What If

by A. J. Pine

  You so totally love me, too.

  Paige and Miles are at my door now, staring at me as I sob and laugh, a picture and sticky note clutched to my chest.

  “You okay?” Miles asks.

  I nod and shake my head as tears pour over my smile.

  “I don’t know,” I say. “I think I will be, though.”

  “Can I ask you something, then?” he says, and I nod as he produces an Uno card from his back pocket. “Do you always keep Uno cards in the freezer?”

  Oh my God. He left them everywhere?

  Now I’m laughing, full-on, big-bellowed laughing with the occasional snort.

  They leave me then, alone in the room that is a portrait of me and thoughts of the person who saw it all, who saw me, who’s scared right along with me and loves me anyway. And yeah, I so totally love him, too.

  On Monday morning I go back through my phone’s messages, reading the ones he sent Friday night—the night of his party. But there’s been no communication since then. I needed the weekend to collect myself, to build up the courage to face him. That would require him to show up, though, and I have no guarantee he will.

  I hesitate inside the library’s entrance for a good ten minutes, only moving when the stares from the girl at the information desk make me more self-conscious than nervous. I decide on the stairs, taking them slowly—not only to avoid perspiring but also getting there too quickly—to the sixth floor. Not until someone bumps my shoulder do I realize I’m standing in the door frame of the sixth-floor study room with my eyes squeezed shut.

  “Sorry,” the girl says as she passes. “I didn’t expect you to stop.”

  I open my eyes because I’m in a public place and am expected to act like an adult. But if I try to respond to the girl’s apology, my flip-flopping stomach will leap out of my mouth.

  This might happen anyway because as soon as my eyes regain their focus they lock on his. His beautiful chocolate eyes, despite the one that seems to be forever swollen and bruised.

  He came. And he waited. And I can’t move or else that whole stomach leaving my insides thing is going to happen anyway.

  Griffin smiles, and if I wasn’t stuck where I stand, I’d stagger at the sight of it. Then he’s moving, his chair sliding out behind him, his body hurrying closer to mine.

  When he’s near enough for me to smell apples, he grabs my bag off my shoulder and repositions it on his.

  “Hey, Pippi,” he says. “What took you so long?”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Griffin

  I smile when I see the whiteboard calendar in the kitchen…and the girl wearing nothing but my Aberdeen T-shirt and boy briefs standing next to the espresso maker, the first item we bought together. When my lease is up in May, this will be our place, not that I don’t spend a majority of my time here anyway.

  “I have my first AmeriCorps meeting tonight, a sort of meet and greet,” I say as I approach her. She takes a lazy sip from her mug before setting it on the counter.

  “Bring them some basil, and they’ll fall head over heels in love with you.” She giggles, and I plant a kiss on her nose. “Here,” she says, lifting a mug brimming with foam. When I look at it, I see the heart she’s drawn in my drink.

  I stand, my palms braced on the counter on either side of her.

  “Thanks, Pippi. But I’m not really thirsty yet.”

  She lets out a soft laugh as she sets my latte down, her elbow bumping the mason jar filled with loose change labeled “My Big Fat Scottish and Greek Wedding.” Because we’re going to make it to Greece. We’re going to make it lots of places, but first things first.

  “Nice outfit,” she says, eying my only piece of clothing, my boxer briefs. “It goes well with your glasses.”

  I stifle my own laugh, aiming to win this teasing standoff.

  “I’d like it better if we matched,” I say, sliding my palms from the counter to her waist, taking great care to lift her T-shirt enough so skin meets skin.

  Both of us take in a sharp breath, and my hands glide up her torso under her shirt until they find her bare breasts. At this she hums, and I know I’m a goner.

  Maggie lifts her arms above her head, and in seconds the T-shirt is a goner, too.

  “There,” I say. “Matching.”

  She reaches for my glasses and folds them carefully before setting them on the counter.

  “For their safety,” she says.

  “You can read me what’s on the board,” I say. “I don’t need them to see you.”

  I dip my head to her neck, peppering it with soft kisses and an occasional nibble.

  “I think I found a few more freckles,” I tell her, and again that hum of hers that drives me crazy. “What’s on the agenda again for today?” I ask.

  Breathless, she says, “Driving lesson. Then coffee shop at three for me.”

  I squint at the small numbers on the microwave clock. It’s only eight-fifteen.

  My hands skim down her sides, past the fabric of her briefs until they rest on the back of her thighs. I don’t warn her before picking her up and wrapping her freckled thighs around my waist.

  She yelps with laughter, and I have to steady myself at the feeling of her breasts against my skin.

  “You’re going to have to butter me up before I let you get behind the wheel of my car.”

  “If you’re nervous, I can always let Paige or Miles help me prepare for the driving test. I’m sure they won’t mind.”

  She yelps again as I nip at her neck, and then she’s laughing and kissing me, and I can’t remember what battle of wits I was trying to win because when it comes to Maggie, she’s the victor every time.

  “I’ll mind,” I say as I pilot her away from the counter and toward her room.

  “We can’t have that, then, can we?” she asks, and her head dips to mine so I’m walking blind, her lips on me as we somehow make it through her door without incident.

  I lower her to her feet, careful not to let our lips break contact, but she pulls away, fixing me in her stare.

  “Wild card,” she says, and my brows tug together in question. “Ask me anything.”

  I cup her cheeks and kiss her forehead, her eyelids, her nose.

  “Do you love me, Maggie Kendall?”

  Her eyes crinkle as she smiles. “I love you, Griffin Reed. That’s all you want to know?”

  No, I want to tell her. I want to know everything. But she doesn’t have to give me everything today.

  “Full deck?” I ask. “All-in?”

  She bites her bottom lip.

  “All-in,” she whispers, and I smooth her wild, red waves back from her face.

  “Then we have all the time we need.”

  I kiss her long and slow, tasting her coffee-flavored lips and everything Maggie.

  “Because I’ve got a confession,” I say, and her brows rise in question. “I’m yours for as long as you’ll have me. Always have been, ground rules or no.”

  She pulls me toward the side of the bed, her grin transforming from sweet to anything but.

  “Have I mentioned the rules about waking up in my apartment when we have hours of free time?”

  I shake my head.

  “Rule number one—stay in bed for as long as humanly possible.”

  I kick the door shut behind me. I’m beginning to like following the rules.

  Want more Griffin and Maggie? How about that first night at Griffin’s apartment from Griffin’s point of view and a bonus chapter where Griffin gives Maggie a driving lesson in Miles’s Nissan? Leave a review, and you’ll get these two bonus chapters!

  Email the link to your review to amy@ajpine.com, and A.J. Pine will personally send you those bonus chapters!

  Thank you so much for reading!

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  Acknowledgments

  Sometimes you don’t even know the book you’re meant to write until someone pushes you in that direction. First and foremost I want to thank my editors at Entangled, Karen Grove and Nicole Steinhaus, for wanting Griffin’s book as well as helping make my words shinier and prettier than I knew they could be. And big thanks to Brittany Marczak for my gorgeous cover. I’m pretty sure you found the photo the tourist took of Griffin and Maggie by the Christmas tree in Chicago. To my agent, Courtney Miller-Callihan, thank you for joining me on my Entangled journey. Then there’s Griffin, the guy I intended as a secondary character in book one, the obvious wrong choice, but he so didn’t listen. Isn’t that just like Griffin, though? I’m so glad his voice never shut down and that he found his way to Maggie. Griffin deserved his happily ever after, and I’m so happy to have given him one.

  Natalie Blitt, this book would not have made it through the initial drafting stages without your amazing edits and encouraging love notes. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m never letting you go. FYI, you are stuck with me for life. Lia Riley and Megan Erickson, thank you both for falling in love with Griffin as much as I did. Your thumbs-up responses mean everything, as does your friendship. I’m so lucky to have you in my corner. Jennifer Blackwood, my agent sister and mini me, your support via Facebook, Twitter, email, gchat, and phone (plus various forums, groups, and newsletters) is a must in my writing life. Thank you for always being only a form of social media away. Lex Martin, we started this crazy journey together, and I will always have you to thank for saying for the first time, “I wrote a book.” Think of where we were when we met and where we are now. Pretty incredible. So much love for all you talented girls!

  I’ve met so many writers on this journey whose work I admire and adore, and one of them is the fabulous and gracious Rachel Harris. Thank you for reading and loving my little book and for taking the time to blurb it. Your support means so much.

  I’ve found some of the best, most supportive fellow New Adult writers in our NA 14 group. I shower you all with BUCKETS of love. I’m so grateful to get to hang with all of you. Without you, I’d never be able to make epically inappropriate teaser images. What can I say? We’re a good team. T-Rex hugs for all!

  Jen Vincent, thank you for our always focused Starbucks writing dates…and for getting me hooked on Cool Lime Refreshers. Can’t wait for our “after” picture!

  Thank you to my family, especially my husband and kids, for forgiving the fact that if I’m awake (which is me most hours of the day), I most likely have writing work to do. You accept my laptop as one of my vital organs, and on top of that, you still think it’s pretty cool that I make books. I couldn’t make ’em without you. Love you all.

  Readers—especially those of you who read all the way to here—thank YOU for showing me it’s never too late to chase the dream.

  About the Author

  A.J. Pine writes stories to break readers’ hearts, but don’t worry—she’ll mend them with a happily ever after. As an English teacher and a librarian, AJ has always surrounded herself with books. All her favorites have one big commonality—romance. Naturally, her own books have the same. When she’s not writing, she’s reading. Then there’s online shopping (everything from groceries to shoes) and, of course, a tiny bit of TV where she nourishes her undying love of vampires, from Eric Northman to the Salvatore brothers. And in the midst of all of this, you’ll also find her hanging with her family in the Chicago burbs. Her first New Adult novel was If Only, also published with Entangled Publishing.

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  Reviews help other readers find books. We appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative. Thank you for reading!

  Also by A.J. Pine…

  If Only

  It’s been two years since twenty-year-old Jordan had a boyfriend. Now she’s off to spend her junior year in Aberdeen, Scotland, the perfect place to stop waiting for Mr. Right and just enjoy Mr. Right Now. Noah’s perfect. After being trapped together outside the train’s loo, he kisses her like she’s never been kissed before. But Aberdeen is supposed to be about fun rather than waiting for life to happen, and Noah makes Jordan reconsider what love is and how far she’s willing to go for the right guy.

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