Page 29 of The Triple Play

“Does Griffin know how to relax?” she quips.

A sharp bark of laughter escapes me at Olivia’s dry tone of voice. “He’s in rescue mode. Give him a minute and he’ll settle, I promise.”

“He is right here and totally normal, thank you very much,” Griff grumbles.

Olivia’s giggle makes my heart swell in my chest. And judging by the way I can see Griff’s fighting a smile, he feels the same.

“I don’t know if there are any playing cards, but I brought a puzzle with me,” she says quietly, twisting her hands together. “It’s…my favourite thing to do in the evening. We could built it, for something to do, I mean.”

“I remember that,” Griff says, following her to the couch. “You always had one on the go when we’d stop by your place.”

Surprise flashes over her face, as if she can’t believe we would remember something like that. Little does she know, we remember a lot of things about her.

While Griff and Olivia start in on the puzzle, I move toward the kitchen. There’s a couple of tote bins that I assume are what Olivia brought with her.

“You good if I go through your food bins?” I call out, just to make sure.

“Yup,” she replies, not glancing up from the puzzle. “I, ah, definitely maybe overprepared in terms of food, so there should be some stuff left. My cooler is just outside as well.”

I leave the cooler for now and lift the lid on the first bin. Jackpot. Grabbing the open bag of Doritos and another of beef jerky, I head for the coffee table.

“Dinner of champions,” I announce, setting the snacks down with a flourish. “Even if the Doritos are in a subpar flavour. And for beverages, we have plenty of water falling from the sky.”

Olivia giggles at my absurd comment, and I grin back at her.

“Thank you, Denver. I think I’ll just use my water bottle.” She gestures to the large plastic bottle sticking out of her pack.

I move to grab it and get mine and Griff’s from our packs as well before I sink down to the floor on the opposite side of the table. “No problem. So, what are we working on here?” I peer down at the puzzle pieces scattered all over the table. There are two distinct piles started, but still a lot of random pieces left in the middle.

“We’re just sorting out the straight edges, then we’ll get started on building it.”

“Ah, you’re another one of those rigid people that has to build the outside first.”

Olivia’s hand freezes, a chip lifted partway to her lips. “Is…there any other way to build a puzzle?”

“Foxxy’s a maniac and just starts putting pieces together randomly. At least that’s what he did the one and only time he was allowed to do a puzzle during our visit to the pediatric ward at the hospital. After the guys saw him do that, he was forbidden from ever doing puzzles again. He traumatized those kids.”

I scoff and use my teeth to tear a bite off a piece of jerky, chewing and swallowing before I answer. “There’s nothing wrong with thinking outside the box.”

“I don’t know if I’m impressed or horrified.”

“Be both,” Griff replies to Olivia’s statement, leaning over and nudging her shoulder with his own. “I know I frequently am.”

Olivia makes a sound that’s somewhere between a snort and a laugh, which makes Trip lift his head and snuffle at her in response. “Oh god, pretend you didn’t hear that.”

I lean over and ruffle the dog’s ears, letting him lick my hand. He stretches his front leg out, wiggling his body closer to me. “Nah, you snorted, we all heard it.”

“What happens at the cabin stays at the cabin, haven’t you heard?” she fires back, and I grin, loving this feisty side of her.

“Is that how it is?” I arch my brow.

Now that I’m closer, I don’t miss her blush.

“I mean, you know. Oh…whatever.” She tosses her head back, rolling her eyes. “Just stay away from my puzzle unless you can do it like a normal person.”

“You mean boring.”

“Foxxy.” Griff’s voice is a rumble. “Behave.”