My heart was racing a mile a minute.
I had no idea what I was thinking. He was our only hope of getting our hands on that money, and I just basically told him to fuck off.
Damn. I really know how to make a mess of things.
I was literally shaking as I made my way out the side door and out to the parking lot. I dug my key fob from my back pocket, and once I’d unlocked the doors, I got inside. I was about to start the engine when Luke came up and tapped on my window. “What?”
“Open the door.” As soon as I complied, he ordered, “Slide over.”
“What?”
“You’ve been drinking. No way I’m gonna let you drive home.”
“You’ve been drinking, too.”
“I’ve had two beers. I’m fine.” His eyes narrowed. “Now, slide over, so I can drive you home.”
Oh, this wasn’t good.
This wasn’t good at all.
9
GOOSE
Do you have any idea how hard it is to sit two feet away from a beautiful woman who smelled like vanilla and honey and bad decisions and not put the moves on her? Because let me tell you,it’s a special kind of torture.
I couldn’t flirt with her.
I couldn’t touch her.
I couldn’t even look at her too long without feeling like I was betraying Davis, the clubhouse, and possibly the damn Constitution.
And before you say it, I know.
They broke up, or it looked like they broke up. It was hard to tell what was going on with them, but it was clearly heated. And Presley seemed pretty annoyed with my brother.
But it didn’t matter.
I wasn’t crossing that line. Period.
So, I kept my eyes on the road, my hands on the wheel, and my mouth shut—even when every fiber of my being was screaming for me to say something. And more than likely, it would be flirty and completely inappropriate, but it would make her smile instead of staring out that window like a wounded pup.
We were almost to her place when I finally risked a glance. It was quick, but it was clear from her expression that she was going through it. I couldn’t help myself. I had to ask, “Are you okay?”
She didn’t look at me right away. She just exhaled and gave the base of her scalp a slight scratch. “I’m fine. Just annoyed with myself.”
“For what?”
“For getting involved with Davis. I knew better.”
“You two really done or is this one of those ‘we’re just mad and will work through it’kind of done?”
“Oh, no. We are done-done.”
Hearing her say that shouldn’t have made my chest tighten, but it did. I nodded, slow and easy, like I was being supportive and understanding. But in reality, I was sighing with relief. “Sounds like a final answer.”
“It shouldn’t have gone as far as it did.”
