Another shrug. “I guess I’m just not that observant. And when we’re inside the bedroom, the only thing I’m thinking about is getting you out of your clothes.”
Great. Just when she thought she had a handle on her blushing.
“It’s green,” Indina said. “But don’t tell that to any of my sorority sisters. If I said my favorite colors were anything but crimson and cream, I’d never hear the end of it.”
“You see there, I didn’t know you belonged to a sorority either.”
“I have the frame on my license plate. What did you think that 1913 stood for?”
He hunched his shoulder. “I had no clue.”
“So I’m guessing you never pledged to a frat while in college?”
He shook his head and leaned both elbows back against the railing again. “I was too busy trying to maintain my grades so I could keep my scholarship,” he admitted. “I knew my parents couldn’t afford to pay tuition if I lost it, and I didn’t want to be buried in student loans.
“But, if you want to know the truth, I didn’t fit in with the whole Greek life. I was the nerdy kid who spent most of his time in the library or the engineering lab. I wasn’t even cool enough to belong to the various engineering clubs on campus, which should tell you something right there.”
She laughed. “I can’t even imagine you as a geeky engineering student.” She tipped her head to the side. “Actually, I could. Geeks are pretty sexy.”
One brow lifted. “You think I’m sexy?”
“Do you think I’d be in your bed twice a week if I didn’t?”
His deep chuckle rumbled through the air, but then his expression turned serious. “Why are you in my bed twice a week?”
His question, along with his suddenly earnest tone, caught her off guard. Indina shifted her weight from one foot to the other in an attempt to buy time before answering his question. She wasn’t sure how to answer his question.
She shrugged nonchalantly. “I thought the reason was obvious. The sex is amazing.”
“Look, the sex is off the charts. There’s no denying that,” Griffin said. “But I want to know why you’ve sworn off relationships.”
“Who says I’ve sworn off relationships?”
“You did. When we first started this, you said you weren’t interested in doing the ‘whole relationship thing.’ But you never said why.”
“You never asked.”
His lips tilted up in a grin. “Touché.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m asking now. Why have you shied away from an actual relationship?” He paused before asking, “Does it have something to do with the guy your brother mentioned at dinner?”
Indina groaned. She turned toward the water, resting her elbows on the railing as she listened to the slap of the waves breaking against the ship’s hull.
Griffin’s lowered voice broke through the stillness. “You don’t have to talk about it if you aren’t ready.”
She looked at him over her shoulder. “I will never be ready to talk about Timothy with you, Griffin. That’s not what this thing between us is supposed to be about.” She blew out a breath. “This is exactly what I didn’t want.”
“Indina, you can trust me with this. I won’t—”
She cut him off. “Please, Griffin.” Taking his hand, she tugged slightly. “Can’t we just go back to the cabin and do what we do best when we’re together?”
His expression remained serious. When he started to pull his hand away, Indina tightened her hold.
Where was this even coming from? Goodness, she knew she shouldn’t have invited him on this cruise. Without work or sex to occupy their time, she should have known he’d want to do other stuff. Like get to know her.
“Please,” she pleaded. “Talking about Timothy will just put me in a horrible mood. This is supposed to be a vacation. I don’t want to think about my ex on vacation.”
She sensed the moment when he relented and the relief that rushed through her nearly brought her to her knees. Indina started for the door, but Griffin pulled her back. He clasped his hands on her hips and stared into her eyes.
“I won’t push you to share anything you’re not ready to share, but you can talk to me, Indina. I’m good for more than just getting you off.” The barest hint of a smile reached his eyes. “But since getting you off happens to be one of my favorite pastimes, I say we go and do that right now.”
Chapter 4
“Are we gonna get this game started or what?” Toby called from the left side of the beach volleyball net.
When they disembarked the ship this morning, there were three eight-seater shuttle busses waiting to escort them to an all-inclusive beach resort near the Chankanaab area of Cozumel, Mexico. Harrison had pre-booked the excursion, which included a private section of the beach for the Holmes family’s exclusive use.
Indina had to give it to him. Her brother and Monica, the masterminds behind planning this cruise, had thought of everything. It was only their second day and this was already one of the best family reunions the Holmeses had ever held.
And it couldn’t have come at a better time. They were inching ever closer to the six-month anniversary of her mother’s passing, and Indina was worried about how her dad would handle it. Honestly, she was worried about how they all would handle it. The anniversary would fall on what would have been her mother’s sixty-fifth birthday.
She watched as her dad picked eight-year-old Athens up by the waist and tossed him back into the water. The joy on his face helped to quell some of the anxiety Indina had been feeling toward him these past few months. She’d stopped asking him how he was doing after growing weary of his automatic response of “I’m fine.” Clark Holmes had never been one to show his emotions. Indina just prayed that
