“Mmm?” His hand went to her hair and he tugged her down for a longer, more thorough kiss.
She pulled away from him reluctantly and said, “We have to get going or we’re going to be late.”
Griffin sat up in the bed and rubbed his eyes, watching her. “What do you mean, late? What can we possibly have scheduled before breakfast?”
“Well, for starters,” Maylee said, bounding out of bed. She headed for the adjoining door so she could change out of his T-shirt and boxers and into her own clothing. “You’re sick again today.”
“What?” he called after her.
Grinning to herself, she ignored him and headed to her closet, dragging out her only pair of jeans she’d brought with her again and another touristy Bellissime shirt. She didn’t have many casual clothes with her, unfortunately, and today definitely did not call for a pantsuit.
Sure enough, Griffin opened the adjoining door without knocking just as she’d pulled his T-shirt over her head. He stopped, stared at her bare br**sts for a moment, then shook his head as if to clear it. “What do you mean, I’m sick again today?”
“I cleared your schedule,” Maylee said, pulling on a bra and deliberately making her br**sts jiggle a bit more just to watch Griffin’s gaze head there.
“You did.” He couldn’t take his eyes off her br**sts, which was rather amusing.
“I did. And we have to bring breakfast with us, otherwise we’re going to be late for our flight.”
“Our flight,” he echoed, and then seemed to realize what he was saying. “What do you mean, ‘our flight’?”
“I mean, our flight into Cadiz. Well, not Cadiz directly,” she corrected. “But some airport nearby. And then we’re going to drive out to the dig and take a gander at all that stuff Jonathan keeps sending you—”
“But what about the wedding?”
“—And then we’re going to fly back here tonight to be home in time for the wedding,” she finished, and pulled her T-shirt over her head. “But we need to get going if we’re going to make it on time.”
“And my appointments?”
“Will just have to wait or get cancelled,” she said. “You didn’t want to spend the day having tea anyhow, did you?”
Griffin rushed forward, startling Maylee. But he grabbed her cheeks and pulled her in for a loud, smacking kiss. “You are the best woman I have ever met.”
She laughed. “I take it you’re fine with the schedule, then?”
“More than fine,” he said, and then ran for his room. “But let’s hurry up and get to the airport!”
Maylee grinned and slid on her jeans. “Yes, sir.”
***
Sixteen hours later, Maylee rode in the back of the sedan, her head cushioned in Griffin’s lap as they headed to the hotel. It had been a long day, but a wonderful one. They’d flown to Spain, drove out to the dig site and met Jonathan, who was just as pleased to see Griffin. And as the men talked, she watched happily as Griffin’s face lit up with enthusiasm. They talked about radar and digital mapping, and Maylee mostly tuned out as Jonathan brought out roll after roll of printouts and the men compared the two, pointing out new or overlooked spots that had been discovered.
Then, they’d gotten into Jonathan’s Jeep and he’d driven them to the excavation locations to show Griffin the progress that was being made. After that, it was a trip to the warehouse where the artifacts were being stored, and discussing what had been found with the archaeologists on the dig.
Maylee was mostly interested in it because Griffin was. She loved seeing his face so animated and happy as he discussed things with Jonathan. She kept out of the conversation so they could chat without having to explain to her what “deep-ground radar” was or the importance of comparing Plato’s work to the ruins they’d located. She simply picked up her knitting and worked on it so she wouldn’t stare at Griffin like a moon-eyed calf the entire time.
Because really? The man was just so cute when he was excited about something.
Jonathan was more of a mystery to Maylee. He seemed more quiet and self-contained than Griffin was, and she’d caught him giving her curious looks throughout the day, as if he couldn’t quite make out what her purpose there was. But he was unfailingly polite to her. And handsome, she admitted. Whereas Griffin had regular, aristocratic features that only flashed over to handsome when he gave her that boyish smile, there was something more dangerous and a bit reckless about Jonathan’s edgy good looks.
She decided she liked Griffin’s face better.
For his part, Griffin had been distracted, but he was still attentive to her. He held her hand when they walked about. When they stood around waiting, he’d pull her in and kiss her hair, or murmur naughty things in her ears that made her blush. He’d even done so in front of Jonathan, which had made the other man raise a curious eyebrow.
Griffin had missed his friend’s expression entirely, but Maylee hadn’t. It made her wonder if Griffin often brought women with him on his precious dig sites, and it made her feel a bit warmer to be sharing this moment with him.
They’d had to eventually leave the site when the sun went down, and they reluctantly headed to the airport to fly back to Bellissime. Still, Griffin was more content than he had been all week, and had a packet of new reports that Jonathan had given him to peruse. Maylee had put zinc on her now-sunburned nose and napped against Griffin for hours while they flew back. Even now, she could barely keep awake as they rode to the hotel, so when he’d encouraged her to put her head down in his lap, she hadn’t needed much persuading. And as she relaxed and snuggled against his strong thighs, he’d absently played with her curls.
And she’d been so utterly content.
This was the Griffin she was coming to adore. This man was not the snarling, arrogant aristocrat, but a scholar filled with enthusiasm for his work. Who didn’t mind if she didn’t hover next to him . . . but still wanted her close by so he could hold her hand or press kisses to her skin in idle moments. Who smiled at her like she’d lit the sun that day.
She could fall in love with a guy like that.
When they got back to the hotel room, he insisted on dragging her into his room. Not for sex, he told her, but just so they could sleep together. She’d half-fallen asleep before she’d even taken her pants off, and had drowsily flicked in and out of consciousness as Griffin removed her sneakers and jeans, and then crawled into bed next to her.