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“There’s always been something about you that has pulled at me.”
Chi sat stunned. There was something about her that pulled him? Like...an attraction?
She couldn’t believe it. He’d never even indicated in any way that he might be attracted to her. But that was what he was saying, wasn’t it?
He didn’t say anything else but sat staring at the glow from one of the cracks in the stove.
She figured maybe that wasn’t something that was very easy to talk about. He certainly had never said anything of the sort before. Maybe it was time for her to be a little bit brave too.
She had to admit the dark made it easier.
“So you’re attracted to me?” As much as she tried to say that with confidence, it came out more like a question, and a tentative one at that.
He didn’t move, his feet propped up on the coffee table, his eyes on the stove. Finally, he grunted and said, “Is that so hard to believe?”
It was. It was extremely difficult to believe. She hadn’t looked at Griff as anything other than a hired man. Well, he’d become a lot more than that. And she realized she’d taken him for granted. She hadn’t appreciated what he’d done. He’d gone out of his way over and over again to help her. To make her life easier. To do everything he could to make the diner successful. He worked as long and hard as she did, even though it wasn’t even his. She hadn’t given him nearly enough credit for that.
“Yeah. I guess it is.”
She didn’t say anything else. She...hadn’t realized how much she depended on Griff or how comfortable she felt with him. She couldn’t think of anyone else she felt more comfortable with.
But that wasn’t attraction.
Although, the idea of kissing him didn’t turn her stomach. In fact, she kind of liked it.
But that wasn’t attraction, either.
Attraction was the hot-and-cold feeling she felt when she was with James. The anxiety, the angst, the desire to have his eyes and attention on her and her only. That was how she wanted to feel.
Although, she felt a little possessive of Griff too.
“Do you remember early this spring when we had that woman in the diner who saw you through the window and walked back to the kitchen?” she asked, thinking about it as she spoke.
“You came in and practically grabbed her by her hair and dragged her out. It is one of my best memories.” One side of his mouth kicked up, and she realized that she found him handsome. She’d never thought of that before.
“I did not drag her by her hair.”
“I could tell you wanted to. And that makes for a better story.”
“I’m not denying that I wanted to. She was...”
“Brassy?” he supplied for her.
She thought about the woman. She’d been exactly the kind of woman that she would have thought would be on Griff’s arm. She had a good many piercings, a couple of cute tattoos, and one snake that wrapped up her arm. Her hair was two different colors, a pretty blue and a garnish pink. It didn’t quite look like cotton candy, because the pink was too much.
Her hair was brittle, like it had been dyed a lot.
“I thought she was a user,” she said quietly. There had been scars from needles on her arms.
“Maybe she had cancer,” Griff said easily, presenting the other side without judging her for leaping to a conclusion that might not have been accurate.
“Maybe.” She had been skinny enough to be a cancer survivor or someone going through treatments.
“But I think you’re probably right,” Griff said, his voice still casual.
“Now why would that kind of woman want to break into the diner kitchen and be with you?”
“Good question.”
