Page 37 of No Going Back
Griffin pushed it open, stepping back so she could pass him. “I had it custom-made. Nate had some old pictures of the house and I sent a copy of one to a door maker.”
Dianna peeked at him under the lashes she might have added a couple coats of mascara to. “You’re really going all out on this place, aren’t you?”
Griffin’s eyes held hers. “I don’t do anything halfway, Di.”
She knew that firsthand. Griffin was very... thorough. In all aspects of his life.
Not that she’d experienced those aspects recently, which was probably for the best. It would be very easy to get used to regular physical interactions with Griffin and that would be...
Well, probably not the worst thing that had ever happened to her.
“It looks like you brought me something.” Griffin focused on the loaf pan in her hands. “Is this a new recipe?”
“It is.” She lifted it up between them, giving him a better look at the blueberry streusel cinnamon rolls the people of Moss Creek would be enjoying tomorrow. “I told you living next door to me would have perks.”
Griffin’s blue gaze dipped down her front, hanging on her breasts for just a second. “It definitely has perks.”
Her body reacted almost immediately and heat raced over her skin. She and Griffin had only been together a few times, all of them sudden and somewhat spontaneous, resulting in frantic couplings in which neither of them had managed to get all of their clothes off. It was exciting and satisfying, but she still couldn’t help but wonder what Griffin’s naked body would feel like against hers.
But almost immediately, Griffin cleared his throat, stepping away to put a little more distance between them the way he had all week. He was respecting both of their boundaries. It was honorable and admirable...
And slightly disappointing.
“They’re still warm.” Dianna held up one of the forks she’d grabbed on her way out the door. “I thought maybe you could use a snack.”
Griffin grinned as he took the utensil. “I am always up for any snack that comes out of your kitchen.” There was the hint of suggestion in his words, dragging her back to the day they ended up entangled on her kitchen floor.
He’d said he wanted her to think of that moment every time she entered the room. So far, he’d gotten his wish and then some, considering she also thought of that moment when she wasn’t in that room.
Somehow little bits of Griffin had permeated just about every aspect of her life. He was at the counter of her bakery where they’d first met. He was in the back room where their mutual attraction first accidentally got the better of them. He was in her kitchen and her living room. Hell, she even thought about him when she was feeding Snickerdoodle every morning, being extra diligent to ensure the chubby squirrel didn’t find his way into her house again.
Somehow, Griffin had become an integral part of her world. To the point that when she finished work a few hours early, his was the only face she wanted to see.
Which meant Griffin was still trying to hold up the boundaries they both set, but maybe she wasn’t.
“Oh, no.” Dianna shoved the pan of rolls at Griffin and backed away. “I forgot to do something at the shop.” The excitement she felt over getting to see him twisted around, winding tighter until it became something else. Something that felt an awful lot like failure.
She was supposed to be focusing on fixing herself. Becoming whole and hale again.
Instead she was spending her days thinking about Griffin and her nights wondering if he might show up on her doorstep.
“Di? What’s wrong?” He stepped toward her. “Is it something I can help you with?”
She held up one hand. “No.” The word came out too sharp but there was no fixing it now. “No, thank you. I just need to run.” She pointed at the pan in his hands. “Let me know if you like those.” She was halfway out of the house before she’d finished talking.
Somehow she’d fucked up.
Somehow she’d accidentally gotten attached to the man she promised not to want anything from. Accidentally incorporated him into her life.
Into her heart.
And now somehow she had to figure out how to get him back out.
FOURTEEN
GRIFFIN
“Something wrong?” TROY studied him across the engine of the side-by-side. “You’re a little quiet today.”
