For some reason, the fact that his Escalade was missing made him laugh out loud. So loud it rang through the house, which only made him laugh harder.
Reilly had stolen his car.
That girl.
He snorted, closed the door, then went back upstairs to get his phone. He saw he had a text message from her.
—I didn’t want to wake you, so I stole your ride. Don’t be mad. I’ll make it up to you. Promise.
Mad? How could he possibly be mad? She was fucking adorable.
And yeah, Brady realized he was in deep. In all fairness, he knew that before what happened last night. Before he’d had the pleasure of her body. Now that he had, there was simply no way to deny it.
Which meant he needed to talk to Donovan. Brady had to come clean with his best friend before Donovan found out from someone else. It was almost guaranteed that someone would notice Reilly driving his SUV. It was only a matter of time before the grapevine got wind of it, and rumors started running rampant through town.
But first, he couldn’t shake the idea of going to the General Store and telling Reilly good morning the right way. He missed her, and he honestly didn’t want to start the day without seeing her beautiful face.
Yeah, he was in deep.
Half an hour later, after he showered and called an Uber, Brady was walking into the store, a smile on his face.
“Merry, happy, Chrismukkah!” Reilly greeted before turning around to see who was there.
Brady waited at the door, wanting to gauge her reaction. He wasn’t sure how she felt about what happened last night.
She started to turn. “What can I—” Her sentence cut off as a radiant smile formed. “Good morning,Mr. McCord.”
The way she said that—all breathy and shit—really got his engine revving.
“Is it?” he asked, approaching slowly. “A good morning?”
He saw her hesitation. “I don’t know. Is it?”
Brady didn’t miss this part of the game. He hated not knowing where he stood or worried she felt the same. He’d done it too many times in his life, and he wanted this to be the last time.
“For me, it is,” he said, ensuring she saw his sincerity. “The best in a long damn time.”
Her smile returned. “I’m very happy to hear that.”
Brady moved closer, skimming the store, curious whether Donovan was there. He no longer worked there with any sort of regularity, but he was known to come in and deal with other business. He claimed it was to keep Reilly company, but Brady knew her brother was protective of her. He worried about her being there alone.
“He’s not here,” Reilly said, obviously realizing who he was looking for.
“Do you know where he is?”
“If you’re worried he’s gonna walk in and catch—”
He put his hand over her mouth, silencing her. “I’m not worried.”
She looked skeptical, and he couldn’t blame her.
He lowered his hand and put it on her hip. “What is this, Reilly? This thing between us?”
Reilly moved closer, holding his gaze. “What do you want it to be?”
“Real,” he said simply. “I want it to be real.”
“Last night was real.”
