Page 38 of Mocha Kisses

He says that as if he hadn’t lost his parents when he was younger. He says that as if I’m his entire world and that leaving him truly broke him. He says that as if I’m one of the only reasons he’s still holding it together.

The longer I trace the tattoos, the more I recognize patterns and pictures in the abstract collage. “Wait—Griffin-”

Griffin grabs my wrist, raising my hand to the tattoo just below his collarbone. “Nova showed me many ways to deal with my grief, said that writing it all down so that I didn’t forget but could move on would help. I didn’t want to forget, not for a moment, Luna. I memorialized everything right here. And here. And here.” He drags my hand along his torso, pointing to different pieces I recognize.

My first art project of what our heartbeats would look like together. It was a terrible rendition of jagged lines and hearts all over. Anyone who’s heartbeat looked like that would be dead.

Griffin’s first F that I morphed into a horrid picture of Spongebob that landed us both in detention.

My favorite flower.

His favorite Shakespearean saying.

For where thou art, there is the world itself,

With every several pleasure in the world,

And where thou art not, desolation

We used to joke how desperate it sounded but it was never a joke, was it? My fingers stutter over words written in a handwriting all too familiar. They sit on his waist, my own words from six years ago staring back at me.You’ll always be my sunshine.And just below it in his handwriting,And you’ll always be mine.

A sob tears from my throat, Griffin still holding onto my wrist. “There’s no one else but you, Luna. There wasn’t. Nova saved me from myself.” He drops to his knees, crouching in front of me before his hands fall to my upper thighs, thumbs playing with the hem of my shirt. There’s a silent question in his movement and I hesitate. I don’t want these men to see the imperfect woman in front of them. The moments with them have been fun, flirty, and passionate.

That will change when they see everything else.

But this is Griffin.

I raise my arms as he slowly pulls off my shirt and then I reach behind me to undo the clasp of my bra so that I’m completely bare before him. Silence filters between us and I wrap my arms around my chest, ashamed of the woman I’ve brought back to him.

“Don’t hide from me, Luna. You are still the woman I fell in love with. Regardless of the scars and demons you try to keep from me. Regardless of how this gorgeous body has changed,” he purrs as his hands slide up my waist, squeezing the extra skin there. I’ve never been small but copious amounts of junk food and constant stress haven’t helped me lose any pounds. “Regardless of if you wear your hair up or down. Regardless of if you wear makeup or don’t. Luna, you will always be precious to me.” His hands continue to rise as they caress my breasts, forcing me to drop my arms.

My back arches as he leans forward, his lips closing in on one of the sensitive nubs as his other hand squeezes and massages my other breast. A sigh falls from my lips as I sit there, Griffin sucking on my tit until he’s satisfied and gives the other one the same treatment.

“Griffin-”

“Let me see you, Luna. Let me see the woman I fell in love with.”

I meet his gaze, those stormy gray eyes hoping that I’ll grant him this one thing. And how can I deny him that when he looks at me like that? A man who looks at me like I’m the most precious thing in the universe?

I would give himeverything.

So I do. With a mere nod. A slow smile spreads across Griffin’s lips as he presses a quick kiss to the bridge of my nose and then helps me into the shower.

Nova

“So,Paula’sagency?”Iquestion, raising a brow as I lean back in my office chair. This little space is merely for show. I could very well use the office space below our apartment but the big wigs constantly trying to buy up land in Spring Haven would never take me seriously. Here, I can play the standoffish, well-dressed lawyer that can take on the powerful men from the city. Little do most of them know that that’s where I started and just found something more interesting.

A certain gray-eyed writer that caught my full attention.

I never meant to stay in Spring Haven but there’s nothing that will pull me away from this little slice of heaven—especially now that I have a job to protect Luna St. Claire.

Dark burgundy lines the wooden plates covering each wall, every piece of furniture years older than I am. The cleaners take ridiculously good care of everything in here and while I’d prefer simple, getting rid of anything seems a damn shame.

I resituate in my chair, hating the way my suit chafes against the leather cushion. I’ve never enjoyed the pristine attire, although I’ve grown accustomed to it. The fact that Luna prefers me out of a suit is just my luck.

It takes me a moment to realize my question hasn’t been answered. I glare at the individual standing across from my desk, one of the many informants lingering from previous jobs before I became a law-abiding citizen. I still cash in on favors every now and then and I like reminding myself of a time when the grind wasn’t so monotonous as paperwork and fighting civil suits. Spring Haven generally uses me for the odd dispute at town hall.

“Davis, don’t make me ask again.”

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