Grim Offerings (Aisling Grimlock Book 2) (6 page)

“I think my skirt is too short.”

“Your skirt is fine.”

“No, it’s too short. I look like a streetwalker.”

Griffin sighed, exasperated. “I happen to like it. I wasn’t sure you had legs.” He thought he was teasing me, relaxing me, but he was driving me insane.

“What is that supposed to mean? Are you making fun of my Converse?”

“Will you please calm down?” Griffin asked. “You’re … unraveling.”

We were in his Explorer, sitting in the parking lot of a kitschy restaurant in downtown Ferndale, and I was just about at my wit’s end. Dead bodies don’t bother me. Absorbing souls doesn’t bother me … well, most of the time. Meeting Griffin’s sister was almost more than I could bear, though. “She’s not going to like me.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Women don’t like me,” I said. “They either look at me as competition or the obstacle standing between them and one of my brothers.”

“Well, you won’t be in competition with each other and she’s not going to date one of your brothers,” he said. “It’s going to be fine. I’ve already told her all about you. She thinks you sound fascinating.”

“You’ve told her all about me? All?”

“Not all,” Griffin clarified. “Your family’s secret is safe with me. I told you that.”

“What did you tell her I do for a living?”

“I went with your antiquities lie,” he replied. “That seemed as good an answer as anything else – and it’s kind of true.”

“And she’s a nurse, right?”

“Yes.”

I chewed on my lower lip as I stared out the window. “She’s not going to like me.”

Griffin growled. “Okay, we’re done with the self-pity, Aisling,” he said, throwing open the driver’s side door. “Get out and get moving.”

“I’ll just wait here.”

“No, you won’t.”

“But … .”

“Get out now.”

I was out of options. I reluctantly pushed open the door and jumped out, smoothing my black skirt and glaring down at my uncomfortable heels as I shuffled them against the pavement. Griffin kept one eye on me – in case I ran – and another on the parking meter as he fed coins into it.

After a few moments, I realized I was still standing by myself, and when I lifted my head I found him watching me with a curious look on his face. “What?”

“Nothing,” he said. “I’ve just never seen you like this before. I’m not sure how I feel about it.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re usually pretty sure of yourself,” Griffin said. “That’s one of the things that drives me nuts about you, but it’s also one of the things I really like about you. I just don’t understand why this is such a big deal.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Really? Are you just saying that or are you playing a game?”

“I’m really at a loss.”

“Fine, I’ll lay it out for you,” I said. “If your sister doesn’t like me, it’s only a matter of time until you dump me.”

Griffin moved his jaw, opening and closing it, but no sound came out.

“That’s what I’m worried about,” I said.

“Baby, I don’t know where you would get an idea like that,” Griffin said. “It’s not true, though. First, I think Maya is going to like you. Do I think you’re going to be best friends? No. Your life is far too … chaotic … for her to fit into it.

“Whether Maya likes you or not, though, it won’t change how I feel about you,” he continued. “I don’t understand why you think it would.”

I faltered. “Because that’s how it works in my family.”

“Really? None of your brothers like me and you haven’t dumped me,” he said. “Or is that just what’s going to happen down the road?”

“Of course not,” I scoffed. “I don’t care what my brothers think. They’re never going to like anyone I date. That’s a brother thing. It’s different with sisters.”

“I’m still confused.”

“When a sister doesn’t like her brother’s girlfriend, she keeps whispering in his ear until he dumps her,” Aisling said.

“Have you done that with your brothers?”

“Of course.”

Griffin pursed his lips. “How many of your brothers’ relationships have you torpedoed?”

“All of them.”

“Have you ever liked any of the women your brothers have dated?”

I searched my memory. “Two or three.”

“And yet they’re not still around,” Griffin pressed. “Has it ever occurred to you that your brothers just aren’t ready to settle down?”

“I … .” Huh.

“Yeah, here’s the thing, Aisling; when you really like someone it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks,” Griffin said. “I happen to really like you. You drive me crazy, and I think most of your family should be committed, but I’m still fairly attached to you.

“When it comes down to it, I don’t care what my sister thinks, and I don’t care what my mother thinks – and you are eventually going to have to meet her, too,” he continued. “I also don’t care what your father thinks or what your brothers think. I wasn’t aware they were part of this relationship.”

“They’re not,” I hedged. “I just … .” I didn’t know what to say. Anything I added to the conversation now would just make me sound pathetic.

“You’re nervous,” Griffin said. “I get it. You’re not going in there alone, though.”

“I know.”

Griffin held out his hand. “Come on. I promise this is going to be okay.”

I sucked in a deep breath and nodded, lacing my fingers with his and letting him lead me inside. The good news is, nothing could be worse than his first meal with my family. We’d already hit rock bottom.

“SO,
you’re the famous Aisling. I can’t tell you how glad I am to finally meet you.”

I extended my hand and shook Maya’s, forcing a bright smile onto my face. Maya was already seated by the time we arrived, and the waitress immediately took our drink orders. I needed some bourbon and I needed it now. “Famous? I’m not sure how to take that.”

Maya’s eyes were thoughtful as they studied me. “You’re the first woman Griffin has brought home in … forever.”

“Forever?”

“I can’t remember the last time I met a girlfriend of his actually,” Maya said. “I’m sure he’s had a few over the years, but you’re the only one he’s mentioned. In fact, when he started talking about you I was surprised. I figured he was a bachelor for life.”

Griffin shifted uncomfortably. “Can we not harp on this? Aisling is nervous enough as it is.”

“You were nervous to meet me?” Maya asked, tickled. “Why?”

“I just … .”

“Aisling’s family runs a little differently than ours,” Griffin explained. “She’s never been to a civil meal before. She didn’t know they existed.”

Maya giggled. “Is that so? I heard you have a really big family. Four brothers, right?”

“Yes.”

“Younger? Older?”

“Three older.”

“And one younger?”

“Isn’t Aidan technically older than you?” Griffin pressed.

“We’re twins.”

“He was still born first.”

“Oh, you have a twin brother,” Maya said. “That’s so cool. What was that like growing up?”

“Co-dependent,” I replied honestly.

Maya was confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that we’re probably a little too attached to one another,” I said. “We … don’t have a lot of boundaries.”

Griffin snorted. “That’s putting it mildly, and none of your brothers have boundaries.”

“Well, wait. Aisling was the youngest,” Maya said, trying to be helpful. “I can see how her brothers would be overprotective.”

“They’re militant,” Griffin said.

“Oh, are they being mean to you?” Maya pinched Griffin’s cheek, mocking him. It was the first time I’d seen hints of closeness between them. It was kind of cute.

“They’re not mean to me.”

Maya looked to me for confirmation.

“They’re mean to him,” I said. “They don’t really mean to be. We’re kind of all mean to each other. It just comes naturally to us.”

“Oh, do you fight a lot?”

“We … spar.”

“Their dad has a dungeon he threatens to put them in when they mouth off,” Griffin said. “I just found that out tonight. I want to see that dungeon, by the way.”

“You’re not missing much,” I said. “It’s just a locked room in the basement. Redmond lobbied to move down there when he was a teenager, but I think it was because he wanted to smoke pot and bring girls home without getting caught.”

“I’m sorry, how do you have a dungeon in a house?” Maya asked.

“It’s not a house,” Griffin said. “It’s a castle.”

“Castle?”

“It’s one of those big mansions on Lakeshore Drive,” he explained. “It looks like a castle.”

“That’s so cool,” Maya said. “Did you pretend to be a princess when you were little?”

“No, I was always the knight,” I said. “My friend Jerry was the princess.”

Griffin snickered. “Please tell me he wore a tiara.”

“My mother had one left over from her beauty queen days.”

Griffin stilled, focusing on me for a second. “Your mother was a beauty queen?”

“She was.” I was never going to live this down.

“Oh, did she put you in pageants when you were in high school?” Maya asked.

“Um … .”

“Ow! What did you do that for?” Maya rubbed her shin under the table. “Why did you kick me?”

“It was an accident,” Griffin said.

“No, it wasn’t.”

“He didn’t want you to mention my mother,” I supplied.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Maya said. “I didn’t realize it was a sore subject.”

“It’s not,” I said. “My mother died when I was in high school. We just don’t … talk about it a lot.”

“That’s horrible,” Maya said. “I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “It’s not a big deal. And, no, she didn’t put me in pageants before she died. I think she knew that wasn’t my thing.”

“How did she die?”

“Maya,” Griffin warned.

“It’s okay,” I said, waving off his concerns. “She died in a fire.”

“That must have been so hard for you,” Maya said. “I mean, you were clearly outnumbered by all of the boys in your family, and then to lose your mother … .”

“I consider myself lucky to have known her for as long as I did,” I replied truthfully. “And it’s not like I was alone after she died. I’m very close with my father and brothers, and … well … I’m a firm believer that things work out how they’re meant to.”

“That’s a healthy way to look at things,” Maya said. “Griffin didn’t do you justice when he described you, by the way. He said you were pretty, but you’re really … exquisite.”

My cheeks started to burn. “I don’t think that’s the right word.”

“It is,” Maya said. “Your hair is gorgeous, and I like the white streaks. They really make you stand out. Your eyes, though, they’re just amazing.”

“Those run in the family,” I said.

“Oh, does everyone in your family have them?”

I nodded.

“They all look alike,” Griffin said. “It’s freaky.”

“Well, I hope to meet them some day,” Maya said. “I have to say, you’re nothing like Angelina described.”

I froze, my glass of water pressed to my lips. “Angelina?”

“Angelina Davenport,” Maya said. “We take a yoga class together once a week. When Griffin mentioned your name, I happened to mention it to her and she said the two of you graduated together.”

“We did,” I said carefully.

“Why does that name sound familiar?” Griffin asked.

“Um … well … do you remember the night that Jerry, Aidan and I were arrested for the brawl at the gay club?”

Griffin chuckled. “Yeah. That’s the morning I realized I couldn’t get enough of you. You were so … feisty. You kept going after that woman in the lobby … what was her name?”

I pursed my lips. “Angelina Davenport.”

“Oh.”

Maya’s face was conflicted. “You were arrested for fighting with Angelina?”

“No, I was arrested for kicking her ass,” I corrected.

Angelina Davenport was my mortal enemy. No, I’m not being dramatic. She’d tortured me in high school, constantly making fun of my hoodies and Converse, and then she’d gone after Cillian the minute she developed boobs. After dating her for a few months, despite the nasty insults I hurled at her whenever she was in our house, Cillian discovered she was cheating on him and dumped her.

Angelina had spent the intervening years trying to get Cillian back. Since I loved my brother, that forced me to beat the crap out of her every chance I got. What? No one hurts a member of my family, especially a guttersnipe like Angelina Davenport. “So, what did Angelina say about me?”

“She said you were … spirited,” Maya said.

“I’m betting she used more colorful language than that,” I pressed. “I’ve ripped entire chunks of her hair out at one time or another, and I once cut a big hole in the seat of her jeans during gym and she walked around for an hour with her ass hanging out until someone finally told her.”