The Heartbreaker of Echo Pass - Maisey Yates Page 0,92
obviously doing his best to be part of things, which was leaving Iris absolutely agog.
“He is really something,” Sammy said from beside her.
“He... Yes.”
“I mean, he is smoking hot.”
“Dial it down about twenty percent,” Iris said, shooting Sammy a warning glare.
“I would,” Sammy said, “but I can’t.”
“Well,” Iris said.
“Here,” she said, “hold Astrid.”
Sammy dumped the little bundle of softness gently into Iris’s arms, and her heart contracted.
She looked over at Griffin, who managed to choose that exact minute to look over at her. While she was standing there holding a baby.
A strange expression filtered across his face, his features going tight. And Iris suddenly felt panicky.
“Take her,” she said to Rose.
“All right,” Rose said, taking Astrid in her arms.
“When are you going to have one of those?” Pansy asked.
“Maybe never,” Rose said, but Iris could see by the expression on her face when she looked at their niece that that was absolutely not true. She smiled softly. “I don’t know, maybe in a couple of years. She’s so beautiful.”
Iris had to agree, but she felt enervated over the fact that Griffin had just seen her holding a baby, and what if he thought she wanted a baby? Or what if it hurt him to see a baby? She hadn’t even thought of that. She wondered if he was okay, or if he was upset. He had looked a little bit upset.
Because of course he wouldn’t be wanting... And the picture that she would’ve made holding her was so domestic. That concerned her. Honestly concerned her.
The whole thing made her feel jumbled up. More than she should feel.
“What about you?” Pansy asked. “Are you going to marry him?”
“No,” Iris said. “I already told you that. No.”
“You brought him home to all of us. You brought him home to meet the family.”
“I didn’t... I didn’t do it on purpose. Ryder invited him.”
“So, what’s the problem? He’s gorgeous, and here and charming. And plays football. Ryder seems to like him.”
“The problem,” Iris said, “is that... It’s hard to explain.” She looked at Rose and Pansy, two of the people she loved most in the whole world, and she didn’t know how to explain that so much of the heaviness she carried inside her was because of the way she’d cared for them.
“Try,” Pansy said.
“He was married,” she said.
“So?” Rose asked.
“He’s widowed. His wife died. He...he loves her and he’s...he’s my friend. I needed someone to help me start a real life and he needed someone he could be with to help him heal and I’m good at helping people.”
The words were ash in her mouth.
“You’re more than that,” Rose said.
“I need to make sure I am,” Iris said.
Her brain felt like a minefield of memories. And she chose not to have any of them. Standing there with her sisters.
I need your help, Iris.
You know how Rose gets.
Rose just needs me.
I don’t have time to bake with you.
Your dad is so mad at Pansy, I just have to go and manage that.
They need more care than you. They need more attention.
She shoved all that aside.
But then, more memories flooded in.
Thank you so much for taking care of them.
I love it when you help around the house.
I appreciate it so much.
She felt tired just then.
Finally, when the game was finished, and she and Griffin made their way back to the bakery, she leaned back in her seat. “I’m tired tonight,” she said. “I might need to be alone.”
He frowned. “All right.” He paused for just a moment. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” she said. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just me. I’m tired. I’m tired and I need a little bit of time to think.”
“Whatever you need, Iris. You know I’ll give it to you.”
“I appreciate it.”
But when he finally dropped her at the bakery, she couldn’t sleep. And she ended up just being angry with herself that she hadn’t asked him to stay.
Because no matter how much she told herself this was temporary, her bed already felt too empty without Griffin in it.
And that was a problem.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
IT HAD BEEN a few days since Griffin had been up to the build site, and he’d decided to go and take stock. Had felt compelled to do so today.
For so long Griffin hadn’t thought of the house as anyone’s house in particular. At first, it had been Mel’s house.
Because it had been the place that she wanted, on the site that she wanted. But she had no part in the design of it. He had