I watched Griff from my kitchen as he worked on my patio. He’d been out in the sun labouring for three hours this afternoon so I’d grabbed him a beer out of the fridge and was about to take it out to him. His muscles had distracted me, though. He wore no shirt, and each nail he hammered, and each piece of wood he cut, caused his muscles to flex in a hypnotising way.
Everything about him hypnotised me – his good looks, his bossiness, his hidden sense of humour that he only seemed to share with those closest to him, his protective nature, his fierce way of caring, and so much more.
He stopped what he was doing and looked at me. Goosebumps flooded my skin from the way he looked at me – like he wanted to devour me. I held up the beer, and he jerked his chin in that way of his – the way that said ‘woman, come here’.” I loved that chin jerk.
As I stepped foot outside, a noise at my front door caught my attention. Turning to see what it was, I smiled at the sight of Magan traipsing down the hallway towards us. “Hey, honey,” I called out.
“I’m just going to use your printer, okay?” she said, and I nodded.
Turning back to Griff, I walked to where he stood and passed him his beer. “It’s looking good,” I said, looking at the work he’d done so far.
He took a long drink of his beer and nodded. “Yeah, much better. When I move in, we can use my barbeque. It’s one of the only decent things I own and it’s better than this one the previous owner built in. In fact, I’ll pull this one out completely.”
I blinked, and at the same time, butterflies whooshed through my stomach. “You’re moving in? When is that happening? I mean, we haven’t even discussed it…but I don’t mind…what I mean to say is I’m down with it, but I hadn’t realised we were at that stage in our relationship where we’d move in together, and I also am surprised you want to move into my house rather than me move into yours. And, wow, this seems so fast…are you sure?” I took a long breath and stared wide-eyed at him. I hadn’t even seen that coming.
His gaze was glued to mine, and I saw a determination in it that I loved. He was sure about this. “A man could search his whole life looking for a woman like you, Sophia. I know what I’ve got, and trust me when I tell you this, I’m not letting go. As far as me moving in here…it makes sense because Josie lives across the road. And as far as moving too fast…I’m not good with waiting for something I know is going to happen. I’ve already started packing my stuff.”
I smiled. “Sounds good to me, handsome.”
He drank the rest of his beer and passed me the empty bottle. “Okay, you need to move your ass inside, woman, so I can finish this job in peace. Not a man alive who could do it with you sashaying around in those shorts you like to wear.”
Grinning, I left him in peace, and headed inside to find Magan.
She met me in the kitchen, and said, “I got that job.”
My brows furrowed. “Which one? You applied for two, didn’t you?”
“Oh, yeah…I got the one at the dress shop. I start in a few days and have to take my birth certificate in for them so I thought I’d make a copy in case they want one.”
I smiled at her excitement. “They shouldn’t need a copy of that, but I’m so proud of you for being organised.”
She stilled and gave me a strange smile. Almost a sad smile. “Thank you, Sophia,” she murmured, and I had no idea what she was thanking me for. On top of that, I hated the sadness in her voice.
“What for, honey?” I asked as I reached for her hand, needing to hold her.
“For loving me like you do. I’ve gone my whole life pretty much without a mother figure, well, at least, one who cared for me like a mother. You might be my sister, but in a lot of ways, I kinda think of you like my mother.”
The heartbreak our mother had caused both of us was still fresh, and we were still coming to terms with it in our own ways. It meant the world to me to hear these words from her. I put my arms around her and hugged her. We held onto each other for a long time, and when we finally let each other go, she said, “I love you.”
“I love you, too, honey.”
She moved to the table and stashed her documents in her bag before turning back to me, and said, “We have to cook cake. Josie will be here soon.”
My heart felt like it could explode from happiness.
My new family.
* * *
“Oh, my dear girl, you did the right thing getting rid of him,” Josie said to Magan later that afternoon when we were discussing the fact Magan had ditched her boyfriend.
Magan nodded. “I know.”
“I know it’s a cliché, but there really are plenty of other fish in the sea. Sometimes you just need to fish for longer or you need to change your fishing locations.” She eyed Griff, and added, “Or you need to let someone else do the fishing for you.”
I laughed while he shook his head and muttered something under his breath.
Holding up the plate with scones on it, I asked, “Josie, would you like another scone?”
Her face lit up and she nodded with a smile. “Your scones are the bomb, Sophia. I would love another one, thank you.”
Magan burst out laughing and slapped her hand over her mouth. “Did you just say her scones are the bomb, Josie?”