“Good?”
He tucks my hair back behind the other ear with a smirk. “Baby, the look on your face when you saw it was me talking to Gwen’s professor . . .” He shakes his head. “Remind me not to ever piss you off.”
“I shouldn’t have been jealous.” I drop my gaze and stare at his collar. “You look extra handsome. Do you or did you have a business meeting? Is that why you’re in Dumas?”
“The meeting was in Ravenna.”
“That’s where my father is.”
“I know, baby.” He drops a kiss on my forehead and my nose.
Bobby’s gaze lingers on my freckles. I turn my cheek to him. He lavishes attention on the constellation with his mouth, all while carrying me to the rear of my car. This guy of mine is great at multitasking.
“Still have the extra helmets in there like I instructed you to do?” He tips his head at the trunk.
Not only do I have extra helmets in my car, but I have an extra pair at work in the coat closet and on top of my dresser in my bedroom, next to my plushies of a princess and her dragon.
“You didn’t ‘instruct.’ From what I remember, you said, ‘These better damn well be in your car, in the house, and at work.’”
“A matter of semantics. But word for word. Also, remind me to watch what I say around you, yeah? My words will come back and bite me in the ass.” He chuckles.
I smile, but test this “matter of semantics” of his. “So when I say I’m falling in love with you, do you take that as an ‘I love you’? Or semantically, that I am falling, but it’s not the same as an ‘I love you’? Does that make sense?”
“Wait, you do?” He sets me on my feet and at arm’s length from him. His dark brows angle low to his nose, and his head is tilted to the side. Bobby is looking at me like I’ve grown two heads.
Crap! I confused him, but he looks so goddamn adorable. My voice falls to a near whisper as I lean into him while putting my arms through both straps of my backpack. “Do I do what?” I straighten. The backpack thumps against my back.
Bobby’s eyes widen. Then he shakes his head. Brows still furrowed, he belts laughter before his expression slips into one of seriousness. “Love me? Do you love me?” he repeats with his hands on his hips as he leans into my personal space.
I grab my helmet and cradle it in front of my heart like a shield. “I thought we were talking semantics?”
He shrugs. “If you say so.” There’s a hitch in his words.
Does Bobby think I’m rejecting him?
Holding on to the helmet, I stand on the tips of my toes, wrap my arms around his neck, and press my mouth over his. His eyes are open. I keep my eyes open too. For this part, it’s important that I look at him. The eyes are the window to the soul for a reason. “I do. I do love you, Bobby Bliss.”
His eyes shine, and his face softens. His arms circle my waist. “Aw, sweetness. I love you too.”
“Promise?”
He mimes crossing his heart. “I promise, baby.”
“Are we moving too fast?”
He shakes his head. “We do what feels right for us. You get me?”
I don’t think. I speak. “I do.”
The two words shock my senses. An image of Bobby down on one knee flashes across my mind. I mentally shake away the image. I have time. We both do.
Not losing the shine in his eyes and the softness on his face, Bobby tips his chin at his motorcycle. “Ready for the ride of your life?”
I clasp his head in my palms. “I’m ready for a different ride. Pick me up from work and stay the night in my bed?”
His eyes darken with desire. He tightens his hold on me. “You got it, babe.”
30
