Page 69 of Subbing For Santa

As we laugh, I snatch Griffin’s phone off him and read out the next question.

“How long do you need to get ready to head out the door for the day?”

He grins. “Thirty minutes max, but honestly, I can be up and out in less than five.”

“That doesn’t leave very much time to iron your suits.” I counter, and he scoffs.

“Woman, my suits are pressed and ready to go.”

“Of course they are,” I smile before including my answer to the question. “I can be up and out in fifteen minutes if I have to be, but I usually allow myself an hour and a half after I wake to do my yoga, eat a decent breaky and organise my daily to-do list, and then I take a quick shower and make myself presentable.”

“Are you part of the 5am club?” Griffin asks in all seriousness, and I shake my head.

“More like the 7am club.”

“Good to know.” He leans forward and presses a kiss to my forehead, and I swear such a platonic kiss has never felt more intimate.

“Ok, next question.” Griffin pulls back, stealing his phone off me.

We go through the list of questions, learning more about each other and spending a lot of our time laughing, or finding our answers open up a whole other conversation, steering us off track for a while.

I learn that Griffin’s closest friend is actually his brother Liam, with Liam’s twin sister Fallon a close second to his nearest and dearest. Something that shocks me a little after he nearly strangled her yesterday.

He prefers TV shows over movies because he doesn’t have the ability to sit still for longer than an hour at a time. He can’t help but laugh when someone falls over, which he admits has gotten him into trouble a number of times over the years. His guilty pleasure, beside me apparently, is buying new shoes and belts. The best way to support him when he is stressed or upset is to be patient and remain nearby so he can lose himself in me at the snap of his fingers. His words, not mine.

His biggest fear used to be dying alone, but now it’s losing me. He is a dog person, wanted to be a fireman when he was little, and if he could travel back in time to change something he did in the past, it would be to never make his first kill, because once he stepped over that line, there was no going back.

We sit in silence after he reveals that truth, and my heart breaks for him knowing that once upon a time, he was a kid that had dreamed of a different future, but was dragged into the family business to become a completely different person.

“Your turn.” Griffin’s voice is a quiet rasp as his dark eyes lift from his lap to lock onto my gaze. “If you could travel back in time and change something you did, what would it be?”

My heart leaps in my chest as a hot sweat rushes over me, memories of my past slamming into me like a freight train. Griffin and I aren’t that different. Not when it comes to answering this question, and while I’m sure he’d understand if I admitted my past to him, I can’t bring myself to reveal it. So I go with one of my more recent regrets.

“If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have stood by and let a minor join the sex club. I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t want to get kicked out for having that opinion, so I kept my mouth shut and befriended the girl, hoping I could at least keep her relatively safe by taking her under my wing. Never again will I make a decision because it’s the easier option.”

Griffin’s eyes soften, his fingers brushing back my flyaways as we stare into each other’s eyes. “One last question.”

I blink at him, offering him a smile as I try to refocus my attention.

“Aggie. If I asked you to marry me tomorrow, what would your answer be?”

Chapter nineteen

Nowhere to Run

Griffin

She’slookingatmelike I’m nuts. In all fairness, I probably am, but that doesn’t mean I’m not fucking serious. I meant every single word.

‘If I asked you to marry me tomorrow, what would your answer be?’

I’ve completely stunned my little elf, and she reminds me of a fish out of water as she stares at me, opening and closing her mouth.

“Griffin! Agatha! We are anchoring here to go for a swim. Come and join us!” Selena yells from the top deck.

Great fucking timing, Sel!

Aggie takes that moment to bolt. Like actually bolt. By the time I stand from my seat, the back of her head is disappearing around the side of the boat, for fuck’s sake.

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