Hard to Handle (Caine Cousins #2)(18)

Kind of nice if he was being honest.

Then again, Reagan was avoiding him again. She’d made sure to do so every time he’d seen her this past week after he’d shared dinner with her on her front porch. Once at the diner, twice at the gas station. She was polite but distant and he found it cute as hell.

And now that Amy and Reagan were closing things up, Lynx was waiting with Wolfe and Rhys near the door.

“You still sleepin’ in your truck?” Wolfe asked.

“Until you catch that asshole, I ain’t leavin’ her alone out there,” he told his cousin, his gaze swinging to Rhys to include him in that statement.

“Holy fuck, man. Why don’t you ask for her couch?” Wolfe suggested.

Rhys frowned at the man and Lynx chuckled.

“I doubt she’d be too keen on the idea,” he said truthfully.

“It’s just a damn couch.”

Right. As though Lynx could be under the same roof with that woman and not be tempted to crawl in her bed with her. Hell, he’d wanted her for so damn long he wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle having a single wall separating them. It was hard enough with a locked door.

“Y’all can go,” Reagan shouted as she turned toward the hallway that led to her safe. “I’ll be done in a minute.”

Amy joined them and Wolfe met Lynx’s gaze. He nodded once, letting his cousin know he was good. He would wait for Reagan as he had every damn night. He had nowhere else to be anyway.

“See ya later then,” Wolfe told him, throwing his arm over Amy’s shoulder. “Be good.”

Lynx smirked. “I’ll try.”

Rhys shot him a look, which had Lynx laughing out loud. “Don’t worry about your sister,” he told the man. “She can hold her own.”

That didn’t seem to settle the sheriff down any. If Amy hadn’t taken his hand and tugged him toward the door, Lynx suspected Rhys would’ve given him some sort of warning. He figured it would be coming sooner or later and he welcomed it.

When Reagan appeared again, her eyes shot to him instantly. “You really don’t have to wait for me.”

“I don’t have to,” he said, just as he did every time. “I want to.”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed her keys from beneath the bar. “You’re such a pain in the ass.”

“But you like me,” he countered, following her to the door and opening it for her.

“Not really. I tolerate you.”

Right.

He stepped out of the way while she locked the door. When she started down the steps to the gravel parking lot, he followed.

“Lynx, seriously. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

She could, he knew.

“Why’re you doin’ this?” she asked, spinning around to face him. “I’m not gonna go out with you. Not now, not ever.”

For whatever reason, she sounded as though she had to force herself to say those words. And that only amused him.

When he didn’t say anything, she spun around and headed toward her truck.

He followed again.

“You’re like a damn puppy,” she grumbled. “I’m not interested, Lynx.”

He opened her door for her.

Reagan sighed heavily. “You just don’t quit, do you?”

“Not when it comes to you, no,” he admitted, meeting and holding her stare.

“Is your divorce final yet?”

He shook his head. “Couple more days.” The fucking waiting period was almost over. For all intents and purposes, he was divorced. In fact, he didn’t even talk to Tammy anymore. Thank God for that.

As he expected, Reagan started shaking her head instantly, yanking the door shut.

Lynx tapped on the window and waited for it to lower. When it did, Reagan sighed.

“What do you want?” she asked, her frustration evident. “I already told you—”

Before she could lecture him about the divorce, he held up a hand. “Meet me at the diner for breakfast tomorrow.”

He didn’t pose it as a question because he knew she would easily say no if he did.

She didn’t respond.

“Come on, girl. You gotta eat,” he said, almost the same words he’d said the last time he’d asked her to breakfast.

Lynx waited, holding her stare. It was clear she wanted to refuse him again, but to his surprise, she finally agreed. “Fine. But it’s not a date.”

“Of course not.” She could call it whatever she wanted or didn’t want. It was a date. And it was the first of many to come.

Reagan frowned.

Tapping the truck, he smiled. “Cool. See you in the mornin’. How ’bout nine?”

She nodded, then rolled up the window.

Lynx knew he’d won this one, but he wasn’t going to gloat.

That wouldn’t happen until he got the woman wrapped around his little finger. After all, it was only fair, considering he was solidly wrapped around hers.

After grabbing his phone from his pocket, Lynx dialed Rhys’s number as Reagan’s truck kicked up dust on its way out of the parking lot.

“What’s up, Lynx?”

“Do me a favor?”

“As long as it doesn’t require bailin’ you outta jail.”