Page 55 of Between the Stars

“I’m coming with you. I’ll make other arrangements at work. I’ll catch shit over it, but there’s no way I’m letting you go back there without me.”

Fuck. I underestimated Griff, didn’t I?

CHAPTER20

What was I thinking?

ABBI

You tell me because I don’t know.

Jace and Griff have met,we’ve discussed this before, though I’m not entirely sure Griff remembers it. Dating for us was new and I took him to that concert I met up with Josie, Rhett, and Jace at. You know how that night ended, but still, does Griff remember meeting him?

Doubtful. He doesn’t even remember our neighbor’s name. Calls the guy Lauren when his name is Luis. But, he knows who Jace is. He knows I was in love with one guy my entire childhood.

Does he know I saw him over Christmas break? Part of me thinks he does because look who’s next to me on the plane. No way he’d let me go there alone now. He’s too controlling for that.

We’re two hours into our plane ride when Griff leans into me, a splash of cabernet remaining in his glass. “Who is this Jace guy?”

Fuck. You might not pick up on this, but do you notice the way my heart pounds a little harder? What about the heat that licks my entire body? I don’t want to answer his question. I don’t want him to know anything about Jace. Nothing. Not even his middle name. He knows I was in love before him, that his name is Jace, and he lives in my hometown. That’s it. I’ve been greedy with the details. For good reason. I’d rather run booty-ass naked down the aisles of this plane than have that conversation.

“A friend,” I answer, sipping my wine. I wish the flight attendant would have given me the whole damn bottle. I glance around the cabin, hoping to see her, but that bitch disappeared a while ago during the turbulence. You know the worst part? I’ve actually thought about this plane crashing to the ground and what a relief that might be. I’m a terrible person.

He dips his head forward to catch my gaze. “What kind of friend?”

I bite my lip, try to think of a lie, a way around the truth but I can’t. “Griff, why are we talking about this? I’ve never asked about your exes?”

He’s silent for longer than I’d like. I can feel my pulse in my temples when he casually continues with “I just wanna know what I’m walking into.”

I shake my head and sigh. “I don’t know what you want to hear. You didn’t have to come,” I snap, downing the rest of my wine. I swear if that flight attendant doesn’t come back soon, I’m going to get more wine myself.

Griff shifts in his seat, clearly annoyed as he sighs. “Well, I couldn’t let you go alone, now, could I?”

“You could have.”

His eyes slide to mine. I’m not looking at him, but I can feel their heat. “You think I’m an idiot, don’t you?”

Heat spreads through my cheeks to my entire body. “What?”

He smirks and licks his lips, his eyes lifting to the flight attendant pushing a cart. “Can I get you another drink, sir?”

“I’d like another glass,” I tell her, lifting my plastic cup in the air and ignoring the fact that she wasn’t talking to me.

Glaring in my direction, she refills my glass and then shifts her eyes to Griff. “And you, sir?”

“Thank you, sweetheart. I’d love one.” And then he winks at her.

Sweetheart? What a dick.

Thankfully, the conversation between Griff and me fades and he makes conversation with a man across the aisle in first class who is a surgeon in Nevada. I don’t listen to anything they say. I’m too caught up in how I’m going to explain this to Jace, if he’s awake when we get there.

* * *

It takesfour hours to get to Lubbock Texas, and another two before we’re at the hospital. Griff took his sweet-ass time checking into the hotel and informing me, we had time, Jace wasn’t going anywhere after his surgery where they attempted to piece his left forearm back together.

In the parking lot, I attempt to convince Griff he can’t come in there with me. “Maybe you should stay in the car….” My words trail off.

“If you think I’m going to let you go in there alone, you have another think coming. You agreed to marry me. This part of your life”he motions around to the parking lot and the flicks his hand toward the hospital as we continue walking“is over. Or do you have something to hide from me?”

---