Almost Married

He held her and stroked her hair while she sobbed into his shirt. A few moments later, she took a shaky breath. She looked up at his concerned face and took a chance, telling him the other part of why she was upset. “His songs remind me of when we were together. And it hurts because he abandoned me and cheated on me, and I hate that I feel anything about him at all!”

“He never deserved you. Don’t listen to his songs anymore.”

She pulled away. “And you! Stop trying to one-up Griff. He sings a song, you sing a song. He has a tattoo, you get a tattoo. I just want you to be yourself. It's not a competition, and I'm not some prize to fight over.”

He wiped away a tear with the pad of his thumb. “That's where you're wrong. You are a prize, and I will fight for you.”

“I want the old Dave back. Just ignore Griff. He's leaving the day after tomorrow.”

“Good. But I am the same person. I didn't sing you that song because Griffin's a rock star. I sang it so you'd know how I feel.” At her silence, he added, “It was Barry’s idea.”

She wiped her eyes, realizing that he couldn't have known that Griff had serenaded her the other night. “What about the tattoo?”

He smiled sheepishly. “Impulse decision. I liked the metaphor.”

Griff jogged up to them. “Hey, you didn't hear the end of the song. They're shouting encore. My driver's dropping off my guitar. Steph, come back inside and listen. I have a new song I really want you to hear. I wrote it last night. You’re my muse, babe.”

“I'm sure you can manage without me,” Steph said. His claim that she was his muse was short-lived once the record company brought in their people.

Griff looked surprised that anyone would want to miss him performing new material. He recovered in a snap and turned to Dave. “Nice ogre act, geek.”

“Not everyone can be a brainless rock star,” Dave snapped.

Griff rushed at Dave, fisting his Shrek T-shirt in one hand. “I got a degree in real life while you were cozied up with your calculator.”

“I have to warn you,” Dave said, squinting his eyes like a tough guy, even though Griff still had him by the shirt. “I've defeated the Street Fighter video game in two hours twenty-three minutes.”

“Ooh, I’m real—” Griff’s sarcastic reply was cut off when a petite woman came charging out of the restaurant and launched herself on Griff’s back, nearly knocking both men over. Griff dropped his hold on Dave and grabbed the arms of the woman who was about to choke off his oxygen supply.

“Chris!” Dave exclaimed.

Steph turned to Dave with wide eyes. “You know her?”

Griff managed to get the crazed woman off his back and twisted around to pin her wrists in one hand. “Who the hell are you?”

The woman smiled demurely at complete odds with her uber-calm, uber-threatening voice. “I’m Christina Olsen, and you messed with the wrong guy.”

Dave cleared his throat. “Stephanie, meet my sister, Christina.”

Christina smiled sweetly. “Hi, Stephanie, nice to meet you finally. I’ve heard a lot about you. All good things. I’d shake your hand, but I’m a little tied up.”

Griff released her wrists and took a step closer to Steph. Christina wasn’t happy with that move. She did a head swivel that Steph wished she could pull off before going toe-to-toe with Griff.

“Okay, we all know who you are,” Christina said, jabbing her finger in Griff’s chest. She lowered her voice dramatically “The great Griffin Huntley.” More finger jabs followed that had Griff backing up as Christina continued. “Don’t get me wrong.” Jab. “I’m your number one fan.” Jab. “But you crossed a line here with Stephanie.” Jab. Griff’s back was against the wall, and Christina was right up against his front. “She asked you for a divorce, very nicely I hear. She’s in love with my brother, who’s in love with her back, so I ask you”—she paused and took them all in—“who doesn’t belong in this picture?”

“Chris, I don’t need you to—” Dave started.

“I’ll tell you who doesn’t belong in this picture,” Griff snarled. “You and your brother. Steph was my wife first.”