That Second Chance (Getting Lucky #1)(78)

I hang up and hop out of my bed, trying to be as quiet as possible. The last thing I need is for my parents to wake up and Helicopter Mom to follow me outside to the beach.



Loose gravel crunches, and I turn to find Griffin walking down the moonlit beach toward me, a huge smile on his face, a flashlight and a blanket in hand. When he reaches me, he wraps one arm around my waist and brings me in close to his body. He presses a deep kiss against my lips, lifting me onto my toes. I grip the back of his neck for support and arch my back to get a better angle on our kiss.

Slowly he pulls away and presses a kiss against my forehead before spreading the blanket on the sand.

Because of the cooler air rolling in at night, I changed into a pair of gray yoga pants and a light-green thermal shirt. I’m glad I did—the wind whipping off the ocean is colder than I expected.

Griffin sits down and pulls me with him. “Your parents have terrible timing.”

“The worst ever.”

Not satisfied with sitting side by side, Griffin guides me between his legs so my back is against his chest, his long legs on either side of me. I’m not the only one who made an outfit change. Griffin is in a pair of black athletic pants and a long-sleeved henley.

He snakes his arms around my shoulders and presses the side of his head against mine as we look out toward the ocean, an electric energy igniting once again between us.

“Thank you for meeting me down here,” I finally say after a few minutes of comfortable silence. “I needed to see you, kiss you, after what you said.”

His lips find my cheek. “It was all true,” he murmurs. “You’ve done something to me, Ren, something I can’t quite explain, but what I do know is I was meant to find you stuck between those two trees and drag you out of your car.”

“I think so too.” I kiss his forearm and then lean my head back against his shoulder. “My mom wants to meet you.”

“Oh yeah? You spoke that highly of me, did ya?”

I playfully elbow him. “Don’t get cocky. She’s really involved in my life, too involved, really, and when I started talking about you—”

“Which is really fucking cute, by the way. What did you tell her?”

I blush. “That I thought you were handsome.”

“You did?” His five-o’clock shadow dances across my cheek, a sensual whisper over my skin, sending goose bumps down my body.

“Mm-hmm.” He kisses my neck, and I lean to the side to give him better access.

“What else did you say?”

“That you’re a gentleman and so kind. That you were my first friend in Port Snow.”

He pauses and turns my head so I’m looking him in the eyes. “Is that true? I was your first friend?” I nod. “Huh. I like that. I actually really like that.”

“Who knew weeks later I would be the one who got through that wall of yours?”

“Ren, you went through it the first day I met you, when you started talking about a suicidal moose.”

I chuckle. “I just don’t understand why it wanted to die . . .”

“It was a daredevil; all moose are.” He squeezes me tighter. “So your mom wants to meet me. Are you going to let her?”

“I don’t know.” I chew on the inside of my cheek.

“Ashamed?” His voice is playful.

“Yup, you got me. Totally ashamed of dating a sexy volunteer firefighter who rescued me from a smoking car and carried me up a hill without even working up a sweat.”

“The car wasn’t smoking,” he deadpans.

“Felt like an inferno.”

The rumble of his chest behind me is another turn-on.

“Why don’t you bring your parents by the Lobster Landing tomorrow? You can introduce me, and maybe we can catch dinner over at Snowmageddon.”

I pull away, getting a good look at him. “You want to have dinner with my parents?”

“Why not?”

“Uh, because my mom is going to berate you and ask you a million questions.”

“That’s fine. I’ll answer them.”

I shake my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I want this relationship to last longer than two days. Believe me, you’re going to want to stay away. Just lay low, and I will see you on Wednesday for our date.”

“Ren, I want to meet your parents, and I don’t think I can just lay low. I couldn’t make it a few hours without wanting to run over to your house, break down your door, and take you up to your room. At least let me spend some time with you while they’re here.”

I turn back toward the ocean, considering the possibility of them meeting. I love my mom and dad dearly, but my mom is a loose cannon. You never know what might come out of her mouth. Am I willing to take that risk?

“She talks a lot,” I blurt out. “My mom, she has verbal diarrhea a lot of the time. I don’t want her to say anything that might embarrass you or me.”

“Ren.” He laughs and pulls me in close to his chest. “Are you forgetting who my family is? They’re the definition of embarrassing. She isn’t going to say anything that will change my mind about you. You’re special, and nothing can take that away.”

I turn in his arms and face him, my hands to his shoulders, his gripping my hips, fingers pressing into my skin. “Why do you always know the right thing to say?”