not stop feeling joyful that he washers.

“She’s finally found meds that work for her, and she’s dating this guy, Chaz—”

“Chaz?”

“Your name is Griff,” Becca pointed out.“You can’t judge.”

“Griff is a respectable nickname for Griffin.Chaz is a total corruption of Charles.”

“Anyway, she’s doing well, and she’s happy.For now,” Becca said.“And I told her about you—”

“What did you tell her?”

“Well,” Becca said, “I said you were very good-looking.And very supportive.And that you’d taken my V-card and ruined me for every other guy in the universe—”

“You didnot!”

“No,” she admitted.“I didn’t tell her that.But it’s true.”

Griff looked very pleased with himself, which had a funny effect on Becca’s southerly geography.

Griff set down his donut and cocked his head.“Do you want to know what I was doing while you were with your mother?”

“I thought you were checking out Powell’s.”

“Nah.Not much of a reader,” he admitted.“I was checking out Portland’s downtown hotel scene.And I think I figured out where we’re spending the night.I found a whirlpool suite for us.Hot tub in room.Haven’t had sex in a hot tub yet, have you?”He smirked at her.

She grinned at him.“You would know.”

“Hurry up and finish that donut,” he said.“Wait.You have a sprinkle on your upper lip.”He grabbed her hand, tugged her forward, and kissed it off.Becca bit back a groan.

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