Page 5 of A False Start
I swallow slowly and place my fork down carefully before pointing at him. “Thatis Griffin?”
My brother’s brow furrows as his eyes bounce between us. “Yeah.”
Blood rushes, the whoosh of it loud in my ears.
“Yourbest friendGriffin?”
The broad-shouldered man stops as he rounds the corner into the kitchen, going deathly still. I swear I can almost hear him thinking. And I definitely see his eyes bug out like he’s just figured out who I am.
Oh.No.
My eyes widen as I connect the dots. Mira called him Griff, and I don’t know how I didn’t see this.
Fuck my life.
Heat slithers over my skin as my stomach bottoms out like I’m free-falling in an elevator, and I realize what I’ve done. The man’s forearms ripple with tension beneath the black ink covering them, fists pulsing in a furious tick.
“Relax, Nadia. Adults don’t havebest friends.”
Sure. Yeah. Especially not once they find out their little sister has been making out with them. Then that friendship would end.
Griffin snorts, rubs his beard, and walks to the front door to shove his feet into a pair of worn cowboy boots. Fleeing this endlessly awkward interaction.
“I’ve already told you. He sold me this place, and we’ve just stayed in touch.”
Yep. Stefan has told me all about the one guy he hangs out with. The one who didn’t treat him like a leper when he moved to town. The one he spent all his free time with. The one who is helping him around the farm here.
I think he may have even referred to him as the only true friend he’s ever had.
I watch Griffin’s toned ass and muscular thighs disappear out the front door and try to think of something to say that will cover up what must be a perfectly stricken look on my face. “But...he’s a total dick,” is what I opt for, but in my head, all I’m thinking is this one-handed obsession with the guy from the bar can’t continue.
Stefan barks out a laugh as he follows his best friend out the front door. “I’m glad you think so.” He winks at me over his shoulder. “Then I won’t have to worry about you scaring him off with your antics while he’s here.”
Oh, brother. If you only knew.
Nadia
Two years later
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” I yank the floral-patterned journal back toward myself, slamming a palm over the page to cover it.
Mira’s shapely brow lifts as she stares back at me impassively. “Yeah. Definitely seems likenothing.”
Not only is Dr. Thorne my boss and the veterinarian who runs this clinic, but she’s also my new sister-in-law. Additionally, she’s kind of my idol. I’ve never told her that, but she is. She’s smart, strong, and driven. She’s everything I’m not—everything I’ve been told I’m not.
In the time I’ve been attending the local college, she and my brother got married and had a little boy named Silas. Hell on wheels, that kid. A mop of black hair from Mom and wild green eyes from Dad. The perfect blend. He’s almost two and climbs everything he can get his hands on. Truthfully, it’s terrifying.
I love my nephew, but he’s also why I’ve now moved out. With my diploma in hand, I was lucky enough to walk back into a job just down the road at Gold Rush Ranch. It’s a prestigious racehorse training facility run by our good friends, and it’s also the site of the vet clinic Mira runs. Which made moving into the small apartment above the barn a no-brainer.
It’s convenient for a twenty-one-year-old fresh out of school. It’s also included in my salary and about a two-minute walk from the front door of the clinic. Bonus points for not having to listen to Silas throw tantrums at five a.m. Truthfully, it felt weird to keep living with my brother and his wife while they were starting a new family. It felt like it was time for me to start my journey while they do theirs.
I sigh and lean back in the front desk chair. “It’s a list that I started in therapy.” Since coming back from school, I feel like I have my entire life ahead of me—special shout out to my therapist for that. After two years of chatting with her, I figured out that I’ve let enough lifehappento me—the good and the bad—and I’m ready to continue taking the bull by the horns and go after what I want.
My college education to become a veterinary technician was my first step. Now I’m here, searching for the next steps. I feel continually lost but accepted that giving myself attainable goals mitigates that a bit.
Hence the list.
