Page 120 of Nobody's Girl

Griff took the hint that Ethan was giving and filled Jess’s plate, then his. Phoenix was next to place some of the haggis on Cait’s plate and then a sliver of it on his own. “Is there any ketchup?” he asked as he searched the table.

“Why?” Mrs. Flannigan asked.

Phoenix couldn’t say what he wanted it for, as it was to drown the horrible smelling and looking haggis in it. But Cait took pity on him and got up to go get some from the kitchen. “I’ll get some, Phoenix.”

He grabbed her hand and gave her a grateful expression. “I think I love you.”

She laughed and went to go get the ketchup and shook her head as she went. Phoenix was incredible. If he hadn’t just been using her, things would have been so different. A great different.

Griff and Jess ate in silence as he kept one hand on her knee, giving it a squeeze now and then. Jess had wanted to see the movie he’d taken her to pretty damn badly. But she had no idea how it turned out as she and Griff had made out the entire time, instead of watching it.

Jess was falling for him. His hand on her knee had her insides going wild. All she could think about was getting physically closer to the man. Even the smell of haggis on his breath when he leaned in close and whispered, “I’ll take you to see the movie when it comes out, since I ruined it this time” didn’t bother her one bit.

She sighed as she looked at him. Sinking into his hazel eyes, she was feeling like a drowning victim as she whispered, “You didn’t ruin a thing, Griff.”

It was beginning not to matter to her at all that he had a bet with his friends about who would get laid first. She knew he couldn’t be faking everything with her.

There was just no way he could!

He looked at her with more feeling than anyone ever had. Jess knew she was young and inexperienced. But she wasn’t without any experience at all. She could tell when someone was being genuine. And Griffin Houser was being genuine and sincere.

When Cait came back with the ketchup, her mother gave her the stink eye. “That’ll take away the unique flavor,” she said as she looked at Phoenix. “But go ahead and ruin it. If you must.”

Phoenix looked pitiful, and it had Cait’s ire bubbling. “Mother, people use ketchup all the time. Don’t give Phoenix a hard time about it.”

When Phoenix smiled at Cait, it took her breath away. And he found himself feeling more for Cait then he had before. She’d stand up for him! It wasn’t a thing anyone had done for him before.

Phoenix hadn’t had it easy growing up. Tall from the start, he was made fun of plenty in his school days. Being poor was also a thing that had made him stand out as a loser. When his mother was sent to prison for selling drugs, he was labeled a bad person by the only people he’d known his entire life.

Cait took the chair next to him again, handing the ketchup to him. “Thank you,” he said as he took the bottle from her.

“Not a problem,” she said with a smile. “As a matter of fact, put some on mine too, please.”

As he poured the ketchup on her plate, he began to feel the slightest twinge of something.

Was that guilt he felt?

Chapter 21

The smell of over-ripened fruit hit Kel’s nostrils as she entered the old grocery store on the edge of town. For most things, she’d go to the new supermarkets, but for steaks, she always went to the tried and true, Old Buck’s Pantry. Her family trusted the butcher, who’d been there forever and a day.

“Hi, Kel,” her Aunt Stella called out to her as she came around the corner with a basketful of white wrapped meat.

“Whoa,” Kel said as she looked at the basket. “Did you leave any meat for anyone else, Aunt Stella?”

The old woman laughed. “I have men to feed, and I thought some fresh breakfast sausages and steaks to go with the fried eggs they love so much would get them to stick around a bit longer. And you’re welcome for that, my dear niece.”

“And what does that mean, Aunt Stella?” Kel asked with a clueless expression.

“Your men are staying at our bed and breakfast, of course. Didn’t they tell you girls that?” Stella looked confused and put her hand on her hip as Kel shook her head. “Well, I wonder why that is.”

“Did the guys ask you things about us?” Kel asked her aunt. “Because they all took us on exceptional dates yesterday, and we all thought they were a bit on the psychic side.”

“Oh, yes!” Stella said with a grin. “They asked your uncle and me about things you girls like. So they made good impressions, then?”

“Great ones, actually,” Kel said. “But it’s kind of not that great now that I know you told them what we like.”