“Hey, handsome,” she greeted me as her gaze travelled over my body.

“Shit,” I muttered, and started walking again. Our eyes met as I moved closer to her, and as much as I was irritated she was here – teasing me with that body made for pleasure - I couldn’t deny the warmth in her eyes. And I sure as fuck couldn’t deny how good it made me feel.

When I reached her, I slowed. “What are you doing here?” I asked, knowing the words came out all wrong, but unable to put them a better way.

Hurt flashed in her eyes. “That’s not a nice way to greet someone, Griff,” she said softly, and she was right. But I was an asshole who had no desire to make a woman want me, so nice wasn’t anything I strived for anymore.

I watched her for a few more minutes, and then turned my gaze to the kitchen, looking for Josie. Time to do what I came here for and then get the hell out.

Josie sat at her kitchen table with her leg resting on a chair, an ice pack on her ankle. A huge smile plastered across her face. “Michael,” she welcomed me.

I narrowed my eyes on her as I moved closer to her. “I thought something had happened to you, Josie.”

She gestured at her ankle. “It did. I hurt my ankle.”

“How?” I demanded, struggling to believe her.

Sophia had joined us in the kitchen and stood near Josie, watching me with disapproval. I did my best to ignore her, but – goddamn – I found myself not wanting her reproach.

Josie now waved her hand in front of her. “Oh, you know, I tripped down the stairs.”

I raised my brows. “And then you just happened to walk back up those stairs to phone me?”

“When I got here, she was in a fair bit of pain,” Sophia said, her tone full of the same disapproval as her gaze.

My eyes snapped to hers. “And you just happened to come over at the same time that she hurt herself?”

She placed her hands on her hips and stood taller, causing her breasts to jiggle. Her fucking perfect handful that she’d stretched a sexy pink tank over today. My eyes dropped momentarily to take all that in before shifting back to her face. Displeasure now filled her features. “She called me and asked for my help if you must know,” she retorted.

Fuck, I knew it.

I clenched my jaw as I turned my attention to Josie. “Whatever ideas and plans you’ve got going on in your head need to end now, Josie. I love you, but I don’t take kindly to people interfering in my life, regardless of good intentions.” I fought to keep my voice even, but my reaction had been extreme, and I struggled to maintain my cool. Fuck knew why, and I didn’t have the time to analyse it; all I knew in that moment was my need for Josie to know not to meddle in my life.

Disappointment marred her face. “Michael, please - ”

Fuck, now I’d upset both of them. I raked my fingers through my hair and blew out a long breath. Looking at Sophia, I asked, “You got this?”

Her eyes widened. “Yes, but you’re not really going to leave, are you? She’s hurt and wanted you here.”

“No, she wanted both of us here, and not for her ankle, sweetheart. If you’ve got this, I’ve gotta get back to work.”

I waited for her reply, and after glaring at me for a good few moments, she said, “I’ve got this.” Her tone made it clear how pissed off with me she was, but I ignored that.

“I’ll drop by and see you later,” I said to Josie, and ignoring that she was upset with me, too, I turned and stalked out of the house.

I was almost to my bike when Sophia called out angrily, “You’re seriously going to go?”

Spinning around, I stalked to where she stood. “Josie is a matchmaker, Sophia, and she’s trying to get us together. It’s what she does, and that’s what today has been about. She knows I’m not interested so she’s trying her hand at getting me to change my mind. I don’t usually lose my cool like that, but I’ve got too much stuff going on at work today to have been called away, so yeah, I lost my shit. I’ll come back and apologise to her later when I’ve calmed down.” I took a breath and then added, “Don’t let the old lady charm fool you; she may be putting on a good show of looking upset, but she’s not. You can bet your ass she’s sitting in there right now plotting her next move.”

Staring at me, she looked like she’d had the wind knocked out of her, which made no sense to me because, although I’d been firm, I hadn’t been an ass. She took a minute, and then said, “Okay, I’ve got you. Message understood, loud and clear. But one question – why does she call you Michael?”

You can run but you can never escape your past.

“It’s my name. Griff’s a nickname – one I prefer to be called so please call me that.”

When she raised her hands in a defensive type gesture, I realised I’d probably been more forceful than I’d meant to be. “By the looks of it, we probably won’t cross each other’s path too often for me to fuck that up, but I’ll do my best to get it right,” she snapped, and then turned and stalked back inside Josie’s house.

I watched her go, feeling something I hadn’t felt for fuck knew how long.

Regret.

And that confused me.

And for some reason, it also hurt.

7

Sophia

As my hand flew over the page, adding lines here and shading there, my drawing came to life. I’d been sitting in my art room listening to Kelly Clarkson on repeat for the last hour, doodling with no plan to sketch anything, when my hand began moving of its own accord. My sketches often took shape that way.