Suddenly Charlie was completely jealous of the woman standing in front of her, and it had nothing to do with Fiona’s seemingly perfect hair or the fact that she clearly knew a lot about lemurs.
The stab of jealousy was strangely intense as well as completely surprising.
Charlie didn’t get jealous, and she really shouldn’t be jealous about Griffin.
But a cute brunette in possession of lemurs seemed much more like the type of woman Griffin should be with.
“You know that Griffin likes lemurs and knows a lot about them, so you think he’ll be okay with this?” Charlie asked, focusing on the situation at hand. She could deal with who Fiona was to Griffin later. Or never.
Griffin and Fiona’s relationship and history had nothing to do with her. Just because Charlie had been flirting with him, and even stealing kisses, and exchanging lots of innuendos over the past five days since their hot barn encounter, didn’t mean that Griffin was hers to be jealous over.
And even if he did have a relationship with this woman, Charlie still wanted him to have lemurs.
“Oh, lemurs are the perfect thing for Griffin,” Fiona said.
Good. That was good. Charlie frowned. “You said that he’s got this boring thing where he’s trying to be a normal guy?”
Fiona nodded. “Yeah, after what happened in D.C., he decided he was going to just be a regular vet. Which, of course, he’s great at, but he’s got a passion for bigger things. More meaningful things. Not that being a small-town veterinarian can’t be meaningful,” she said quickly. “It’s very meaningful. Especially to the animals and families of those animals that he’s taking care of. Tori is completely content doing that kind of work. And God bless her for it. It’s just that Griffin has a… wilder streak.” She grinned. “Of course, that sounds funny, considering Griffin is one of the most solid and steadfast people I know. He’s just got a heart for wild animals.”
Solid and steadfast. Charlie thought about that. That did seem to be Griffin. He definitely had things he felt strongly about, and he wasn’t shy about expressing his opinions and feelings, but he was very consistent. It was easy to know where Griffin stood on most topics. And she really liked that.
Autre and the Landry family had given her the chance to express her wild side and be herself, but anyone who wanted to spread their wings and push boundaries needed a steady foundation under them. Griffin was that type of man. He was someone who could be counted on. If she were going to take a chance on staying in Autre and trying to build an animal park—something very outside her bubble of experience—she would need the Landrys telling her she could do whatever she wanted and get on board with her crazy ideas. But she also needed someone like Griffin, who would pull her back when it got too crazy and would give her the blunt, honest truth about what could and could not be done.
She felt excitement bubbling up from her stomach into her chest, like bubbles fizzing up out of a glass of soda. This could happen. She had everything she needed to make this happen. No, it wasn’t a big international company with an office in Paris, but this was starting to feel like exactly where she should be and what she should be doing.
“So the lemurs will help him feel a little more excited about this plan, right?” Charlie asked Fiona. Fiona was a stranger. They’d literally met minutes ago. But the fact that they both knew—and clearly cared about—Griffin made Charlie ask.
Fiona nodded. “What Griffin needs is to do amazing work with a variety of animals and feel like he’s making an impact, while not answering to bosses who know less than he does and without being beholden to donors. If he can be his own boss and in charge of the care of the animals, Griffin will be very happy and will be able to make a big difference.”
“A big difference?” Charlie asked.
“When he was in Zambia, he wanted to do all kinds of teaching. About the animals and what was going on with their populations and their ecosystems. He wanted to help people understand how they could get involved and why they should get involved. He was very passionate about conservation efforts and anti-poaching laws, and environmental issues that threatened various groups of animals. He was ready to be a huge fundraiser and to go to D.C. to lobby Congress and all kinds of other things. And even after he got back to the states, he really tried to make the best of it by going to vet school and hoped to move up the ranks at zoos where he could have even more influence over his zoo as well as networking with others.”
Charlie stared at her. Griffin Foster had wanted to do public presentations and lobby Congress and grow his influence over zoos so that he could positively impact how animals were treated in captivity?
If that were true, all of her reasons for going into marketing would have resonated deeply with him.
It seemed they were even more alike.
“So, what kind of things can he do if he is in charge of a tiny animal park in a small town in Louisiana?”
“Education, possible propagation programs, public awareness, fundraising, helping other animal parks, and petting zoos with their care standards,” Fiona shrugged. “Whatever he wants to do. He certainly has the credentials and the passion. He just needs a place to apply those. Something to get excited about.”
“I want to help make that place,” Charlie said.
Had she just committed to staying in Autre and building the park—for Griffin no less—to a near stranger?
“I like you,” Fiona said. “I mean, I like anyone who’s interested in lemurs. But someone who’s willing to work at pulling Griffin back to where he needs to be in this world? Oh yeah, you’re going to be one of my favorite people.”
Yes, it seemed she had just made such a commitment.
Charlie felt her heart flutter in her chest. “Well, I’m creating a job for myself as well.”
Fiona gave her a knowing smile. “Sure,” Fiona said. “But I think you could make a lot more money somewhere else. A lot more guaranteed money.”
Charlie shrugged. “I like a challenge.”
“Well, Griffin is definitely a challenge.”
Charlie just gave a little nod with a smile.
“And you like Griffin.”
The flutter in her chest got more intense. “Yes,” she admitted. “I really like Griffin.”
“That shows impeccable taste,” Fiona told her.
“How much do you like Griffin?” Charlie couldn’t help but ask. Fiona struck her as a straightforward type of woman.
“A lot,” Fiona said. “He’s like a brother to me. Except that he’s a lot smarter and more responsible than my brothers.”
Like a brother. Charlie took a deep breath and blew it out. She could deal with Griffin and Fiona being close friends. Definitely. She was starting to like Fiona quite a lot as well.
“Just so you know, I would want Griffin to have this even if I hadn’t decided to stay.”
Fiona nodded. “Yeah, that’s how love works. You want the other person happy no matter what’s going on with you.”
Love.
Was that what she was feeling for Griffin? She was definitely in lust with him. She also liked him a lot. And she would even go so far as to say it was infatuation. But love?
It had only been a couple of weeks. That shouldn’t be enough time to fall in love. But she could almost hear her grandma Ellie’s voice in her head asking, well, how long should it take then?