“We should invite Griffin. He only recently moved here, right?” At my nod, she added, “Maybe he’d like to meet new people.”
“Oh, great idea,” Hadley agreed.
“I don’t like it.”
Hadley nodded. “We’re going out with Cade and Nolan. It’s uneven. It makes sense to invite another guy.”
This felt like Hadley and Dylan were setting me up. “He just acquired an eight-year-old. I don’t think he wants to go out.”
“You won’t know if you don’t ask. Plus, he might have connections to football teams or their front offices. There was a picture of him with several athletes online,” Dylan said.
Hadley snapped her fingers. “That would give you an excuse to call him. You can ask if he has any connections to get the items you need for the auction.”
I wanted to groan in frustration. “You are impossible.”
Dylan smiled as if she’d won.
I sighed. “I’ll ask but I’m telling him it’s to introduce him to Cade and Nolan, to meet new people, not as a date.”
Dylan rolled her eyes. “Like that matters.”
We went over a few more things before calling it a night. It was the second time I’d called Griffin after our Friday wine night. It wasn’t lost on me that I needed alcohol in my system to talk to him on the phone now. This time, I walked to my apartment above the old firehouse. It was cute, quaint, and all mine. I put on comfy pajamas, dialing his number before I lost my nerve.
“Griffin Locke.”
“Hey, it’s me.” When he was quiet for a second, I realized he might not have put my number in his contacts. “Avery Arrington.”
“I know who you are. You’re programmed into my phone.”
I folded my legs under me, his voice low and rumbly. It shouldn’t have warmed my heart that he’d programmed my name. It was natural he’d do that when I was his attorney.
“Avery?”
“Yeah.”
“Were you calling for a particular reason?”
I pinched my arm lightly as a reminder to focus. “Oh yeah. Sorry. The firm had a meeting tonight.”
“On a Friday night?”
“Yeah, we go over the week. One of the things we discussed was our nonprofit fundraiser.”
“How does that involve me?” His voice was hesitant.
“Well, it doesn’t. Not really.” I was going to kill Dylan for putting me in this awkward position the next time I saw her. Awkward silence filled the air between us. Should I mention the silent auction or let it go? I promised Dylan I would ask.
“Dylan had this crazy idea to do a silent auction offering local athlete’s paraphernalia, signed balls, that kind of thing.”
“I don’t do that sort of thing anymore.”
“Maybe I should explain this better. You see, Kids Speak was an organization that Hadley created because her brother, Colin, had a stutter when he was a child. Her father pulled him from school, got him a tutor, until the stutter was eradicated.” My tone filled with disgust. “You know her father backed her in the beginning so she was able to quickly get the programs up and running in the school districts. I can send you the data. It’s an amazing program. But when her father withdrew his support, she had to come up with another way to raise money. Colin is a college baseball player. It was his idea to involve athletes. They could provide coaching advice or just be there for the child to read to. Kind of like a mentor relationship.”
“That’s sounds great. I’m just not sure how I can help.”
Maybe it was a bad idea to call him. I was rambling. I probably sounded unprofessional. “I’m not sure you can and to be clear, this is all Dylan’s idea. She’s our public relations person.”
“I’m listening.” It was a good sign he hadn’t hung up yet.
“In New Orleans, we’re working with college athletes because of Colin. Plus we’re already known, so others have offered to connect us with professional athletes. Here, we don’t have that same connection.”
“And you think I do?”
I couldn’t tell from his tone whether he was intrigued or annoyed. “Dylan thought you might, but if not, just forget I asked.”
“I do have some. I’ve met players and a few teams who wanted to protect their information.”
“Do you think the professional teams in Baltimore would be willing to donate anything?”
“I could reach out.”
My shoulders relaxed. “That would be amazing. I don’t want you to think that I’m using you for your connections.”
He laughed. “You kind of are.”
I smiled. The moment was soft and intimate, relaxing on my couch in my pajamas. “You should come to the fundraiser.”
“I should?”
“Hadley’s inviting her boyfriend, Cade, and his brother Nolan. There’s three of us, so it’s uneven. Plus, you’re helping us out. You should be there.”
“Are you asking me to go as your date?”
My first inclination was to say no. I rarely pursued guys. We were going essentially as a group. I was inviting him to be polite, but Dylan would tell me to say yes. I used that as my excuse to do what I usually wouldn’t. “Sure.”
“Which night is it?”
“Next Saturday.” My mind was reeling with the fact I’d admitted to asking him out on a date. My palms were sweaty, my heart was racing. Was this a good idea?
“Let me see if Declan can stay at his friend’s house that night.”
He was giving me an out I should take. “I completely forgot that you have Declan to care for. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“Don’t worry about it. I can still have a social life. I’ve barely gone anywhere since I moved back. I’m not friends with the people I went to high school with, so I don’t know many people.”
“These events aren’t my scene.” I could have ended the conversation, but I didn’t. I wanted to prolong the intimacy of this conversation, with none of our usual animosity.
I wanted to know more about him.
“What is your scene?”
I smiled. He made it sound like I had one. “I like staying home, watching movies, reading, drinking wine. I’m a homebody.”
“Why is that?”
“Going out makes me uncomfortable. There’s all these expectations. How you should dress, what you should say, how you should stand. I always do something wrong or say something embarrassing.”
He was quiet for a few seconds before he said, “Do you or do you think you do?”
That was the crux of the issue. I worried people didn’t like me but maybe none of it was true.
“We talk a few times and you think you know me?” I injected a teasing note into my voice so that he wouldn’t think I was being defensive, but his comment put me on edge.
He laughed lightly. “I feel like I’m starting to.”
“Well, I’m not that interesting. Dylan’s a natural at social events and I’m not. There’s no story there.”
“I bet there is. I’d love to hear it.” His voice lowered even more. An image of him lounging in bed popped into my head.