“Answer it.”
I roll my eyes and swipe at the screen. “Hello?”
“Let me come to your room.”
“It’s a hotel, Griffin. It’s not like you need to come to the door to meet my parents.”
“No, but your big sister is here, and that’s the next best thing.”
“That’s really not necessary. I’ll meet you in the lobby at noon.”
“Fine. I’m sitting on the bench next to the elevators.”
“What?”
“I’m sitting—” he starts, but I stop him.
“I heard you. Why are you here? We don’t meet for another hour or so?”
“Because I was driving Oliver crazy, and I thought if you changed your mind and wanted me to pick you up properly for our date, I’d be close.”
“So, you’re what? Going to just sit downstairs by the elevator until noon?”
“That was the plan.”
“You’re crazy.” I laugh.
“About you.”
“You barely know me,” I counter. I look over at Parker, and I can’t decipher the look on her face, but it’s obvious she’s listening intently to our conversation.
“Yeah,” he agrees. “It sounds insane, even to me, but here I am.” He chuckles.
“Tell him to come up,” Parker says loud enough that she knows Griffin will hear her.
“I heard that,” he says, confirming what I already knew.
“5602.”
“Thank fuck,” he mutters. “I’m on my way,” he says. I hear the elevator doors whoosh open.
“Okay.”
“See you soon,” he says and ends the call.
“Wow. You’ve got it bad.” Parker laughs.
“I don’t know him.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t be vibing on the guy.”
“Vibing? Really Parker?”
“What?” She laughs. “Fine, crushing, is that better?”
“Can you crush on someone you just met?”
“Yep.”
I don’t get to answer before there’s a knock on our door. Standing, I wipe my sweaty palms on my jean shorts and make my way to the door. When I open it, I’m surprised to find Holden and not Griffin
“Holden? Come on in.” I step back, and then panic hits me. Griffin is on his way up, and he’s going to see Holden, and that’s going to ruin it all. How am I going to know that he’s here for me and not my connections to baseball?
“Hey, Peyton.” Holden leans in and kisses my cheek as he passes me and rushes to my sister.
I look over my shoulder and watch as she stands to greet him, and he lifts her into his arms and kisses her like it’s been weeks since he’s seen her and not hours. “What are you doing here?” I hear her ask, but I don’t hear what he says because there’s a tapping on my shoulder.
I turn to find Griffin smiling down at me. “You look beautiful,” he says, pulling me into a hug.
His scent, so much like the ocean, wraps around me, and I don’t know how but it’s comforting to me. I’ve known him for just over twenty-four hours. How is that possible?
“Let him in,” Parker calls out.
“You don’t have to do this,” I tell him. I’m not ready to lose him even though I just found him.
“Come on, Peyton. It’s going to be fine. I promise.” He presses his lips to my temple, entwines his hand with mine, and leads me into the room.
“Parker, Holden, this is Griffin.”
“Parker, it’s nice to meet you.” Griffin offers his hand that’s not holding mine to my sister to shake. Once she does, he then looks at Holden. “Holden, nice to meet you,” he says again, offering his hand to Holden. I watch him closely for recognition, but his expression doesn’t change.
“You too,” Holden says, shaking his hand. “How long have you known our Peyton?” Holden asks, and I have to fight not to roll my eyes.
Griffin gives my hand a gentle squeeze and smiles down at me. “We met yesterday.”
“Right, so we’re going to go,” I say, tugging on his hand.
“Hold up,” Holden calls out. “You can’t expect me to let you just leave with this guy. You barely know him.”
I look over at my sister and give her a pleading look, but she just smiles and shrugs.
“I have a picture of his driver’s license. I can send it to you,” I tell Holden.
Before he can reply, there’s a knock on the door. Holden walks to the door and pulls it open. “Come in. Peyton has a guy here.”
“Who is he?” I hear the newcomer ask, and groan when I recognize the voice as Cameron, my brother-in-law.
“Parker,” I hiss.
“What? He stopped to see me. They had a quick break, and Cam wanted to switch out his cleats and left them in his room. I didn’t know,” she replies.
Hot tears prick my eyes. It’s ridiculous that I’m upset, but I really like Griffin. I just wanted him for me. Just this once, I wanted to be Peyton. Not Peyton Monroe.
“Hi, I’m Griffin,” he announces to Cameron, offering him his hand that again is not holding mine. I try to step away from him, but he tightens his hold and turns to me. “What’s wrong?” He must see it in my eyes because his hands cradle my cheeks instantly, and he bends so that we’re eye to eye. “What is it?”