I swallow. “Care to tell me how you found out?”
“Declan mentioned it to Max. I’m sure Mia knew not to tell us, but the message never got passed to her husband.” He raises his eyebrows. “Why the secrecy, Hill?”
I purse my lips, debating how to answer him. “I just…I wanted to surprise you.”
He narrows his gaze. “That’s a lie.”
“How do you know?”
“You just pursed your lips. Tell number one for Ashley Hill.”
I inhale.
He leans down to kiss my cheek. “I know all your tells, darling.”
My pulse picks up, and Jared licks his bottom lip. We stare at each other for three heartbeats. Until it’s too hot, too awkward, too…much.
I back up a step, and Jared stands up straight. And then, we go back to being Jared and Ashley, old childhood friends who never once, in all our years together, hooked up. Except, the thing is that recently, I’ve felt…like maybe I wanted to. But I couldn’t do a one-night hookup with Jared, and I’m sure that’s all he’d be down for. I’m doubly sure it would be a colossal mistake if it ever happened.
And that’s why I didn’t tell him I was moving here.
Because thisright here—this smirking, arrogant as all hell, handsome, sexy man standing in front of me as he irritatingly grabs my suitcases and starts walking like I gave him permission to help me—this is why I didn’t want him to know. Not until I was settled and calm and had my shit together. Because right now, I very much do not have my shit together. I will shortly, but at the moment, I feel uprooted and homeless.
“Jared!” I really wish I wasn’t wearing heels. I can barely keep up with him as he strides purposefully through the airport.
“What?” He glances over at me as I hustle along next to him. Somehow, the suitcases never once tip over despite him walking at twice the pace I was when I was dragging them and they were tipping all over the freaking place.
“You’re doing that thing you know I hate!”
He laughs. “What thing?”
“Acting like you’re the boss of me.”
“I don’t do that.”
“You do. Actually, you act like you’re the boss of the universe.”
He flicks his gaze toward me but doesn’t slow his pace. “Of the universe, huh? I didn’t think you’d mind me taking charge.”
My face heats. This conversation is taking a turn I didn’t plan on.
Jared and I always give each other shit. It doesn’t normally turn flirty.
We round a corner, and suddenly, we’re at an elevator bank. Jared presses the button, the doors open, and he ushers me in ahead of him.
We ride the elevator in silence to the parking garage, and we only walk a few hundred feet or so before Jared stops at a large four-door truck with a cab in the back.
“Did you upgrade?” I ask him in surprise.
Jared’s the kind of guy who will drive his vehicle until it dies. He was brought up with humble roots, and it’s one of the things I love about him. He never forgot where he came from, despite the impressive multi-million dollar contract he has with the Wild Kings.
“I did.” He opens the back door and slides in my suitcases. I notice he’s got a couple of duffel bags on the floor, but before I can ask him about it, he adds, “My old truck bit the dust.”
“Rusty?” I put my hand to my heart. “You and that truck went through so much together.”So much loss and so much joy, too.
He shuts the back door and leads me around to the passenger side. “Time to make new memories,” he says as he opens the door and helps me in.
I look at him more closely as he hands me my seatbelt. Something about the way he said it gets my attention. “Are you okay?”
