“Do you still ride Simone’s Vespa?”
My lips tipped up. “It’s mine now, and yeah, I still ride it. Why?”
He pulled into a parking spot near my apartment building. “You need to stay off it for a while.”
I aimed a closed lip smile at him. “Dad already made that clear.” I grabbed my phone and wallet. “Thanks for the ride… again. You can come up for some coffee or something, but I don’t want to keep you from anything.”
He turned off the truck. “No worries, Lex. I’ll walk you up.”
As I led the way to the apartment, I realized some lucky woman would revel in Rafferty’s steadfast over-protectiveness.
I put my key in the lock, and suddenly Rafferty moved in front of me. It happened so fast, I didn’t even realize it until the door swung open.
“Who the fuck are you?” Rafferty demanded.
“That’s Brantley,” I said, peeking around Raff’s shoulders before either of them started arguing.
Rafferty glanced over his shoulder at me. “Did you know he’d be here? Or that he had a key?”
“It’s none of her business. Ines gave it to me,” Brantley argued.
I pushed forward. “Cool it, Raff. I’m sure it’s okay.”
Brantley stared down at me. Once I pulled my key from the lock, he opened the door further.
Rafferty shot me a look, then pinned Brantley with his stare. “Her name’s on the lease, yours isn’t. It’s absolutely her business.”
I shook my head as I went inside. “Rafferty, forget about it. Are you here to get some things for Ines?” I asked, looking at Brantley.
“You can handle that,” Brantley clipped out.
Rafferty shut the door, glaring at Brantley. “Say that again.”
Brantley shrugged. “She’s her roommate and she’ll know what to pack better than I do. Only met Ines’s parents once, and they didn’t care much for me, so it works better if she does it.”
I nodded to make my lie more believable. “That makes sense.” I turned around to face Raff. “You said you wanted coffee. The Keurig should be ready to go if you want to make yourself a cup.”
Rafferty stared at me for a moment, glared at Brantley for a beat, then shook his head. “I don’t need any coffee, but I’m gonna hit the bathroom.”
Once I heard the bathroom door close, I narrowed my eyes on Brantley. “I’ll pack a bag for Ines, but aren’t you going to see her?”
Him not going back to Georgia struck me strange because he’d been involved with Ines for over six months, and she’d told me how much she cared for him.
She usually had a thing for weight-lifters, but Brantley had the build of a long-distance runner. Thin, and a smidge over six feet tall; he was almost Rafferty’s height. His dark eyes were almost hollow. He appeared to hide a lip curl before he spoke.
“No, you caused the accident, so you can take her ‘some things.’ Hell, I oughta sue you. My neck hurts like a mother.”
His words felt like bullets aimed right at my chest - particularly since the police officer had shared that Porter said the same thing.
“I didn’t have anything to do with the other driver hitting us, Brantley.”
He put his hands on his narrow hips and leaned forward. “No, butyou’rethe reason we stopped at that rest area - acting like Porter was attacking you or some shit. You’re a goddamn tease, that’s all. Wearing low cut shirts that are tight on your tits all the time. Self-centered, entitled bitches like you are the worst.”
Anger roared through my body. “I’m not self-centered, entitled, or a tease.”
Brantley narrowed his eyes on me. “You strung Porter along for months with the excuses. Hell, you wouldn’t even go down on him. Typical tease.”
Between the restless sleep and sheer anger coursing through me, I lost control of my mouth. “Not that it’s your business, but I can’t be a tease, when I’m avirgin, asshole.”
