Page 57 of Holding Out

She knew Griff wasn’t over his ex-wife.But what about the second part?She wanted to ask Alia if she thought it was true.Would Griff take Marina back in a heartbeat?

But she knew that if she asked that question, Alia would jump all over her for not being as casual as she claimed.And then she’d tell Becca in a thousand different ways to be careful, to protect herself, to make sure she didn’t get hurt.

Worse still—

Becca was beginning to realize that this time, Alia’s warnings would be justified.

“Seriously, Alia, don’t worry about it.It’s nothing.It’s over.”

If that wasn’t precisely true, it would be soon.That much was obvious.

27

“Seriously, asshat?”Nate’s voice rang out from the doorway.

Griff was perched on the highest legit step of the ladder, screwing an LED lightbulb into the overhead socket.Jake had asked him to go around and change over as many of the old-style lightbulbs to LED as he could to try to save the resort some money on electricity.It wasn’t fun work, but it was satisfying, and the best thing about working at R&R was that no matter how menial the task was, it was always in the service of a greater good.

Unfortunately, CJ was also up on a ladder, on the other side of the room.Griff had been going out of his way to give the kid odd jobs, both because he knew how much it had helped him early on to feel part of R&R in that way, and because he figured an opportunity might come up to dig a little deeper into the driving thing.But—yeah, not the best timing, because at the sound of Nate’s voice, CJ had turned his head and was watching them both intently.Since Griff was pretty sure he knew what Nate was about to tear into him about, he didn’t exactly need an audience, and especially not CJ.

Nate leaned against the doorframe, his body language casual, but Griff could see the tension in the lines of his face.“Dude, seriously?On my living room couch?WithBecca?”

“Becca?”CJ said, in the tone of someone who’d just been shot from behind by a teammate.

Griff gave him an apologetic glance.Well, mostly apologetic.He wasn’t going to apologize for winning fair and square, or for doing his level best to make Becca’s first time one to remember.

“Can you give us a minute?”Nate asked CJ, and to his credit, CJ did—although he aimed one more wounded glance over his shoulder at Griff.

Griff climbed down the ladder.He wasn’t going to do this from ten feet over Nate’s head.He’d face the music like a man.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”Nate demanded, once Griff was standing on the floor in front of him.“Because if you hurt her, I will remove your insides with a teaspoon.”

“Whatisit with you guys and Becca?”Griff shot back.“She doesn’t need you to fight her battles.She knows what she wants.She’s tougher than you think she is.And before you get all up in my business, who says I started this?”

“I don’t give a shit who started it.You were the one with your bare ass on my couch.”

“My ass was never in contact with your couch,” Griff said, because he couldn’t quite figure out what hedidwant to say, and that seemed like a point that needed to be made clear.

“Good, because then I’d really have to disembowel you,” Nate said, reasonably.“And I know you weren’t the one who started it.Alia told me that Becca asked you to help her out with herlittle problemand you jumped like a dog for a cookie.”

It wasn’t a problem,Griff almost spat back, but he stopped himself just in time.They weren’t fighting over whether Becca’s virginity was something to be mocked or worshipped or respected or ignored.They were fighting because Nate and Alia were worried for their girl.And even if he thought they needed to let her be her own woman, hegotit.She inspired fierce feelings of protectiveness—it was just that he knew enough to back the hell off, and Nate and Alia didn’t.As evidenced by the fact that there were still words coming out of Nate’s mouth.

“I just can’t believe you saidyes.I mean, seriously, man, what were youthinking?”

“I was thinking she asked me for a favor and I was in a position to grant it.”

It was the truth, but facing down his furious friend, Griff had to admit that it was a pretty weak argument.The truth was, he’d wanted her from the moment dirty Taboo had hit the table—and probably even before that.From the very beginning, Operation V-Card had been the perfect excuse to do what he wanted to do anyway.

The perfect, well-bounded, no-strings-attached excuse to get into his best friend’s little sister’s pants.

Yeah.Brilliant work, Griff.

“I have to go withaaaanh.”Nate formed an X with his hands and made a buzzer noise like an old-style game show.“Becca’s—look, I don’t know how much you know about how Becca and Alia grew up.”

“I know their dad died and their mom had issues with depression.”

“Had issues with depressionis putting it mildly,” Nate said.“She was there in body, but sometimes she didn’t get out of bed for a week.Or she got up for a couple hours, but by the time they got off the bus, she was back under the covers.They were basically on their own as teenagers.Other than the fact that she signed permission slips.”

Becca’s words came back to him.When a lot of kids still believed in Santa Claus, Li was buying her own Christmas presents.Yeah.His stomach hurt hearing it, and he wasn’t even Alia’sperson.

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