Losing It

I guess I need to handle him more delicately.

Not my strong suit. But I can try.

“Where is she?” I ask.

“At her mom’s place.”

“Head over there. Talk to her.”

“Maybe.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “She just told me.”

“So how’d you know?”

“Her mom sent texts to the wedding party.”

Shit, he was supposed to be one of the groomsmen. That’s how little he realized his feelings.

He was willing to stand there, next to her future husband, while she married someone else.

Griffin is usually the one making everyone else face obvious truths.

I don’t know how the hell I can force him to do it.

I barely know Juliette.

She’s a lot like him in her complete unwillingness to bullshit people. But, otherwise, they’re opposites.

She’s a studious good girl from a rich family.

Whereas he…

Well, he’s a slutty tattoo artist.

I understand it’s a tough job that requires years of dedication.

But the kind of people Juliette hangs with—they don’t always get that.

“Fuck.” His voice gets louder. Stronger. “I hate that asshole.”

“Jackson?”

“He—fuck, I can’t tell you shit.”

“Hey.”

“You can’t keep your mouth shut.”

That might be true. “And you like her more than you like me.”

The tension in his brow eases. His lips curl into a half-smile. His shoulders drop. “You just figure that out?”

“I barely know her, and I like her better than I like you.”

He flips me off, but it’s good-natured this time.

“You want to give me a hint?”

“You know her,” he says.

I nod.

“Why do you figure she called it off?”

Because she finally realized she’s into Griffin. But, well, I can’t say that. I’m not as tactless as he is. “Something he did?”

“Yeah.” He taps a text. His phone buzzes. He taps another. “She says she’s okay, but Jules is always like that.”

“Yeah.” I know that feeling well.

His phone buzzes. His eyes go straight to the screen. Go wide. “She wants to get out of here.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Blow off steam for the weekend.” He looks up at me. “I told her about Vegas.”

“What about it?”

“How you’re going with Quinn.”

“Since when am I going with Quinn?”

“Aren’t you?”

Yeah, but how the hell does he knows that? “It’s on her summer to do list, yeah.”

“And she’s leaving next weekend. You waiting for a red carpet or something?”

I can’t help but chuckle. That is the Griffin I know. “Waiting for you, obviously.”

“Well, get your shit together, Romeo. It needs to happen now.”

“If I’m Romeo, shouldn’t I be with Juliette?”

He rolls his eyes like I’m the stupidest person on the planet. “Good luck with that.”

My laugh gets louder. Heartier.

“You know she finds you obnoxious.”

“Fuck, you ever hear of letting someone down gently?”

He stands. Reaches out to muss my hair. “You ever hear of narcissism?”

“No. But it sounds like it might be about me, so I’m listening.”

He smiles. Full on smiles. “I should take her. To Vegas.”

“You should.”

“It’s perfect. An easy drive. And—”

“Plenty of alcohol,” I say.

He tilts his head to one side to assess me. He must decide it’s bad, because he shakes his head Wes is an idiot. “There are other ways to let your hair down—”

“One in particular.” Dean’s voice bounces around the shop. He stands. Moves into the main area.

Chloe follows. She shakes her head Dean is ridiculous then looks to Griffin. “I’m sorry about your friend.”

“Don’t be sorry. Make plans.” Dean wraps his arm around her waist. “Next week. Vegas. All six of us.”

She leans into his gesture. “Aren’t we here to work?”

“Got half an hour until our appointment.” He motions to something in their suite. “Do another mock-up or stay and talk.”

“You inviting me as my boss or my boyfriend?” she asks.

“Depends.” He leans in to whisper in her ear. Though he doesn’t whisper. At all. “Which will be a hotter fuck?”

Her cheeks flame. “Umm…”

“The boss,” Griffin says. “Obviously.”

Her cheeks burn redder.

“You two do that kind of shit?” Griffin raises a brow. “You order her around? Ask her to call you sir? Punish her if she’s bad?”

Dean’s smile gets wicked. He looks down at his apprentice slash girlfriend. “Dunno, sunshine, should we fill them in?”

“Oh my God, if you say one thing about who you really want to fill…” She shoots Griffin a mind your own business look. “Get your free porn elsewhere.”

“You can’t blame him for trying, sunshine. The amateur stuff is the best,” he says.

Chloe rolls her eyes. “Every fucking day.”

I laugh.

Griffin does too. “He is right.”

Chloe clears her throat. “I don’t need to know that.”

“But it is the best,” I say.

She looks around the room with horror. Then she turns to her boyfriend. “Look what you’ve done.”

“Sunshine, you know it is,” he says.

She shakes her head, but it doesn’t hide her smile.

“We do have half an hour—” He motions to the back room.

“Are you going to bring your laptop?” she asks.

“If you want me to,” he says.

“No laptop,” Griffin says. “Just leave the door open. You can find out if you get off on exhibitionism.”