“I’ll be there,” he said in a strained voice.
“Good,” she purred.
~ ~ ~
“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Griff said when Steph answered the door naked later that day.
She gawked. Griff had cut his long hair in a short, close-cropped style, and he was clean-shaven. She’d never seen him like that. He looked younger, sweeter. Except for the black eye.
“I feel overdressed,” he said with a grin.
She slammed the door, face flaming. She grabbed the blanket from the sofa and wrapped it around her. Someone must've let him up because the buzzer hadn't rung. She should tell her neighbors only to let Dave up, but everyone in town was fascinated with Griff. Her neighbors kept asking about him, her coworkers, even the principal. Jaz told her people at Garner's were betting—Team Dave vs. Team Griffin. She was mortified by all the talk. She'd moved here to get away from all that. Anyway, she was one hundred percent Team Dave.
And what were the odds of Griff showing up at her apartment on a Saturday afternoon? She’d thought he’d be gone by now. And why had he suddenly shed his famous locks? All that hair. That beautiful hair.
“Babe,” he called through the door. “Don’t be shy. You’re looking good. Just like I remember.”
He was being kind. Her body wasn’t what it was five years ago, but she smiled a little, appreciating the sentiment. She really had to get him out of here before Dave arrived.
She opened the door again. “You look so different. Why the change?”
“Can I come in?” he asked. “Seems like you were hoping I’d show up.”
She let out a breath of exasperation and let him in. “Obviously I wasn’t expecting you.”
He gave her a quick up and down, lingering on her cleavage. She wrapped the blanket a little higher around her.
She met his eyes, and he gave her a slow, sexy smile. She still couldn’t get over this new look. He looked like a clean-cut guy, not the badass rocker she knew him to be. She’d be lying if she said his new look was unappealing. The swelling on his nose had gone down too.
He ran his fingers through his short hair. “I feel like I shed twenty pounds.” He laughed.
She stared.
He crossed to her, stepping into her personal space. “I wanted to show you I can change.”
She swallowed hard. She didn’t know what to say. A haircut didn’t mean he was a different person. But he just looked so different. He looked like the sweet boy she’d seen in some of his mother’s photo albums. Little Griffin smiling at the keyboard.
He pushed a lock of her hair back and it brushed over her bare shoulder, reminding her she was nearly naked with the wrong man.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “I thought you were flying back this afternoon.”
“The gig fell through,” he said. “I’ve got another week. I want to spend some time with you. Just the two of us.”
“No.”
“Steph,” he said softly. “Come on.” She was overwhelmed with his scent of leather and freshly showered male. “What are you afraid will happen if you’re alone with me?”
She said nothing.
“What do you hope will happen?” he asked in a sultry voice.
She met his eyes and said in a cool voice, “I’m over you, Griff. Nothing will happen.”
He gave her a pleading expression, looked deep into her eyes, and said the one word she never, ever heard from him, “Please.”
Still, she needed to move on, not get tangled up with him further.
She shook her head. “I’m done. It took me a long time to get over you.” She gave him a hard look. “A long, painful time. But I did. And I’m not going back. I’m with Dave now. Nothing you say or do will change that. Please let me move on with my life.”
He cradled her cheek with one hand. At his touch, she remembered vividly his gentle, sweet side. The many times he’d cradled her cheek, always before—
“I still love you,” he said, gazing into her eyes.
Before he said something from the heart.
She backed away, tripping on the area rug, and would’ve toppled over, but he reached out and righted her. She straightened the blanket and stood stiffly. “It’s too late for that.” She took another step back, because memories of a long ago time didn’t make up for the years between. “I love Dave.”