“How’s your work going?” he asked her after drinking some water.
“It’s okay. I’m trying to get everything finalized for the charity day on the pier. And my sister keeps bugging me on instant messenger, asking how you are.”
“What’s your sister’s name?” he asked.
“Lydia. She’s a few years younger than me.”
“Does she look like you?”
“I think I’ve got a picture of her somewhere. Hang on.” Autumn grabbed her phone and scrolled through it, biting her lip as she concentrated on the screen. “There you go. That’s us at my dad’s summer party in the Hamptons.”
“The Hamptons, huh?” He raised an eyebrow, then took her phone, looking at the two women grinning on the screen. Autumn was wearing a pale blue dress, her shoulders bare, and her hair cascading in curls down her back. Her sister was smaller, more athletic, with skin a darker shade and her hair blonder and longer. But the resemblance between them was unmistakable, from the same pale blue eyes to the wide, toothy grin. “She’s pretty, but not as pretty as you.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that.”
“What does she do?”
“Lydia? Oh god.” Autumn laughed. “She’s Lydia. That’s pretty much her full time job.”
“She’s different than you, huh?”
“Yeah. I was the good girl. The one who worked hard and got all top grades and went on to grad school. She was the force of nature.”
“Sounds exhausting.”
Autumn laughed again. “You’ll be able to see for yourself next week. She’s coming to visit. She’s staying until the charity day. I figure she’ll be able to persuade everybody to donate big amounts. She has that way about her.” She put her plate on the coffee table, her sandwich only half eaten.
“Can I have that?” He nodded at her sandwich.
“Help yourself.” Autumn watched as he bit into the sandwich. “Oh, and by the way, Lydia wants to meet you.”
He swallowed the chunk down. “She does?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry, I should have kept my mouth shut about you.”
It touched him that she hadn’t. “I want to meet her, too. Maybe we can take her out.” He looked around her tiny cottage. “Where’s she going to stay?”
“I guess she’ll take the sofa. Or she can bunk up with me. She’s slept in worse places.”
“You should both come stay with me. I have a guest room with it’s own bathroom.”
“Really?” She leaned forward to kiss him. “That would be wonderful. Thank you. Underneath all those muscles you’re kind of sweet.”
“Don’t tell anybody,” he whispered. “It’s our secret.”
She pinched her fingers and drew a zip across her lips.
Shaking his head, he grinned and picked up their plates, carrying them over to the kitchen. Autumn was a tidy chef, so it only took him a couple of minutes to fill the dishwasher and wipe the counter, until it was spotlessly clean.
“Okay. I’d best head home.” He stretched his arms up, his shoulder muscles groaning in relief.
“Yeah. Stop cluttering my cottage with all that bare skin.” She winked. “Some of us have work to do around here.”
He walked over to the sofa and kissed the top of her head, pulling at her ponytail until she squealed.
“I’ll speak to you later.”
“Are you walking home like that?” she asked, her eyes scanning his bare chest, the thin pants and his unshod feet.
“I figure it’s better than going home naked.” He quirked an eyebrow.
“You look like you’re doing the walk of shame,” she pointed out.
“I kind of am,” he said, grinning at her look of horror. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll put the top on. That way nobody will know what you did to me last night.”
“Remember what I said about keeping them for my doctor fantasies,” she told him. “Oh, and Griff?”
“Yeah?”
“What time will you be back?”
“Back where?”
“Back here? You’re staying tonight, right?”
He curled his hand around her neck and brushed his lips against hers. “Yeah, I am,” he said, his mouth curling up. “And I’ll bring dinner with me.”
“Griffin Lambert, come here and let me look at you,” Deenie said, pulling his head down as she scanned her eyes over the cuts on his face. “Ugh. That ocean really battered you about. Do they hurt?”
“They’re fine,” he said, gently pulling away from her hold, biting down a smile at her using his full name. She only did that when she was cross or scared. “I look worse than I feel.
“I hear you saved Sam’s life,” Frank Megassey said, shaking Griff’s hand. “That was a brave thing to do, son.”
Ally pushed his large Americano across the counter. “This one’s on us, hero.” She winked.
Griff rolled his eyes. He’d only walked into Déjà Brew to grab a caffeine fix on his way to the pier, where Mike had been keeping the Ocean Explorer going for the day. But Lorne had seen him walk in, and told half the shop owners on the boardwalk and Main Street, because now Griff was surrounded by their concerned faces.
“I knocked on your door this morning,” Deenie said, as Griff took a mouthful of coffee. The bitter liquid washed over his tongue. “I wanted to check on you on my way to work, but you didn’t answer.”
“I wasn’t there.” He glanced at the door from the corner of his eye. Three strides and he could be out of there. Shame his muscles ached too much to make a run for it.
“Oh.” Deenie’s lips formed a perfect circle. “Were you with Autumn?”
“You can’t ask him that,” Ally said, leaning across the counter. “What kind of gentleman would admit to it?”
Deenie clamped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry.” Her voice was muffled. “I only wondered if she looked after you.”
“Yeah, she looked after me.” His voice was low. The memory of her washed over him. Those kisses, her touch, the way they couldn’t pull their gazes away. It made his chest feel tight.
“She’s a lovely young woman,” Frank Megassey said. “And she’s doing a lot of work for the charity day. I know she’s from New York, but I hope she sticks around.”
Yeah, well so did Griff. The thought of her leaving felt like a slap in the face.
He lifted his coffee cup again, and noticed Ally staring at him, her brows drawn together. “What’s up?” he asked her.
She shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Oh come on. You can’t look at me like that and then say nothing.”
Ally licked her dry lips. “I’m just glad you’re okay, that’s all. When I heard you were out there…” Her voice faded as she shook her head. “I was scared.”
“We all were.” Deenie nodded. “Wallace had to hold me back from going down to the beach. He said I’d be a liability.” She wiped the corner of her eye. “Promise me you won’t do anything like that again. I don’t think my heart can take it.”