Page 17 of Holding Out

CJ lit up.“Oh, right, Alia.She’s great.I busted up my knee and she knew exactly what to do to fix it.”

Becca sent Griff a sideways look.It seemed to be asking a question.Griff was afraid the question was, “What about him?”

If he cock-blocked CJ and Becca when he knew they were both legit on the market, he was definitely an asshole.He bit down on his own frustration and managed a smile and a non-committal shrug.

“Have you had the potato salad yet?”CJ asked.

“God, yes, Mira’s potato salad,” Becca said.She’d demolished the whole scoopful he’d seen on her plate earlier.

Shewouldbe greedy in bed.

Griff shut his eyes.When he opened them again, CJ and Becca were smiling at each other.“It’s so good, right?This is my third helping,” CJ said, gesturing to the potato salad on his plate.

Even though Griff had been using The Force to keep CJ from sitting, the kid lowered himself to the patch of grass on Becca’s other side.“So, are you hanging with your sister for the weekend or something?”

“Yeah.I try to come down here whenever I can to see her and Nate and their baby.I don’t visit as often as I wish I could, though.I usually have to work Saturdays.”

“Yeah?What do you do?”

“I’m a receptionist at a day spa.Like a salon—hair, nails, all that.”

“Wow.That’s neat.How long you been doing that?”

He was using Griff’s patented technique of drawing out the subject, getting her to talk about herself, making her feel as though he was interested in her.

The thing was, Griff never did it as a technique.He alwayswasinterested.And if he’d been the one asking Becca questions, he would have asked way better ones.Like did she really like her job, or was she just doing it until she could figure out the what-she-wanted-to-do-when-she-grew-up thing?And what, when she was really, really honest with herself,didshe want to do when she grew up?

“I need a beer,” he said abruptly.“Anyone else?”

CJ looked at Griff as if he’d just remembered he existed.“No thanks, man.”

Griff didn’t wait for Becca’s response as he rose to his feet and headed to the drinks table.He wasn’t thirsty, but he didn’t think he could stand to watch anymore.

He scrubbed his hand over his forehead, the other one a fist at his side.

Becca would never let CJ take her V-card, would she?

Because Griff was positive: That guy wouldn’t be careful with her.He wouldn’t take his time.

He wouldn’t insist, no matter how much she protested, that her first time could and did matter and that it wasn’t something to just throw away.

He would never treat her the way that Griff would, if he could.

8

Becca’s fingers slowly formed into a fist in her lap.CJ was asking her his ten millionth question.It was like he was interviewing her for a job, and while at first it had been kind of flattering to be the subject of all that interest, she was ...

Well, she was bored.

Her attention had started wandering.She kept catching herselfnotlooking at CJ and instead searching for Griff.

She took the last bite of food on her plate—not because Griff had laid down the challenge, but because she was desperate for an excuse to leave the interrogation.“Hey.I’m going to get myself another lemonade.And then I think I’ll probably check up on Alia and see if she needs any more help with Robbie.”

“Are you headed home tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Will you be back any time soon?”

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