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Chapter ten

Griffin

W e’re on the highway driving back to Danae’s townhouse in Shawnee, and she’s been deathly quiet. I should have texted her about the time instead of going into the bookstore. We’d exchanged phone numbers after arriving at the bookstore, so it would have been a less intrusive solution.

I couldn’t resist the allure of glimpsing Danae in her element at the book club. After she lit up so much when she talked about the book in the car, I wanted to get an additional peek at that passion. But I was overly confident in my ability to be stealthy and remain unnoticed.

The wide-eyed, panicked expression on Danae’s face when she slipped out of the bookstore hit like a fast pitch to the ribs.

I made the wrong call going inside the store and being seen by her friends.

Because I force-fed her a giant helping of the chaos that is my life in public.

A chaos I have a feeling she wouldn’t be drawn to.

Danae strikes me as someone who appreciates the quietness of life in all the best ways.

Of course, I screwed things up right after I spent an hour aimlessly driving and obsessing over how much I’m drawn to her .

Replaying every interaction I’ve had with her and Jason.

Cataloging the times I’ve seen her smile and the precise causes.

Working up the nerve to ask her on a date during the drive back to her house.

I’ve ruined that chance tonight .

“I’m sorry you got mobbed by a bunch of book ladies,” Danae finally says. I chance a glance over at her. Her profile stands out in the dark, accentuating the dip of her nose and the fullness of her lips.

Flashing a smile, I wave her off. “No big deal. Nothing you need to apologize for.”

“Still, if I would have kept track of the time, you wouldn’t have had to come in there after me,” she says. After a pause, she asks, “Is that pretty much the way it always is for you?”

I’m tempted to lie. To downplay the attention. To give the illusion of a calmer life.

“Out in public, yeah, that’s fairly typical,” I confess. “But there are some places I can go where I’m less likely to be recognized. And if I’m in another city, it’s not as frequent. Kansas City locals are zealous about the city’s sports teams.”

“ Hmmm , truth,” Danae replies with a nod. “Does it . . . bother you?”

I’m caught off guard by her question. Because I handle crowds and attention so naturally, everyone assumes I must love it all.

Danae’s question is more intuitive than she probably realizes.

I blow out a breath before answering. “‘Bother’ might not be quite the right word. Most of the time, I’m happy to engage with fans, take photos, and sign autographs.

Especially when there are kids in the mix.

Seeing their faces light up with excitement is worth the hassle.

But it does seem like a hassle sometimes. ”

It’s a hassle if it will affect people I care about , I think but don’t add.

I’m desperate to dispel the melancholy weighing Danae down, get her back to animatedly talking about her passion for books. Even if I don’t particularly like books, I like hearing her talk about them.

“How was the book club discussion? You know, before I came in and made a scene,” I joke, hoping to alleviate the tension.

I’m rewarded with a small quirk of her lips. I’ll take that quarter-smile.

“It was great. I always enjoy hearing what parts of the story stand out to other people—to give a scene I may have glossed over a second look. Of course, there are the key moments that all of us equally obsessed over. This month’s book provided ample discussion,” she says .

Glancing over at her, I see a bigger half-smile on her lips as she adds, “Clearly, considering I stayed past curfew.”

I reward her teasing with a full laugh. “We’ll have to find out from Sam how grounded you are. She can be a bit of a killjoy when she wants to be.”

“I have a hard time picturing that,” Danae says with a chuckle. “She seems way too upbeat and kind.” Her expression tightens. “But Jason may rescind my ‘leave the house’ privileges after I didn’t come home when I said I would.”

“Don’t get too worked up over the possibility yet. Sam’s a pretty fun person to be around. Jason might be totally unbothered,” I try to assure her.

“Or he might think I’m just like his father.” Danae’s voice is resigned.

We’re stopped at a red light, and I can’t resist the urge to reach over and touch her shoulder. “I don’t know anything about Jason’s father, but I can confidently say that you’re nothing like him. And Jason knows that.”

She looks over at me, and the unguarded vulnerability in her eyes has me coming undone. This woman clearly loves that boy more than anything, and she’s also clearly terrified that she’s not loving him enough.

“Danae.” I say her name slowly, savoring the shape of it on my tongue. “You’re doing an amazing job at being Jason’s mom.”

Her chin quivers ever so slightly, and it’s all I can do not to move my hand up to cup her jaw. She whispers, “How do you know? We’ve only been around each other a few times. How could you possibly know that?”

The light has turned green, but there are no cars behind us in the turn lane, so I maintain my eye contact with Danae.

“I heard the way Jason talked about you at camp. I see the way he relaxes around you. I know it because you were prepared to miss your book club in order to not leave Jason. And I see it in your panic about how he’s going to respond to your being late tonight. You’re doing a great job, Danae.”

We’ve missed our chance to turn at this green light, but I don’t mind waiting through another red. I don’t mind giving Danae an extra minute to process the truth of how amazing she is. A truth I’m only beginning to discover myself.

I don’t mind a few extra moments with her quiet presence next to me.

The light turns green. “Thank you,” she says quietly as I turn onto her street.

When we park in front of Danae’s townhouse, one of her neighbors is locking her front door. Neither of us makes a move to exit the vehicle until the neighbor is safely in her car and the sidewalks are clear.

Danae unlocks her front door, and I follow her inside.

I hear Sam’s voice theatrically yelling some sort of nonsense word, immediately followed by a similar response from Jason.

The look on Danae’s face shows familiarity and amusement, so I piece together that this might have something to do with Harry Potter .

“I’m back!” Danae calls as we walk toward the living room.

“Miss Danae!” Jason’s face lights up when he sees her. He holds up his Lego figurine. “I’m glad you’re back, but can Sammi stay a little longer? We’re in the middle of an epic duel!”

I hope his response is enough to calm Danae’s anxiety about being late.

“I know you’re having a good time, but we need to get ready for bed,” Danae responds.

Jason groans loudly. “But I don’t want to go to bed yet! I’m not even tired!”

Sam jumps in with a nice save. “My guy, I’ve gotta get Griffin home. He has an early morning. But you know we’ll pick up the battle again next time I’m here. I’m going to study up on my spell options because I’m determined to win.”

Jason looks slightly disappointed but nods in agreement. Danae tells him, “Jason, why don’t you tell Sammi and Mr. Griffin goodbye and then go get some pajamas on. ”

Jason gives Sam a hug then offers me his fist to bump. “Thanks for bringing Sammi over to hang out with me,” he says, voice serious.

“Any time, Fireball,” I respond. He grins at my use of his nickname then scampers up the stairs.

Danae is quick to start apologizing to Sam. “I’m so sorry we were late. I got caught up in the discussion and completely lost track of time.”

Sam rolls her eyes. “Oh, please. It was not a big deal at all. I’m glad you were having so much fun! We had a great time here.”

“How was he? Everything go okay?” Danae asks.

“He was great. Responded fine when I asked him to help with the dishes before we started playing. He’ll probably crash hard tonight,” Sam says with a wink.

Danae smiles appreciatively. “Thank you so much. It was nice to get to have adult conversation with my friends. Could you text me your Venmo info?”

“No way, you don’t need to pay me for tonight,” Sam starts to object.

Danae cuts her off, placing a hand on her arm. “Please. Let me pay you.”

For a second, it looks like Sam might continue fighting the issue, but in the end, she agrees. “Fine, this time I’ll let you pay me. But now you owe me an I-babysit-for-free night.”

Danae fully laughs, and it’s beautiful. A lilting melody. I wish there was a ten-second rewind button for real life so I could push it to hear that exact sound again.

As Sam grabs her coat and bag, Danae thanks me for driving. “I’m sorry again for not paying attention to the time and creating a hassle for you.” I see Sam give me a quizzical look over Danae’s shoulder.

“Stop apologizing. It’s not a big deal at all,” I reassure her. “I’m glad you got to have a wild night out.”

She laughs again, and I’m becoming addicted to the sound. “Goodnight, Danae,” I say, tipping my hat. In my peripheral vision, I see Sam fighting a laugh. What are you now, some cowboy? Why did you just tip your hat like an idiot?

Thankfully, Danae smiles. “Thanks for the ride, Griffin. And thanks again, Samantha! ”

Sam and I dart quickly to my Jeep before we can be spotted by a family further down the sidewalk. Once safely inside the car, Sam shifts to face me. “Hassle?”

I give her a brief rundown of my failed attempt to nonchalantly signal the time to Danae in the bookstore. Sam howls with laughter.

“Griffin West, making dreams come true for all the book club ladies,” she says, wiping tears from her eyes. “I bet they’ll choose a baseball romance for next month’s book.”

“A what?” I ask, confused.

“A baseball romance. You know, a romance book featuring a baseball player as the main character,” Sam explains.

“That exists?” I glance over to see her nod. “Books are weird.”

Sam tsks . “Don’t let Danae hear you say things like that. You might ruin your chance with her book-loving heart.”

“I think tonight already ruined my chance with her,” I say, voice melancholy.

“You should have seen the look on her face when her friends realized who I was and started asking for photos. Like a baby deer in ultra-bright headlights. I don’t think that level of attention is the kind of life she’s looking for. ”

“So, you’re saying you are hoping for a chance with her?” Sam’s voice sounds gleeful.

I reach over to shove her shoulder. “That’s your takeaway from my statement? You’re going to completely ignore the negative reaction Danae had to the attention?”

Sam waves a hand. “Her first impression of the fame is an obstacle that can be overcome. What matters is do you want to overcome that obstacle or not?”

I ponder her observation.

“I’m interpreting your pensive silence as a solid ‘yes,’” Sam answers for me. She rubs her hands together. “So, let’s game plan to win her over.”

“Slow down,” I say. My thoughts are interrupted by a driver cutting in front of me on the highway. I hit the brakes and lay on the horn.

“I thought you were speaking metaphorically, but literally slowing down works too,” Sam quips .

“I mean, you need to slow down with the romance game plan. Even though I might be interested in dating Danae, I need to consider if that’s even what she would want in her life right now,” I say.

“She became a mom to a nine-year-old a little over a month ago, and that’s a lot to work through with him.

Might not be the best timing to start a new relationship, even without the added obstacle of the public attention.

I don’t want her to take on more than she can handle. ”

“Danae’s a grown woman, Griff. Why don’t you let her decide what she can handle in her own life?” Sam replies.

I drum the steering wheel. Sam’s right—I should let Danae decide for herself what she can and can’t handle.

But the attraction I feel to her is different from the surface-level physical attraction I’ve felt for other women in the past. It’s even different from the interest I had in the few women I’ve actually dated.

Interest that typically fizzled as soon as I realized they were chasing association with “Griffin West, Wizard of Defense.”

Danae is different. She’s empathetic and caring but not just in words. She’s living it out in huge, significant ways. Not to mention the spark of passion inside her that flares when she talks about books or her role as a librarian.

Plus, she has zero passion for baseball, which means she doesn’t care about my athletic prowess or success. That’s not what she sees when she looks at me.

Except for the public attention that comes along with it. That, she might see. And she may not want that. Which means, I’m not sure if she’ll want me . Public attention is part of the package that would come with dating me. It’s who I am.

My grip on the steering wheel tightens.

Sam flicks my ear.

“Ow!” I yell, shooting her a chastising glare.

“Get out of your head, big bro. It’s unlike you to think so much,” Sam says.

I roll my eyes, although I doubt she can see the gesture in the dark car. “Very funny.”

“I’m serious,” Sam replies. “It’s obvious you’re drawn to Danae. And I happen to think she’s pretty amazing as well, plus Jason’s a great kid. You don’t have a lot of time before you leave for spring training camp. So hurry up and shoot your shot.”

“Basketball lingo, huh?” I sigh. “What if it’s a swing and a miss?”

Sam shrugs. “Then at least you swung.”