ght to grill me?”
She regretted the words the minute they left her mouth. The entire situation had her rattled, which was no excuse to take her rampaging emotions out on the man she loved.
To his credit, he merely shrugged out of his suit jacket and tossed it over a chair. She recognized the delay as a means to bide time and calm his anger. She gave him his due. How a man could be just as devastating fully dressed as he had been unclothed baffled her. But it was the man inside the clothes that had drawn her out and made her fall in love.
When he met her stare, his expression darkened, along with his eyes. He took two steps forward, but she stopped him mid-stride with as much honesty as she could muster.
“I’m sorry, please forget I said that.” She lifted her hand and worked the sore muscles in the back of her neck. “Yes, the subject matter is upsetting,” she said, lowering herself into the nearest chair. She owed Griff as much of the truth as she felt he could handle hearing—as much as she could handle revealing—for now.
His hand touched her cheek. “I don’t like seeing you hurt. Do you react like this after every client interview?”
She shook her head, unwittingly freeing some strands of hair. Without much thought, she tucked them behind her ear. “Some hit me harder than others.”
“No wonder this one’s difficult. She looks so much like you. The dark hair, the eyes...”
“I hadn’t noticed.” And she hadn’t. Now that he’d pointed out their similarities, Chelsie realized Griff was right—another factor that must have unconsciously upset her. “I really must have eaten something that didn’t agree with me, or else I’m catching a new version of the virus you and Alix had.” Which wasn’t a lie, since her throat had been raw all morning. “I’ll be all right.”
“Want me to accompany you to the shelter?” he asked.
Her lips curved upward in a faint smile. “No, thanks. No men allowed, anyway.”
Griff knelt down beside her. He enclosed her hand in his. “We do have unfinished business.”
“I know.” She shut her eyes and leaned her head back in the chair. “But would you understand if I said I’m not up to discussing things yet?”
He answered with a tender but brief kiss. His lips, warm against hers, almost seduced her into a blessed state of forgetfulness. Before she was ready, he pulled back, leaving her bereft.
“In case you weren’t sure, that’s a yes,” he said.
“I’m shocked, but thank you.”
“Don’t be. As long as you don’t run out on me again, I can give you all the space you need. To be honest, I could use some myself.” He rose from his kneeling position, putting both physical and emotional distance between them.
He’d admitted to nothing more than she asked for herself, yet his admission and withdrawal hurt.
“I’ve got to get back to Amanda,” she said.
“I have a favor to ask first.”
“What is it?”
“Ryan asked me to help his sister move back in with her husband next weekend. As you know, I owe him. Mrs. Baxter promised Saturday to her son and daughter-in-law. Think you could...”
“Baby-sit?” she asked with a grin. “Sure. Would you mind if I took Alix into Boston with me?”
“Either you’re brave or just plain nuts, but no, I don’t mind. Thanks.”
“Friends help each other out, Griff.” She needed to cement their status in her own mind, as much as his.
“Is that all we are?”
“I thought this discussion could wait,” she chided. The real world would not. The life she thought she’d put behind her waited outside the safety of these walls.
“Not for long.”
Ignoring his words, Chelsie slipped out the office door.
* * *