Page 77 of Special Delivery

The smirk drops from his face as he glances at me with curiosity. “Yeah, she mentioned it. She, uhm, really wants to get close to the three of you.”

Guilt pinches at my insides. “I’m truly sorry, Ryan. We should’ve never doubted her intentions. She didn’t deserve that.”

“Thank you for apologizing.”

Even though he doesn’t ask for more, words spill out of me on their own. “Our mom left when we were five. We were young enough to be completely clueless, but old enough to remember and miss her. Dad would get into relationships, and we hoped we would get a new mom, but it never really worked out like that.” I shake my head, focusing on peeling the sticker off my beer bottle.

“We quickly realized most of them didn’t have good intentions, but at least they didn’t stick around for long. Then came Tiffany. She acted as if she loved us in front of Dad and despised us in private. A real fairytale stepmother.” I offer him a soft smile. “We tried to tell him that, but he was so in love he couldn’t see past it. When everything went to shit, he was devastated. He let her take everything she wanted in the divorce, including the only home Jordan and I had.”

“Shit, Paige…” He purses his lips.

“That’s not the worst part. It was hard for us to lose a home, yes. But in a way, we lost our only remaining parent, too. The divorce left him an empty shell of a human being. It took him months to start functioning and years to come back to his old self. In the meantime, Jordan and I grew up in every way that mattered. We promised each other we’ll do more next time. To protect him, to protect us.”

“That sounds horrible.”

“It could’ve been worse. We were lucky enough to have a built-in best friend.” My lips tip up into a sad smile.

“I’m glad you had each other.” His eyes soften, the beauty of them clenching my chest. “I hope you know my mom would never do something like that.”

“I know. We know. But old habits are hard to break. I’ll make sure your mom knows it had nothing to do with her.”

“She knows, and she adores you, anyway.”

His words warm my heart. “I adore her, too.” The smiles he shoots me burrows itself deep into my chest. “Thank you for bringing me, the burger was great.”

“Thank you for helping me pick out plants.”

“It seems like it was a ploy, since you haven’t actually needed any.” I cross my arms in front of my chest, a knowing look on my face.

“So what if it was?” He shrugs, grabbing the last fry off my plate and popping it into his mouth.

“Hey! That was mine.” I slap his hand away.

“How about this? I’ll bring you some fries tomorrow, when I come over to fuck you senseless.”

My mouth parts in shock, words escaping me.

“What? You don’t like the idea?”

My ears burn, but the heat in my stomach is on a whole other level. It’s what makes me respond with, “Who says I don’t like it? I thought that was what I agreed to—sex, not dates.”

His tongue runs over his top teeth, and he nods his head slowly. “Then you better be ready.” He flashes a wink that zings straight to my core.

“W-we should go.”

“Oh, not tonight. It’s better if you wait a little longer.”

I level him with a glare. “I meant we should go home. Each of us to our own respective homes.”

“Of course. I’m sure you’d rather have some time for yourself right now.” The corner of his mouth hooks, and he’s right.

I want to go home because this thrill is almost too much. My heart is beating out of my chest as moisture pools between my thighs. There’s a tingle at the bottom of my spine, one that needs to be taken care of.

Still, I let out a huff and hop to my feet. “Let’s go.”

He shakes his head, smirking and goes to pay the bill. I watch his sculpted ass move in the weathered jeans. Waiting for tomorrow will be a long, long wait.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT