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“I don’t look through employee’s HR paperwork!” Archer protested just as Phoebe came walking into Tish’s office.
She looked from Tish, to Archer, to me, and back to Archer. “Is everything okay?” She stopped beside Archer, resting her hand on his shoulder and giving him a reassuring squeeze.
“Tish fainted,” Archer explained. “Apparently, this is something she’s prone to, and she’s pissed off because I called 911. Dana is here to clear her.”
Dana from the EMT crew smiled amongst us. “Griffin can’t be the official responder because, well, he’s not objective.”
“I’m objective!” I protested.
Phoebe gave me what I could only describe as a pitying look. “You don’t even realize you’re head over heels in love with Tish. I’m sure you could rescue her and everything would be fine, but let Dana handle this.”
I heard myself breathe loudly through my nose and felt like a horse pawing at the ground.
Tish came to my defense. “Griffin can handle anything.” Her cheeks flushed deep pink when she caught my eyes, and I wanted to kiss her. I’d missed her, so fucking much.
Now that I was sure she was okay, I wanted her all to myself. I would take even one minute with her all to myself. Instead, I had my cousin, his wife, and then Chase who appeared in the doorway, glancing around at the tableau of people crowded into Tish’s office.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
Dana stood, hefting her bag onto her shoulder. “Everything is fine.” Her gaze whisked around the room before landing on Tish. “I think everybody but Griffin needs to come with me.”
“Why?” Chase prompted. He had no fucking clue what was happening.
“Because I said so. I’m the lead EMT for the moment, so consider me in charge until you’re all out of this office,” she replied.
Dana briskly ushered the group out of the office, leaving me alone with Tish when the door clicked shut behind everyone.
Tish’s eyes locked to mine. There were so many things I wanted to say, but all that came out was, “I love you.”
She blinked before bursting into tears.
In a millisecond, I was kneeling on the floor in front of her and wrapping her in my arms. She tucked her face into the curve of my neck and took several shuddery breaths.
When she lifted her head, I kept one arm curled around her waist and smoothed a loose lock of hair off her cheek. “This feels big and dramatic, and I’ve had a stressful day. I love you,” she said with a sniffle.
It felt like my heart was smiling. “I know Archer didn’t need to call 911, but I’m glad he did.”
“I just feel so stupid.” She rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair a little. I let my arm slide away, my hands falling to rest on her hips. “I faint and people think it’s a big deal and it’s just this dumb syncope disorder. And, you always seem to show up.”
“What happened today?”
She twisted her hands together in her lap. “I met Teddy’s grandparents. Ever since Paul showed up—” Her breath came out in a huff. “Colin has been amazing. His paralegal Stella helped me with everything. Paul’s an asshole, but his parents seem really nice. I told them what he did. When I got back here, Paul called me and he’s furious. I fainted when I got up to get something to eat.”
“I’d like to kick Paul’s ass,” I said bluntly.
“Please don’t. I appreciate that you want to. Maybe I didn’t need to take space from you to handle this, but it’s what I needed to think. Thank you for giving me that time.”
I held her gaze, my heart pounding along in my chest at a fast clip. “I didn’t like it, but I understand.”
Tish blinked before leaning forward and giving me a kiss. It was brief, just a soft brushing of her lips across mine before she leaned back again. My heart felt pulled forward, as if the invisible threads between us were drawing tighter.
“Let’s go home,” she whispered.
Chapter Forty-Two
Tish
That evening, I experienced a mix of emotions. I was deeply relieved Griffin was home with me and Teddy. I was still unsettled by the call from Paul. Even though I felt comfortable moving forward with visits with Teddy’s grandparents, it had drained me emotionally to deal with them today. Somehow, Griffin knew exactly what I needed.
