Voices drift up from the kitchen downstairs, and I can hear Kali and Sutton and their boyfriends laughing about something. For a second, I almost wish that I had a man I could giggle with, too. One who knows me inside and out and can tell what I’m trying to say even when I can’t seem to figure out how to say it.
Will I ever meet a man that I click with like that?
Sighing, I shake my head and turn back toward the clothes in my walk-in closet. Cash is going to be here any second and I’m more nervous about it than I was before the business meeting at Franco’s.
I stare agonizingly at the racks of flowing skirts, flirty minis, and sleeveless dresses, wishing that I could throw on a cuter outfit than the simple shorts and tee I wore while working on our G&G video shoot this morning—and taking Chanel to the vet. But I know the moment I change that Kali and Sutton will pounce on me for getting all glammed up for Cash. I can’t give them any more reason to think that I have a crush on the bad-boy biker, especially because there’s no way I’m his type. If I were a wild-haired, buxom beauty, he’d probably have me on the back of his bike so fast my head would spin. Guys like him didn’t go for girls as shy and timid as me.
Headlights sweep below my window, sending my heart rate through the roof. I rush over to peer out of the glass pane, watching as a motorcycle loudly revs into the driveway.
Cash is here!
This is not a drill!
Swallowing a squeal, I whirl around and dash downstairs in time to see Boone curiously turn toward Grayson.
“Wait a minute. This new guy rides a hog?” Sutton’s boyfriend groans in his southern drawl. “That’s not fair.”
Grayson hangs his head sympathetically. “Buddy, I know. How are we supposed to compete with that?”
I skid across the kitchen, hoping to beat Kali and Sutton to the front door, but they’re already waiting there for Cash. The second he knocks, they swing open the door and greet him with matching, wide grins.
I cross my fingers, hoping they don’t embarrass me.
“You must be Cash!” Kali says excitedly.
“Come on in,” Sutton adds. “Welcome to our beachy abode!”
“Uh, thanks,” he responds with a soft chuckle, like he’s not quite sure what to make of my BFFs.
Cash steps into the entryway, towering over both their heads. He looks around and when he finally catches sight of me, a slow grin curves his mouth, sending butterflies swirling in my stomach.
I lift my hand and give him a shy wave, returning his smile.
Kali and Sutton are nearly as captivated by the green-eyed biker. Grayson is just as bad. He’s joined them and is staring out the door at Cash’s Harley. Grayson is so smitten with the bike that he’s practically drooling.
“How fast does your motorcycle go?” Sutton asks.
“What’s it like having Franco as a father?” Kali wants to know.
Neither of my friends even give him a chance to finish before bombarding him with even more crazy questions. At this rate, Cash is going to be stuck in our foyer all night. I start to feel hopeless that I’ll ever get a chance to talk to him when he politely interrupts them by holding up a small stack of papers.
“Here’s the contract if you want to read it over,” he says.
As Cash hands them to Kali, he glances into the kitchen where Boone is still cooking up a storm. “Hey, man, that smells good.”
“You’re welcome to have some,” Boone says with a grin. “I made enough to feed a horse. Three horses even.”
Cash chuckles and shakes his head. “I would’ve taken you up on that once upon a time, but I’m vegan these days.”
“That’s cool,” Boone says. “I’ve actually got some vegan grub already fried up for Liv. There’s plenty of that, too.”
When Sutton’s boyfriend mentions my name, Cash turns back toward me curiously.
“I didn't know you were vegan,” he says as he crosses the living room to join me.
Every step closer he gets to me makes my breath catch.
“I made the change a few years ago,” I tell him. “Before that I was vegetarian for a few years.”
