“Hey,” he greeted softly, his smile reaching all the way to those beautiful aqua-blue eyes.
“Hi.”God, the man stole my breath with a simple look.
“You ready?”
Would I ever be ready for him?I seriously doubted it, but I held my tongue and nodded.
The conversation was minimal on the way to our destination.My nerves were rioting, which was why I wasn’t rattling on and on about anything and everything, begging for hints as to where we were going.As for Edge, from what I knew of him, he wasn’t much on talking, so I figured he was merely being him.
Then it hit me.My conversation with my brother that morning, my revelation that Edge hadn’t called me.
Oh, crap.
Was this a setup?Was Edge doing this because he felt some strange obligation to my brother?
“No,” I muttered.“God, no.”
“What’s wrong?”Edge asked, his eyes fierce as he stared over at me.
Eyes wide with shock and embarrassment, I stared back at him.“I’m sorry.I … uh … was just thinking.”Holy crap.I’d said it out loud.
“What’s on your mind, sweetness?”
Warmth slipped into my veins simply from hearing him call me that.It was as though a wall came down, one I hadn’t realized I’d been holding up.
I shifted in my seat so I could face him better.“Did you ask me out because I told my brother you didn’t call?”
His smile fell, and his brow followed.“What are you talking about?”
“This morning… I had breakfast with Zeke, Case, and Brax.Your name was brought up.I told them about my visit to the club and how I was planning to go back.”I let my gaze slide beyond him and out the driver’s-side window, unable to look him in the eye.“I mentioned you hadn’t called.”
Warm fingers landed on my chin, firmly realigning my gaze with his.“First of all, I don’t do things simply because someone else expects me to.So, no, I didn’t ask you out because you mentioned anything to your brother.”
Well, that made me feel better.
“But…”
Okay, the feeling was gone again.
“I did hold offbecause ofyour brother.”
“What?”I was confused.
He glanced at me, back to the road.“I needed a chance to talk to him, to tell him what my plans were with you.Since my showing you around the club was a favor to him, I figured I owed him that much.”We stopped at a red light and he turned toward me, leaned closer.“But this is no longer a favor.I’m here with you because I want to be.”
I inhaled deeply and relief washed away the gloom.“You didn’t call me because you wanted to get permission from my brother?”
He laughed, but it sounded frustrated.“Yeah.Stupid, right?”
“No, not stupid,” I assured him.“It makes perfect sense.”
Turned out, chivalry wasn’t dead.
There was silence for a few minutes as he drove.I was so caught up in my thoughts, I didn’t even realize we’d arrived until he turned toward me, took my hand.He was close enough our lips almost touched.
“So, you’ll have to forgive me for not contacting you sooner.Believe me, I wanted to more than anything.”
I smiled, the warmth of his hand coursing through my entire body.I suddenly wished he would kiss me.My thoughts drifted to Cav, to the kisses we’d shared.The heat inside me intensified.The thought of both men kissing me was nearly more than I could handle.
