He took a step forward, closing some of the space between us. “Just to be clear though, you’re saying I can mess with you, right?”
I took a step back. He followed. “That’s not at all what I meant. I just… I’m saying I’m tough. It’s fine if you need to be an asshole to someone, take it out on me. But leave Max out of it.”
“So, you want me to keep messing with you? That’s the message I’m hearing.”
“I don’t want you to mess with anyone!” I exclaimed, totally exasperated. “You’re missing the point.”
My back bumped against a cornstalk and I jumped, startled by having walked backward so far.
“What’s the point?” he challenged, as if I could have coherent thoughts with his half-naked body so close to mine.
“That you need to stop stalking me and find something better to do with your free time.”
“I wanted to talk to you,” he said evenly, as if he were countering my argument. As if he had a rational, logical point. “And RJ and I had a little talk after breakfast the other day. He made it very clear that I wasn’t supposed to come back to the diner to chat with you or else he was going to lay me out, cut off my balls and have Reggie chop them up. RJ’s words, not mine.” I pressed my lips together to keep my jaw from dropping to the floor. “So I’ve been forced to… find you in unconventional ways.”
“The gas station?”
“That was the easiest I’ve had it this week.”
My eyebrows shot to my hairline. “You’ve been trying to find me this whole week?”
“I thought for sure you’d spend more time at the Piggly Wiggly. Pretty sure they think I have an eating disorder, I’ve bought so much junk I didn’t need in my efforts to bump into you. Also, apparently you only get gas once a week. Which is a shame since Maria now thinks I’m trying to steal from her. Running around this area was my last hope before I risked the boys.”
“The boys?”
He glanced down at his athletic shorts where his “boys” were nearly on display behind the thin material. I cleared my throat and lifted my focus back to his face. Although it might have been a slow lift, so I could admire the planes and contours of his abs and chest one more time.
Noticing again how sweaty he was, I asked, “How long have you been out here?”
His smile wobbled. “Let’s just say, I’m not going to need to come back and do it again tomorrow. Today was a pretty good workout.”
“You’re ridiculous.” I laughed. “Also, you’re a legit stalker.”
He shrugged for the fifteen millionth time. “You’re a hard woman to find.”
“I’m usually at home. You know, doing home things.”
He looked at Max. “Good to know.”
“That wasn’t an invitation,” I rushed to say.
His gaze moved back to mine. “You would always pretend you forgot something. I would watch you rush through the gym to the locker room, pretending like you couldn’t see us. It was my favorite part of practice.”
His conversational jumps were giving me whiplash, but my stomach started pooling with heat before my mind could fully comprehend what he was saying.
“I don’t remember it like that at all,” I argued weakly.
“Little Ruby Dawson, I don’t remember you as a liar.”
I glared at the smug smile on his lips. “Did you really run this area of town to get my attention?” I asked him, desperate to change the subject.
“And out front of your house. Like I said, I wanted to apologize.”
“Go ahead then.”
His smile disappeared, and he took three steps closer to me. I could smell his aftershave and the musky scent of his sweat. How had I gotten to this point in my life? How did I have a son I was trying to keep secret from super sleuth over here, also known as Clark City’s most eligible stalker.
His sharp gaze flicked to Max again and it took all my willpower not to jump between them and wave my hands around like a crazy person. For the first time since he’d walked back into town I wanted his attention on me and me alone.
