Epoch (Transcend Duet #2)(16)

“Where’s Griffin?” Sherri asks as I shovel down the soggy cake—anything to keep my chin from trembling and distract the rest of my body from doing what it wants to do—curl up in a ball and cry.

“Right here,” he says from behind me.

I take another bite of cake, avoiding my mom’s scrutinizing gaze. Griffin brushes past me with his bowl of cake and ice cream. A rare splurge for him. He plops down on the sofa, giving Hayley a playful nudge. She grins, nudging him back.

Through the corner of my eye, I watch my mom’s gaze bounce between Griffin on the sofa—ignoring me—and me leaning against the wall because I don’t want to sit next to anyone and have to form actual words.

“Swayze, you have a message.” Sophie holds up my phone that’s on the coffee table. “Aw … it’s Morgan.” She smiles at the screen.

“Let me see.” Hayley snatches the phone from her. “It’s a happy birthday message. She’s so cute.” She tips the screen toward Griffin.

His lips pull into a tight grin.

After the phone gets passed around the room, Sherri hands it to me. It’s a photo of a smiley Morgan with a sticky note on her tummy that says “Happy birthday, Swayze.” I don’t stare at it too long, and I don’t react to it because I know Griffin’s eyes are on me. Instead, I slip the phone in my pocket and finish the last few spoonfuls of chocolate and vanilla cake soup.

“We should have invited them to your party.” Sherri says like a verbal facepalm.

Yeah, that would have been a great idea. Just me, my fiancé, my boyfriend from another life, and his daughter named after me from that other life.

“I think he had plans this weekend. His birthday was yesterday.”

“I hope he had plans, otherwise we could have celebrated both birthdays. We’ve been wanting to meet the sexy professor.” Sherri shoots my mom a suggestive grin, but Griffin looks ready to bust out of his clothes like the Hulk.

She has no idea her son is not a Professor Hunt fan, and he has no idea she’s making the sexy comment for my mom’s benefit, not mine.

“Sexy Professor?” Scott pinches Sherri’s leg.

She shoos him away. “For Krista. I’m happily married.”

He nuzzles her neck. “Better be.”

I love the alpha side to the Calloway men, except when mine makes me feel unwanted on my birthday.

“Sit, Swayze.” Hayley stands. “I’m skipping out early to go to a movie with Maycee.” She takes my empty bowl and hugs me. “Happy birthday, Sis.”

Sis … Don’t cry.

“Sit.” She jerks her head toward the empty spot on the sofa next to the Hulk.

Sherri and Scott chat with my mom about the Alaskan cruise they have planned for their anniversary next summer. Sophie and Chloe flip through the channels on the TV. I make the uncomfortable journey to the sofa and ease onto it, leaning toward the arm so my body doesn’t touch Griffin’s.

He taps his spoon against his empty bowl, releasing what I know are nerves or built up anger over our argument and probably the birthday text too. Sherri frowns, leaning forward and taking the bowl from him, setting it next to hers on the coffee table while rolling her eyes at him.

“Scoot over.” Sophie kicks her feet at Griffin as she tries to sprawl out on the other side of him.

He scoots toward me, forcing our bodies to touch. I stiffen, hugging my arms to myself. My mom’s brow wrinkles as she observes us, probably not paying any attention to Sherri and Scott’s verbal itinerary.

I have to either surrender with the yes-we’re-fighting-I’ll-tell-you-about-it-later look or I need to make a move that says we’re fine. But I can’t deal with another second of her scrutiny. Just as I decide to give her the look, Sherri glances at me as if she realizes my mom is distracted by something.

I’m not prepared to give Sherri that look, even if I think she’d understand, so I swallow every last bit of my stupid pride and ease my head against Griffin’s shoulder. If it looks half as awkward as it feels, I’m screwed.

He tenses. I guess he’s not in the mood to play along. Mom flinches, seeing the obvious rejection he’s giving me, but the gesture seems to be enough for Sherri to offer me a warm smile before returning her attention to Scott. Griffin’s hands remain folded in his lap. I feel like a fly on the backside of a horse. Any minute he could whip his tail and shoo me away.

My mom shoots a sympathetic look that I don’t need and returns her attention to Sherri as if to let me off the hook. I lift my head from his shoulder, releasing a slow breath while fiddling with my engagement ring, turning it in circles. Maybe I should slip it off, hand it to him, and leave.

What if he asked me if I still wanted to marry him because deep down he’s asking himself if he still wants to marry me? What if he wants me to go first, giving him an easy out?

“Have you two made honeymoon plans yet?” Sherri asks.

I gulp down a large pool of saliva.

Griffin fists his hand to his mouth, coughing while shaking his head several times. Nice response.

No.

No honeymoon plans.

There has to be a wedding first.

“Well, don’t wait too long. The earlier you book, the better deal you’ll get. Like your dad and I got a great deal on our trip to Alaska.”