Does Bobby think I’m too polite? He must be fine with it. He takes my hand and drops a kiss on my palm. “I like you as you are, Ever. You accepted me as I am. I do the same for you.”
“You wouldn’t want to change me?” Ty would like it if I were less reckless. Gage wants me to have a do-over with my life.
That’s what he told me when he was drunk off his ass and I helped him to the bathroom so he could lose whatever was in his stomach. It was the night Finley ended their engagement. He said he would’ve kept a better eye on me so I wouldn’t have had the chance to OD or get mangled up in the car accident that left a scar on my leg.
“I wouldn’t ask that of you. The change has to come from you, sweetness. You know you better than anyone.”
“How’d you get so wise?” I take his hand that’s on my thigh and interlace our fingers.
“An old friend. He was full of wise words.”
“You miss him.”
“I do, sweetness. Every goddamn day.”
“Was he someone you served with?”
“Nah, but I considered him a brother.”
“What happened to him?”
“He ate a bullet for me.”
His voice is thick with emotion. Bobby avoids looking at me. I squeeze his hand. “I’m sorry.” Is Bobby speaking about Carlos? But that can’t be. They were rivals and not friends.
“I am too, baby.”
I point to the gas station parking lot. “Pull over.” My heart aches for him. For his loss, this old friend full of wise words and like a brother to Bobby.
“Need a snack?” he asks.
“Something like that.”
He brings our intertwined hands and kisses where our thumbs meet. “You like using my lines?” He looks at me like no one has ever teased him the way I’m teasing him.
I jerk my chin like I’m one of the boys. “True that.”
He laughs, and I smile. I’d do anything to take away the sadness in his voice. He parks with us facing the highway. I unbuckle and straddle his thighs.
“You’re a good guy, Bobby Bliss. Such a good guy, and I love you so much.” I take his face in my palms and look into sea-glass eyes I could stare at for a lifetime. “Tell me about your friend whenever you like. I’m here for you.”
His eyes shine with unshed tears. He dashes them away and turns to look out the side window, freeing himself from my grasp. I bring him back to me with my hand on his face.
“I know of a wise man too.” I pointedly look at him. “He asked me to tell him what made me sad and said he’d do everything in his power to make it better. Said grief is hard, and I should talk about my mother and my best friend until it doesn’t hurt here”—I fist my hand over my heart, then his—“anymore.”
He covers my fist with his large hand. “Almost word for word. You have the memory of an elephant. Again, remind me to watch what I say to you.”
“Because your words will come back and bite you in the ass?”
“Nah, baby. Because you’ll use them to get me to fall harder for you.” He takes my chin between his fingers and tugs me to him. Our lips touch. We’re sharing a breath. His gaze drops to my mouth before skating back to my eyes. His eyes soften. “I love you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Ever After.”
Bobby presses his mouth to mine. I don’t close my eyes until he closes his. He runs the tip of his tongue across the seams of my mouth. I open to him with a soft inhale. Bobby smells good. He’s freshly showered. I can smell the citrus from his body wash and the vanilla scent in his hair from his shampoo. I gave him the key to my place, and during my break, I video-called him.
He showed me the bottle of his shampoo and body wash in my guest bathroom.
We end the kiss and pull apart.
“Ready to drop off the paperwork and try a different kind of riding?” With my hand in his, he cups my hip with the other and squeezes.
