My hand clutches at his thigh, and he covers it with his own, sliding our fingers together. “Close,” he whispers. “Will you…”
“Yeah. I want it.”
“Fuck.” His fingers tighten over mine as the first pulse coats my tongue. Rhett’s grip is almost painful on my hand as he rides out his release in my mouth, but I love every damn second.
He tugs on my hand when I release him and pulls me to my feet before kissing me and pressing me back against the wall.
“We should get out of here in case they have security,” I pant against his lips.
“Yeah. Right.” He steps back and tucks himself away before reaching for my hand. “If I wasn’t sold on the barn before, I sure am now. I don’t think I can look at any others now.”
I laugh as we speed walk back to his truck. “Happy to help and make the job so much more enjoyable.”
“You make everything more enjoyable, Diamond. Everything.”
We stop at the passenger side of the truck. Tater presses her nose out the crack of the window, and I boop it with a grin.
“It’s no hardship, Rhett. We’re good together.”
His lashes frame those expressive eyes that I’m already gone for before he bends to kiss me sweetly. “We are. Can I still feed you real food?”
My stomach growls. “I could eat.”
His face lights up. “Great!” He opens the door for me and picks up Tater. “If you want to, you can take the middle and let her be the passenger.”
“Do I get to lie my head on your lap and get an ear scratch too?”
Rhett laughs with a shake of his head. “I can do better than that if you want.”
Laughing, I slide into the middle, and he places Tater on the seat next to me. “I bet you can, cowboy. But maybe I’d like some petting.”
Rhett shakes his head. “Let me feed you first.”
It’s past 11 P.M and somehow I’m sitting on the tailgate of Rhett’s truck in a dark parking lot, sharing a bag of soggy french fries and an oversized container of ginger ale.
We had gas station turkey sandwiches since the truck stop kitchen was closing. We accepted the rest of the fries before the kitchen tossed them, arguing over how much vinegar was too much before pocketing no less than 50 ketchup packets and smiling the entire time.
This might be my most perfect dinner ever.
“My grandfather always hated closing his restaurant at nine. He felt more people should eat later, but our town closed up pretty early, too. I should have realized everything would be closed. Sorry, it’s just sandwiches and old fries.”
“Don’t be. It’s perfect.” I smile at him and sip from our vat of ginger ale. “Tell me about your grandfather. You’ve mentioned him a lot. You must’ve been close.”
He leans back on his hands in the truck bed and tilts his head up to the starry sky. “Yeah. He practically raised me. My mom was… mostly unavailable.” He’s silent for a moment, and I don’t press him, instead offering him something about me.
“My fiancé was like that. Whenever I needed a ride for chemo or a doctor’s appointment, he conveniently wasn’t available. Iwent through several treatments alone, even when he said he’d be there.”
It’s a gamble, but fuck it. We’ve come this far.
“Since you’re not married now, I assume that got sorted?” His voice is tight, and there’s no mistaking the anger in his voice.
“Yeah. I was sad for a long time, you know? Who doesn’t stick by the man they love when they’re going through something like cancer?” My voice shakes, and I quickly clear my throat. “That’s why I live with my dad. He found out what was happening and took leave from his job to care for me. He literally kept me alive when my ex couldn’t care less. We became a little too dependent on each other, though, and rather than live alone, I had him move in with me.”
Rhett remains silent, and both of us have abandoned the french fries. His pinky rubs against mine when I lean back to stare at the night sky with him.
“It’s great you have him. I think he’s great, and he loves you so much.”
I laugh a little. “He’s the best, and I’m very fortunate.”
