Stitches

“Man, she is not letting you out of her clutches. You should just go talk to Donovan, put a hit on her ass, take care of it nice and simple.”

Griff shoots me a narrowed look. “You’re hilarious.”

I lift my eyebrows, nodding. “Yeah, I was joking. Definitely joking. Unless you thought it sounded like a good idea.”

He cracks a smile and shakes his head at me. “You’re an asshole.”

“Ah, but I got a smile out of you,” I tell him, smacking his arm before standing and heading for the stairs. “She’s taking forever. I’m gonna go tell her to get her little ass dressed before the restaurants close.”

Moira sighs with contentment, leaning into my side. My arm settles around her waist as we stroll through Rittenhouse square. It’s a little chilly out tonight, but Moira loves to walk through here when we’re nearby for dinner and I don’t like to deny Moira anything she loves.

I’m glad we came out tonight. I’m glad we spent some time alone together. Integrating Griff into our relationship is fine, but we still need our own time, too. Now that we’ve had it, everything feels calmer, like a peace I hadn’t even admitting to losing has been restored.

I could enjoy doing just about anything as long as Moira came with me. I could walk through the fires of Hell, and as long as I had her nestled up against my side, I could look at it like a tropical vacation I didn’t have to pay for.

Moira’s thoughts must be in line with mine, because she suddenly tilts her head back and looks up at me. “I’m glad we did this.”

I give her a little squeeze. “So am I.”

“You always have the best ideas,” she informs me.

“I do,” I agree.

She grins and elbows me in the side. “You’re so cocky.”

“It’s why you love me.”

“One of many, many, many, many reasons.” Peering up at me again, she asks, “Are you happy with how things are right now?”

“You mean with Griff?”

“I mean with everything. I’ve been trying to balance a new relationship and I haven’t had as much time to devote to ours. I feel bad. Usually you get all my time and attention.”

I smile, bringing her hand to my lips so I can brush a kiss across her knuckles. “And I am a greedy bastard.”

“You are not,” she says, dismissively. “You’re shrewd, but you’re generous.”

“Only with my loved ones.”

“I don’t care about anyone else,” she teases.

That’s a lie, but I don’t bother calling her on it.

Since I don’t tease her back, she turns serious again. “I just want to make sure we don’t get skipped over in any way because of the new developments. I don’t ever want you to feel you’re not getting enough of my time, and if you do, you need to tell me.”

Given her sentiments are in line with my own, I have to acknowledge that even though I’m sharing her, our relationship is obviously top priority. That’s sensible to me, but I don’t know if it’s going to work for Griff. He probably hopes things will be more equal. I guess I do too, because I don’t want Moira to feel like Griff is a job, and I don’t want Griff to feel like second best, but I can’t force her to feel a way she doesn’t, either.

“How are things going with you and Griff?”

She glances up at me, but she looks a touch hesitant. “How do you mean?”

“Just trying to get a read. How are you feeling about everything? Does he seem to be adjusting well?”

“I guess so. It’s taking some time. We only just started looking at each other this way, so that relationship has quite a ways to go before we catch up. If we even catch up. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to.” She hesitates, then admits, “I’m a little worried about him feeling left out, but I don’t know if I want him to have an equal place in my heart anyway. I can’t even imagine that. You’re my everything. You’re king of my heart, no contest.”

I crack a smile, but her words—however well-meaning—cause my worry to grow. “He’ll be able to feel that, though. That’s not fair to him. Are you holding back on purpose, or do you just not feel that way for him?”

She watches the brick path beneath our feet like it holds the answers. “I don’t know. You know I love Griff, but sometimes he says things that make me feel like he’s being competitive with you, and that’s not okay with me. I try to reassure him, but I don’t know how deeply it runs.” Now she looks up at me, like she hates what she’s saying as much as I probably hate hearing it. “I know you love Griff, I know he loves you, I just don’t know if he’s cut out for this.”