Building Our Love (Griffin Brothers #2) Read online

  “I spent most of the afternoon sitting in my office trying to figure out how I can be a man who is worthy of you. Then, when I finally manned up enough to face you, you were not only gone, but you left me a love note. I don’t want to break up with you. Ever. I’m so sorry that you even thought that. I’m just embarrassed for being such a jerk.”

  “You were a jerk. But you’re my jerk and I love you. You have nothing to feel bad about. I heard you tell Deanna that you weren’t interested in her, which made me happy. Then she went after me and Owen. Me, I could have handled. Her insulting Owen, not so much. So I lost it. It’s okay. I don’t mind the write up. What I do mind is that it’s been hours since you spoke to me, not to mention had your lips and hands on me. Work was rough, but dinner was pure torture.”

  “It was torture for me, too. Can I come in and make it up to you?”

  “I don’t want sex, Ry. Well, I mean I do want it, but that’s not what I need tonight.”

  “What do you need, Chlo? I’ll do anything. Just tell me.”

  “I need you to hold me and kiss me. I was about to start watching Sherlock. Everyone says it’s great, and Sam let me borrow her DVDs. Will you cuddle on the couch with me?”

  “I can definitely do that. I haven’t seen Sherlock yet, but I’d love to watch with you. Just don’t swoon over that guy too much in front of me, please. My ego is pretty fragile right now.”

  “That guy? Oh, you mean Benedict Cumberbatch? He is pretty swoony, but my man is better.”

  “Even when your man has been a total asshole to you all day?”

  “It wasn’t all day. This morning was pretty awesome, and if you wake me up like that again tomorrow, all will be forgiven.”

  “You like my mouth on you, sweetheart?”

  I move forward into the house, and she walks backward towards the couch. I reach out to kiss her before she answers me. She responds and then pulls back a little to answer me.

  “Don’t act surprised. You know that I love your mouth.”

  “Just my mouth?” I ask as I run my hands lightly over her breasts.

  “No. But you need to stop. I told you I needed to just be held tonight. I shouldn’t have mentioned anything about this morning, but I wanted to cheer you up.”

  “You did. And I’m sorry for not doing what I agreed to. Put on the DVD and we’ll cuddle.”

  We settle into the couch with her curled up in my arms. The show is really good and so is holding Chloe. I kiss her often but don’t go any further, honoring her wishes. We get through Season 1 in the early hours of the morning.

  I get up and move to the DVD player to switch out the discs. “Ready for Season 2?”

  “No, I’m ready for bed.”

  Chloe is on the stairs when I turn around.

  “Oh, I didn’t think you were tired yet.”

  “I’m not. It’s tomorrow, Ry.”

  “Tomorrow?” I ask, and then I get it.

  She said we couldn’t make love last night. It’s not last night anymore. I head toward the stairs as she runs up them. I catch her when she enters her bedroom, picking her up and tossing her onto the middle of the bed. We make love until the sun starts to rise, and we fall asleep. I wake her up a few hours later, just like she asked me to. I’m pretty sure that I’m forgiven now.

  * * *

  Chloe

  I’m on one of company jets with Ryan and Owen, heading to Seattle. Ryan surprised me by asking if I wanted to stay through the weekend so we could do some sightseeing. I told him I’d love that and packed what he asked me to. I’m excited to see how the building is coming along as well. I always wanted to work on a building with Ry, and now it’s happening. Having Owen do the artwork his way is just an added bonus.

  The guys wanted to talk about some of the other projects that they’re working on, so I’m taking the time to look up dresses. I need one for Sam and Danny’s wedding next month. They’re getting married at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World. I’m going as Ryan’s plus one although Sam invited me on my own as well. I can’t wait. I really like Sam and Danny, so I’m excited to go to their wedding. I’ve also never been to Disney World, so I’m going a few days early to explore with everyone. Well, everyone except Ryan.

  He said he can’t take off any time that week since we’re going to be back in Seattle the next week for the opening of the building. He wasn’t kidding when he said that we have four parties to attend that week. There’s the employee one, one for media, the one where other architects can come see the building, and then the public opening. The last one will only be on the ground floor and will highlight all of the amenities for the employees that Ryan and I implemented into the design.

  I’m still looking at dresses when Ryan settles into the seat next to me. “Did you find a dress, sweetheart?”

  “I think so. I was deciding between two, but I think I’ve made my choice.”

  “Do I get a vote?”

  “You don’t want to be surprised?”

  “Not necessarily, but whatever you want to do is fine.”

  “I think I’ll keep it a surprise.”

  “Okay. I love this dress, by the way.” He fingers the hem of the one that I am wearing. It is black and white with large yin and yang symbols covering it.

  “Thanks, I thought it seemed fun, and I was drawn to it in the store.”

  “It’s not like anything you wore while we were apart. That was all really conservative. I’m enjoying your new wardrobe.”

  “You saw what I wore when we weren’t together?”

  “Yeah. I umm…I used to look at your pictures in the papers from the events that you attended.” He looks a little embarrassed. “And we were at a couple of the same events.”

  “Oh, Ry. Don’t be embarrassed. Just know that the girl in the pictures was not the real me. You have the real me. And I know we were at some of the same events. It killed me to be in the same room but apart from you.”

  “You didn’t look too sad when Adam was shoving his tongue down your throat in front of me,” he says with some bitterness and a lot of hurt in his voice.

  I forgot about that time when Adam kissed me out of spite. He knew it would hurt both me and Ryan. Since it was in public, I had to go along with it. When he tried to grab my ass too, I did step on his foot to stop him.

  “I didn’t enjoy that, Ry.”

  “Then why were you with him? You keep saying that you didn’t want to be with him, but you stayed for three years. I don’t know what to think, Chlo.”

  “I can’t tell you. I wish I could, but I can’t. Just know that I had my reasons.”

  “Will you ever be able to tell me? I’m working hard to get past this, but it’s not easy.”

  “I don’t know if I will be able to, but I will if I can. Please, please just know that I have only ever wanted to be with you.”

  “I’ll let it go for now, Chlo. I really am trying to believe you. I feel like you want me now, and I guess that’s all that matters.”

  “I do. In fact I would very much like to have you now. Isn’t there a bedroom on this plane?”

  “There are two. You really want to join the mile high club with Owen here, though?”

  “I doubt that Owen will be scandalized. He’ll probably tease us. I really don’t care, but if you don’t want to, that’s fine.”

  “Oh, I want to, sweetheart. If you don’t care, then I won’t either.”

  He grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet. We walk towards the larger bedroom. Owen is looking at us with a smirk on his face. “Have fun you two.”

  “We will,” I say as we walk by.

  Ryan closes and locks the door. I have my dress off before he turns around. He takes in my lacy bra and thong and tells me. “I have a feeling that this will be the best plane ride I’ve ever had.”

  The flight isn’t long and the captain comes on the intercom to tell us to fasten our seat belts before we can go for round 2. Round 1 was pretty epic, so we’re both satisfied and happy.
We quickly dress and return to our seats. Owen starts the teasing immediately, but I honestly don’t care. Ryan and I finish the last minutes of the flight snuggled together on the couch.

  * * *

  Ryan

  Our car is waiting on the tarmac as we deplane. We get in and head to the hotel. I would normally stay at the Four Seasons or W, but Chloe wanted to stay somewhere fun. She found a place called Hotel Five, so that’s where we’re staying. Owen decided to stay there, too. We pull up to the hotel, grab our bags and go inside.

  The hotel lobby is done up in mostly black, red, and yellow with some gray mixed in. It’s modern and had pop art on the walls. I can tell Chloe loves it, and that makes me incredibly happy. We are booked into one of the Urban Suites. Owen gets off on the floor below us and waves goodbye. We get off the elevator, and I open our door. The room has an open floor plan with a small living room, a bedroom with a king size bed, and a bathroom in the middle. The bathroom has an open rain shower, and I can’t wait to get in there with Chloe.

  “Do you like it, Ry? I know it’s not the Four Seasons.”

  “Well let’s see. There’s a big bed, a cool shower, and you. What more could I need?”

  “I appreciate you agreeing to stay here. If we didn’t have to get to our meeting, I would show you how just how much.”

  “You can show me later if you want.”

  “Deal. Now we better get going.”

  We spend the afternoon with the contractor at his office, going over the timeline. Everything’s on schedule so far. Tomorrow, we’ll go to the site and see how our vision is coming together. I’ve done this dozens of times, but none has been as exciting as this one. Having Chloe here with me, working with me, is better than anything else I could experience in regards to work.

  We head back to the hotel to get changed for dinner. I let Chloe pick the restaurant for tonight. She took it seriously and searched the internet, deciding on a place called Purple Café. I have just pulled a polo on when I look over and see Chloe zipping up a sleeveless white dress covered in an artsy print. The zipper goes all the way up the front.

  “I think I am in love with that dress.”

  “You like the front zipper, huh?”

  “Yes, I do. I’m going to be thinking of pulling it down with my teeth all throughout dinner.”

  “Now I’ll be thinking of that, too.”

  “Good. We’ll have a nice dinner, and then I’ll bring you back here to ravish you all night.”

  “That sounds like a wonderful plan to me.”

  We head down to the car and go to the restaurant. It’s really cool with brick walls and a large spiral staircase surrounding the floor to ceiling wine racks. We peruse the menu for a few minutes and I have to laugh when Chloe orders the lobster mac and cheese.

  “What?” She says when the waitress leaves.

  “You just really love lobster mac and cheese don’t you?”

  “Yes. I do. Is there something wrong with that?”

  “Nothing at all, sweetheart.” I pick up her hand and bring it to my lips.

  “So, are you going to tell me the plans you’ve made for this weekend yet?”

  “Nope. But you brought your passport and different kinds of clothes, right?”

  “Yes. I brought business clothes for our meetings, casual date dresses like this one, jeans, cocktail dresses, and even a club appropriate dress.”

  “Perfect. Is there anything in particular that you want to see here? Some places we may be able to visit after work the next couple of days.”

  “I definitely want to see the Space Needle, but that would be cool at night. I would also like to go to Pike Place Market. Other than that, I’m totally open to whatever you have planned.”

  “That will work. We can go to the Space Needle for dinner one night. Then, we can do something I have planned on Saturday morning, hit Pike Place to look around and have lunch, then on to the next part of my plan.”

  Our dinner is really good, and we share a brownie sundae dessert after. We head back to the hotel and get some good use out of the shower. Chloe definitely shows me how much she appreciates me letting her pick the hotel and restaurant for tonight.

  Chapter 14

  Chloe

  I’m so excited that we’re going to see the building today. I can’t wait to see how our plans are coming together. I put on another artsy patterned dress, but this one is a little more work appropriate with a scoop neck and longer hemline. I’m wearing flats since we’re going into a construction site. Ryan’s dressed in khakis and a green button down shirt with the Griffin logo. We eat a quick breakfast from room service since we overslept a little, and then head out with Owen.

  When we pull up to the building, my jaw drops. I mean that literally. I knew that it was going to be amazing, but I had no idea how much it would affect me to see it. The bottom floor is all windows except for where Owen’s conceptual art made of computer parts juts out at different places. The rest of the floors flow into different angles, with more windows than walls to let the natural light in. There are more pieces by Owen intermittently placed at different floors.

  “Wow, guys. It’s amazing.”

  “Thanks. And thank you for suggesting that we use Owe’s art out here, too, instead of just inside,” Ryan says.

  “Yeah, Chloe. Thanks for that and for letting me do my thing instead of the usual boring corporate stuff.”

  “You’re both welcome, and I love it when you do your art the way you like. Your other stuff is good, but when you go all out, it’s beyond brilliant.”

  I mean it. Owen is so talented, and I feel like his usual corporate work holds him back. But, it’s not my place to speak for him. As much as I’ve always stood up for him throughout the years, this is something that he needs to do for himself.

  “Let’s go inside and see your work, Chlo,” Ryan says.

  We walk in and everything is just like I imagined it would be. I know that I drew it and they followed my plans, but to see it for real is beyond words. I stare at the reception area with the glass spiral staircase behind it. Encased in each stair are computer parts and different variations of the letter G. The stained glass griffin is filling the central atrium with color, and the indoor waterfall looks breathtaking, even without the water running.

  “Wow back at you, Chloe. This is the shit,” Owen tells me.

  “Thanks, Owe.” I’m beaming with pride.

  Reuben, who oversees all of the Griffin construction projects, comes over to greet us. “Well, what do you think? We’re right on schedule, and it’s looking really good, I think.”

  “It looks great, Reub. I want you to meet Chloe. She designed the interiors and also gave us the idea of using Owen’s artwork on the outside of the building.”

  “Hey, Chloe. It’s great to meet you. Your designs are amazing. Let me show you what else we’ve finished.”

  We spend the rest of the morning walking the building, going over what still needs to be done. We stop and grab lunch at a nearby deli. After we eat, Reuben pulls out the blueprints and my drawings and has us clarify things that he has questions about. We finish up around 3 p.m. I’m tired, so I head back to the hotel for a nap while Ryan and Owen go to grab a beer at a local pub with Reuben.

  “I’ll see you in a couple of hours, sweetheart,” Ryan says and then kisses me before I get into the town car.

  * * *

  Ryan

  “Chloe is one hot chick, Ryan. How long have you known her?” Reuben asks me.

  “Since she was 11 and I was 14.”

  “And you’re just hitting that now?”

  I stand up quickly while Owen glares at Reuben. I lean down and get right in his face as he shrinks down in his chair.

  “Do not disrespect her like that if you want to keep all of your vital organs functioning. Chloe’s the only woman I’ve ever loved.”

  “Sorry man, I thought she was just one of your easy lays. You always have a different girl around when you’re
working on a project with me. Granted, none of them have ever been wicked talented like Chloe, though. Her ideas for the building are amazing.”

  I sit back down. “Yes they are and so is she. I’ll accept your apology, but know that if you ever say anything out of line about her again, this will be the last job you work on for us.”

  “And I’ll help him kick your ass. He won’t need the help, but I’ll do it anyway,” Owen adds.

  Our conversation is awkward and stilted after that. I’m mad at Reuben for what he said about Chloe and about me. Honestly, I’m also mad at myself for knowing that he’s right about how I was before. I did look for women who would just let me take them home. I was trying to forget Chloe, but not replace her. There’s no one who could replace her.

  I leave after one beer, telling the guys that I have to go and get ready for dinner. Chloe and I are having dinner with a couple of local architects and their wives at Metropolitan Grill. I get to the hotel room and open the door quietly so that I don’t wake Chloe up. I walk into the bedroom and see her curled up on her side under the covers. I kick off my shoes and join her, wrapping my arm around her as I snuggle in close.

  “Is it time to get up, Ry?” She asks in a sleepy voice.

  “No, sweetheart. You can sleep a little longer. I got back early.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Now that I’m here with you, everything’s perfect.”

  “I love you, Ry.”

  “Love you too, Chlo.”

  I pull out my phone and set my alarm for 90 minutes from now. Then, I close my eyes and fall asleep with my girl in my arms.

  When my alarm goes off, I wake up alone in bed. I see Chloe through the open bathroom door, doing her hair. I stretch and then get up and go in there too. I come up behind her, and she smiles at me in the mirror as she twists her hair into a high bun, leaving some random curls falling around her face. “You’re wearing your hair up?”