Building Our Love (Griffin Brothers #2) (9 page)

“You are aware that
you deserved to have the door closed in your face, right?” Scott
asks me.

“Yep.”

“I never thought
you’d be the one of us who would treat a woman so badly. I don’t
think you could have done much worse to her,” Luke reminds me.

“I know. I went too
far, and now I need to fix this somehow. I need to apologize and show
her that I love her. I’m open to any and all suggestions.”

“Are you thinking
‘grand gesture’ type of ideas?” Danny asks me.

“If that’s what I
need to do, then yeah.”

“My speech worked
pretty well for Yas. I had a really nice night after that,” Scott
says with a smirk.

“You already had her
back by then, but I guess I could do a speech.”

“No. No speech, Ry. I
think for this situation, you need to do a gesture, but not
necessarily a grand one. I think you just need to do something to let
Chloe know that you want to be with her. You should probably do it in
front of everyone, just so she knows you’re serious. She was never
an attention seeker when we were in school,” Owen tells me
thoughtfully. “Now if you manage to screw up again, a speech or
something big will probably have to happen.”

“I think you’re
right. And I don’t plan to screw up again.”

The guys and I talk it
over, and I realize exactly what I need to do. They agree that it’s
a good idea. It’s not a grand gesture, but it will show Chloe that
I’m serious and not just fucking around. God, I can’t wait to see
her on Saturday and show her that I love her.

Chloe

Crews have been getting
the backyard ready all day. Tents have gone up and flowers and food
have been delivered. I peeked in the main tent earlier and it was
amazing. The color scheme is black, white and silver. Those were the
colors that we were asked to wear as well.

I found a cool black
dress with silver sequins that looks kind of architectural at
Nordstrom. I’m pairing it with silver shoes that are bejeweled on
the top part which wraps around my ankle. The only jewelry that I put
on is a diamond butterfly necklace that Ryan gave me for my high
school graduation. It’s also from Van Cleef & Arpels, like the
one from my 14th birthday. He said I needed something more grown up,
but I’ve always kept the original one. I haven’t put either one
on in over three years.

The girls said I need
to force Ryan’s hand. Wearing this dress and the necklace that he
gave me is about all I’m willing to do. Yeah, I want him back. But
I’m done throwing myself at him. If he wants me, he can come and
get me. If not, then it’s time for me to finally move on from him.
Or at least try to.

I wait for the party to
get started before I head outside. I grab a glass of champagne from a
server and am heading towards the main tent when Owen intercepts me.
“Hi Chloe.”

“Hi Owen. It’s good
to see you.”

“You too. Ryan said
that you wanted to meet with me about the art for the Seattle
building?”

“Yes. I’m hoping to
get you back to your roots somewhat. This building’s going to be
for the tech division and those guys aren’t stuffy at all. I want
to give you some ideas and colors and let you do your thing.”

“That would be
awesome, Chlo. Should I come see you on Monday? Maybe around 1?”

“Sure, that’d be
great.”

“I’ll catch you
later, then. Time for me to mingle.”

“Candi just walked
in, Owen.”

“Why would I care,
Chloe?”

“Because you do,” I
tell him and then walk away laughing.

I look around and see
Alex and another young girl. It must be her friend, Rose. I make my
way to the two of them. “Hi girls. Are you having fun?”

“Hi Chloe!” Alex
exclaims as she hugs me. “This is my friend, Rose.”

“It’s great to meet
you, Rose. Alex has told me what a good friend you are to her.”

“It’s nice to meet
you, too,” she says shyly.

“Was your sister able
to make it?” I ask her, remembering that Alex was going to invite
them both.

“No. Olivia had a ton
of homework.”

“Well, I hope to meet
her next time. I’m going to say hi to a few more people. Find me if
you need anything.”

I move off and see some
of the interior designers for the company. They haven’t been too
friendly since Ryan gave me the Seattle building. I walk over hoping
to break the ice. I want to stay at Griffin, and so I need to make
friends with them. They stop talking when I walk up.

“Hi guys,” I say
with a smile as they all just stare at me.

“What do you want,
Chloe?” Deanna says. She is the ringleader of this group and
reminds me of the mean girls from high school.

“I was hoping that we
could get rid of this animosity since I plan to work at Griffin for a
long time. I would like us all to get along.”

She snorts and raises
her voice loud enough for most of the party to hear. “Seriously.
You aren’t going to last through this project. Everyone knows about
your past relationship with Ryan, and how he hates you now. He just
gave you this job to embarrass you.”

“I gave her the job
because she deserved it. Not one of you came even close to my vision
for this building. She nailed it immediately.” I didn’t hear Ryan
come up behind me. He places his hands on my shoulders as he
continues in an icy tone. “You’ve always done a good job, but if
you have a problem with Chloe, you should probably look for work
elsewhere. I’ve never let anyone mess with her, and I don’t
intend to start now. And just for the record, I don’t hate her. I
love her. Do you have a problem with that, too?”

They all shake their
heads, and Deanna mumbles an apology to me. They quickly move away
from us. Ryan is still holding on to my shoulders, massaging them
slowly as he stands behind me. I turn towards him. “Thanks for
that.”

“I told them the
truth, Chloe. You don’t need to thank me for that.”

“You-yousaid that you
love me.”

“I did, and I do. I
love you so much that I think my heart will burst every time I see
you. I tried to fight it when you came back, but I realized a couple
days ago that I didn’t want to fight it. I don’t want to fight
you. I want to be with you.” He pauses and bites his lip, looking
nervous. Then he takes both of my hands in his. “If you’ll have
me.”

If I’ll have him? Is
he kidding? There is nothing and no one I want more than him.
Especially after he just defended me in front of pretty much everyone
who works at Griffin. But I have to know the answer to the question
running through my head. “Where’s Cel?”

“I have no clue, and
I don’t give a fuck. I was using her to hurt you. I was never in a
relationship with her. I know that it was a dick move and I’m
sorry. I called her Thursday and uninvited her here. I also told her
that I won’t be seeing her again.”

“So I don’t have to
send her flowers anymore?”

“No. The only person
who will be getting flowers from me is you. Oh, and maybe my mom and
Alex. If I take care of yours myself, are you okay with sending
theirs?”

“I think I can handle
that.”

He reaches out to touch
my necklace. “You still have this? I love seeing it on you.”

“I have my other one,
too. I’ve been wanting to wear them, but I didn’t want to upset
you.”

“Please wear them. It
would make me really happy. In fact, I have something to go along
with this one.”

He reaches into his
pocket and pulls out a small jewelry box. He hands it to me, and when
I open it, there are diamond butterfly earrings that match my
necklace.

“You didn’t have to
do this, Ryan.” I squeeze his hand as I smile up at him. I’m glad
he did, though. I love them.

“I wanted to,” he
tells me as I put them on. “I know you said you didn’t want me
engaging in PDA, but I really want to kiss you now.”

“You do?”

“Mm-hmm.” He leans
down and nuzzles my neck. I’m glad that I put my hair in a loose
bun so that it’s out of the way. “This dress is so hot. It
reminds me of an Art Deco building. You are so fucking sexy, Chlo.
Can I please kiss you now?”

Instead of answering, I
move my head and take his mouth. The kiss is slow and sweet. I move
my hands up his arms and around his neck. He circles my waist with
his arms, holding on to my hips. I move my lips away from his long
enough to tell him how sexy he looks in his suit, and then he
captures my mouth again. I don’t know how long we’re standing
there kissing when a throat clears next to us. We pull apart to see
Maggie and Gary smiling at us, their eyes twinkling.

“It’s been too long
since we had to remind the two of you that you’re in a family
environment,” Gary tells us.

“We’re just
kissing, Dad,” Ryan tells him, looking sheepish.

“I love to see the
two of you together, but you’re distracting the other guests,”
Maggie says, laughing. “I put a lot of work into this party, so can
you please tone it down until you’re alone?”

“Yes we can, Maggie.
Sorry,” I tell her as I blush.

“There’s nothing to
apologize my dear. Just don’t break my son’s heart again,” she
admonishes me.

“I won’t.” I
won’t leave Ryan again, no matter what happens.

Ryan takes my hand
again and we walk into the main tent to find seats for dinner. Our
friends wave us over. Scott, Yasmin, Owen, Candi, Luke, Erika, Sean,
Sam, and Danny have secured a table and saved us seats. “No date,
Luke?” I ask as we sit down.

“No. I’m keeping my
options open,” he says with a smirk.

“How’s that going
for you, bro?” Ryan asks him.

“Honestly, not too
well. But unlike some people, I haven’t found the love of my life.”
He looks around the table and then at Ryan and me. “Or found her
again, in your case.”

“Umm, there’s no
love going on over here,” Owen says motioning to Candi and himself.

Candi agrees. “Yeah.
I’m not sure exactly what this is, but it’s not love.”

“Well this definitely
is,” Scott tells them, looking at Yasmin.

We all talk and laugh
until dinner is served. Ryan places his hand on my knee and then
slides it under my dress. I put my hand on his wrist as it moves up
my thigh. He leans over to me and whispers in my ear. “You don’t
want my fingers, Chlo?”

“No,” I whisper
back. “You know that I’m not quiet.”

“I do know, but I
thought the promise of an orgasm would motivate you.”

“Sorry, but I’m not
that in control when you have your hands on me.”

He slides his hand back
down to my knee and squeezes it before letting go. “That’s one
thing you never have to be sorry for.” He kisses me lightly and
goes back to his dinner.

* * *

Ryan

I’m so happy sitting
here next to Chloe. Just laughing and hanging out with my brothers
and friends. I can tell she’s happy, too. We steal kisses here and
there but don’t give another PDA show. It’s not that I don’t
want to, but my mom asked us not to. We both respect her too much to
disappoint her.

When I walked into the
backyard and saw Chloe, I knew everything would work out tonight. The
dress she chose, which really is reminiscent of a building, and then
the fact that she’s wearing one of her butterfly necklaces, made it
clear that she wanted me. She chose to tell me that way so not
everyone would know, but I got the message. And I’m glad that I
stopped at Crystals before I left City Center, so I could pick up the
earrings for her. I love seeing her happy and wearing something that
I bought her. I’m guessing that she wanted to make her statement to
me without words because she thought Cel would be with me, and she
wasn’t going to cause a scene.

She ended up in the
middle of a scene anyway. I’m seriously not amused with the rest of
the interior designers. Especially Deanna. While I meant it when I
said that they’ve always done a good job, that’s all that they
do. Just good. And good isn’t going to be enough anymore. Not with
Chloe producing amazing. It may be just a case of them being
complacent in their jobs, but they’re going to have to find their
passion again if they want to keep being assigned to projects. Our
buildings have all been well received, and I’ve won some
architecture awards, but I want more. I want us to be known as a
company that produces not just great buildings, but great interiors,
too. I have no doubt that the Seattle building is going to get
noticed. Between me and Chloe and her plans for Owen, I’m hoping to
take home some major awards this year. I can’t wait to share that
with her.

After dinner, we dance
to several songs and visit the dessert bar. Chloe loads up a plate
with macarons while I stick to cupcakes and cookies. Our friends have
scattered so we find ourselves a small table outside. I ask a waiter
to bring us some more champagne. “Are you trying to get me drunk so
you can have your way with me? Because just so you know, you don’t
need to get me drunk for that,” Chloe tells me, her eyes twinkling
as she smiles at me.

“No. In fact, I don’t
want you anywhere near drunk. I want you to remember exactly what I’m
going to do to you, with you, tonight.”

“Well, I should
probably have water then.”

“You only had one
glass of champagne. I didn’t think you were that much of a
lightweight.”

“I had a few glasses
of vodka before the party. I needed some liquid courage before I came
out here and made my play for you.”

“Your play? You mean
wearing that dress and your necklace?” I ask her, curiously. “Don’t
get me wrong. I love that you dressed for me, and I meant it when I
said that you were fucking sexy, but it wasn’t obvious to
everyone.”

She sighs and looks
everywhere but at me. “Chlo? You know you don’t have to be
embarrassed with me.”

She looks at me, then.
“I know. It’s just that, well, if you hadn’t noticed me, I was
planning to get you alone—away from Cel—and kiss you senseless to
show you how I felt. I mean, if you would’ve let me.”