Welcoming the Bad Boy: A Hero's Welcome Novel (22 page)

It was six o’clock at night, but Griffin downed a cup of coffee before taking Trooper for a short walk. Then he drove over to Val’s house. He’d missed seeing her last night—when he’d spent time with his mother and Val had taken his advice and had dinner with her father—which meant Griffin had thought of her more today than usual. Which also meant that today had been a damn good day. He could get used to thinking about Val all day and seeing her every night.

Before he reached her apartment door, he stopped at a little flower shop and got a dozen roses. It was all kinds of cliché, something that he didn’t normally do, but tonight he was doing it. Louise’s words yesterday had stuck with him. Val didn’t need anyone else in her life causing her pain. His first instinct at that warning was to back off because he didn’t want to hurt Val. His next instinct, though, was to come on stronger because he didn’t plan on doing anything other than making Val feel good. He liked her and wanted to see where this thing between them was going, starting tonight.

Val’s door was open as he climbed the steps. He could see straight into her home through the screen door. Sure, Seaside was relatively safe, but it was best not to take chances. To prove his point, he opened the screen and walked inside uninvited. Even the little guard dog she babysat didn’t hear him.

Val’s voice carried from her back bedroom. She was talking to someone, although he didn’t hear any other voice. Either she was on the phone or she was crazy. A smile found his lips as he anticipated scaring the hell out of her.

Alma’s puppy must be outside, he decided, as he drew closer. Val’s bedroom door was closed, so he leaned in and listened to the muffled sound of her voice. She sounded professional right now.
What is she saying?

The floor creaked below his foot as he leaned in farther. Damn. He looked down, then whipped his head back up as the door opened and Val started screaming, stumbling backward on her heels.

“Whoa! Hey. Just me. Just me,” he said, holding up his hands and hoping she didn’t have a baseball bat. He’d been in combat, but he’d been armed for that and he didn’t fight women.

“Griffin?” Her dark eyebrows forked as she breathed heavily. “Wh-What are you doing here?”

“Walking in on you. Do you always leave your front door unlocked and wide open for anyone to walk through?” he asked, breaking into a wide grin.

Val was breathing heavily. “I didn’t realize I had done that.”

“Good thing it’s just me barging in on you and not some perv who wants to take advantage of a sexy woman.” His voice dropped a notch. “Oh, wait. I do want to take advantage of you.”

Her stony posture softened. He noticed now that she was dressed up, wearing a silky top and a pair of smooth slacks that made him want to touch her. Her hair was swept off her neck, and pulled back in a clip that he wanted to release. Then he wanted to push his fingers into her dark locks and make her pant his name like she had the other night at Paradise Point.

Instead, he held out the roses he’d brought her.

Her gaze dropped. “You brought me flowers?” She took them, lifting them to her nose and breathing in. “I love the scent of roses. It’s one of the best smells in the world.” She tilted her head just slightly as she looked over the flowers at him. “Why are you bringing me flowers?”

“Maybe I missed you last night.”

Her smile widened. “Maybe?”

His hands anchored on her waist. “Definitely.” He took the bouquet back and set them on the dresser lining the wall. “So I’ve come here to remedy that.”

“How do you propose to do that?” she asked. Her breaths were shallow now. He liked doing that to her. There were other things he liked doing even more.

“Ever heard of making love on a bed of roses?” he asked, his voice deepening to a hard rasp. His voice wasn’t the only thing growing hard.

Val frowned at him, which was not the reaction he was going for. “You’re not destroying my roses.” She shook her head. “It’s been years since someone has brought me roses and I’m going to enjoy them”—her eyes narrowed—“in a vase. On my kitchen table.” She walked past him into the kitchen, wearing black high heels, he noticed now.

“Were you going out?” he asked. He hoped not.

Reaching up into her cabinet, she pulled down a crystal vase and set it on her countertop. “No. Why?”

“You’re dressed like you have a job interview.” He gestured at her blouse and slacks. She also had on more jewelry than usual.

“Oh. Yeah. I, uh, had to run over to the school today for an errand. Students return in a couple weeks, you know?”

He took a seat on her barstool, watching as she busied herself filling the vase with water and cutting the plastic wrapper from the bouquet. Something wasn’t quite right about her just now. She was nervous or upset. Maybe he’d scared her more than he’d thought when he walked in on her. “I’d be a happy student if I got to see you at the front desk every day,” he said.

Val arranged the roses methodically. “I don’t know. I’m one desk away from the principal’s office, which usually means if you’re seeing me you’re probably in trouble.”

Griffin leaned over the countertop and reached for her hand. “I had my share of visits to the principal’s office when I was a kid. I would’ve gotten in trouble a lot more often if you’d been the office secretary.”

She met his gaze and held it. There she was. Whatever was bothering her was slowly slipping away.

“Do you like working at the school?” he asked.

“Most days. The principal does happen to be my very best friend. How many people get to work with their best friend?”

Griffin shrugged. “Trooper was my partner for years before the military retired him.”

“Your dog is your best friend?”

He ran his thumb over the back of her hand, caressing her softly. “We’re talking about you right now. Not me.” He was suddenly interested in every side of her. She’d been off from work all summer. The Val he knew was carefree; she came and went as she pleased. She visited the nursing home, ran errands for her father, made love to him on a riverbank.

“What happens when you go back in August?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You have to give some things up? I’m just wondering what—” His phone buzzed in his pocket. He tried to ignore it, but as soon as it stopped, it started up again. He pulled the phone to his ear and answered. “Hello.”

“Hey, Griffin. It’s Louise. Thought I’d tell you that your mother is feeling pretty good right now. I was just in her room talking to her and she’s making some kind of sense. Thought you should know in case you wanted to come sit with her.” Griffin glanced at Val. Leaving her to go back to Seaside Harbor nursing home wasn’t in his plans for tonight, but his mother was his priority. He owed her that much. “I’ll be right over.”

“Great. And tell Val hello for me,” Louise said knowingly.

“I will.” He hung up with a sigh. “My mother’s having a good night. I should go spend time with her.”

Val nodded. “Of course.”

He stood, walked around, and pulled her against him. “I was really looking forward to stripping those fancy clothes off you. And maybe getting you to give up one of those roses.”

“You’re not touching my roses,” she said playfully, tipping her head back and looking up at him.

“I’ll just have to get more then.” He dipped and kissed her, loving her mouth on his. “I’ll see you later,” he said as he pulled away. He had to get back to Seaside Harbor. If there was a chance he could talk to his mother,
really talk,
then he had to go. There was a conversation he’d been waiting ten years to have with her.

Val had spent the last hour editing her five-minute YouTube interview for her readers. And she was pleased with the end product. Only one thing bothered her. She liked to think she was open with people—other than the fact that she had a side of herself that no one else knew about. When she’d answered one reader’s question, though, she’d lied—sort of. A reader had asked about her own love life and Val had answered what had always been the truth. She didn’t have a love life.

Is that still true?

Val glanced over at the vase of red roses on her kitchen table. Flings didn’t bring roses. Flings didn’t cause you to mend relationships with family members that you’d given up on a long time ago. Flings were just about the physical. There wasn’t supposed to be emotion attached. But she had feelings for Griffin.

Val walked over to the vase now, noticing a card. She’d been too busy kissing Griffin earlier to read it. Now she pulled the envelope open and read:

Just to see you smile.

Naturally, her lips pulled upward at the corners. And the butterflies swarmed her belly.

God, she couldn’t stop smiling when it came to him.

Her phone rang and she raced to get it, hoping it was Griffin and that he was done with his mother’s visit. Hopefully he was calling to tell her he was on his way back to her.

“Hello,” Val answered breathlessly.

“Hi!” A familiar voice floated through the receiver.

“Kat!” It felt like it’d been forever since she’d spoken to her best friend. “How are you? How was Disney? How’s Ben?”

“Disney was fantastic. Ben loved it. I, on the other hand, am exhausted.” Kat yawned into the phone. “Being pregnant sucks the energy out of you. And it gives you insomnia at the same time. Which is why I’m calling. If I’m not going to sleep anyway, I think I deserve a girls’ night out. What do you say? You, me, Julie. Heroes for drinks. Nonalcoholic for me, of course.”

“I say that sounds perfect.” Usually. Except after the excitement of having a girls’ night came disappointment, because going out with the girls meant Val wouldn’t be seeing Griffin again tonight. He hadn’t promised to come back, though. She’d just hoped he would.

“Great. I’ll pick you up around eight.”

Val said goodbye and hung up, equal parts excited and disappointed. After another hour of editing, she went to her bedroom and slipped on a red sundress and some silver strappy sandals. She pulled her hair off her neck and clipped it to the back of her head. Usually when she went out with the girls, she was hopeful to meet her very own Mr. Right. Tonight, though, she didn’t feel that way. She didn’t even want to talk to any guys tonight. Except for Griffin.

Val stepped back and looked at her reflection in the mirror, thinking of him. He’d asked her what she was going to give up when school returned to session in a couple weeks. She didn’t want to give up anything from her summer.

Or anyone.

The doorbell rang across the house. Securing Sweet Cheeks in her crate, Val went to open the door.

Kat and Julie stood on her porch.

“Hey, beautifuls,” Val said, hugging them both. “It’s so good to see you two.” She sniffled as she hugged Julie. She’d missed her friends so much.

She sniffled again.

Ah, damn it.

“Are you crying?” Kat asked, inspecting her face.

“No.” Val shook her head, but her nose was running and her eyes were suddenly burning. “I must have gotten mascara in my eyes.” A tear rolled down her cheek.

Kat reached into her purse for a Kleenex. “Liar. I’m the one who has the pregnancy hormones raging through her. It’s my job to cry all the time.”

“Sorry.” Val took the Kleenex and wiped her eyes as more tears fell.

“Wait. Are those roses on your table?” Julie asked, walking past Val into the house.

Val turned, trying to shut her emotions down, but now she was thinking of Griffin and there were more emotions. All kinds of emotions. “Um.”

Her front door slammed shut and Kat was inside now, too. “Ladies, I think we should move our girls’ night in.”

“What? No.” Val shook her head. “You deserve a night out. Tonight is about you.”

“And you have mascara clumping under your eyes. Besides, Heroes doesn’t serve ice cream and I know you have ice cream in your freezer. Right?” Kat lifted a brow.

“A full carton,” Val confirmed with a smile.

“Great. We’ll drink, eat, and talk about these roses and why you’re crying right now.”

Val plopped down in a chair at her kitchen table while her friends made themselves at home. Ten minutes later she had a lime margarita in front of her and a bowl of French vanilla ice cream. “I’m not sure why I got so upset. Maybe my emotions are high because of all the time I’ve been spending at the nursing home.”

Julie nodded, sliding her spoon into her mouth. “Those places can be sad,” she agreed.

“It’s more than that,” Kat said. She dug her spoon into her own bowl. “It’s all the time you’re spending with Griffin Black.”

Val blinked.

Pointing at the roses, Kat shook her head. “You don’t do flowers. In fact, you used to make fun of me when I first started dating Micah for all the flowers he sent me.”

“It was a little excessive,” Val said, poking her straw into her mouth. She kept her gaze averted because Kat knew her too well, and she was right. This was about Griffin. “So, if I’m crying about Griffin, please fill me in on why, because that doesn’t make sense. We’re just having fun. We didn’t get in a fight, as you can see,” Val said, gesturing back at the vase. “Why would I be upset about him?”

Kat shook her head. “I’m not sure. I don’t—Oh!…Oh, my God.” Kat pulled a hand over her mouth and looked at Julie, who was nodding.

“Yep,” Julie said. “I know what you’re thinking and you’re exactly right,” she told Kat.

Val blinked. She hated when they did their sister talk. It’d annoyed her even in high school. “Don’t talk about me like that.”

“We didn’t say anything,” Kat argued, looking at her.

“Yes, you did. What is it you’re agreeing on?”

“You’re in love with Griffin,” Julie said. “It’s written all over your face. You’re so in love with him.”

“But you don’t want to be,” Kat said. “Why not?”

Val’s lips parted, ready to argue her way out of this. She’d been arguing herself out of it for weeks. “I…I…” Her head fell in her hands. “Oh, my God. How did this happen?”

“So it’s true?” Julie asked.

Val lifted her head and looked between them. “I can’t be in love with Griffin. He’s all wrong. He’s rough around the edges. He’s a loner. I mean, his best friend is a dog. He’s not forever material.”

“Who says? Maybe he’s perfect for you.” Kat laid her spoon down.

“Does he make you happy?” Julie asked.

Val nodded. “Really happy.” Happier than she’d ever been in her life.

“And you’re in love with him?” Kat asked.

Val shrugged, but it felt like a lie. So did her response on that YouTube video she’d posted on the Web earlier. Maybe she’d edit it later and leave that question off her video altogether. It was a very personal question, after all. Not something the world needed to know, especially since she didn’t seem to know what was true about her own love life right now. “I might be. Do you think it’ll go away? This is supposed to be over at the end of the summer.”

Both Julie and Kat frowned at her.

“Why at the end of the summer? Why did you even agree to go out with him if he isn’t your type?” Julie asked.

Val poked her straw back into her mouth. She’d gone out with him because she’d needed someone to inspire her. To fuel her passion like no one had done in a very long time. And Griffin had done exactly that, and more. So, so much more. Her gaze lifted to the two women sitting beside her at the table. She hated keeping things from her friends, and her family, from everyone she knew. “I need to tell you two something.”

Kat reached for her hand. “What’s going on?”

Val took a deep breath. “Do you like romance novels?”

Kat rolled her eyes. “You and your romance novels.” She laughed lightly. “I read sometimes, but I’m not an avid reader like you.”

“Do you know who Sophie Evans is?” Val asked, doubting they would.

“Oh, I’ve read her,” Julie said. “I picked up one of her books at the supermarket a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed reading it.”

“Thank you,” Val said.

Kat and Julie stared at her.

“ ‘Thank you’ for what?” Julie’s eyebrows dove. So did Kat’s as they looked at her like maybe she’d lost her mind.

If Val regretted disclosing this in the morning, she could claim they were all drunk, which Julie definitely was. And Kat was pregnant, which meant hormones were doing all kinds of strange things to her body. Maybe the hormones had given her hallucinations. “That’s me. I’m Sophie Evans,” Val said.

Kat and Julie laughed.

“You’ve had a little too much to drink. First crying over nothing and now you’re imagining things,” Kat said.

Val took a breath and said it again. “It’s true. I’m Sophie Evans. I went out with Griffin to help break my writer’s block, and it worked like a charm. I just didn’t plan on having these”—Val sucked in a breath—“feelings, too.”

“You’re being serious?” Julie asked.

“Yep.” Val’s heart stomped around in her chest like Lucy Ricardo on grapes as she waited for their reaction. “I write at night.”

“That’s awesome, Val! Why have you never told me?” Kat asked.

Val shrugged. “I don’t know. It felt private. It’s something I do on my own to make sense of the world.”

“Who else knows about this?” Kat asked.

“Just you two. And my agent and editor.” Val ran a hand through her hair.

“What about Griffin?” Kat asked. “If you’re in love with him, then you should tell him, too.”

Val nodded. “I know. And I will. Eventually. Maybe…But for right now, let’s just keep this between us, okay?”

Kat and Julie nodded.

“This explains all those romance novels in your desk drawer at work,” Kat said, spooning more ice cream into her mouth. “And why you’re always yawning in the daytime. But no more reading romance novels on the job, all right? Some of the parents might complain.”

Val smiled, feeling like a weight had been lifted. She didn’t know why she’d kept this part of herself from her friends for so long. “You got it, boss.”

Griffin had been staring at his mother sleeping for over an hour. She looked so peaceful, lying there. So unlike the way she sometimes did when he came to visit without Trooper.

He smiled to himself. His mother had always shot down the idea of a dog. She wasn’t a dog person. But his dog and Val were his only “ins” with her now, which made them both indispensable in his life.

His mother stirred, and her eyelids fluttered open.

Griffin braced himself for her reaction to his presence.

“Hi,” she said. “It’s you.”

He reached for the book of memories that Val had made her and flipped to the front page, pointing to his picture. “Griffin. Your son.”

“Of course you are.” His mother smiled back at him. Her eyes were clear, the same color as his, even though they weren’t his eyes. He didn’t know his real mother, and he wasn’t the kind to go looking for someone who gave him up—he was sure his birth mother had her reasons for letting him go. He was the type, however, to come begging forgiveness from the one who took him in, fought for him, and loved him like he was never anything but her real son.

“You remember me?” he asked, leaning forward and hoping it was true. Alzheimer’s patients had moments of clarity. He knew that.

“Griffin,” she whispered. “My Griffin. You’ve come home to me.”

He reached for her hand and squeezed, noting the tremble of his own flesh. He had so much he wanted to say to this woman, but there wasn’t enough time. He was sure of that. What had the doctors told him when he’d asked? That a moment of clarity might only last a few minutes, or less. “I love you, Mom. I’ve always loved you.” He swallowed past the bubbling emotion. “I’m sorry. So, so sorry.”

He tipped his head and kissed her hand in his. She pulled it away after a moment and stroked his hair. Then she began to hum. Louise had told him his mother was humming lately—a tune that Louise couldn’t place.

But he could.

He looked up, meeting his mother’s eyes. She was humming a song she’d sung to him every night before bed when he was a child.

After she sang the song, she would always lean in and whisper in his ear, just as he was about to fall asleep, “You’re the best little boy in the world, Griffin. Because you’re mine.”

A tear dripped from his eye. He swiped it away with the back of his hand, aware that the clock was ticking cruelly. But he’d told her he loved her and that he was sorry. That was all he needed to say.

His mother kept her focus on him, loving him with her eyes and her smile. “You’re the best little boy in the world, because you’re mine,” she whispered softly.

Her words nearly broke him in half.

“I love you, Griffin. I love you,” she said.

“Love you, too, Mom,” he said as his throat and chest constricted tightly. “I’m sorry,” he said again. He could never say it enough.

“Don’t apologize. There was never anything to forgive. Never ever.” She squeezed his hand one more time, and then turned her gaze and glanced around the room. He watched her smile fade to confusion, drip to agitation and upset. He knew when she looked at him again, she wouldn’t recognize him anymore.

“Mom?” He swallowed hard. Sometimes reality hurt like a bullet. He stood and kissed her forehead quickly. “You’re the best mother in the world, because you’re mine,” he whispered in her ear. Then he straightened and hit the nurse’s call button.

Slipping out of his mother’s room, he started down the hall to leave. After the moment they’d just had, he didn’t want to end the night by having his mother become upset about his presence.

A smile crossed his face as he walked away. His mother had remembered him tonight, and she’d forgiven him. It’d been her; he knew it had. The look in her eyes had been the same as his entire life growing up. He felt like punching a fist in the air. Like taking an endless ride on his motorcycle with the wind in his face. Like going to see Val.