Visions assaulted me. The ecstasy on her face when she’d come with the sun shining on her gorgeous face. How good she’d tasted. How right she’d felt in my arms.
“Just what?” he pressed.
I blew out a frustrated breath, voice barely a gritted whisper. “It was just a kiss.”
Kale laughed. “Just a kiss, huh? Considering you haven’t touched a girl in years, I’d bet the pink slip to my car, which you know is my baby, that it meant a whole lot more to you than it just being a kiss. You have some kind of superhuman strength or balls of steal or some shit, because those fuckers should be so blue they’d have fallen off by now.” The guy knew me better than anyone, and he didn’t hesitate to pull punches.
“You think you regret whatever you’re feeling now? Just wait to see how much regret you feel when you don’t do anything about it.” He sighed. “It doesn’t have to be a big thing, Rex. Test it out. Hang out with her as a friend. See how it goes. It’s not like you’re asking her to marry you.”
I flinched with that, and he snorted, shaking his head before he spun all the way around and waltzed over to the reception desk. Two nurses behind it immediately tuned in to whatever the flirty bastard had to say as he rested his forearms on the counter and leaned toward them.
And I wondered how he’d done it.
Managed it.
Overcome it.
Or maybe I was the one who’d really been at fault all along.
15
Rex
Hand rubbing over the tense muscles at the back of my neck, I paced, boots crunching on the gravel in front of her house.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Get it together, man.
Friends.
That was what Kale had said.
I could do that.
I forced my feet to carry me up the steps and across her porch, and I gave a good pound to her front door. It took all of thirty seconds and what felt like an eternity for the door to crack open. I almost backed the fuck out because all I saw was hesitation in her movements before something like relief took to her features.
“Rex,” she whispered, opening the door wider.
“Hey.”
A small smile graced that gorgeous mouth. “How is Frankie?”
Something about that calmed the erratic racing of my heart, and I felt myself smiling in return. “As good as new. It might have had something to do with a pot pie that mysteriously showed up at our door.”
A flush touched her cheeks, and she bit her bottom lip, everything about her completely genuine. “I hope she liked it.”
“Oh, there’s no question of that.”
That redness deepened. “I’m so glad she’s feeling better.”
“Me, too. Can’t thank you enough for helping me out that night.”
“I meant it, Rex. I’m here.”
I nodded, rushed my fingers through my hair, the air growing thick around us. A swirl of that potency.
“So . . .” I trailed off like the pathetic fucker I was.
“So . . .” she prodded, those dark eyes going warm and soft.
I sucked in a breath, fingers going back to nervously thread through my hair. “There’s this thing Broderick Wolfe invited me to tomorrow night at Olive’s. Just a small party to celebrate the progress that’s been made on the Fairmont Hotel. I know Lillith and Nikki will be there. Thought it’d be cool if you came. You know, as friends,” I added way too quickly.
Smooth.
So goddamned smooth.
I had to stop from rolling my eyes at myself.
“Friends?” she asked, a brow lifting, the word nothing but a doubtful tease. Couldn’t blame her, especially considering the last time I’d seen her, she was coming against my truck.
“Yeah,” I said, shoving my hands into my pockets. My tone turned deep with honesty. “Not sure I have a whole lot more to offer right now, Rynna.”
Silence pulsed around us. Thick with implication. With our reservations and all the things I didn’t know how to say.
She blinked back at me then finally spoke. “That sounds great. I’d love to go.”
I breathed out in relief. “Good.” I backed away, letting a huge smile climb to my face. “That’s really good. I’ll pick you up at eight.”
She smiled the softest smile with another short nod then closed the door.
And I felt good. Really fucking good. I could do this.
16
Rynna
Rex held open the door. “Ladies first,” he said with a tiny smirk lifting on the corner of his sexy mouth.
Nerves tumbled through my body, and my teeth caught on my bottom lip. “Thank you,” I murmured, ducking my head and stepping inside the packed bar.
A warm dimness held fast to the trendy space, the dull roar of voices an easy drone in the air. Edison bulbs hung from the ceilings and flickered against the red brick walls like flames.
People were everywhere, vying to get a stool at the bar or snag one of the high-top tables situated throughout, totally lost in their own worlds as they cast their troubles aside and stepped into the carelessness of the weekend.
That didn’t change the fact I felt as if I were in a spotlight.
I didn’t know if it were the fact I stood beside who had to be the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. Or maybe it was because I was still reeling from running into Aaron outside Pepper’s Pies four days ago.
When Rex had asked me to come to this party, my first instinct had been to tell him no.
Both because just looking at the man had me fearing for my heart and because the impact of him merely standing at my door leapt to my throat and spread beneath my skin like a slow burn.
The other had been nothing but straight fear.
Pure, petrified fear.
But I refused to allow history to chase me away. Not from the place I loved. Not from where I belonged. Not ever again.
So, I’d stepped out of my comfort zone and said yes. This man was worth the risk I knew I was taking.
He lifted his chin, and I followed his line of sight to the bar. Ollie was behind it, giving him the same gesture of welcome. Turning that potent attention on me, Rex angled his head to the side. “This way.”
He ushered me ahead of him and toward the stairs. A sign was set up beside it stating the second level was closed for a private party.
Warily, I glanced over at him. “I thought you said this was a small party.”
He released a low chuckle. “Broderick Wolfe doesn’t exactly do anything small. Big seems to be his middle name.”
My brow arched with the tease. “Ah, I see how it is. You actually invited me along to protect you.”
His gaze flicked down my body.
Hot.
Needy.
Those magnetic eyes skated across my bare shoulders and dipped to the valley between my breasts. I released a shaky breath as his gaze drifted over the soft peach dress I wore. The thin straps were satin and crisscrossed over the open back, and the front of the fitted bodice dipped into a shallow V. The skirt was flowy and soft and landed just above my knees.
Those eyes slowly trailed up to meet mine. “I think it’s safe to say there won’t be a soul looking at me. Not with you looking like that.”
A shiver raced down my spine.
Friends. Friends. Friends.
I chanted his defense in my head, as if I might hold the power to claim it and make it real when standing next to Rex Gunner felt nothing like being friends.
It felt like sex and need and desperate hearts.
It felt like hope and healing.
There was no question we’d both been hurt. Beaten down and broken in life’s own cruel ways.
I wanted to reach out and discover his wounds. Maybe let him discover mine.
“You aren’t looking so bad yourself,” I managed, choking over the words like a fool. Uttering them aloud seemed foolish. Not when he was dressed in fitted jeans and a light pink button-up, the sleeves rolled up his forearms. High enough to reveal a few of the colorful feathers inked on the top of his forearm.
I’d nearly stumbled over myself when I’d opened my door to find him that way. So ridiculously sexy, his scruff trimmed, his hair that perfectly imperfect mess.
The tension on the ride over in his truck had nearly been more than I could bear. I’d been hyper-aware of every movement, from the flex of his lean muscles as he’d shifted into gear to the clench of that chiseled, stoic jaw. He’d seemed to have to hold himself rigid in restraint, barely offering a word because one more stimulus might have been the one to tip us over the edge. The detonator to a bomb. The one to shatter our shaky, flimsy ground.