18. Griffin

The scent of garlic and browning cheese fills the kitchen as the homemade pizzas bake.

Cora sits on the counter in nothing but an oversized T-shirt, scrolling through something on her phone.

She glances up at me every now and then as I toss the wings in some barbecue sauce.

Once my hands are washed, I step between her legs and loop my arms around her waist. "You look like you're freaking out."

"Of course I am." Cora puts her phone to the side and runs her fingers through my hair, pushing it back from my face. "Aren't you worried about telling my brother that we're dating? He's going to lose it. He's going to be so mad at me, and I don't know if he'll ever talk to you again."

I kiss the tip of her nose, holding her tighter. "Everything is going to be fine. Jake and I have been friends for years. We've had fights. This is just going to be another one of those."

Cora looks at me like she doesn't believe me. And to be honest, I don't believe what I just said either.

She bites her bottom lip and looks over my shoulder at the clock on the wall.

Jake will be here in less than an hour. There's still dinner to finish cooking, and we both have to get dressed, but I'm going to make the most of our last few peaceful moments.

Even though I keep telling Cora that everything is going to be okay, I don't think it will be. Jake will see this as a betrayal, and he does have a temper.

I just can't figure out if he will be more upset with me or Cora.

I would take all his anger to spare her any of it, but life doesn't work that way.

Cora sighs and puts her hands on the sides of my face. "I'm so nervous, but he's going to be pissed no matter what. We should at least have our stories straight."

"Yeah. We should leave out our drunk wedding ceremony?" I give her a teasing smile before leaning in and kissing her.

Some of the tension melts from her body as we kiss. I lean into her, the scent of her perfume and the feel of her body putting me more at ease.

Her fingers slip into my hair as my hands slide underneath her shirt.

Cora's soft moan fills the room as I brush my thumbs over her nipples through the thin material of her bra.

I'm lost in a moment that was supposed to be ours alone.

"What the fuck is going on in here?"

Jake.

His shocked gasp echoes in my ears, and I know our secret is out.

The room seems to freeze as his words echo through the air.

I turn slowly, my heart thudding in my chest, keeping Cora behind me as I see Jake standing in the doorway, his eyes blazing with fury.

Before I can react, his fist collides with my jaw, sending me reeling. I stumble back, raising my hands in a futile attempt to calm Jake's anger, to shield Cora from his fury. I can see the hurt and betrayal in his eyes, and it cuts me deeper than any physical blow ever can.

"Hey man—we can explain."

Jake's hands ball into fists as he glares at Cora. Cora gasps, her eyes wide with fear.

His face is filled with accusation. His upper lip curls, and his eyes narrow. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he was about to lunge at me again.

I turn to Cora and tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Why don't you go get dressed while I talk to Jake?"

Her eyes swell with tears as she gets down from the counter and takes off to the bedroom.

The moment we are alone, Jake is in my face. "Are you fucking sleeping with my little sister? I asked you to help her, not screw her around."

I scoff and put my hands on his chest, shoving him back a step. "First of all, fuck you for thinking that Cora would just fuck around like that. Fuck you twice for assuming that I would just use her."

Jake glares at me, the muscle in his jaw twitching.

"What else do you want me to think of this? You ask me to come over for dinner and watch the game. I come early, the door's unlocked, and then I find you making out with my sister in the middle of your kitchen? And what the fuck did you mean about the wedding ceremony? Care to explain that?" he doesn"t miss a beat.

"We… Cora and I got married when we were drunk in Colorado on that business trip we had a few months back." I exhale, trying to stay calm.

The story itself is so absurd that the conversation won't get anywhere if both of us are ready to rip each other's heads off.

Jake's eyes bulge, and his face turns a bright red.

"You did what? You've got to be kidding me. You married Cora? There is no fucking way that this is happening right now. This has to be some sort of sick joke you cooked up together."

"It's not a joke." I lean back against the counter and cross my arms. "Jake—I love Cora. I wasn't sure when we accidentally got married, but I've come to love her. Even if we didn't get married, we'd still be having this conversation because I love her. We're together. We were going to tell you tonight."

"You think it's that easy?" Jake's voice climbs higher. "You think I can just walk in here and see you with Cora and think everything is great? She despised you for years growing up."

"We've talked about that. If she's willing to move past—"

Jake slams his hand down on the counter, cutting me off. "No. You don't get to say that. I refuse to stand by and watch someone take advantage of Cora again."

My hand balls into a fist for the first time since we were teens. I want to punch him. "Is that honestly what you think of me?"

"What else would I think?" Venom spews from his words as he crosses his arms. Anger radiates from him in waves as he shakes his head. "You've never had a serious relationship in your life."

"Yes, I'll admit that. But why does that matter? If I'm happy with Cora, and she is happy with me, then why does the past matter?"

"Because it does!" Jake walks to the other side of the room, pacing back and forth. "Of course it matters because she's my sister. Just because you're my best buddy doesn't mean you're automatically the best partner for my sister. She went through hell with her ex, and now you're going to put her through an entirely different kind of shit."

"I'm not going to be that person." I stay calm despite my chest tightening as I consider what Jake thinks of me.

Even in the heat of the moment, I've never known him to say something he doesn't mean. This could mean that my best friend has been harboring some ugly thoughts about me for quite some time.

My jaw clamps shut as I look at him. "I don't know what else to say right now. I'm married to Cora. She lives here. We're happy together and dating."

"Of course you are, Griffin. And what about your parents? Do they know? You know they wouldn't accept her, right?"

Just then, Cora flies into the room, looking like an avenging angel.

She gets between me and Jake, placing her hands on her hips and glaring up at him.

"Jake, I'm an adult and can make my own choices. It's not fair to dump all the blame on Griffin," she says.

Jake glares down at his sister. "I have no words for you. I thought you were better than this."

Cora takes a step closer to him, crossing her arms and cocking a hip.

The look in her eyes is challenging. "Better than what?"

Jake snaps his mouth shut as he looks down at her and shakes his head. "What are you doing here, Cora? If you needed money to pay off everything, you could've just asked me for help. You didn't need to do this."

I don't care about what he says to me when he's angry, but I won't let him insult Cora in front of me.

Cora beats me to it. "I didn't move in with Griffin for money. He's not paying me to stay with him. I think we're done for today. Now, get out."

Jake gapes at her. "I can't believe this. There is no way that this is what you want, Cora. I will give you the money you need. Hell, you can owe me that money if you want; just go get your things and get in the car."

"I'm not leaving!" Cora points to the door, her voice rising. "You don't understand, Jake. Griffin and I are in love. Now, please. Just get the hell out of here."

Jake scoffs but stays silent for a moment before turning. "Fine, if this is what you want, have it. I don't even know who you are anymore."

"That makes two of us."

The front door slams a few seconds later, shaking the pictures on the walls.

Cora crumples as she folds in on herself the second she knows Jake is gone. Tears stream down her cheeks faster than she can wipe them away.

I pull her into my arms as my heart races. "Everything will be okay. It's me he hates. He'll get over his anger with you soon."

Cora nods, squeezing me tight. "He'll come to his senses about us eventually. It just hurts."

I try to swallow the lump in my throat. "I should've talked to him before we ever started going out. He might not have exploded like this if I told him earlier that I was falling for you."

Cora pulls back to look at me. "Griff, I'm a grown woman, and I'm going to date who I want, regardless of his opinion."

Bile rises in my throat as I step away from her to pull the pizzas out of the oven when the timer goes off. "I know. I just don't know what more we could've possibly done."

"Nothing." Cora rubs her hand up and down my back. "We'll be fine eventually. He just needs some time to process everything."

"He'll be fine with you." I rub a hand over my jaw as I turn to look down at her. "Honestly, I don't think he's ever going to forgive me."

Cora props herself against the kitchen island, facing me. "You seem more upset about this than I thought you would be. We knew what we were getting into, so what's on your mind?"

I sigh and tilt my head back to look at the ceiling.

Thousands of thoughts swirl around in my head, but they all lead back to the fear of losing my best friend forever.

"I used to spend a lot of time at your house because my own family wanted nothing to do with me." My voice is gruff, the weight of the last hour weighing on me. "Dad was always busy with work, and Mom was always jetting off to her next modeling gig."

"Yeah. I remember you talking about how they were barely around. My parents used to love having you around, even if you were a little mischief when we were younger."

The corner of my mouth twitches from the fond memory of Cora's parents, but it doesn't chase away the sick feeling still swirling through my stomach. "I never thought I could hurt Jake the way I did."

Cora's face twists into something unreadable before becoming a blank mask. "Jake will forgive you. He won't be able to hold onto his anger for long."

"We had a bad fight once when we were sixteen over a girl we both thought we were dating. Your brother held onto the grudge for weeks even though we concluded I was the one to start dating her first."

"You both should've been mad at her for playing you like that," Cora says.

I nod. "I know, but we were stupid teenagers. Anyway, I was so scared of losing my best friend and the only family that cared about me that I sucked it up and apologized."

Cora sighs and runs her hand through her hair. "I'm sorry that you always have to be the one to give in to him. My parents wouldn't have turned you away even if you weren't friends. They would've made sure that you always had a safe place to call home."

"And I know that as an adult now, but back then, I didn't. But… This is different than any other fight. I don't know what my life will look like without him, Cora. He was there every time I took off in the middle of the night while my parents were cheating on each other. He always had my back when some kids at school tried to beat me up."

"You've been through a lot together. He's not the kind of man to turn his back on you now."

"Jake has legitimate concerns about who I am as a person."

Cora steps forward and reaches up to cup my face with her hands.

"If he has concerns, he hasn't seen the man you are now," she says reassuringly.

I turn my head to kiss her hand before pulling away. "I appreciate you saying that, but he's not wrong. The first real relationship started with a drunken marriage. How the hell is that getting off on the right foot?"

Cora shakes her head, tears welling in her eyes. "If you can dismiss what's between us down to just that, then maybe I should go stay with Sophie for a couple of days while you work through everything."

I grab her hand and pull her back to me. "That was a criticism toward me, not you. If I'd done it right, I would've told you how I felt about you instead of picking a fight to see where the night went."

"It worked out in the end, didn't it?" Cora traces her finger along my collarbone before poking me in the chest. "Sure, it might have started off in an unconventional way, but… I think that's how it was meant to be."

"I'm going to screw this up. I'm too much like my father, and I'm going to screw it up." I let out a nervous chuckle.

Cora shrugs one shoulder, forcing out a small smile. "We're both going to screw this up. It's unavoidable. It's what we do after the screw-ups that will matter."

"I wish that applied to your brother as well." I tilt my head back again, blinking away the tears. "Cora, I'm sorry you're in the middle of this."

"I'm not," she traces a finger along my jaw and down my neck, "Jake"s going to forgive you, and everything will be fine."

She pulls away abruptly, snatching ice from the freezer and wrapping it in a towel.

With deliberate care, she presses it against my throbbing cheek and jaw, the areas where Jake's fist had landed.

"Does it hurt?" she asks.

"No," I lie, the pain in my jaw eclipsed by the ache of losing my best friend.