What If (If Only.... #2)(76)
“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!
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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.