“Then, I guess we’re both idiots.” I laugh.
“Morons, truly,” he agrees and kisses me again, then stops suddenly, brows furrowed, and asks, “how did you find out about what your dad said to me?”
I give him my most mischievous smile. “It’s a secret.”
“It was Garrett, wasn’t it?”
I spit out a laugh. “What gave it away?”
Smirking, he says, “I just know my brothers.” He brushes a hand through my hair, eyes following along. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” I say, biting my lip. “By the way, for future reference, my parents don’t pay for my school. I’m on scholarship.”
He throws his head back dramatically. “Son of a bitch.”
I laugh and run my fingertip across the rough cotton of his shirt. “Well, that’s what you get for not talking to me before going into sacrificial lamb mode.”
“Noted,” he says, kissing the top of my head.
I snuggle into his chest, my cheek resting against his soft pectoral muscle. He’s deliciously warm and my whole body relaxes into him, all the tension from the past couple of days falling away. “What changed your mind?”
“About?”
“About us. I had this whole lousy speech I’d planned on giving you, but you kind of beat me to the punch.”
“Oh. I figured your dad told you.”
My head snaps up. Our eyes lock. Why does that sound so ominous? “Told me what?”
“He came by the shop and apologized.”
I shove against Ryan’s chest. He releases me, and I stumble back, almost tripping when my heel hits a discarded pair of shoes. “He did what?”
Chapter 13
I Can Take Him
Ryan
“Hi, Mrs. Hayes,” Isay when Charlie’s mom opens the door.
She gives me a warm smile. “Hi, Ryan. Let me go get Charlie.” She disappears back into the house, shouting for Charlie.
I’m only waiting probably thirty seconds before Mr. Hayes comes to the door to greet me. He shakes my hand, but I can tell by the way he’s glancing behind me, he has ulterior motives. I step to the side to give him a better view of the big-ass Explorer I borrowed from Trey. I glance at the car, then back at Charlie’s dad. “It’s very safe.”
He gives me a small smile and a nod. “Have fun you two,” he says when Charlie approaches. She gives him a kiss on the cheek and holds her hand out to me. It’s funny, I would have expected this feeling to wane, and maybe it will eventually, but every time she touches me, it’s electric.
“Hi,” I say, as I lead her to the SUV. I’m openly ogling her ass-hugging blue jeans—thank you Levi Strauss—and tight pink tank that sets off her eyes, so they glow like tiny emerald gems. “You look beautiful.”
She grins and bites her lip. It’s so damn sexy; I’m seriously considering canceling all our plans and taking her back to my place where I can fuck her brains out all night. I help her into the truck, enjoying the view of her perfect little ass as she climbs in. Then, unable to control myself any longer, I lean into her, so my lips barely brush the shell of her ear and whisper, “I’m so looking forward to peeling this off of you tonight.” I hook my index finger along the collar of her top and run my knuckle along the smooth skin. Her lips part and a shiver snakes up her spine. I’m helpless against the draw of that plump lower lip and reach up to stroke it with the pad of my thumb. The tip of her tongue darts out, tasting me and I have to whip my hand away before I lose my shit completely and defile her here on her front curb. Fuck, I’m already hard and I’ve barely touched her.
She gives me a smile that says she knows exactly what she’s doing to me. I shut her door then run around the front of the truck and climb into the driver’s seat. Giving her thigh a little squeeze, I ask, “You ready for this?”
Charlie scooches across the seat until she’s snuggled up against my side, then she gives me a kiss, and I start the Explorer.
Thirty minutes later, we’re pulling onto the dirt road that leads to my brothers’ house. It’s a tiny white ranch that was in foreclosure, and an absolute dump when we first bought it, but over the years bit by bit we fixed it up into a nice little home. The real reason we bought the place wasn’t for the house though. It was for the big, beautiful barn that serves as a workshop for Trey and Garrett’s custom bikes.
I pause in the front yard and face Charlie, grasping her hands in mine at our sides. “Before we go any further, I need to tell you something, okay?”
