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Piper

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I stare at Griffin after Bridget walks away. I’m at work early today. I had so much restless energy after I woke up after spending last night with him.

I read the text message he sent me over and over. He wrote that he had a fantastic night and that he wanted to see me again as soon as possible.

I didn’t think that meant that he’d show up at the gallery before lunch.

“You’re okay with me going to this dinner thing on Sunday, right?” Griffin presses his lips to my cheek for a soft kiss. “If you think it’s too soon for me to tagalong, just give me the word.”

I think it’s too soon for me to want him there, but I do. I love the idea of meeting the rest of my co-workers with this handsome man by my side. After what we shared last night, I’m ready to spend as much time with him as I can.

“We’ll have fun.” I run my hand through my hair.

I didn’t put any effort into my appearance today. I showered after I woke up and realized Griffin had left. Then I straightened my hair, put on a light touch of makeup and dressed in dark pants and a green sweater.

Since I don’t have class tonight, I didn’t expect to see him today.

It was a welcome surprise when I turned at the ring of the bell over the gallery door to see him standing there.

“I went to see Marco earlier.”

My entire body tenses at the mention of the man who stole my wallet along with a sliver of my pride. I stopped at the police precinct on my way here, but the officer assigned to my case told me that a man had called in very early this morning with a tip on the identity of the thief. I knew that had to be Griffin.

“What did he say?” I ask with a quirk of my brow.

“What could he say?” He attempts a small smile. “He admitted everything. It turns out that you’re not the first person he’s robbed.”

That doesn’t offer me any comfort at all. The only thing I feel is compassion for his other victims.

“Will he be arrested?”

He nods. “Today. He’ll be booked and released. Depending on how he pleads, you may not have to go to court.”

“I hope he pleads guilty.” I rest my hands on my hips. “Did you kick him in the groin for me?”

He smiles wolfishly. “Is that what you would have done if you saw him today?”

“That followed by a poke in the eye.” I jut my index finger out in the air. “I think he deserves worse, but at least it would be a start.”

“I practically strangled the life out of the asshole. It got him to confess and none of the witnesses remember the part about me having my hand wrapped around his scrawny neck.”

I carefully study his face trying to decide if he’s joking or not. “You’re my knight in shining armor.”

He looks over to where Bridget is standing by the charcoal portraits. Her attention is focused on the person on the other end of the phone. Her hand is waving wildly in the air as she laughs out loud.

“I’ll be your knight in shining armor, as long as I can be your lover too.”

Lover. I want that as much as he does.

“Have dinner with me tonight,” he goes on. “I know a great Italian restaurant that’s not far from your apartment. We can share a plate of spaghetti before we head back to your place for dessert.”

“It’s a date,” I whisper as I move closer to him. “You’ll text me the time and place?”

“I’ll do that. I’ll think about fucking you all day,” he rasps.

My gaze darts to where Bridget is still engrossed in her phone call. “I’m at work, Griffin.”

“You’re wet.” His index finger takes a slow path up my arm, lazily drawing small circles over the goosebumps on my skin. “Your nipples are hard. You want me inside of you.”

I dip my chin to hide the need that I know is evident in my eyes. “Don’t start what you can’t finish.”

His hand lands on my chin to tip it up until his gaze locks on mine. “I’ll finish tonight when I shoot every drop of my come down your throat.”

***

“Griffin seems like a great guy,” Bridget says when she finishes up her call and approaches me.

I got out the feather duster and went to work near the sculptures after Griffin left. I’m not on the clock yet but I want to help out when I can. “We’re having fun.”

“I remember that kind of fun.” She nudges her elbow into my side. “Dane and I still have a lot of fun, but we have to do it in our bedroom, or the shower. We don’t want the boys to catch us.”

I smile at the mention of her husband. She’s showed me a picture of him last week in his uniform. He’s a fireman and judging by the way she smiles when she talks about him, they’re madly in love.

“You have the perfect life.” I lean into her. “You have an incredible husband, two beautiful boys and you run this place.”

“It’s not perfect,” she corrects me with a wiggle of her finger in the air. “We have our struggles but we do it together. That’s the key. I never bail on Dane and he’ll never bail on me. We’re in it until one of us takes their last breath. If it’s him, mine will be a minute later.”

I’ve never thought about marriage, kids or a love that is so deep that others can hear it in your voice and see it on your face.

I already know that when I meet Dane, I’ll see how much he loves his wife.

“Did you know he was the one right from the start?”

She turns to face me. “I thought it was going to be a one-night stand.”

I’m surprised. I imagined that it was love at first sight and the story would revolve around some huge romantic gesture on his part that swept her off her feet and into his heart.

“Obviously it’s lasted longer than a night,” I joke.

“We both knew that night that our connection was unlike anything either of us had ever felt before.” She cups her hands together and holds them against her chest. “He broke up with his girlfriend minutes before we met. The next night we were in bed together.”

My brows perk. “Did you think you were his rebound?”

She nods. “I did, but he made me feel that I was his everything pretty early on. He’s the one who encouraged me to pursue art as a career. He believed in me right from the start.”

“The world is in his debt.” I glance to where her portraits are hanging. “You’re sharing that gift with all of us.”

“I’m sharing my life with the man of my dreams.” She tilts her head. “I think the man of your dreams is Griffin Kent and one day, you’ll be telling me that yourself.”

“We barely know each other,” I insist. “It’s way too early to start talking about forever.”

“Mark my words, Piper.” She rests her hands on my shoulders. “Griffin looks at you the very same way Dane looked at me right after we met. That man is falling fast.”