Keeping Their Love (Griffin Brothers #7) (2 page)

Miles

The Griffin Brothers
look upset, and I don’t think it’s because of the wedding. At
least not the wedding itself. It takes me a few minutes of trying to
interpret the looks between them, and the death glare Luke’s
throwing at me, before I get it. Valentine’s Day. Holy fuck. They
had plans. Of course they had plans, it’s only a week from now. And
now they’re screwed.

I make my way over to
them, plastering a smile on my face. “Hi guys. Thanks for the
support. Can I talk to you about something? Maybe in the guest
house?”

Ryan catches on
immediately. “Sure, man. Let’s go.”

We all smile and act
like nothing’s wrong as we make our way out of the room. Gary
raises an eyebrow at me, and I nod, inviting him along with us. I may
need him to protect me. I could probably hold my own with Scott or
Owen, but not Ryan or Luke. And definitely not the four of them
combined.

Once we’re settled, I
address them all. “We fucked up your Valentine’s Day plans,
didn’t we?”

“That’s the
understatement of the century,” Scott tells me. “We all need some
time with our women. None of us were planning on staying here in
Vegas.”

“Shit. Alex wanted
that day, and honestly, I didn’t even think about it. I know she
didn’t do it to ruin anything. I should’ve realized, though.”

“Yeah you should
have, you little bastard,” Luke tells me.

“Little? I’m older
than you, dude.”

“But I could take
you. Easily.”

Yeah. He could. He
still plays in a local hockey league that keeps him built. Not the
tank Ryan is, but he’s still a formidable opponent. One I’d
already determined that I couldn’t go toe to toe with.

“Noted. Now, how can
I help?”

“You can change your
wedding date,” Owen tells me.

“That, I cannot do.
It’s not like we just woke up and picked the location. We had to
plan, and I actually had to buy out the park for the evening. As you
can imagine, it’s a popular day for weddings there. Alex wanted a
daytime wedding, but even I couldn’t swing it, so we settled for
evening with the ceremony at the Castle and then a dinner next to
Small World.”

The afternoon wedding
wasn’t all I haven’t been able to swing, but I’m not giving up
on the other thing yet. No matter how stressed out and frustrated I
am about it. I have to make it happen. I can’t fail at this. Not
again.

“I’m really sorry,
guys. I’d tell you to go ahead with your plans, but we all know
Alex will fall apart if you’re not there.”

“We’ll be there,”
Scott says. “We may be sleeping alone that night, but we’ll be
there for Alex.”

* * *

Scott

I can’t stay mad at
Miles. If Yas had asked me, I’d have done the same thing. I
would’ve thought of her and nothing or no one else. It’s what you
do when you’re owned. And every man in this room is owned by his
woman. And not a one of us would ever deny it. It doesn’t help us
at the moment, but it’s the way it is.

“It’s not that bad,
Son. You’ll all just have to adjust your plans. You still have
presents, right?” my dad asks.

We all look at each
other, and I know their answer would be the same as mine. “No, Dad.
I don’t think any of us had a back-up plan. I was planning on
letting Yas pick her own stuff in Paris. And Ryan can’t move a
house.”

“Shit,” Miles says.
“I really am sorry. And I wish I could help, but I’m dealing with
my own present issue at the moment.”

“You focus on Alex.
We’ll take care of our wives.”

Somehow. I don’t know
what we’re going to do. If it was Florida, I could still give Yas a
piece of Paris at Epcot, but it’s not. I need to come up with
something, but I have no idea what. I’m sure people have romance at
Disneyland, but I just can’t see it with all those kids and
families around.

“There’s gotta be a
book or website about romance there, right? I mean, we can’t be the
only guys who plan to romance our women there for Valentine’s Day.”
I throw that out there, hoping one of my brothers may have come up
with something already.

“You’re the genius,
who also works closely with a secret society of women. Why are you
asking us? We should be asking you,” Owen reminds me.

“Well, I wouldn’t
do that if I were you, because I’ve got a shit ton of nothing.
Abso-fucking-lutely nothing.”

“We’re screwed. So
very, very screwed. If genius boy doesn’t have a clue, how are the
rest of us supposed to?” Luke asks.

“I may be smart, but
you’re the romance expert. Why aren’t you coming up with
something?”

* * *

Luke

Scott’s right. While
all my brothers can bring on the romance when needed, I’m seen as
the expert. I love doing sweet—and sexy—things for Ollie, so I’m
constantly thinking of new ways to surprise and delight her. But
lately, nothing’s been working. Stuffed animals, flowers, dinner,
bubble baths and candles, it’s just not doing it. And like I said,
neither are we.

“Yeah, well, maybe at
one time. Now she just cries or yells all the time. And nothing I do
seems to make it better.”

“What the fuck did
you do to her?” Ryan asks me.

“If I knew that, I’d
have been working to fix it long before now. But I have no clue.
None. Nada. Zilch. Zero. I’ve wracked my brain and there’s
nothing. She just despises me all of a sudden.”

I’m not sure despise
is even a strong enough word. I tried to kiss her yesterday, and she
jumped back so fast that I nearly fell over. She said she wasn’t in
the mood, but it wasn’t like I was trying to maul her. I
wanted
to maul her, don’t get me wrong, but I wasn’t trying. I was just
looking to kiss my wife.

“I’ve tried to ask
her, too, but she won’t tell me. Or Candi. She just spends most of
the day sniffling. It’s making us a little freaked out, too, so I
can only imagine what it’d be like to be married to her, and have
that happen,” Owen tells me.

“I honestly prefer
when she’s yelling at me to when she’s crying. The yelling
doesn’t tear my heart apart.”

“Hang in there, Luke.
All couples go through rough times. Your mom and I have only gotten
stronger for what we’ve been through.”

“But what if she
doesn’t want to be stronger, Dad? What if she wants to leave me?”

“Then you let her
go.”

“No. That’s the one
thing I can’t do. Not again.”

I mean it. No matter
what happens, I won’t let Olivia leave again. The first time, I
sent her away. No matter what, I’ll never do that again. We belong
together forever. I just have to find out what’s wrong, and fix it.
She’s all there is for me, and if she doesn’t already know it,
I’ll prove it to her. Somehow.

* * *

Ryan

I feel sorry for Luke.
I really do. Chloe and I are in a great place, so all I have to worry
about is a present. That’s a pretty big worry, but my marriage
isn’t going to be over if my wife doesn’t like it. I may have to
sleep on the couch for one night, but that’s it.

I really don’t think
Luke’s marriage will be over, either. You can’t be in the same
room with him and Olivia without feeling their love, but she has been
acting weird. We’ve all noticed it. Chloe says she won’t tell any
of the girls, so they’re as lost and concerned as we are.

“Okay. I’m going to
take point on this. I only need a gift. The rest of you need
something else. I’ll track down everything I can find about romance
and special places at Disneyland,” I tell them.

“No. I mean, thanks
Ry. But we need to all do our own thing. You can look up romance all
you want, but we have to live it. We have to fucking live and breathe
romance for our women. A week is definitely not enough time for what
I need to accomplish, but I need to figure that out on my own. I
won’t turn down help, but I have to be the one who makes the
plans,” Owen says.

“He’s right. Only I
know what Ollie needs. Or at least I used to. I’ll come up with
something. I have to.”

“Well, I’m here if
you guys need me,” I tell them.

“So am I,” my dad
says.

It’s time for me to
go back to the drawing board. Maybe literally.

* * *

Owen

I appreciated Ryan
offering to shoulder most of the burden and do some research for us,
but I know I need to do this on my own. Romance isn’t exactly what
I’m looking for, either. I romance Candi every day. She just can’t
completely show me how much she appreciates it.

Take last night for
example. I’d seen a vintage camera in an antique shop, so I bought
it and waited for Hope to fall asleep before giving it to her. She
loved it and was showing me her appreciation when, all of a sudden,
our bedroom door was banging open. There was our girl, hands on her
hips, telling us we were supposed to be asleep. Mood Killer 101 is
the class that kid should be teaching. Or Cock Blocking 400 level.

So yeah. We
really
need to get away. Just the two of us. Someplace that has a kitchen
and a bed. Or hell, even just a kitchen. I’d make do. I need my
wife and she’s told me she needs me too. Disneyland is not what we
planned, but I’ll be damned if I’m not going to find some way to
make this work. I have to, before we spontaneously combust from all
the sexual frustration we’re bottling up.

“What’s the exact
timeline for next weekend, Miles?” I ask, hoping that having more
info will give me a better chance to figure something out.

“Alex wants us all to
get there on Friday. Like I said, I couldn’t get us an afternoon
wedding, so you guys would have most of the day free. I’m not sure
how much primping the ladies want to do, but the wedding isn’t
until eight, and the reception is after.”

“They’ll want to
primp, but that should still give us all some time,” Ryan says.

Some
time, yeah. But will it be enough? I hope so, for all our
sakes.

Miles

“I’m sorry Mr.
Corrigan, but as I’ve been telling you every day, there is nothing
I can do. You cannot have the room in the park. It was given away
months ago. Calling me twice a day is not going to change that,”
the woman on the other end of the line tells me.

“But it’s my
wedding night. Surely you can move that other couple. Or I can. If
you’d just give me their contact info, I’d ask them myself. Hell,
I’d pay for all their expenses for the weekend.”

“We’re already
paying all their expenses.”

“Really? So, you’re
flying them in on a private jet, putting them up for the rest of the
nights in the best suite at the hotel, and giving them unlimited
spending money?”

“You would do that?”

“Yes. I would.”

“What if they spent a
million dollars?”

“I’ve already
offered you more than that for the room, so obviously money is of no
concern to me”

“I still can’t give
you their contact info.”

“Can you give them
mine? Please?”

“I’ll give it to
them, but I’m not sure they’ll contact you.”

“Thanks,” I tell
her as I hang up. I’m not feeling thankful, but there’s nothing
else I can really say.

I’m leaning back in
the chair with my hands over my eyes, sending up silent prayers that
the couple will contact me, when I hear my door open. “Not right
now. I need a few more minutes before you start bombarding me with my
meeting notes.”

“I was going to
bombard you with something else, King.”

I open my eyes to watch
my girl lock the door and turn back to me. She’s in a dress that
has a halter top and a loose skirt. Damn, she’s sexy as fuck. And
I’m a very lucky man.

“Oh yeah? Whatcha got
for me, Xandy?”

“A little stress
relief,” she tells me, coming over and climbing on my lap. “You’ve
been so upset lately. I want to make you happy to marry me again.”

What? “You think I’m
not happy to marry you?”

“You’ve been kind
of distant the last few days,” she reminds me with a shrug.

My phone rings before I
can answer her. I don’t recognize the number, so I’m hoping it’s
the other couple. “I’ve got to take this, but we’ll talk later,
okay?”

“You’re kicking me
out?” she asks with wide eyes, as I answer and ask the caller to
hold. I mute the phone before I answer.

“Yeah. I really need
to take this call.”

“I’ve sat in on
business calls before.”

“Not this time.
Sorry. But later?”

“I think I’m busy
later.”

“Xandy, don’t.”

“Don’t what? Don’t
marry you? Because that’s on the table right now.”

“Take it off the
table, please. There’s nothing I want more than to be your husband.
I promise. I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t want to marry
you. I’m just trying to work something out right now.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely,
positively sure. I love you.”

“I love you, too.
I’ll see you later.”

We kiss and then I wait
until she’s out the door before picking up the call. “Hi. Sorry
for the wait, I was finishing up a meeting.”

“No problem, Mr.
Corrigan.”

“Please call me
Miles. Did you hear my offer?”

“Yes, I did. While
it’s great, I’m afraid we just can’t take you up on it.”

“I’ll do anything.
Name a price.”

“I’m sorry, but
no.”

“I’ll beg.”

“I totally get where
you’re coming from, but I just can’t do it. Thank you for your
offer. Goodbye.”

I want to throw my cell
phone across the room, but instead I just bang my head on my desk a
few times. Dammit! I needed that room. It’s the perfect place for
our wedding night. Nothing else will do. But I guess someplace will
have to.

I wish we could change
the date. It would make it easier for me, and the Griffins. I sit up
as I think about it more. Maybe I
can
convince Alex. We don’t care about the lost money.
She’ll want to do what’s best for all of us. I know she will.