Page 50 of Wrecked Rose

Griff nods, shaking himself a bit. “Yeah, man. I’m fine.” His eyes connect with mine again, and for a half a second, I catch a wistful look, like he wants to crawl back on top of me. Then, the look disappears as more of our friends make it over to us. He turns away, ducking down to say something to Lyla.

Daph kneels at my side, breathless from her jog through the snow. “That was crazy. You guys went flying.”

“It was that or hit the tree,” I groan.

On my other side, Scarlett squats down. “I totally thought one of you was going to break something and we were going to end up in the hospital.”

Standing behind her, Xander eyes me. “Have you tried moving around?”

“I will in a sec. I got the wind knocked out of me. Griff is… heavy.” I smirk a bit, letting my lips twist. Finally, I sit up, checking myself to make sure I’m still in one piece. “I’m good. But I’m going to recommend smaller people ride on the two-man sled.”

Everyone laughs at that. Xander, Micah, Griff, Beau, and Lyla start back up the hill as I slowly make my way to my feet.

Aria stands off to the side with a little gleam in her eye as I brush myself off. “Bet you never thought you’d be horizontal with Griff Danbrook, huh?”

I play it off, arching a brow at her. “It was a dream come true.”

She gives one of her signature evil-girl cackles and turns away to follow the others.

Scarlett and Daph both stare at me, lips pressed together, as we wait for everyone else to move out of hearing range.

Daph finally breaks the silence. “I hardly know what to say.”

“I mean, what was that?” Scarlett gazes at me, confusion written all over her pretty features. “He looked at you like—” She blows out a breath and stops.

I shrug, once again attempting to play it off. “He’s messing around.”

Daph gives me a look like I’m a little crazy. “I don’t know about that. The way he was looking at you was kind of …wow.”

“For real,” Scarlett huffs, her forehead creasing.

I look back and forth between the two of them and finally shake my head. “I can’t.”

Can’t yet admit that Griff may have been hinting to me that he’s made up his mind.

Can’t tell my friends about it because I don’t want to break his trust.

Can’t wait to get him alone to talk.

Daphne purses her lips and claps her gloved hands together. “Okay. We’ll shelve it for the moment. More sledding. Come on.”

Pretty sure the girls are finally figuring things out.

Chapter 31

Max

After a few more runs down the hill, we’re exhausted, so we head back to the house, moaning over sore bodies, bumps, and bruises the whole way.

Griff is up ahead of me with Lyla and Beau. I can’t explain how hard—ha-ha—it is to be so close to him yet unable to grab him and pull him aside to talk. Whether anyone else has a clue about my interest in him, I’m not entirely sure. Daph and Scarlett are now watching us like cute little hawks. I have no idea whether Aria’s comment earlier meant anything or not. Could just be harmless commentary on my gay self rolling around with a hot guy. It’s not like I’ve ever been shy about who I am. Could be that she’s picking up on something, too. I have no idea how long it will be before everyone has it figured out. Whateveritis.

At the back door, one by one, we stomp the snow off our boots, remove them and step into the house. Someone was smart enough to set up a huge tarp just inside the door. I guess this really is a tradition—and one they’ve mastered all the ins and outs of. When it’s my turn, I step inside and see the housekeeper patiently waiting as we peel off all of our gear. I give her a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Everything is soaked through.”

“No problem at all, as long as you had a good time. I’ll have the dryer running in no time flat.” She looks over at Beau and gets his attention. “Hot cocoa in about thirty minutes after everyone changes?”

He grins. “That’d be great, Darla. Thank you.”

She quickly counts heads. “Hot cocoa for nine, coming right up.”

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