Page 126 of The Ampersand Effect
Grier closed her eyes and leaned down to place a gentle, unhurried kiss on Tobin’s mouth. It warmed her all the way to her toes.
“Now, we need to get you fed, or your body is going to seriously hate you when we wake up.” Grier’s voice was adamant as she moved beneath Tobin, shimmying out of the bed.
“Wewake up?” Tobin spoke before she thought. It was a weeknight; Grier had never slept over on a weeknight before.
“Yes,we. I’m spending the night. I’m not letting you sleep alone after the day you’ve had.” Grier acted nonchalant, but Tobin read a hint of hesitation in her posture. “Besides, you’ve been talking about how poorly you’ve been sleeping. I brought some magnesium lotion with me. I want to put you to bed with a magnesium massage. Best night of sleep you’ll ever have. I promise.”
Tobin rose and dressed, lost in her thoughts. She was finding it increasingly difficult to control her feelings for Grier. How could she, when Grier was being so…Grier?Showing up to fight with her, stripping and stepping unflinchingly into a hell bath, holding her through a panic attack, and patiently coaxing her back to the present—the woman was a force of nature, and Tobin was starting to feel like she wanted to be stormed.
It should have been awkward, having Grier prepare her food in her own kitchen. But it was oddly soothing, relinquishing control. After Grier heated some frozen soups and forced her to hydrate, she brought her back upstairs, undressed her, and gently tucked her into bed. She massaged luxurious magnesium lotion over every inch of Tobin’s body, giving extra attention to her neck, lower back, and feet.
When she was done, Grier undressed and slid into bed next to her, holding Tobin and reminding her that she was not alone. The last thing Tobin remembered before surrendering to the blissful void of sleep was Grier’s soft, soothing voice: “Let’s enjoy our trip to your grandmother’s for the Fourth of July. Just take some time to relax and forget the rest of the world. Then we will figure everything out. Together. Sleep now, Tobin. I’m here.”
“You know,” Grier crooned into Tobin’s ear, wrapping her arms around her from behind. They were stealing a moment alone in LoLo’s kitchen while everyone else busied themselves with preparations for their annual Fourth of July festivities.
“I know what you were doing when you dressed yourself this morning,” she continued, the heat of her breath grazing the back of Tobin’s neck and making her shiver. “It is wildly unfair of you to tease me like this.”
Tobin felt Grier’s hands start to wander, sneaking beneath the hem of her fitted white tank top, sending an instant pang of arousal straight to her core.
Shehadchosen this outfit deliberately. She knew her bright red bra would show through the sheer cotton, drawing Grier’s eyes to her chest all day. She didn’t have the ample cleavage Grier boasted, but what she did have, she was proud of—and this bra perfectly plumped her breasts over the low-cut neckline of the tank. Red, white, and breast—you couldn’t get much more patriotic than that.
She practically purred as Grier’s lips brushed the back of her neck and slowly—lazily—roamed their way to her earlobe, where Grier flicked her tongue before nibbling along Tobin’s pulse.
“Now I have to look at you in a state of half-dress for the rest of the day, with no way to relieve my… fantasies.”
Tobin chuckled, turning her head to capture Grier’s eager mouth. She hummed against her lips. “That was the point, Cinderella. Payback for Pride.”
Grier had knocked the wind out of her at the parade, showing up in a pink-and-orange ombré two-piece jumpsuit. The shirt was a mock neck, sleeveless on one side, with a keyhole cutout on the other. It was cropped—ending just below her ribs—and showcased her toned, tanned abdomen. But the crowning glory was the sheer mesh fabric, revealing a white lace bralette underneath. Tobin couldn’t recall another ensemble that hadhighlighted Grier’s shoulders more perfectly—but it was the bra that had done unseemly things to her libido all day long.
The parade float had been a success; every rescue dog had been adopted by the end of the event. They’d even received several volunteer applications. The camps Grier had suggested were fully enrolled, and Anchor had added a fourth session just before school resumed in September. Money was coming in, and Tobin recognized the return of Anchor’s lighthearted demeanor.
Their fundraiser at Vinny’s was scheduled near the end of July, with volunteers and camp kids slinging pizzas and root beer floats to the crowds.
“Would you two cut it out? Didn’t you get enough of each other last night… and this morning?” Harrow chided, walking into the kitchen with some potatoes from the garden cellar and forcing them to break their all-too-brief kiss. Tobin sighed at the loss of contact.
“We really have to get you some better noise-canceling headphones,” Grier said with a shit-eating grin, pecking a final kiss on Tobin’s cheek before disentangling her arms and resting an affectionate hand at the small of Tobin’s back.
“You can sleep at my place anytime you need, Harrow. You know I like it quiet.” Eddie quipped, entering the kitchen with the cellar items LoLo had asked her to retrieve. She joined the banter with a smug grin that radiated affection Tobin knew was reserved only for her—and sometimes Harrow.
“There’s a lot of standing around and talking and not a lot of action happening in this kitchen,” LoLo scolded, joining them with arms full of baking pans and mixing bowls, her trademark apron hugging her hips and her hair barely holding its place in the fraying knot atop her head.
“There was some action happening just a minute ago,” Harrow stage-whispered conspiratorially.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Harrow,” Tobin retorted. She saw Grier’s face go pink with embarrassment, an insecure smile brightening when Tobin offered her a comforting wink.
Eddie let out an amused snort from her corner of the kitchen and sat at the table to await further instructions from LoLo.
“How can I help? Put me to work, Elodie,” Grier said next to her, tucking a few loose strands of her braid behind her ear.
Tobin marveled at Grier—at her ability to effortlessly slip into place wherever she was. She hadn’t been worried about Grier’s ability to blend in with her family, but she had been… curious. She’d been risking stolen glimpses at Grier since they arrived, just absorbing the way she moved and interacted with her family. There wasn’t a hint of insecurity in her movements—no, Grier was genuine and confident, like she belonged.
“A woman who knows how to earn her keep is a woman worth keeping,” LoLo stated flatly. Tobin honestly couldn’t tell if that was a statement she was supposed to accept at face value, or if it was laced with underlying meaning specifically for her.
Tobin had stopped bringing partners to the orchard in her early twenties. Talia was the exception, but their relationship had endured beyond the flings she was prone to in her wilder youth. She knew LoLo would never be outright rude to a guest, but she was… prickly—especially when it came to her granddaughters. Particularly, Tobin. Tobin knew this; and all of them knew that for her to bring Grier today was as much a test as it was a statement.
But Tobin needn’t have worried. Grier was flawless. She greeted LoLo with a handshake instead of an obsequious hug. LoLo appreciated her veracity; Tobin could tell by the slight relaxing along the sides of her grandmother’s eyes that she was impressed with Grier’s presence.
After the initial greetings, LoLo had taken them on a tour of the groves. Tobin had shared pieces of her family history with Grier in brief clips over the last several weeks, so she had fully expected Grier to be interested in experiencing the orchard for herself. What she hadn’t expected was to watch Grier walk into the rows of those trees and simply… dazzle.