What he’s telling me, in a very public place, with bystanders slowing to listen, hits me right in my already bruised and battered heart. “Wait a second, that bitch cheated on you?”
“Yes.”
“And she tried to play the baby off as yours?”
“Yes.” He jams his hands in his pockets.
“That’s awful. I’m so sorry she did that to you. I would kick her ass if she weren’t pregnant.” I’m not much of a fighter, but I’d break my hand if I could also break her too-perfect nose and knock out a couple of teeth to get a little retribution for Griffin, and maybe myself, seeing as she’s the reason for all the unnecessary drama.
Griffin grins, but sobers quickly. “I’m sorry she lied, and cheated, and manipulated me, and I feel sorry for that kid, but I’m not sorry it’s not mine.”
“This is so Springer. Y’all should see if you can get on that show. I hear they pay like a thousand dollars or something.” I’d momentarily forgotten that Earl was still here, listening to us.
“Griffin’s a billionaire; he spends that on a bottle of champagne.”
Earl slaps his chest and his mouth drops open. “Girl, you’ve been keeping all this juicy goodness to yourself for more than a month. You need to spill all the details when we’re back on the ship.”
I put a hand on his arm, sort of apologizing since he’s my closest friend here. “I was trying to get over him.”
“Can we talk, Cosy? Just the two of us?” He’s not giving Earl the evil eye, although I suppose he realizes he’s not much of a threat, since I don’t have the right genitals to seduce him. Also, Griffin could probably bench-press him with one arm. Earl is a foot taller than me, and we almost weigh the same. He can wear my jeans like capris.
Earl looks at me, giving me his don’t-be-crazy eyes. “I’ll catch up with you later. Text if you need any help.” He waggles his brows suggestively, hugs me, and kisses me on the cheek. As he passes Griffin, he gives him a lingering once-over. He points two fingers at his eyes, then aims them at Griffin while mouthing I’m watching you. As an afterthought, he adds, “You better not make my girl cry.”
Griffin nods. “I’ll do my best not to.”
Earl turns around once he’s past Griffin and thrusts his hips while pretending to slap an imaginary ass.
“So.” I cross my arms. “You stalked me all the way here to tell me you don’t have a baby mama.” It’s a statement, because clearly that’s exactly what he’s done.
“I couldn’t wait another two weeks for you to get back to the States.”
I nod. This makes sense. Griffin likes to take action immediately. I’ve seen this before when he traded in the Tesla for the white sports car after the Nev misunderstanding. “And you tracked me down how, exactly?”
“I bribed your sister.”
I roll my eyes. Figures. Nev can’t resist easy money, even if it means selling me out. “How much?”
“Two grand.”
“She probably would’ve given you the information for a hundred.”
“Probably.”
“Did you charter a private jet to get here?” I’m only sort of being sarcastic.
“I flew economy, actually. And I had two layovers. And the middle seat.”
“Wow, that must have been miserable for the people crammed into that row with you.”
“Pretty sure no one enjoyed their flight.” Griffin rubs the back of his neck and looks at his shoes. They’re blue. They look new and odd paired with khaki shorts and the band shirt. “Can we go somewhere and talk? Maybe grab something to eat?”
“I guess we can do that.” I’m not sure I’ll be able to eat anything with the way my stomach is flip-flopping around like there’s a dying fish inside, but at the very least I’d like a soda, and maybe some alcohol.
“I know a great little place that’s about a ten-minute walk from here.”
Of course he knows a place. I assume by this point there are very few locations on the map that would be new to him in the western hemisphere. Restaurants aren’t very private, and often they’re loud. “We can do that. Or maybe I can get you a pass for the ship?” While public might be better, the ship is safe, with people I know.
“Whatever’s better for you, Cosy.”
Everything feels awkward and unnatural as we walk side by side along the bustling pier, toward the gangway that takes us back onto the ship. I don’t know what to say, or how to manage the fact that Griffin showed up here out of the blue, let alone the craziness that is clearly his ex.
Our fingers brush as we swerve around a couple taking selfies in front of the ship.
“I missed you,” Griffin says suddenly.
I glance over at him, taking in his ridiculously handsome face. He’s so serious and he still looks so sad. “Same. The past month has sucked a lot of big old nasty goat balls. I spent a lot of hours trying to be angry and then crying about it because I wanted things to be different.”