I glance at his fist and then at him.
His lips curl up in a boyishly-handsome grin. “No matter how hard it gets and no matter what we face, I won’t give up on hockey and you won’t give up on fixing airplanes.” He pauses. “And also, you won’t murder anyone in your auto shop.”
I chuckle and shake my head.
“Come on.” Nat wiggles his fist from side to side.
My eyes land on his knuckles. Is it just me or are his knuckles kind of… hot?
Hot knuckles?
I must be losing my mind.
Turning away, I reach for the door. “Are you planning on sitting here all night? I was promised ice cream.”
Before I can open the door, I feel a presence hovering over me. It’s Nat, reaching across the console. His hands cup mine. With the gentlest touch, he closes my fingers until they form a fist and then he guides my knuckles against his.
“It’s a deal,” he says softly.
My eyes drop to where his hand is supporting my wrist and, for a brief moment, I feel his thumb brush my skin.
My heart flutters.
But then Nat drops my hand and ruffles my hair like he did when I was younger.
And I come back to my senses.
There willneverbe a day when Nathan Campbell sees me as anything more than Chris’s little sister.
That’s the plain, hard truth.
Unless I plan on falling into my old, cringy patterns, I have to be okay with that.
Chapter Fourteen
NATHAN
Note to self: no more touching Riley.
After the embarrassing misunderstanding where I accidentally hit on my best friend’s little sister, I made a decision.
I would be a good big brother to Riley.
And since I’m a competitive guy, I’ve determined that my competition is that little boy at the fair who got the little girl to stop crying. I can’t let that kind-hearted, mature little punk outshine me.
Be protective,check.
Tease her every now and then,check.
Remind her that I’ve got her back if she needs it,check and check.
I’m doing everything right.
So the problem isn’t my strategy.
It’s this weird thing that my heart does when I look at Riley.
Like just now. She was in the passenger seat and I was holding her hand and she was giving me this soft, dewy look.
