Learning To Love (The Griffin Brothers Book 4) (27 page)

“That’s why she’s
in her car.”

“I need to find her.
I need to fix this. Why didn’t she tell me? Or go get money from
our account?”

“Candi gave you her
debit and credit cards from your account.”

“She could’ve gone
inside for money. She’s still on my accounts. No matter what I’ve
said I keep hoping she’ll come home. And I’ll have
my
home again. Her.”

“What about the girl
who was here?”

“Girl?”

“You didn’t have
someone here in the house a little while ago?”

“Just Nikki.”

“Nikki?” Rose looks
a little angry, and I’m confused.

“She’s the
librarian at Goolsby. The
married
librarian who’s been helping me out.”

“Oh God.”

“Did you think I was
going out with her? With someone else?”

She looks conflicted,
but answers me. “Not me. But Liv did.”

“What? How?”

“She has a job
interview and needed to take a shower. I let her use my bathroom, and
she heard you talking about ‘lunch dates’ and having her over
again.”

“No. NO! Where is
she? I need to explain.”

“She’s gone. I
brought you up here so she could sneak out.”

“I should be mad, but
bringing me here cleared some things up. She’s okay, though?”

“She’s still really
thin. And before her shower, her hair was really greasy and she…well,
she smelled a little.”

I swallow hard, because
the thought of my beautiful wife having to sneak in for a shower that
she obviously needs is about to do me in. “Did she say why she
kissed Blaine?”

“No. We didn’t have
time to talk. Are you mad that she came here to shower?”

“Not even a little.
Give her whatever she needs, whatever she’ll take. If you need me
to leave the house, just tell me. I want to see her and talk to her,
but I
need
her to eat
and shower. And sleep here if she needs to. Just tell me next time.”

“I will.”

“She wanted to use
your bathroom, huh?” I shouldn’t be hurt by this, but I am.

“No. She started for
the stairs and then caught herself.”

“If she’s over
again, tell her she can come up here.”

“Will you be up here
waiting for her?”

“I told you I’d
leave.”

“No. You should be up
here, and then the two of you can talk. You have more
miscommunications than ten couples combined.”

“Yeah, we do. Can you
get her back over here tonight?”

“I’ll try.”

“Thanks, Rose.”

“Don’t thank me
yet.”

* * *

Olivia

I get to the restaurant
where I’m being interviewed a little early. It’s a little strange
that they want to meet here and not at the workplace, but the woman
said “lunch interview,” so I think I’ll have something other
than ramen today. The hostess shows me to my seat and I order a
Pepsi. I need a little caffeine, and I’ve missed my favorite drink.
It’s a luxury I can’t afford right now.

I’m looking over the
menu when I sense someone in front of me. I lower the menu and frown.
“Blaine? What are you doing here?”

“I saw you walk in
when I was driving by, and since I need to talk to you, I parked and
came inside.”

“I have nothing to
talk to you about.”

“So you’re just
going to keep living in your car? I could get you out of there and it
would be easy for you.”

“Nothing having to do
with you would be easy.”

“Don’t you even
want to know my offer?”

“Not really, but I
don’t think you’ll leave until you say what you came here to say.
So, go ahead.”

“Well, see, some of
the guys at the frat were
very
interested to know that you tamed Luke Griffin. They’ve agreed to
pay you $1,000 each to sleep with them. See, easy money for you.”

I stand up and get
right next to him, smiling the whole time. “You want to pimp me
out?”

“Well, I wouldn’t
put it in such crude terms.”

“I would.” I’m
still smiling, so he doesn’t expect the punch I throw at his groin.
I’m a little weaker than normal, but I connect and he falls to the
ground.

“Fuck, Olivia. What’s
wrong with you?”

“You just tried to
get me to sleep with guys for money, and you have to ask?”

The hostess and manager
run over. “Is everything okay, miss?”

“I’m on the ground
and you’re asking her?”

“Yes, he is. Please
take out the trash for us, Marco.”

I look next to me and
see one of the most stunning women I’ve ever laid eyes on. That’s
saying a lot since I’ve been around Candi, Yasmin, and Chloe, plus
their friends Erika and Sam quite a bit. She has long dark hair that
is loose down her back, and gorgeous brown eyes. She looks like a
supermodel, and she’s smiling at me.

“Hello, Olivia. My
name is Reina, and I’m here to help you.”

“Oh. You’re the
person I spoke to on the phone about the job. I’m, well, I’m
sorry you saw that. I’m not usually like this. I promise.”

“I know all about
you. Let’s sit down and chat.”

“Okay.”

“Did you have a
chance to look at the menu? Order whatever you’d like.”

“Thanks.”

The waiter comes and
takes our order. Reina orders without looking at the menu. She called
the manager by his first name, so I figured she was a regular. After
the waiter leaves, Reina leans forward and looks me in the eye.

“I meant what I said
about helping you, Olivia. To start, I need you to stop acting like a
child and remember that you’re a woman.”

“Wh-what?”

“You heard me.”

“I thought this was a
job interview.”

“You already have a
job waiting for you, a job you loved enough to give up a pretty
awesome internship for.”

“How do you know
about that?”

“I already told you
that I know all about you. And to be honest, some of it really pisses
me off.”

“I think I should
go.”

“If you walk out of
this restaurant right now, you’ll get no help from me. You
need
my help and we both know it.”

“I don’t
need
to be condescended to.”

“Actually, right now,
you do. Do you know how many women I see who are living on the
streets, or a shelter, or their car, like you? The only difference is
that those women don’t have a choice, but you do. You are choosing
to be jobless and homeless.”

“You don’t
understand.”

“But I do. You’ve
had some rough things happen. Some of those things were your fault,
and some weren’t. It’s time to move past them and take back your
life. Your parents are assholes, and you did everything you could to
please them. That was never going to work. They didn’t want you to
make them happy, they wanted to control you. By the time you realized
that, it cost you your husband.”

“If you know that,
why are you harassing me?”

“I’m just getting
started, so you better sit back and be ready to face some hard
truths.”

“You think that will
help me?”

“I know it will. You
need
to hear it, and
you won’t listen to the people who love you, so I’m here to do it
for them.”

“Someone sent you?”

“All I’ll say is
that my boss is good friends with Maggie Griffin. Are you ready to
listen to me?”

“I guess so.”

“Good. Let’s talk
about your job. You love working with Candi, and from what I’ve
gathered, she didn’t want you to quit. She even offered you one of
her guest rooms. I get you turning down her offer of a place to stay,
because that would have been really awkward, but your job? Come on.
That was just plain stupid.”

I open my mouth to
argue, but she looks at me and I know she’s right. “Yeah it was.”

“Great. Call her now,
please, and ask for your job back.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

I pull out my phone and
hit Candi’s speed dial. She answers before the first ring is done.
“Liv? Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay. I’ve called so
many times.”

“I’m getting there,
Candi. I’m sorry I didn’t take your calls.”

“Where are you? Can I
come get you or send Owen?”

“I’m having lunch
with someone who’s helping me. I-I was wondering if my job was
still available?”

“Of course it is.
Who’s helping you, though?” She sounds suspicious, and my heart
swells knowing how much she cares about me.

“Someone who works
for a friend of Maggie’s.”

“Oh. Good. Listen to
her. She’ll help.”

“I’m trying. Should
I come by on Monday?”

“Whenever. Day or
night. I love you.”

“I love you, too.
I’ll see you Monday.” I close my phone and look at Reina, who’s
smirking. “Okay, what’s next?”

“Next, I want you to
tell me all about that bastard who just got thrown out of here. I
know some things, but I think there’s more I haven’t found out.
Then we’ll head to the Griffin corporate apartments, where Maggie
has one ready and waiting for you.”

I do what she asks and
tell her everything about Blaine. I see her eyes harden when I talk
about the car wash and what he said to me today. I also talk about
Luke and what’s happened, including him moving on with that girl,
Nikki. She’s a good listener and only speaks up at times when she
can tell I need her to. She thinks things will work out with Luke and
doesn’t believe he’s really moved on. I tell her I hope she’s
right.

We’re getting up to
leave when I get a text from Rose inviting me to dinner. She says
Luke will be out, and she’d love to spend more time with me. After
talking to Reina, I really want to see her as well, so I text back a
yes. When I tell Reina, she surprises me by handing me the keys to
the Griffin apartment and telling me to have fun with my sister.

I’m hugging her in
the parking lot when a guy on a Harley pulls up into the parking spot
we’re standing in front of. He takes off his helmet and oh, my God,
is he hot. I mean, my husband’s practically a god himself, but this
guy’s right up there. Close cropped, dark brown hair, and the
bluest eyes I’ve ever seen, on the face of an angel. He gets off
the bike and I feel Reina stiffen next to me. He’s over six feet
tall, and his body is totally ripped, with tattoos peeking out of his
shirt.

“Hi, Princess. Did
you have a nice lunch?”

“Hello,
Matthew
.
Yes, I did. You’re grandmother’s waiting for you inside,” Reina
responds through clenched teeth.

“I’m on time and
you know it.” He seems to notice me for the first time and gives me
a panty dropping smile. “Hello. I don’t think we’ve met. I’m
Matt Corrigan.”

“Hi. I’m Olivia
Griffin.”

“Griffin? Are you
related to Gary and Maggie?”

“They’re my
in-laws. I’m married to Luke.”

“Little Luke Griffin
went and got himself a wife. Never thought that would happen. If you
get bored with him, come find me.”

“Pig.”

“Now, now, Reina.
Just because I’m not extending any offer to you, doesn’t mean you
should resort to name calling.”

I can tell Reina’s
about to lose it, and she’s already opening her mouth when someone
speaks up behind us. “Children. You two are such children. I wish
you could just get along for once.”

I turn to see a
beautiful woman around Maggie’s age, with gray hair and the same
blue eyes as Matt. I’m guessing she’s his grandmother, and she
confirms it when she turns her attention to me. “Please excuse
them, Olivia. They can’t help but be at each other’s throats all
the time. I’m Jane Corrigan, Reina’s boss and Matt’s
grandmother. I hope your talk went well.”

“It did, thank you
Mrs. Corrigan.”

“Just call me Jane,
my dear. I’m sure I’ll see you again. Now come along, Matty, and
let’s have lunch.”

He looks chastised as
he follows his grandmother while Reina smirks at him. I wait until
they’re inside and fan myself. She tells me he’s an idiot, and I
shouldn’t let his looks deceive me. I laugh and thank her again
before getting into my car and driving away.

Luke

I’m both excited and
nervous at the same time. Olivia should be here any minute to hang
out with Rose and have dinner with her. I’m going to hide out in my
office until Rose texts me that it’s a good time to come down and
talk to her. I can do this.
We
can do this.

I go downstairs to
check on Rose one last time. “You’re good with the dinner,
right?”

She rolls her eyes at
me. “Yes. I have your mom’s mac and cheese on warm in the oven,
and the burgers you grilled are in the warmer. The cupcakes you got
are in the fridge, along with Liv’s Pepsi.”

“Alright. Don’t
forget to text me.”

“I won’t. Now go
upstairs before my sister accidentally sees you.”

“I’m going. I’m
going.”

I hover in the upstairs
hallway when the doorbell rings. They can’t see me, and I hate to
eavesdrop, but I want to hear my wife’s voice. To hear that she’s
okay. I think we’ll both be better than okay once we talk.

“You look happy, Liv.
Did your interview go well?”

“It was more a talk
than an interview. She made me face some hard truths. I called Candi
and asked her for my job back.”

“What? And really?
You called Candi? That’s so cool. I know she misses you.”

“I miss her, too.”

She’s working with
Candi again? That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time.
They’re great friends, and I hate that she’s distanced herself
from Candi. And everyone else, too.

“What else did you
talk about?”

“Everything. Luke,
that asshole Blaine, mom and dad. Reina’s boss, Jane, is friends
with Maggie, so she knew some stuff already.”

“Did you decide
anything else?”