“To his house. His nephew made this model plane and wants to show it to me. It’s not a big deal.”
“You’re close with his nephew? This is a big deal.”
I shook my head. “Definitely not. Declan wanted to show me something, that’s all.”
Her dubious look told me she didn’t believe me.
“I offered to bring something. I’m waiting to hear back from him.” I didn’t have time to waste if I wanted to go home, shower, and have enough time to pick up something to bring with me.
She sighed. “Sometimes I think you’re a little socially repressed.”
Internally, I rolled my eyes. It was hard to be social when you were an outsider in high school, always on the outside looking in, longing for something you couldn’t be part of. Then spending hours after school home alone. When my phone dinged, I lowered my head to see the screen.
Griffin: Just bring yourself.
The smile appeared before I could stop it. Short, sweet, and exactly what I needed to hear, even if I was probably misinterpreting it. I was enough by myself.
“What? What did he say?” She snatched the phone out of my hands before I could react.
“This is what has you smiling?” She lifted the phone so the screen was facing me.
“It’s nothing. I have to get ready for dinner.” I started packing up my files for court the next morning, cleaning off my desk.
“I’m sorry, Avery. I didn’t mean to pry. You haven’t dated anyone seriously since Wes in law school.”
“I never should have told you that.” She’d arrived at my apartment to study right after my ex confronted me about the school’s investigation into our relationship. When I asked him if we could put our relationship on hold until I graduated, his words why would I want to be with a cold bitch still rang in my head.
Her face softened, a mixture of regret and sadness. “I told you to forget him and what he said, but you haven’t.”
“Wes wasn’t the only one who said that.” The knot in my stomach twisted. I hated telling anyone these things.
Dylan smiled sadly, her tone kind. “I’d say who cares what those guys think except I think you do.”
“They didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. I’m not a bitch, but I am—”
“Closed off, but do you have a reason to be?”
“I don’t know.”
“You do, don’t you? It’s your parents. They never showed up for graduation or congratulated you. They only expressed disappointment when you failed the bar exam.”
“They had a lot to say about that.” I hadn’t worked hard enough. I was an embarrassment. What would they tell their employees and so-called friends?
“I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I hope you aren’t letting your parents and what an ex said affect what could be happening between you and Griffin.”
“Nothing can happen between Griffin and me. I’m his tenant and his attorney.”
“None of that matters if you like him. We can take his case and the firm is his tenant, not you.”
“He could move to Florida to live with his parents. He could go back to California. He’s not permanent.”
“Maybe he’d stay if he had a reason to.”
“That’s a big if. We aren’t dating, we aren’t anything. I ran into him while I was out exploring on Saturday and we spent some time together. His nephew just wants to show me a model plane.”
Dylan’s lips tugged into a smile. “Go to dinner and see what happens.”
“Is it that simple?” Could I go to his house, live in the moment, and see what happens?
“You like him?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. All I know is he has this effect on me. I forget all of my worries and insecurities when I’m with him. I’m not as awkward.” Dylan knew all about my internal struggle with social events. She’d tried and failed many times to get me to go to law school socials.
Dylan’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Will you give him a chance?”
“I’ll try. What if what those guys said is true? Won’t he say the same thing when I can’t open up?”
“All you can do is be honest and try. Maybe he already knows this is hard for you. The right guy will give you time, will help you come out of your shell.”
“Maybe.” I pressed my lips together, wondering if I could take the leap with Griffin. There was more at risk than just our relationship, there was Declan to consider, and he was my landlord. What if things went badly and he kicked the firm out at the end of the lease?
“Let me know how it goes.” She stood to leave.
I gathered my things, heading home to shower and change. I got in my seldom-used car driving to the address he’d texted while I was talking to Dylan. The closer I got to his development, the more nervous I was. Tonight was different. It was dinner at his home. Declan was here, but it was more intimate than our other encounters. It showed he trusted me.
I parked at the curb outside his house. The lights were on, a black SUV in the driveway. I took a few steadying breaths before I got out, knowing it wouldn’t make a difference, not with the level of anxiety I was feeling. I knocked on his door, wondering if I’d made a mistake in coming.
He opened the door, his T-shirt tight on his chest and biceps, his jeans soft and worn, his feet bare. “Come in.”
I stepped inside, brushing his body with my bare shoulder, sending tingles down my arm, my stomach flip-flopping.
I placed my purse on a bench by the door, not able to look him in the eye, afraid to see if he was as affected by our barely-there touch as I was.
“Declan is excited to show you his plane.”
“Yeah?” I smiled, looking directly at him for the first time. His blues sparkled as if he found me amusing.
“Is she here?” Declan came thundering down the stairs, stopping in front of us. “Oh good. Want to come up?”
“Sure. I’d love to.” The butterflies in my stomach eased.
“I’ll check on the food. You go on,” Griffin said to me.
“Okay.” I followed Declan up the stairs, cognizant this was the home he’d grown up in with his father, reminding me that he’d suffered a tremendous loss.
His room was the first on the right, a boy’s room, with blue walls, toys, and Legos scattered on every surface.
“You like Legos?”
“Oh yeah. This is my police station, the fire station—” He described each set he’d made, before showing me the model plane on his desk.
I had no experience with kids, but it seemed easy to connect with Declan. Show interest in what he was excited about, essentially the opposite of what my parents had done. “This is great. Did you make it all by yourself?”
“Uncle Griff helped.”
The idea that Griffin sat next to him, reading the instructions, locating each tiny piece, patiently placing each block touched something deep inside me. My parents never helped us with homework, much less a craft or hobby.
Griffin went bike riding with him, took him to tour the Naval Academy, and helped him with his model plane when he wasn’t his dad.
“How are you guys doing?” Griffin’s voice came from the doorway.