“It started with my ex-wife, Jacqueline,” he said. “Before she was my wife, she was my brother’s girlfriend.”
Indina’s eyes widened. “You married your brother’s girlfriend?”
“It’s not as if I stole her from him or anything. Garland and Jackie had broken up long before she and I started dating.”
Indina shook her head. “That doesn’t matter. She was still off-limits. At least that would have been the case with my brothers.”
“Garland’s reason for being upset had nothing to do with me moving in on his old territory or anything like that. He was upset because I didn’t listen when he tried to steer me away from her. Jackie had cheated on him with another guy, and Garland warned me that she would do the same to me.”
“But you didn’t listen.”
Griffin shook his head.
“So, did she?” Indina asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, she did.”
There was a lot more Griffin could have divulged, but the thought of trudging through the mire of his toxic marriage made him nauseous.
“So, your brother was right to warn you,” Indina murmured.
“He was. But I’m just too damn stubborn to admit it.” He snorted. Then he shook his head. “I hate how much this has hurt our family, especially my parents. They’ve both pleaded with us to mend fences, but I just don’t see it happening.”
Indina stared at him for a moment before she pushed herself up and leaned back against the headboard. “For someone as smart as you are, I can’t believe you could be such an idiot,” she said. “Do you realize how ridiculous it is for both you and your brother to allow someone who isn’t even in your life anymore—someone who hurt you both—to continue hurting you? Don’t you realize how much power that gives your ex-wife? You’re giving her the power to hurt your entire family. She doesn’t deserve that.”
Griffin exhaled a frustrated breath. He knew Indina was right. He’d said the same thing to himself more than once.
But he was also a stubborn son of a bitch. So was Garland.
“For years I’ve told myself that this is just the way it is,” Griffin muttered.
“But it doesn’t have to be this way.”
He had to clear his throat before he finally said, “I know.” Griffin felt physically ill as he finally came to terms with what he’d allowed to happen to his family. “I have no idea what’s happening in my niece and nephew’s lives. I’ve missed school plays and Little League games. I send birthday gifts, but other than those two Christmases that my mom guilted me into attending, I haven’t had anything to do with my niece or nephew for four long years, and that kills me.”
“That’s tragic, Griffin.”
“It is. And I don’t want to live this way anymore.” He looked into her eyes. “You know what made the difference? Being surrounded by your family. I’ve been so damn jealous of all of you since I boarded this ship. But I realize now that I don’t have to be. I have my own family. All I have to do is stop being a jackass and reach out to my brother.”
“Yes, you do,” Indina said.
She trailed her thumb over his jaw before cupping his chin in her delicate fingers. Griffin closed his eyes and gloried in how amazing it felt to have her touch him like this. As if he meant more to her than just a good lay. As if she cared for him.
Didn’t these last few minutes show just that? She cared about the state of his relationship with his family. She cared enough to see that he was hurting and want to fix it.
This was all he needed. This one small indication that she felt just the barest concern was enough. He could build on this. He could show her they were worth taking a risk.
“I can promise you that your family misses you more than you know,” Indina continued. “My family drives me absolutely bananas at times, but I would not give them up for anything in the world. They mean everything to me.”
“I can understand why,” Griffin said. “They’re pretty awesome.”
She smiled. “The Holmes clan is growing on you, huh?”
“Yes, they are.” He looked her straight in the eyes. “Especially a certain Holmes.”
He wanted to kiss her mouth. God, did he want that.
But if she rejected him right now it might literally kill him. Instead, Griffin tugged the sheet from her breasts, leaned forward and finally pulled that nipple that had been teasing him into his mouth. Indina released a low moan as she captured his head between her palms and threw her leg over his hip.
He lowered her onto the mattress and fitted himself between her thighs. Grabbing a condom from the pack he’d set on the bedside table, he rolled the latex over his erection, and commenced to doing what they did best.
Chapter 5
Indina stood off to the side and counted as, one by one, the Holmeses descended from the shuttle bus and made their way through the gate of the ruins at Dzibilchaltún. After a nearly hour-long drive out to the ancient Mayan site, everyone was ready to get out and stretch their legs.
“Parents, keep your children with you until I get a final headcount,” Indina called out as they all entered the gate.
At breakfast this morning, Harrison had tasked her with distributing tickets and keeping a count of everyone for the first stop on today’s excursion. Indina had started to argue, just on principal at being told what to do, but after all the work her brother had put into this trip, she decided to lay off him. Besides, she didn’t want to add to whatever stress Harrison was under.
Indina and Griffin agreed to bring up the rear so they could keep an eye on everyone, while her father led at the front. Despite the fact that he was knocking on seventy’s door, Clark Holmes had the stamina of a man in his fifties. He still religiously jogged five miles a day.
Indina had watched him over the course of the past two days and had finally convinced herself that he was indeed going to be okay. She knew his eyes would never have the same spark they had when her mother was alive, but he seemed genuinely happy. Of course, nothing made her dad happier than being surrounded by family, so this cruise was like heaven on earth for him.
The entire clan trekked across the rocky dirt paths toward the main ruins site. Their guide, Iktan, had the distinction of being a direct descendant of the Mayan people, which he proudly shared with them once every ten minutes or so. Her dad called for everyone to hush while Iktan explained the construction of the centuries old stone temples. He described the serpent design that ran throughout several structures, eliciting oohs and ahhs from the children and even a few of the adults.
“I just helped lay the tile work in Mama’s bathroom at the old house,” Toby said in a hush tone. “I understand this kind of craftsmanship.”
Eli stared at him with disgust for a moment before he said, “Shut up.”
Indina bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.
They explored a few of the buildings, including a 16th Century Franciscan church, before Iktan guided them to a structure that he proclaimed was the most important on the site.
“This, my friends, is the Temple of the Seven Dolls.” He described the seven tiny effigies that were discovered in the temple when it was excavated, thus giving it its name.
Iktan pointed to the two window cutouts on either side of a large doorway. “If you are here on the Spring and Fall equinox, you will see the sun shining directly in the center of these doorways. This signaled harvest time for the Mayan. To this day, people travel from all over the world to witness it.”
“Can we come back to see it? ” Her eight-year-old nephew asked.
Indina rubbed her hand over Athens’s stubby hair. “Maybe you can convince your mom and dad to take another cruise next spring.”
“Only if he does well in school,” Willow said.
“That’s a given,” Indina replied. “He takes after his Auntie Indina.”
Willow smiled at that, and it struck Indina how rare it was to see a genuine smile on her sister-in-law’s face these days. How had it taken her so long
to recognized that something was off with those two?
As they all returned to the main site, Indina kept her eyes on Harrison and Willow. The iciness between them was unmistakable. All the other couples held hands as they traveled over the crumbling limestone road leading back to the other structures, but Willow kept her arms crossed over her chest. When Harrison reached over to assist her across a particularly rough patch, she flinched and stepped out of his reach.
Indina wasn’t the only one who noticed it. She caught Liliana rolling her eyes at her parents. After that, the fifteen-year-old’s entire disposition changed. Her sullen expression remained as the guide pointed out the remaining structures on their tour. It made Indina wonder just how long this rift had been going on between her brother and sister-in-law.
Their tour ended at the Cenote Xlakah, an ancient freshwater pool in the heart of Dzibilchaltún. Harrison had told them all ahead of time that there would be an opportunity to swim, but Indina had had enough of the water with her dip in the hot tub yesterday. Instead, she and Griffin decided to climb one of the surrounding temples that overlooked the grounds.
“You go first,” Griffin said.
She started up the steps and then looked over her shoulder at him. “I know you just want to look at my ass while I climb.”
“I asked you to go first because I’m a gentleman,” he said. “I don’t have to play games in order to take a peek at your ass. I see it all the time.”
Indina burst out laughing as she started up the steep step.
“Be careful,” Griffin said, capturing her waist to steady her when she got tripped up on a step. His fingers spread over her stomach and he pulled her back against him. “You okay?”
“Yes,” Indina answered. When he went to move his hand, she clamped onto it, holding it against her belly. “Thank you,” she said.
Griffin brushed his lips against her ear again and whispered, “I’m here for you, Indina. You need to recognize that I’m always here for you.”
A medley of hopefulness, desire and unease stirred within her belly.
Indina fought the temptation to be pulled in by those softly whispered words. She couldn’t allow herself to fully digest his statement without comparing it to similar promises that had been whispered in her ear in the past. Promises made by men who eventually had not been there for her.
Yet, even as she struggled to remain indifferent, she recognized the futility in doing so. She could no longer remain indifferent where Griffin was concerned. They’d shared too much over these past couple of days.
Once they arrived at the top, Indina settled in next to Griffin, their thighs touching as they sat side-by-side, overlooking the grounds. Just the feel of his warm skin against hers coated her in a layer of comfort.
That was one of the things that had stood out the most in these last few days. She now recognized just how comfortable she was with him. It hadn’t come as a complete surprise. That sense of trust had been there from the very beginning. She never would have approached him—never would have spent the past eight months in his bed—if she’d felt even a modicum of unease around him.
But over the past few days, she’d been forced to see Griffin outside of the mental box where she usually stored their relationship. He was so much more than just a coworker she just so happened to be sleeping with. He was both sweet and kind, and he had things going on in his life that she would have never guessed. Issues with his family that Indina felt compelled to help him work through. The fact that she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the rift between Griffin and his brother told her that she cared way more than she would have if he meant nothing to her.
It scared the hell out of her.
It scared her to think of how admitting she cared changed the dynamics of this entire arrangement. Caring added a layer of vulnerability Indina wasn’t ready to accept, but it felt as if it was out of her hands.
She did care about him. Now she had to decide just what to do about that.
“Have I thanked you for inviting me to join you here?” Griffin asked.
Indina’s lips tipped up in a smile “Yes, you have,” she said. “Have I thanked you for coming?”
“Not sure if you said it with words, but that thing you did with your tongue last night was thanks enough.”
She was a forty-two year old woman; she would not blush.
Griffin’s deep chuckle told her that it was too late. She was definitely blushing.
“Well, just in case I haven’t said it in actual words, thank you for joining me,” Indina said. “I’ve had a good time.”
“Does it make you wonder how many good times we’ve missed because you’re always so quick to leave me?”
“Griffin—”
“I mean it, Indina. Look at how much fun we had that first night when we went to that disco on the ship. There are clubs back home where we could hang out, have drinks, dance—although you may not want to be seen dancing with me in public.”
She released a strained laugh. “It’s not about your dancing.”
“Then what is it?”
The sudden seriousness in his tone triggered her defensiveness. She tamped it down, and reminded herself that she was still in the driver’s seat when it came to how their relationship operated.
“Griffin, we decided from the very beginning that we didn’t want this to get too serious.”
“That was eight months ago, Indina. And I’m not asking you to marry me, just to go out on an actual date with me.”
She set her elbows on her thighs and ran her hands down her face. “Can we please not talk about this right now? I can’t think about us,” she said, pointing between the two of them, “when I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on with Harrison and Willow.”
Griffin frowned. “What do you mean? What’s going on with Harrison and Willow?”
She lifted her shoulders in a hapless shrug. “I have no idea. What I do know is that something isn’t right. The two of them have hardly talked to each other this entire cruise. And yesterday, while we were all hanging out in the hot tub, Willow made a comment that leads me to believe that she and Harrison have been having problems for a while.”
“Either of them come to you about it?”
Indina shook her head. “I’m not surprised that Harrison hasn’t said anything. He could be up to his neck in quicksand and would insist he doesn’t need help getting out of it. But I thought Willow and I were close enough that she would confide in me if she and my brother were having problems.”
“Maybe they want to work it out for themselves.”
“But what if it’s too serious for them to try to work it out for themselves?” She looked over at him. “They have children, Griffin. It’s already affecting Liliana. I saw her watching her parents earlier. I could tell that she’s bothered by it.” Indina shoved her hands in her hair and massaged her scalp. “If those two end up getting a divorce, it will destroy those children.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Indina. There are a lot of stages between giving each other the silent treatment and filing for divorce. Believe me, I’ve been there.”
She stared at his strong profile and was struck again by how much she didn’t know about him.
“So it wasn’t just the cheating that signaled the end of your marriage?” she asked.
“No, it was a lot more than that.” He set his elbows on his thighs and clamped his hands together. Looking straight ahead, he said, “Earlier, when we were walking on the beach. Do you remember what you said about your parents’ marriage? About how perfect they were for each other?”
Indina nodded. She and Griffin talked about the classic love affair her parents shared as they’d strolled along the shoreline this morning.
“My marriage was the exact opposite,” he said. “It was toxic from the very beginning. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve come to realize that Jacqueline probably only married me to get back at Garland. When she realized that it didn’t
matter to him, that’s when she was done with me. It just took me a while to catch on.”
Indina reached over and ran her fingers along his forearm, compelled by the need to provide him just a small bit of comfort. He seemed to glom on to it, covering her hand with his.
“How did you find out about her infidelity?” she asked.
“I hired someone to follow her.” His derisive snort told Indina everything she needed to know about how that turned out. “It was a waste of money,” Griffin said. “It’s not as if she tried all that hard to hide it. They went to the same hotel every week. Even charged it to our joint credit card a couple of times.”
“Talk about ballsy,” Indina said. “It’s as if she wanted you to find out.”
“She did. That’s why she chose a hotel that was just a few blocks from my old job back in Milwaukee.”
“Is that why you’ve always insisted we go to your house instead of a hotel?” Indina asked.
He lightly squeezed her hand. “That has nothing to do with it. I want you in my bed. You belong in my bed. Only my bed.”
Why did that hint of possessiveness turn her on so damn much? Normally she would balk at the insinuation that she belonged to any man, but not today. Today, her nipples drew tight and achy just at the thought of Griffin only wanting her for himself.
“So, what happened when you finally confronted your ex with the evidence?” she asked.
“I didn’t. At least not right away.” He blew out a weary breath and ran a hand down his face. “I should have. Maybe it would have prevented me from doing what I eventually did do.” Before Indina could voice the question, Griffin continued. “The weekend after the investigator emailed me the pictures, I went out with some friends to get my mind off of the fact that my marriage was essentially over. I drank way more than I should have, but not enough to be incapacitated or not know what I was doing…”
She was almost afraid to ask. “What did you do?”
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