14. Griffin

Ican't believe I'm spending a Sunday morning trying to make maple, Brie, and pecan crepes while Cora sleeps in my bed upstairs.

I used to think there was no way I would spend the weekend cooped up at home with a woman, let alone attempt a fancy breakfast in bed for her.

Yet, the thought of making breakfast for my wife is growing on me.

I shoot a glare at the flour as it scatters everywhere. "Of course. Why would it be simple and clean?" I talk to myself.

With a sigh, I empty the flour into the mixing bowl and then roll the top of the bag. As I tuck the bag back into the cupboard, more flour spills out of a crack, covering my shirt.

Soft footsteps pad down the hall as I crack eggs into the bowl.

Cora appears in the doorway, wearing one of my old university shirts. The shirt is a faded burgundy, which only brings out the freckles scattered across her nose.

It's still hard to believe she"s willing to give us a chance despite all that transpired between us.

I'll make sure she knows that trusting me isn't a mistake.

She looks beautiful as she scrapes her hair up into a messy bun and takes a seat at the kitchen island.

"It looks like a flour bomb went off in here. Is everything alright?" She asks, chuckling.

I round the island to kiss her quickly before going over to the fridge and pulling out the milk. "Well, it was going to be breakfast in bed, but since you're up, how does breakfast by the pool sound?"

"Like this isn't real life." Cora leans forward, resting her forearms on the counter. "Thank you."

"You've had a rough week." I mix the batter as the frying pan preheats on the stove.

Her week started with a call from her ex, and it went downhill from there. If it hasn't been one thing at work, it's been another.

She's spent more time rushing between departments and trying to get in contact with clients than she has spent doing anything else. I know she's been working hard.

Cora smiles and switches a few pecans from the other bowl. "It's been so busy. This weekend's been amazing, though. I don't want to go back to work tomorrow."

"I don't blame you; your boss is a real hard ass."

Cora laughs and pops the pecans into her mouth. "Yeah, you're right about that. He makes my life hard sometimes. Just this week, he decided that trying to flirt with me in a meeting was a good idea."

I chuckle as I pour some batter into the pan, swirling the pan to make the crepe as thin as possible. "Can you even blame him when his gorgeous wife sits beside him?"

Cora rolls her eyes, but her smile is wide. "You're too funny. You know that, right?"

"I could be worse. I could send you flowers at work. How do two dozen roses sound?"

"Nice, but I prefer dahlias." Cora gets up and stretches. "But no. Don't send me flowers at the office. Kaleigh would want to know everything. It's bad enough having Sophie hound me about everything going on in my life."

Her words aren't meant to hurt, but I would be lying if I said there wasn't a tiny sting.

Even though our relationship can't be public, I still want to spoil her.

I've never had a woman tell me not to send her flowers before.

Cora sits back down and pulls one knee to her chest, the other leg dangling off the stool. "What do you want to do for the rest of the day?"

"Anything you want. I have the entire day clear."

Cora taps her finger to her full lips. "Now, what could we do to drive you insane? We could go shopping, and you could carry all my bags."

I shrug, flip the crepe onto a plate, and pour another. "If you want me to carry frilly pink bags, I'll happily do that for you."

She shifts in her seat, drumming her fingers on the counter.

Cora eyes me for a moment before letting go of her leg. "You really would do that, wouldn't you?"

"Why wouldn't I? It's just carrying a couple of bags." I flip another crepe onto the plate.

The stack of crepes grows higher as Cora snacks on the pecans and scrolls through her work emails. "You know, if Jones doesn't get his shit together, he may be the person you have to let go." She blurts.

"What are you talking about?"

"I double-checked the numbers he presented on Monday because things weren"t quite lining up when I went back over my meeting notes. Some of the numbers were off based on what I knew was being worked on."

My forehead creases as I pour the remaining batter into the pan. "Oh?"

"He's tampering with some of the reports. I don't know why he'd be doing that, but when I checked several cases he'd allegedly billed for, there were no records of them."

Jones is one of the people I suspected my father planted in the company to keep an eye on me.

If he is falsifying reports, Dad must be testing me. He wants to see if I can catch mistakes and get rid of someone who will only jeopardize the company.

"Great." I finish the last crepe and start assembling them. "Jones is probably working for my father. It's fine. I'll deal with that problem."

Cora bounces in her seat as I slide the Brie-stuffed crepes over to her. "These look delicious. And what do you mean? Jones works for your father?"

"Dad has a hard time letting go of the company. He likes to constantly hover over my shoulder and pretend he still has control." I shrug and take a bite of my crepes. "I'll get rid of Jones, and then Dad will find another way to meddle."

"That's horrible." Cara cuts her crepes into small pieces and swirls them through the maple syrup on her plate. You're good at running the firm. I think your dad could take a step back and let you handle things now."

"He's never going to let me handle things. I know that I'm stuck with him."

Cora's head whips around as there is a knock at the door. She looks back at me, her mouth turning down at the corners. "Were you expecting anyone?"

"No." I grab my phone and check the camera. "Fuck, Jake is here."

Cora's face pales before she shoves her plate toward me. "Get rid of this, then go let him in." She whispers.

"And what are you going to do?" I take the plate and put it in the fridge as I hear another knock at the door.

"Figure out a way to play this off. Go let him in before he gets suspicious. The last thing we need is for him to know that I'm living with you."

Cora slides off the stool and takes off toward the office den.

I head for the door and open it, wondering how the hell I'm going to continue to hide Cora from Jake.

Jake walks in and kicks off his shoes. "Hey man, sorry for bugging you early in the morning. Is Cora here?"

My heart skips a beat, but thankfully, Jake doesn't give me a chance to reply.

"I was just by Cora's, but she wasn't there. I don't like that neighborhood one bit, and I want to talk to her about moving. No wonder she wouldn't tell me where she lived—I had to pry Sophie for the address. I figured she might be here since she wasn't with Sophie." he continues.

Sweat beads on my palms.

I can't tell him that Cora is living with me now. He would never forgive me for hiding his sister from him.

Soft thuds pad on the hardwood floor, and Cora enters the room.

She gives Jake a bright smile and pulls him into a tight hug. "Sorry, I was in the washroom when I heard you come in."

Jake chuckles and pulls away from her. "There you are. I assumed you'd be here working through another weekend. Griffin never lets you have a weekend to yourself, does he?"

Cora shrugs and stuffs her hands into the pockets of her gray plaid slacks. "It's just been so hectic at work recently. We had some tasks that needed to be done, and it made sense to come over early and try to finish them."

Jake glances at the counter where my breakfast is still sitting. "I hope you didn't have to make breakfast for him. He's a big boy and can handle his own food."

Cora laughs and shakes her head. "Please, why would I make my boss breakfast? You know I end up burning most of the food I try to cook."

Jake grabs a piece of Brie from the counter. "I know. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about finding another place to live. You know why, and I won't accept a no for an answer."

Cora doesn't even blink, maintaining her poker face.

"Jake—this isn't the right time to talk about that. Griffin and I want to finish the work early rather than later."

"Fine, fine. Since I'm here, I want you to take a look at something quickly, though. Griffin, if you don't mind?" Jake asks.

"Of course not, man," I reply, avoiding his stare.

"So, there's a photoshoot coming up. The contract doesn't look quite right, but my manager's insisting that everything is fine."

Cora sits down on the island and holds out her hand. "Bring it up on your phone so we can see."

Jake does just that, sitting down beside her as I return to my breakfast.

I hate lying to my best friend and keeping secrets from him, but there is no way that I can tell him I'm falling for his sister.

He would never understand.

Cora's gaze flicks to me as Jake scrolls through his phone. She winks at me, but I can see the unease in her eyes.

That was dangerously close.