Chapter Thirteen
RILEY
“Do you want something other than ice cream?”
I’m about to answer Nat.
But then he takes his giant, tree-trunk of an arm and holds the back of my head rest while he reverses.
I used to think driving like this was lame.
Turns out, Nathan Campbell is the exception to that rule.
With his hand so close, I can’t help but notice the veins running up his arm. The shirt he’s wearing is soft cotton and it drapes over his chest like a princely robe. He has some kind of woven bracelet on his wrist. Who gave that to him? A woman?
None of your business, Riley.
I swallow hard.
His thumb is a millimeter away from my nose. The bruise on it looks fresh. Did he get hurt during training today?
I shouldn’t worry.
I shouldn’t care.
But I do.
My teeth saw into my bottom lip as I stare at the bruise.
Nathan waves in my face. “Riley?”
“What?” I startle.
“You with me?”
I blink and repeat, “What?”
I sound like an idiot.
Thisis what I was afraid of. I thought I could be tough and firm around Nat, the way I am around the guys in my trade. And, for a brief moment, I succeeded. This morning, I felt empowered to push him completely out of my life.
But then he showed up after that awful encounter with the angry customer.
He wasNat. My Nat. A big, charming, goofy, good-natured teddybear who makes everything in the world seem bright and golden.
I lost all the ground I gained this morning.
“Are you still bothered by what happened earlier?” Nat asks, a grim expression on his face. “With the crazy old man in the car?”
My eyelashes flutter. “No.”
And I genuinely mean that.
Just a few minutes in Nat’s presence and the ‘sky is falling’ feeling I had after the customer cursed me out totally evaporated.
“That’s good.”
“Yeah.”
