Page 13 of Gravity

“I’m going to see them in a bit. Want a ride home?”

Knowing he’s just cut the discussion dead, I nod, not able to do anything else but knowing there is something troubling my friend that he clearly doesn’t wish to talk about.

* * *

An hour later and feeling a little better than I had when I first woke, we’re heading back to Chesapeake. Resting my head back against the seat, I push my ball cap down over my forehead and close my eyes, listening to the radio while Asher drives. He hasn’t spoken much since breakfast.

I do need to start visiting the Nelsons’ again. The remorse I feel due to my lack of contact is pushing me to make the change. Pete and Fiona are like second parents to me and have been there more times than I can remember. It’s almost like I’ve turned my back on them. It needs to change.

I might just be able to work out what Asher was meaning, too.

But there’s just one little blue-eyed dilemma when it comes to all of this, and if I have to get anyone on my side, it’s her.

“What the?” Asher mutters.

Opening my eyes, I see—as clear as day as we pull up outside her house—the very woman who invades my thoughts.

Nora.

My Shortcake.

My little lady.

A rush of desire takes over my body.

She’s sitting in the swing seat on her parent’s porch, her sexy, tan legs on full show in those denim shorts I love, and like I knew it would, all the resistance I’ve been trying to build begins to crumble, telling me that with her around more, I’m going to have to work fucking hard to not let it crash to the ground.

“I thought she wasn’t back for another week.”

“That’s what she told me,” Asher says with a grin. Even with his protective side that can come on a little too strong at times, he can never hide the love he has for her from me.

Getting out of his truck, he’s already heading up the drive before I’ve even got my shit together and processed the fact that she’s home as I listen to their conversation.

“Mom said you weren’t back for another week,” he questions her, and it’s only a matter of time before the inquisition starts.

“Well hello to you, too, dickwad.”

Wrapping his arms around her, Nora’s tiny body is swallowed in his thick biceps as he lifts her off her feet and spins her around.

“Mom got her dates mixed up. So, surprise!”

“I would have come and got you.”

“Asher, I have a car for a reason. I was fine on my own.”

“A car I don’t like you driving. Mom said you had to have roadside assistance the other day. Is it safe to drive? Do I need to check it out?”

“Mom tells you too much. And it’s fine.”

Shoving my hands into the pockets of my jeans, I head up the drive, apprehension heavy in my stomach, my heart now noticeably fast.

As she steps out of her brother’s hold, her eyes dart over his shoulder, and an expression I can’t read covers her face.

Those damn blue eyes nearly knock me off kilter.

Her long, hot-toffee hair falls in effortless waves around her shoulders, and in those seductive shorts and a black tank that reads, ‘Don’t make me repeat myself’, her slim figure is fucking killer. I’ve hardly seen her—through no fault of my own—but standing before me now, it’s like she’s not been away at all.

She’s beautiful.