Page 126 of Dating Goals
I keep my tone casual as I explain I’m staying with a friend tonight. I carefully avoid mentioning motorcycle chases or assassination attempts. She worries enough about me as it is.
As I speak, my eyes follow Griffin around the cabin. He moves with unexpected grace for such a large man, his shoulders rolling beneath his Henley as he crouches at the fireplace, stacking logs with those thick, competent hands.
“Yes, Mama. I’ll be careful,” I promise, watching Griffin rip up some newspaper and stuffing it under the logs.
Somehow this all feels oddly domestic. The way he lights a match. How his profile glows as the fire catches, small flames licking up around the kindling. Griffin stays there, coaxing it larger, adding another log when the first ones catch. There’s something mesmerizing about watching him work.
“Stay with Helga tonight, okay? Just…as a precaution.”
Griffin glances up, catching me staring. Instead of looking away, I hold his gaze. Something electric passes between us before he smiles softly and returns to his task.
“No, I’m fine,” I assure my mother. “Just a feeling. Please, Mama? For me?”
She finally agrees, though not without questions I have to creatively deflect. I give her my love and hang up the phone.
“She’s going to stay with her friend,” I tell Griffin.
He turns from the fireplace, and his expression softens when he sees me. “Come sit by the fire while I get you something warm to wear.”
He disappears down a hallway and returns with a pair of thick wool socks and a Toronto Titans sweatshirt.
“Here,” he offers. “They’ll be huge on you, but they’re warm.”
I take them gratefully. “Thank you.”
In the small bathroom, I slip out of my dress and pull Griffin’s sweatshirt over my head. It falls almost to my knees, the sleeves hanging well past my fingertips. I roll them up and pull on the socks. They’re massive on my feet, pooling around my ankles like fuzzy leg warmers, but gloriously warm.
When I return to the living room, Griffin has changed into flannel pajama pants and a different Titans shirt. His eyes flicker briefly over my body before he nods to the sofa. “Make yourself comfortable while I put on some music. Do you want anything to eat?”
“I couldn’t eat a thing. My stomach is all knotted up from the car chase.”
“Mine is too. But for…other reasons.”
I sink onto his sofa, letting that little comment slide into the ether while he taps around on his tablet screen. “Somebody” by Depeche Mode plays on a big Bluetooth speaker.
Griffin turns, looking absurdly pleased with himself. “Track fourteen, as promised.”
My heart does something complicated in my chest.
Griffin approaches slowly, extending his hand. “Dance with me?”
I hesitate. “Griffin…”
“Just one dance,” he says softly. “After the night we’ve had, don’t we deserve that much?”
I place my hand in his, allowing him to pull me to my feet. His other hand settles at my waist, warm and solid. We sway together in front of the crackling fire as the vocals and simple piano accompaniment wrap around us. The music is so beautifully melancholy and heart-wrenching, I almost want to cry.
We dance for a moment, the firelight painting everything in amber and gold.
“I was so worried about you,” Griffin whispers against my hair, his arms tightening around me as we sway to the music. “When I saw those men grab you…” His voice catches. “I’m so sorry, Anika. This is all my fault.”
I pull back to look at him. The genuine anguish in his eyes.
“Your fault? How is any of this your fault?”
“I dragged you into this mess with Chase.” His thumb traces circles on my lower back, seemingly unconscious. “I should have known he wouldn’t just accept losing millions without retaliating.”
“I’m a big girl, Griffin. I make my own choices.”
