Page 9 of How He Got the Girl
“To trying.” Griffin raises his half-full mug of hot chocolate toward me. “Regardless, if we fail or succeed.”
I lift my mug, clinking it with his. “Cheers.”
After finishing off my drink, I set the empty mug on the table and wrap my arms around my middle. “I want to know more about you. Tell me, Griffin, who’s the man behind the wannabe actor persona?”
“You don’t pull any punches.” He laughs. “Let’s see. I was born and raised right down the road in Lover’s Grove.”
I hold up a hand as my mouth falls open. “Your town is legitimately named Lover’s Grove?”
“Yep.” The smile on his face is wistful, like he’s told the story a million times but never tires of it. “The founder of our small town was so in love with the woman he met just before founding the town that he named it Lover’s Grove as an ode to her.”
“Please tell me they got married.”
Griffin nods. “They were happily married for fifty-four years and lived in the town until they both passed just two days apart from each other. It was like they loved each other so much that they couldn’t live without the other. People say that when you meet your soulmate in our town, you’re bound to be tied together forever. Legend says the town has a way of pushing people together.”
“Have you never been in love then? Or do you not believe the town’s folktales?”
“I think the older women in town have a horrible habit of playing matchmaker and forcing people together. But that doesn’t mean there isn't any truth behind some of the crazy love stories I’ve heard.” He runs a hand through his brown hair, leaving it perfectly messy and making him even more attractive. “As for me, I had puppy love in high school but nevertruelove. The kind where I meet a woman that makes loving her easy, and everything else fades into the background.”
If a handsome, charming man like him can’t find love, there’s no hope for the rest of us. “I’m sure you’ll find her.”
“You never know, she may just show up at my door in a pink velvet dress singing Christmas carols.” He makes direct eye contact with me as he says this, making my cheeks match my sweater. “But I had this nightmare that I’m going to bungle it by ruining her drink and burning her hands in the process.”
“It sounds like you’ll have a dilemma on your hands,” I say, playing along with his little game.
“One that I’ll do anything to fix. I can’t disappoint all of Lover’s Grove, after all.”
“Was that your house that we sang at?”
He nods. “My parents’ house. My apartment lease ended in October, so I’ve been staying with them for the last two months while I’ve auditioned.”
Usually, the thought of a man living at home would scare me away in about 0.2 seconds, but his reasoning seems sound. There’s no point in his paying for an apartment that he’d have to leave if he landed a big movie role.
I can’t help but think that maybe all the tales about Lover’s Grove may not be fictional. Maybe there’s some merit to them if it brought me to this man’s front door.
“Does your grandma live with your parents as well?”
He nods. “We share a wall. She knocks four times every evening to say, ‘Good night, Griffie.’”
My heart is melting. And my heart doesn’t melt. But this man…he’s something else. The more I learn about him, the more I like who he is.
“You knock back,right?” I deadpan, even though I’m teasing.
“Do I knock back?” he scoffs. “I’d have to be soulless not to.”
I wipe my hand across my forehead. “Whew, good. I don’t have to fake an emergency then. What else should I know about you?”
“How long do you have?”
“My day’s wide open.”
Even if it weren’t, I’d cancel all my plans to spend more time with him.
Thisisthebestdate of my life.
It only took a few minutes for me to realize that Mallory was a special girl—the kind you either wife up or compare everyone else to for the rest of your life if you’re dumb enough to let her go.
Even though I felt like an idiot last night, I’m not stupid.
