Will chuckled. “An instigator. It means she’s causing trouble.”

Griffin started striding through the backyard. “And troublemakers should take a dip in the pond, don’t you guys think?”

The girls cheered, dancing around us as I began to twist and flail. “Don’t you dare, Griffin Lockwood.”

“I’d be careful if I were you,” Will warned. “Caelyn’s revenge is epic.”

Griffin slowed as he reached the edge of the yard. “I guess I don’t want to do anything to risk my supply of food.”

“Aw, man,” Mia complained. “It would’ve been so fun to watch you throw her in the pond.”

I laughed as Griffin slowly began lowering me to the ground, but my breath stalled as we came face-to-face, our lips the barest brush apart. It would hardly take any movement at all for them to meet. To taste Griffin on my tongue.

“Why are you guys staring at each other?” Mia asked.

Will let out a cough that sounded more like a strangled laugh.

I snapped out of the haze Griffin’s lips had me in and wiggled to be let free. “Griffin was just making sure I wasn’t going to poison his food.”

Mia looked suddenly worried. “You’re not, right?”

I gave Griffin a mock assessment. “Not if he’s on his best behavior.”

Mia gave him a sympathetic look, one borne of years of getting in trouble. “That happens to me a lot, too.”

Griffin held up both hands in surrender. “Best behavior. Scout’s honor.”

“Were you a Boy Scout?” I asked.

Griffin shook his head, a twinkle in his eye. That mischievous glint had my eyes dropping to his mouth again. And I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to forget the world around me and lose myself in the taste and feel of everything that was Griffin.

21

Caelyn

“Remember what we talked about?” I asked as I headed down the street with Ava and Mia in tow.

“Don’t touch anything and keep our voices low,” Ava answered instantly.

“That doesn’t sound like very much fun,” Mia groused.

I paused, turning to face my tiniest terror. The one who was a whirling ball of energy and who could, I was sure, destroy Bell’s new shop in a matter of seconds. “Mia Renee…”

She let out a harrumph. “I know, I know. Sometimes we have to do stuff we don’t want to do.”

I forced my laughter down. “And if we get through this in one piece, we get to go to the park afterward.”

“But only if you don’t break anything,” Ava added helpfully.

“I’m not gonna break anything! Maybe you’ll break something. And then you’ll be in trouble. And then I’ll go to the park, but you’ll have to have a timeout.”