Part of Your World(20)

He had guests on their fifth year of vacations on the property because they were so loyal to him. It went on and on and on.

He was thoughtful. And generous. I knew this already, having experienced his selflessness in our very first meeting, but it was nice to be able to attach a star rating to the man as well.

“It has so much character,” I said on the way back down, almost more to myself than to him.

He waited for me at the bottom of the stairs, then he opened the front door for me.

“So what are we eating?” I asked.

“We’re eating out, actually.”

I paused on the porch. I wasn’t sure I liked this. The town was small. I didn’t want to advertise this liaison to everyone he knew. Did he?

“Where?” I asked.

He looked up at me from the bottom of the steps, amused. “Are you afraid to leave with me?”

I crossed my arms. “No.”

“You do have the Taser.”

“I don’t think you’re going to murder me. Though statistically speaking you’re much more likely to be murdered by someone you know, so my chances are actually higher this time.”

He laughed. “You think I saved you from the raccoon ditch the other night just to murder you now? And technically aren’t my chances of getting murdered higher now too? Should I be concerned?”

I fought a smile.

“I planned a picnic. Just us. But my friend Brian will be around to call an ambulance for me if you assault me.”

I laughed, relaxing. “Okay. Also, while we’re on the subject of bodily injury, no hickeys this time.”

He pulled his face back. “I gave you hickeys? You gave me hickeys.”

“What? No, I didn’t.”

He pulled his shirt down and showed me a fading purple blotch on his collarbone.

My jaw fell open. “I did not give you that.”

“What? Who else would give me this?” He held his arms out and peered around with a grin. “How much action do you think I get around here? I’m not making out with anyone but you.”

I crossed my arms. “Okay, but seriously, I didn’t do that.”

“Yeah, you did. I have scratches down my back too.”

I gasped, and his eyes twinkled.

I did remember clawing at him a bit…

He climbed the steps between us and slipped his hands around my waist. “It’s okay, I liked it,” he said, his mouth a fraction of an inch from my lips.

I would have laughed if my entire body hadn’t turned to jelly in his arms.

God, he was so sexy. I think he knew it. He grinned at my breathlessness and whirled me off the porch to the ground. “Your chariot awaits.”





Chapter 9

Daniel



I went around and opened the door of the truck for her, and immediately started second-guessing my plan. I also regretted calling it a chariot.

The bench seat she got in on had duct tape over the cracks in the leather. Damn. I should have put a blanket down on it. Even clean, the inside of my truck smelled like gasoline and oil. I never really noticed it before, but I was noticing it now.

I pulled out of the driveway, overthinking everything.

I couldn’t give two shits what any of my last girlfriends thought about my truck, but Alexis was too fancy for this. Even out of the cocktail dress and heels, she was too fancy.

It was in everything about her. She was so polished. The clothes she wore for Hunter to jump on looked like they’d never been worn before. The denim was too dark to have been washed even once. Diamond earrings, perfectly painted fingernails. Even the duffel bag she brought was a brand name so far out of my reach, I couldn’t even afford it at a yard sale.

Once, a cardinal flew down into the chimney in the living room, and I remembered how startling it had been to see this beautiful, bright red bird perched in the ashes. It was just like this. The ruin of my shitty Ford just highlighted the contrast, how out of place she was.

Women like Alexis didn’t live in ashes. They didn’t live in small towns in the middle of nowhere where you couldn’t get a damn steak in the off-season. They didn’t ride around in tired work trucks and hold hands with men who had calluses. They lived in big cities with accomplished men who had important jobs.

I stared at the road, feeling for the first time in my life like I wished I was the kind of man who owned a tie—or a nicer car.

She must have been thinking the same thing, because she put a finger to the hole where the radio dial used to be. “I’ve never been in a truck before.”

I glanced at her. “You’ve never been in a truck? Ever?”

She shook her head.

“Well, you’re gonna love the tractor ride later.”

She laughed, and I felt a little better. At least she thought I was funny.

“So where are we going?” she asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

I slowed down and turned onto the dark, unpaved, wooded road to our destination, and she sat up a little straighter. Then she saw the sign illuminated at the entry of the lot, and she broke out into a dazzling smile. “A drive-in?”

I grinned. “I got Brian to open it just for us.”

“I’ve never been to one,” she said, almost in awe. She beamed at me, and all my reservations about the night slipped away.