Her childhood neighbor shrugged as he pulled out of the parking lot, his headlights revealing the empty stretch of road in front of them. As they drove, the streetlights pierced the darkness of the truck cab before retreating, each time illuminating another portion of his handsome, all-American face: the stubble on his sharp jaw, the upward tilt of his generous lips, the slightly-too-long brown hair curling around his ear.
“I’m glad I noticed you. What had you there so late?” he asked, jarring her out of her Aiden trance. She’d been staring at him like a weirdo.
And God, itwaslate. A jaw-cracking yawn attacked her. She indulged and then shook her head to stay alert, reaching up to adjust his hat. Not like it’d mess up her hair, which had gone limp and straggly hours ago thanks to the heat in the overcrowded bar. “Cleaning up after the Brick Babes. You?”
“Cleaning up after the Moo Daddies.”
Several times a month, the dozen-member Brick Babe team shimmied into their one-size-too-small T-shirts to rep 105.5 the Brick at events around the Beaucoeur area. Tonight’s gig was a concert by the Moo Daddies, the popular local cover band that featured Aiden on drums.
He slid a glance her way as they drove. “If we’re on cleanup, does that make us the responsible ones?”
“Scary thought.” She gave an exaggerated grimace, yet it wasn’t too far from the truth.
The Moo Daddies always drew huge music-loving crowds, so she’d spent her night laughing and flirting and ordering drinks while the band rocked out. And those were all things she was good at. Enjoyed, even. Except tonight, when the responsibility for the girls and the shirts and the bumper stickers had left her feeling annoyed and put-upon.
She sighed and lifted her hands to the heating vent again. “Somehow I’ve become their den mother. ‘Sure, Thea’ll take care of the boxes of swag at the end of the night. It’s not like she was busy keeping Kimmie’s hair from falling into the toilet while she puked up those last four shots of tequila.’” She shuddered at the memory of wrestling the overly apologetic drunk girl away from the water as she flopped around like a fish. “By the time I sent her home with Bex, everybody else had cleared out, so I had to pack it all up on my own.”
Oh Lordy, she was babbling. She crammed her still-chilly fingers under her thighs and ordered her motormouth to slow its roll. Nervous chatter was her default setting even around gorgeous guys she’d known her whole life. Maybeespeciallyaround gorgeous guys she’d known her whole life.
This particular gorgeous guy’s lips twitched into a smile. “They could have a worse den mother.”
“Why do I have to beanybody’smother?” she grumbled. “It’s not like I’m that much older than them. No more than five years.” Actually, Bex was all of twenty-one, which made Thea eight years older. But she didn’t offer that factoid up to Aiden. “So how’d you get to be the den father for the band?”
“Drums take the longest to pack up.” He tapped his fingers on the top of the steering wheel in time to the Liz Phair song on the radio. “And I’ve got the most space.”
“Makes sense.” She cast a teasing glance at the truck bed. “Got the lucky lady of the night stashed back there too?”
As she turned back around, she caught sight of the smile slipping off his face. “Nothing there but my kit.”
Huh. The tightness of his voice surprised her, as did his answer. “No girl?”
Aidenalwaysended the night with a woman—not that she’d ever experienced that for herself, although several of her girlfriends had.
“No girl,” he said shortly.
She watched his fingers tense and then release around the steering wheel, but before she could pursue it further—and oh, she woulddefinitelylove to pursue it further—her phone buzzed in her jeans pocket. She did a little dance to slide it out from under the coat and seat belt.
“Ooooh.” Her pulse kicked up at the notification box, and she tapped to open the new screen.“Oooooohhhh.”
“What’s got you so excited?” Aiden inclined his chin toward her phone as they idled at a stoplight regulating an empty intersection.
“Porn,” she said absently. But he looked so startled that she immediately let him off the hook. “Real estate porn.”
His shoulders relaxed and he grinned. “Whew, kid. You scared me for a second.”
Kid?Her eyes narrowed. “For actual porn, I prefer man-on-man. Twice the beautiful bodies to ogle.”
“Jesus,” he muttered, eyes snapping forward. The light turned green, and he hit the accelerator with enough force that she rocked back against the seat.
“Serves you right. I’m not the little girl next door anymore.” But her attention was already back on her phone as she swiped through photos. Despite the Midwest cold pressing against the window, heat ignited in her chest. It wasperfect.
“So tell me about this real estate porn.”
She hadn’t expected Aiden to be interested. Then again, construction was his family business.
“It’s my house.” She clasped the phone to her heart where it was goingpitter-patunder the thick layer of his coat. “The house I’ve wanted to buy my whole life.”
“Oh yeah? Which number?”
