Building Our Love (Griffin Brothers #2) Read online

  “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.

  Chapter 8

  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 hi
s 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.”

  “I definitely would have.”

  “I just feel bad about it,” she continues. “I’ve never thought of myself as a girl who would go after someone else’s guy.”

  “I’ve only ever been your guy, Chloe. You know that. Even after we broke up, there was no one but you.”

  “I’ve always been yours, too.”

  “Even when you were with Adam?” I can’t stop the venom that enters my voice.

  Chloe flinches and looks down. “Yes, even then.”

  “Then why, Chlo? Why did you break up with me?”

  “I-I can’t tell you. I want to, but I can’t. Just please know that I’ve always loved you.”

  I ask the question that has always been in the back of my mind. “Did he threaten you?”

  “No, he didn’t threaten me,” she replies with a sad smile.

  I hear her put the emphasis on that last word, but it doesn’t make sense. God knows, that idiot was never a threat to me. Until he took my girl. “You always said you couldn’t stand that bastard, and then you left me for him after we, well you know. Was it that bad for you? I tried to make it okay even though it was awkward.” I have to ask even though it embarrasses me.

  Chloe’s eyes flash as she grabs my chin and looks into my eyes. “Never think that my breaking up with you had anything to do with that night. It was awkward, which I imagine losing your virginity is for everyone. But it was also beautiful and I have never felt as loved as I did that night. I really can’t tell you why I broke up with you. Please stop asking. I don’t want to have that between us. I know you can’t forget what I did to you, but can you get past it? Can it be enough for you to know that I love you and, that I don’t plan to ever let you go again?”

  “If I couldn’t get past it, we wouldn’t be sitting here together right now. It is enough that you’re here, and I don’t want the past to come between us either. I’m not going to let you go, either. So don’t try to break up with me again, sweetheart.” I smile to let her know that I’m really fine. And I am. I don’t think I can ever stop wanting to know what made her leave me, but I can put it aside and be happy to have my girl back.

  “So, it looks like the party is winding down. I’d like to see your apartment, but mine is closer.” She nods at the guesthouse.

  “We can head to my place tomorrow. If I let you out of your bed, that is.”

  “Promises, promises, Ry.”

  I grab her hand and pull h
er to her feet. “I promise I’m going to make you come so many times in the next 24 hours that you may lose consciousness.” I move my hand to her back and lead her inside of her place, locking the door behind us.

  Chapter 9

  Chloe

  Ryan stays behind me as we walk into my living room. “Now, I know that I said I was going to take you to your bed, but we haven’t properly christened the rest of the downstairs yet. I do love that big couch of yours, but you have these big, comfy chairs, too. I think we should start there.” He is undoing the button on the top of my dress as he says this.

  As he caresses my spine and starts on my zipper, I respond. “You want me on top of you on the chair, Ry?”

  “No. Well, yes, but that’s not what I had in mind. I was thinking that you could kneel on the chair and hold onto the back while I take you from behind.” He pushes my dress from my shoulders, and it drops to the ground. I hear him growl as it falls. “You only had a bra on under there? This whole night you were bare and ready for me?” He slides one hand around to the front of me, sliding it through my wet folds.

  “Y-yes. I wanted to be ready in case you wanted me.”

  “The fact that you can even doubt that I want you means I’m not doing a good enough job in showing you how you affect me. So, let me tell you. Chloe, sweetheart, there’s not one minute that I’m in your presence where I’m not rock hard for you.” He turns me to face him and looks me in the eye. “I want to touch you, and taste you, and bury my cock in you all day, every day. Tonight I’m going to do my best to prove that to you.” He leans down and pulls one of my breasts free from my bra and takes it in his mouth.

  “I want you too, Ryan. Always. Every day. Please make love to me.”

  He reaches around me and undoes my bra. It falls to the ground, and he lifts his mouth long enough to answer me. “Soon, Chlo, soon. First, I need to touch and taste.” He picks me up and carries me to my breakfast bar, laying me across the top of it. “I knew this would be the perfect height.” He leans over and plays with my breasts, alternating between the two until I don’t think I can take anymore. He stops and moves down to my ankles.