The sudden hush and his large presence seemed to shrink the coupe in half. Her heart thumped in her chest as she accelerated. “There’s a blanket in the back.”
He reached behind the seat and grabbed the blanket she’d last used for a picnic with Brendan. That date hadn’t gone according to plan either. A Braves game, live streaming on his phone, usurped his attention.
Gray was easing the blanket beneath him.
“You might as well dry off with it. The seats are beyond repair.”
He started with his hair, then dried his face, neck, and arms. She tried not to think about those arms. What did he do to achieve muscles like that? He didn’t play sports at school and he wasn’t a gym rat. If he stepped foot in there, the jocks in the weight room would harass him to death.
“Did your truck break down again?”
“Over on Halverson. Thought the repair would get me by for a while.”
Halverson. His old neck of the woods. Darcy Colbert lived over that way. It was no secret Gray and Darcy hung out. She probably had a great view of the fireworks from her place. “You and your girlfriend watch the fireworks together?”
He tossed the blanket into the back seat and caught her eye for a split second. “Jealous?”
She rolled her eyes. “The ego on you. It’s called making conversation. It’s what polite people do. They also thank each other for gifts.”
“You gave me a gift?” He raised an eyebrow.
“You know I did. I almost gave you a romance novel since you enjoyed the other one so much.” Somehow her words came out smooth and effortless, even though her respiration struggled to keep up with her heart.
“Saw you pass by with your boyfriend a while ago.”
She smirked. “Jealous?”
“He doesn’t deserve you.”
Her gaze caught on his at the honest assessment. A zap of electricity held her captive for a long moment. The current sizzled between them with a low hum.
She jerked her attention back to the wet pavement. She didn’t bother asking what he meant. Didn’t necessarily want to hear the answer. She was beginning to draw her own conclusions about Brendan anyway.
“No comment?” he said when she remained silent.
“That’s a matter of opinion, I guess.”
“If you say so.”
She drove on, not needing directions. The last time she’d brought him home she’d sworn never again. And here she was just a week and a half later doing the same thing. And gifting him with a book.
What is it about this guy?
She just felt bad for him, that was all. He’d gotten a raw deal. He was misjudged or at the very least the victim of exaggerated gossip. He didn’t deserve to be talked about and harassed by his peers.
That didn’t really explain why her hands were shaking as she turned the wipers down a notch. Or why butterflies the size of pelicans fluttered about her stomach.
She gave him a sideways glance. Okay, yes, he was... appealing. Plenty of girls at school gave Gray a once-over when he passed in the halls. It was the allure of the forbidden. Gray was the town bad boy and certain girls were attracted to that.
Not Shelby though.
The quiet inside the car grew oppressive. She made a right turn as she searched for some neutral topic of conversation. “My grandma likes the landscaping you did. She’d been wanting to get that done since she opened the shop.”
He sent her a smirk. “Atta girl—a nice safe subject. I knew you’d find one.”
She pressed her lips together. It was downright irritating the way he read her mind sometimes. “What do you want from me?”
“How ’bout something that matters, Sunshine? Tell me something real.”
