honestly, of all the things, most of her family had to walk in. That was just annoying.
Is it? Or is it a little bit what you wanted...
She squirmed uncomfortably as that reality went home to roost.
All right. He was gorgeous, and showing him off was fun. And yeah, that was getting a little bit tangled. And she worried then, that she had thrown Griffin into something without giving him full warning about it. Because that wasn’t fair.
Logan, West and her sisters saw her, and then redirected, heading straight for the bar.
“That’s my family,” she said, smiling and speaking quickly to Griffin. He still had his hand on her hip. “And they’re coming this way.”
“Okay, which one of the guys is most likely to punch me out?”
“Neither of them are Ryder, so you’re good.”
“All right.” He pasted a smile on his face, and it was... A little bit rusty, but there was the ghost of something there she hadn’t seen before. She’d seen him smile, but she hadn’t seen him interact with other people. And the rustiness faded in a moment, and suddenly she could see...
Well, this was who he must have been.
The businessman who could work a room. He must have been that man at some time. He had a family, a mother and father, a sister. He’d fallen in love and gotten married. He had probably charmed his wife’s family, and he’d been a groom in a wedding.
He must have worn a tux, and said vows in front of a crowd. He would have smiled, and given a speech maybe.
For some reason all those images cut her deep, and filled her with hope all at the same time.
“Hi there, Iris,” Logan said. “I don’t believe we’ve met,” he said, directing that to Griffin.
“We haven’t,” he said, extending his right hand in order to shake Logan’s, but leaving his left on her hip. “I’m Griffin Chance.”
“I see. Logan Heath. I’m Iris’s brother-in-law.”
“Not quite yet,” Rose said, poking his ribs. “I’m Rose. I’m Iris’s sister.”
“Pansy,” Pansy said. “Same.” She was wearing her uniform, so she imagined that Griffin had probably guessed that.
“West Caldwell,” West said. “Brother-in-law.”
“Good to meet you.”
“Well, we’ve all met,” Iris said. “Griffin is my boss. My landlord.” She could not introduce him as her lover.
Logan’s gaze went straight to where Griffin’s hand was resting on her. “Obviously.”
“You all just out drinking tonight?”
“Indeed,” Rose said. “Sammy and Ryder have a bad case of parenting exhaustion. So they aren’t coming out.”
“Well, that’s too bad.”
“How’s the bakery going?” Pansy asked.
“Great.”
“So,” Logan said. “Griffin. Is it?”
“I think you know it is,” Iris said, narrowing her eyes.
“What is it you do?” He continued speaking as if Iris had said nothing.
“Why don’t you all order drinks,” Pansy said. “We’ll go get a table.” She grabbed hold of Iris, and dragged her away from Griffin and the bar. Griffin, for his part, looked entirely relaxed, but she had a feeling that was because he didn’t actually know what he was getting himself into. Her family was a whole thing. Then, so was Griffin.
“Damn,” Rose said. “I mean, damn.”
“What?” Iris asked.
“He is... He is so hot.”
“So hot,” Pansy agreed.
“He is, right?” Iris asked.
“I mean, you said that he was good-looking.” Rose shook her head. “But you didn’t say that he was that good-looking.”
“Well, I thought he was. I mean, I really did. But you know, I didn’t know if I was just biased.”
“You knew. That’s why you’re sitting here looking smug.”
“I do feel smug. Elliott is here.”
“Really.” Pansy looked around, until she saw him. “Oh, that is unfortunate. He suffers by comparison.”
“He does,” Rose agreed.
“And you,” she continued, “look like a cat that got into the cream.”
Iris squirmed. “Yeah, well, I kind of am.”
“Respect.”
The men came over to the table then, laden with drinks, and Griffin took a seat beside her. She turned to him. “You know, you don’t have to stay.”
“I’m not going to leave.”
“I didn’t mean it that way, it’s just that... I know this is maybe more than you were expecting.”
“I’m fine.” He lifted his head and addressed the group. “West and Logan were just explaining to me which beer here is the best. I maintain that I don’t have an opinion.”
“That isn’t going to fly here,” Pansy said. “Everybody’s very opinionated about their beer.”
“Well, I confess I haven’t had anything much better than a grocery store bottled beer in a long time. Until Iris started coming up and bringing me food. Because sometimes she’s nice and throws a bottle or two in.”
“You