Page 107 of Home Safe

Griffin’s expression has slowly softened as I’ve explained, and I’m sorely tempted to stop explaining and start kissing him. But this isn’t the totality of the thought factory. He deserves all the thoughts.

“I love you. Forallof you. Including Griffin West, Wizard of Defense. I want you to keep playing this game you love for however long you want to play it. I will find a way to manage when you’re traveling or playing games twelve days in a row during the school year. And I will travel with you during the summer and come to every home game that I can because it will mean being close to you and supportingyou,and I’m with you one hundred percent. You’re safe for me, and I don’t want to lose you,” I say, my voice cracking on the final phrase.

Griffin moves to embrace me, pulling me tight against his chest. I tuck my face into the crook of his neck, inhaling deeply. Grounding myself in the safety of his arms, his scent further soothes me with each new breath.

After a few seconds, Griffin’s arms loosen as he pulls back to look in my eyes again.

“I love you, Danae. As I’ve gotten to know you over these past few months, I’ve grown to love you for so many reasons. But as my sassy but wise younger sister assessed, my heart was drawn to you before I ever knew all there is to love about you. And that’s because when we talked, Iwasn’tthe Wizard to you. You could see me in a way that most people never do—in a way that I didn’t consciously know I needed. You’re my safe place too. And that’s one of the many reasons I love you so much.”

He pauses to press a gentle kiss to my lips but then continues. “I’m not naive to think it’s going to be smooth sailing from here. We’re still going to face challenges. With my career, with Jason, with your parents, with everyday life and conflict. But I’m committed to working through those challengeswithyou. Committed to protecting our relationship, our safe place together.”

Tears have gathered in my eyes again, and I quickly wipe them away. Raising one hand to Griffin’s jaw, I skim my thumb along his beard. “Safe together,” I murmur.

Griffin swiftly pulls me onto his lap and kisses me with authority, with finality, with determination. He sprinkles verbal affirmations of his love between his kisses to my lips, my neck, my jaw, my forehead, my lips again.

And these kisses feel like forever.

Chapter forty-four

Griffin

“I’ve been thinking about something,” Danae says. We’re sitting in the dark corner of the bar at Capital Grille, chatting with Jeff in between our moments focused solely on each other.

“You realize how much you would be freaking out if I started a sentence that way,” I tease. I’m rewarded with an adorable smirk that twists up half of her heart-shaped lips. I don’t even bother resisting the pull to lean in and kiss her.

Danae kisses me back but playfully pushes me away before we get too lost in each other. “Okay, okay, I need to say this before I chicken out,” she says, and that sobers me up. “Nothing’s wrong,” she adds in response to my furrowed brow.

I pull her hand to press a kiss to her fingers—nails grown out and polish fully intact—and ask, “What is it?”

She takes a breath and says, “I think we should do a media interview.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You think youwantto interact with the media?”

Danae shakes her head slightly and smiles. “I will never everwantto interact with the media. But like I told you that night after court—I’m committed to this. To you. You—Griffin West, the Wizard of Defense, darling of Kansas City,” she says. I pretend to wave to my fans, causing Danae to snort with laughter.

Her face turns serious before she continues. “I understand that media attention comes with that territory, but I’d rather try to control the interaction as much as possible. Your post-game interview after the first fiasco kept the press at bay for a while, but if the second hiccup was any indication, there could be an expiration date to that courtesy if we don’t feed them any kind of information. So let’s schedule our own interview to give them the information that we want to share.”

My chest aches with the love I feel for this woman. I reach up to cup Danae’s chin. “You sure about this?” When she nods, I brush a kiss to her cheek. “How many pages was the pro/con list?”

Her cheeks pinken, and she drops eye contact. “I mean . . . let’s just say it was lengthy.”

I skim a kiss along her jaw. “Were flowcharts involved?”

She hums as goosebumps break out along her arms. “There might have been.”

I trace her nose with mine. “Do I get to see them?”

“Not on your life,” she whispers before leaning her lips into mine.

“She’s still sure she wants to do this? Because I can totally call and make up an excuse to cancel,” Sam offers.

“We’re good to go,” I confidently respond as I swipe product through my hair. “I mean, she’s nervous, and there’s a one hundred percent chance that all of her clear nail polish will be picked off by the end. But we’re doing it.”

Sam was able to set up an exclusive interview with a local Kansas City lifestyle magazine in exchange for full rights to nix or approve anything in the article before it’s published. She agreed that feeding the press a little information on our terms will go a long way in continuing the bubble of privacy they’ve given us. Joe was elated that I was finally leaning into some media attention—until I told him we were doing the interview for free. I’d rather have control over the narrative than a paycheck any day.

Washing the hair product residue off my hands, I eye Sam in the mirror. She’s lingering. In a weird, awkward manner.

“Uhhh, is there something else we need to talk about?” I ask, drying my hands on a towel.

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