Building Our Love (Griffin Brothers #2) (27 page)

* * *

Ryan

I don’t know what the
fuck just happened. I was sitting in here going over some reports
when the chick from the secretarial pool came into the office. I
asked her what she needed, and she jumped me. I was in shock for a
few seconds as she stuck her tongue down my throat, but then I pushed
her off and told her she was fired. I called Ellen up to let her know
and am waiting for her to come to my office now.

“Hi Ryan. That must
have been awkward.”

“Umm, yeah. I wasn’t
expecting to be attacked in my office today.”

“Well, except by
Chloe.”

“Chloe?”

“Oh, was her visit a
surprise?”

What is she talking
about? “I don’t know anything about Chloe coming here, so I guess
it’d be a surprise if she did.”

“You haven’t seen
her yet? She was mobbed by everyone when she walked in the building,
but I thought she got away and came up here.”

“She’s here?
Chloe’s here? She didn’t come up here—oh fuck!”

“What’s the matter,
Ryan?” Ellen asks, and then gets it. “She probably saw that girl
on your lap, kissing you, didn’t she?”

“I think so. Why else
wouldn’t she be up here right now? Can you handle the paperwork,
and I’ll sign it once I figure out where Chloe is?”

“Of course. Go find
your girl. We all love the two of you together, you know.”

“Thanks Ellen. I love
us together, too.”

I grab my keys and take
off. I take the stairs down because I don’t want to wait for the
elevator. I try to think of where to look, and then it comes to me.
Owen will know. He was coming home today, and Chloe must have come
with him. I head to his place.

I knock on the door at
Owen’s apartment but no one answers. I have a key, but I want to
try the studio first. He doesn’t answer, but I can hear music, so I
know that he’s in there working. I let myself in and walk up behind
him, but don’t want to startle him as he has his brush on the
canvas. He puts it down, and I let my presence be known.

“Owe.”

I don’t expect him to
wheel on me and push me backwards with his hands. “I don’t know
what the fuck went down in your office, but I told you not to hurt
Chloe.”

“I didn’t plan to.
The chick they sent to be my assistant for the day threw herself on
top of me and stuck her tongue down my throat. I’m guessing Chloe
walked in during the few seconds when I was too in shock to react. I
didn’t see her. When Ellen came up to fill out the separation
paperwork, she told me that she was here.”

“That’s fucked up,
man. She just jumped on you?”

“Yep. They need to
screen these girls better.”

“Seriously. Chloe’s
next door in the guestroom, by the way. But I don’t think you
should go over there yet. She was really upset.”

“That’s why I need
to see her, to explain.”

He sighs and looks
away. “What is it, Owe?”

“It’s just…well,
this is kind of like Chicago. You thought she was with Adam and
accused her without asking. Now, she sees you with some girl on top
of you and runs off without asking. Maybe she was right, and you two
just hurt each other too much.”

“You told me
‘bullshit’ in Chicago, and I’m telling you the same now. I was
an ass in Chicago, especially because I didn’t see anything happen.
Chloe saw some girl on top of me. If I saw her like that with a guy,
I would’ve run, too.”

“Like hell you would.
You’d have torn him limb from limb.”

“Well, yeah. But then
I would’ve run.”

“I guess you’re
right. Go get your woman, Ry.”

“Thanks, Owe. The
painting looks great.”

I run out the door and
use my key on Owen’s apartment. I walk inside and head for the
guest room. Chloe’s on her side, sleeping. I can see the tear
stains on her cheeks. Motherfucker. My girl came to surprise me and
instead of jumping me in my chair—which I totally would have
welcomed—she thinks she saw me doing someone else.

I lay down behind her
and put my arm over her stomach. She tenses a few seconds later, and
I know that she‘s awake. She tries to pull away, but I hold her
tight. “It’s not what it looked like, sweetheart. That crazy
chick jumped me, and she’s already been fired. You can call Ellen
and she’ll back me up. I was in shock and didn’t push her away
for a few seconds. I’m guessing that is when you walked in.”

“You aren’t with
her?” Her voice sounds so small and sad.

“No. I’m only with
you. Until you get tired of me, I’ll always only be with you.”

“I should’ve known
that. It just freaked me out to see you in there with her. Since, you
know, I used to climb on top of you in that chair. I realize now that
I never saw your hands on her. I should’ve spoken up or stuck
around to talk to you.”

“I honestly wish you
would’ve stayed, but I understand why you left. You flew across the
world to see me, and then it looks like I’m cheating. Just know
that I wouldn’t do that. Ever. You know I bought a new bed so you’d
be the only one ever in it. My chair belongs to you, too. I’ll get
a new one of those ASAP. Now, tell me about you being here, which is
fucking amazing by the way.”

She turns in my arms to
look at me. “Surprise. I got a couple of extra days off so I could
come see you.”

“Best thing ever.”

“I think I can top
it.”

“Yeah, Chloe? I’m
not sure. I mean, having you fly here to see me is pretty hard to
top.”

“Really? Because you
are definitely hard, and I want to be on top.”

“Definitely hard,
huh? How do you know that since you aren’t touching me there?”

“We’re in a bed
together, Ry. There’s no way that you’re not hard, and I’m not
wet.”

“True.” I kiss her,
and she climbs on top of me.

Chloe spends the next
few hours showing me just how much she missed me. I reciprocate as
well, of course. Luckily, Owen stays clear of the apartment, because
we would never live it down if he heard her screaming. She always
screams for me, and I love it.

We reluctantly get up
to leave since I want to have us in my bed when we wake up tomorrow.
We go next door to say goodbye to Owen, and he has some news for us.
“Mom called. She knows that the two of you probably want to be
alone tonight, but she hopes you can make an appearance at the
barbeque.”

“Are you okaywith it,
Chlo? I know that you’re still on London time.”

“Of course I’m okay
with it. I wouldn’t miss Friday barbeque. I napped on the plane and
a little bit here before you found me, so I’m good.”

“We should probably
go to the guesthouse first, then, instead of my condo.”

“You don’t have to
go back to work at all?”

“I probably should,
but I don’t want to miss any time with you.”

“I’ll go with you.
You lost your assistant for today, so I can fill in.”

“I don’t want you
working on your days off.”

“I want to.” She
grabs my hand. “Come on, let’s go. See you later, Owe. Thanks for
everything.”

* * *

Chloe

We walk back into the
Griffin building holding hands. A bunch of people smile at us as we
walk by, and I greet a couple of them who I didn’t see earlier.
Ellen stops us before we get on the elevator.

“Ryan, can you sign
your statement and the separation papers before you go back to your
office?”

“Of course.”

“Chloe, I’m so
sorry about that girl.”

“It’s not your
fault, Ellen. My guy is kind of hard to resist.”

“Yes, well, everyone
here knows he’s yours. That makes this situation even more
unbelievable. I’m just glad that Ryan found you and explained.”

“He did. Thanks,
Ellen.”

Ryan finishes the
paperwork, and we head upstairs. He pushes his chair out of the
office and grabs one from an empty desk nearby. I laugh because the
chair is going to be way too small for him. “Put your chair back in
the office, Ry. It has more good memories than bad, and you won’t
fit in the other one.”

“Are you sure,
sweetheart? I can squeeze into a little chair for a day if it’ll
make you more comfortable.”

“I’m sure. Now, let
me get to work.”

He laughs and kisses me
as he walks back into his office with his chair. I spend all
afternoon returning calls and answering emails. I missed this. Ryan
comes out of his office at 5:30 and tells me that it’s time to go.
We head over to his parents’ house for dinner.

When we arrive,
everyone hugs me and tells me how happy they are to see me. I give
everyone the little gifts I brought for them. We’re all having a
fun dinner until Owen brings up Liam.

“I’m glad that I’ll
be in London for most of the next month so I can keep that dickwad
landscape designer in line.”

“Is he hard to work
with?” Maggie asks.

“He has a hard on for
Chloe. When I saw him all up on her before we left, it took all I had
not to throw him out the window.”

“What the fuck? Some
guy is harassing you at work, Chlo?” Ryan looks like he wants to
commit murder.

“He’s just a jerk.
I told him that I have a boyfriend, but he said he thought I was
lying since you hadn’t come to visit me.”

“I should have flown
out to visit you. My boyfriend skills suck.”

“Stop it, Ry. You
have a job, too. An important one. We talk every day, text at least
hourly, and Skype several times a week. Plus, you send me gifts and
notes with Owen. You have wonderful boyfriend skills, and I love
you.”

“I love you, too,
Chlo. I just wish that it wasn’t going to be another month before
we’re together, though.”

“I’m sorry, son. If
we could spare you, I’d let you get on the plane with Chloe and
Owen. But we have a ton of stuff to get in order before we leave for
London.” Gary looks sad that he’s having to let Ryan down.

I reach over and
squeeze his hand. “I know you’d let him go if you could, Gary. We
have the next two days together, and I’m sure that time will fly.
I’ll have my guy back permanently soon.”

“Do you want me
permanently? I’ve worked really hard not to pressure you about
anything.”

“I know, Ry. I
appreciate it, and yes, I want to be with you permanently. I can’t
imagine my life without you in it.”

He leans over and
kisses me. We should keep it short because we’re in the middle of
the family barbeque. But after what I just told him, Ryan is not
letting me go.

“Get a room, dude,”
Luke yells.

“Or a plane,” Owen
suggests.

We break apart and Ryan
flips off his brothers. Scott can’t help reminding him, “you
asked for it, man.”

“Yeah, yeah. As much
as I love you all, I need to take my woman home now. So, goodnight
everyone!” Ryan grabs my hand and pulls me up, barely letting me
hug everyone goodbye.

We spend the next two
days in Ryan’s condo. We order in food, watch TV, talk, and make
love. It’s hard to leave him, but I’m thankful for this weekend,
and I know that I’ll see him in a month. We’ll have the rest of
our lives together after that.

Ryan

I cannot believe this
is happening. I’m supposed to be on a plane to London right now,
but a bunch of shit is going down at one of the buildings. My dad
left yesterday with my mom so that they’d have time to enjoy the
city. I have two hours to get this straightened out so I can make it
to the charity ball on time. As it is, I’ll have to fly by
helicopter from Heathrow to the hotel.

Two and a half hours
later, and I’m in the air. I texted Chloe to let her know that I’ll
be late. I assured her that I would be there, though. Nothing can
stop me from getting to her and seeing her on this special night. I
get dressed on the plane and run off as soon as we land.

The helicopter is
waiting, and it whisks me off to the hotel’s helipad. I jump out
and head into the waiting elevator. On the ground floor, I follow the
signs to the ballroom. I missed cocktails, so everyone is seated
already. I head to the table that Chloe told me she would be at.

I stop short at the
sight of some guy sitting next to Chloe, instead of one of the
otherempty chairs at the table. She’s looking uncomfortable, and
I’m so not in the mood for this. I walk up and hear him tell her,
“Come on Chloe. Your imaginary boyfriend isn’t here. So, let’s
just go upstairs and have a proper shag.”

“The only one who’ll
be fucking Chloe is me, asshole.”

Chloe looks up and
rises from her chair, smiling. I’m momentarily distracted by the
sight of her in her gown. It’s sleeveless and has black sheer
fabric over what looks like a nude colored fabric. There’s some
black lace and cool black lines down the front and over her hips.
Right above her knees, solid black fabric falls to the floor and into
a short train. My woman has done it again. Damn is she hot and classy
at the same time.

“Holy shit! You’re
Ryan Griffin.” The asshole is on his feet now.

“I am. You can think
of me as Chloe’s non-imaginary boyfriend, though. And get the hell
out of my seat.”

“Whoa. I had no idea
that she was your flavor of the week.”

I start to move to him,
knowing I’m looking a little crazed, and watch his eyes widen.
Chloe steps between us. “He’s not worth it, Ry.”

“No one disrespects
you when I’m around, Chlo. You know that.”

“Liam’s an idiot,
obviously. Just ignore him. We can even move to another tableif you
want.”

“Liam? The Liam who
was harassing you when Owen came into the office last month?”

“Harassing? I was
just trying to show Miss Ice Princess here a good time. You should
appreciate me wanting to break her in for you.”

“Ice princess? Break
her in for me? Are you fucking kidding me? Chloe’s the hottest
woman I’ve ever met in my life. In and out of bed. And she’s
mine. I don’t share.”