“Don’t apologize,” he said brusquely.
Her fingers slid away from his cheeks. She leaned back against the car watching him go all moody on her, and she sensed a smile alone wasn’t going to chase away his frown.
She wanted to tell him to lighten up and enjoy Valentine’s Day. But right now wasn’t about her. It was about him. “It must be tough seeing your dad with somebody else.”
He stayed quiet, his shoulders tensed and braced under his denim jacket.
“I can’t imagine how I would be if something happened to my mom or my grandmother.” Even thinking about it made her throat close up for a second. Sure his mom had died three years ago, but she wasn’t sure a person could ever totally get over losing a family member. At least she would have people to turn to for comfort and sharing memories if someone she loved died. “You don’t have a lot of people to depend on since your mom passed.”
His stony jaw flexed as if he was chewing over her words. “Sorry doesn’t mean much when you turn right around and do the same thing all over again.”
Anger edged aside her sympathy. She came by her red hair honestly, with a temper to match. Sometimes she could control it, sometimes not. She clenched her teeth together for a second, holding back the urge to snap at him.
Three heartbeats later, she took a deep breath. “You’re being grouchy because I upset you. I really am sorry, and if you knew me at all you would realize that I didn’t mean any harm. I was just trying to help.”
He hooked a finger in the loose silky scarf looped around her neck and tugged her closer. “Is that an offer to soothe my hurting heart?”
“Argh!” She punched his shoulder, temper winning out. “God, Rafe. Don’t be a jerk. It’s Valentine’s Day. And I’m trying to be understanding here, but Valentine’s Day is supposed to be all about the girlfriend.”
“You’re really pretty when you get fired up like that.”
His words stopped her tirade dead in its tracks.
“Oh,” she said. Brilliant.
He eyed her with that steamy look that sent shivers up and down her spine until she ached to climb in the back of his El Camino and make out on a blanket under the stars. And just that fast, he clamped his hands around her waist and plopped her down to sit on the hood of his car. Yum!
The chatter and revving engines in the parking lot faded as her world zeroed in on Rafe. What would his hands feel like against the bare flesh under her sweater? Under her bra. They’d had some heavy-duty make-out sessions and he’d touched her—there—with her clothes between them, not that he would have been able to miss just how crazy he made her as she went all tight from his touch. Her br**sts tingled even now just thinking about all the time they’d spent at Busted Bluff.
Her skin went hotter than from any embarrassed flush. He stepped closer until his legs pressed against hers, denim to denim. He could be a model in one of those bad-boy faded jeans commercials and she would buy out the store. Her emotions were all roller coaster careening inside her, but then that seemed pretty much the norm around Rafe.
She leaned forward, nibbling her bottom lip in anticipation. Thump. The sound echoed, jolting her upright. She looked left fast—at Quentin Dobbs from English class and work.
Quentin’s backpack dragged along the side of Rafe’s El Camino. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scratch your paint.”
Rafe angled away, placing his body between her and Quentin. “Really, Dobbs, do you think I would even notice?”
“Yeah, right, I guess so.” He glanced from Sarah to Rafe, then back again. “Bell’s gonna ring in a second. You don’t want to get a detention and be late for work at the restaurant. See you inside.”
She watched him walk away, feeling bad about things she couldn’t change.
Rafe draped his arm over her shoulder. “He has a crush on you.”
“I know.” She pulled her eyes off her classmate and back to Rafe. “But it’s harmless. He’s a nice, good-looking guy. He’ll find somebody else.”
“Nice, good-looking guy?” He stared down at her intently. “Maybe I’m the one who should be jealous.”
As if. “Do you see me wearing his school ring?”
“You’re not wearing mine, either.” His jaw flexed again so hard she worried he would crack a tooth over the fact that he didn’t have a high school ring to give her.
“Stop with the money thing, okay? I’m with you. The day you see me wearing his ring—” she rolled her eyes, certain that would never happen “—then you can worry.”
That night, Rafe stood on the front doorstep of Sarah’s mustard-yellow stucco house, flowers behind his back, his jaw just about on the ground. “You look amazing.”
And she did. Her red hair was loose, how he liked it most. She’d curled it, though, until it danced all around her face, on her shoulders and down her back the way he wanted to touch her. She wore a silky dress the same shade of green as her eyes, like the leaves on the exotic plants in the greenhouse. Over her shoulders, she had a black sweater with some kind of silver threads in it that winked like the stars.
She was all prettied up and as much as he enjoyed looking at her, he hated that his change in plans tonight might disappoint her. But he didn’t have any choice. For a minute, though, he just wanted to memorize the smile on her face.
Her grandmother—the old battle-ax didn’t like him, which chapped his hide since she seemed to like everyone else in town—stood behind her granddaughter with narrow eyes and a tight frown. “Have her home before midnight. Just because her parents work the late shift doesn’t mean she can run around town doing whatever she wants.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He put on his best manners, for Sarah’s sake. Grouchy granny Kathleen Richards hugged her granddaughter, whispering something in her ear. No doubt something bad about him. Kathleen worked as Ronald Worth’s assistant, so she wasn’t particularly high up on Rafe’s list of favorite people, either. But he would do whatever it took to wrangle his way into her good graces since that was the key to Grandma Kat loosening the reins when Sarah wasn’t at work.
The two Richards women kept their heads close together. Kathleen’s was the same color of red but cut short and with some silver in it, kinda like the threads in Sarah’s sweater. Finally, Grandma Kat finished whatever it was she had to say and stepped back.
He pulled his left hand out from behind his back, with a pink tulip in his fist. “For you, ma’am. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Kathleen’s green eyes lit with surprise, then suspicion. Still, she smiled politely enough. “Thank you, young man. That’s very thoughtful of you. But you still have to have her home by midnight.”
Nodding, Rafe laughed lightly. “Of course.”
Sarah stepped out on the front porch, closing the door behind her. “Sorry about that. Grandma Kat is just overprotective.”
“I’m glad you have someone watching out for you when your parents are working late.” True enough. Between him and Grandma Kat, they made sure Sarah didn’t do something reckless like walk home by herself from work.
“Yeah, well, she’s never been the kind of person to hide what she’s feeling.” Sarah tugged the sweater around her arms, the night breeze lifting her curls. “She may be feisty, but she’s up front and honest.”
“Like her granddaughter.” Although thank God the grand-daughter seemed to like him more than the grandmother.
“Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
She tugged the tie that he’d borrowed from his dad. His dad’s only jacket hadn’t fit though, so Rafe was stuck with just a shirt and work khakis to go with it.
“As long as you’re smiling, Sarah, I’m good with however you want to take it.” He watched the way her green eyes grinned right along with her mouth. He lost track of how long he stared while the porch swing creaked in the wind.
Then she tipped her head to the side, curls swaying to the side. “What else is behind your back?”
He pulled his fist around in front of him, clutching the bouquet full of flowers, most of which he didn’t even know the names of, but it looked like a burst of color with pinks, yellows, purples and reds. It was freaking huge and he probably owed Mr. Rodriguez extra work for all of this. But he wasn’t one bit sorry when he saw the way Sarah’s eyes lit up.
“Oh, Rafe!” she squealed and her feet did a speedy, impromptu tap dance on the wooden porch. She gave him a quick kiss, then gathered up the flowers to her nose, inhaling deeply.
She moaned with a pleasure that made his groin pull tight as he imagined other ways to bring the kittenish sound from her throat. Or maybe it was the kiss that sent his pulse skyrocketing. Either way, he was one uncomfortable dude.
“Oh, Rafe!” she said again with an obvious excitement that couldn’t be missed or faked. “These are amazing. I can’t believe you did this, and ohmigosh, you are such a good secret keeper since you didn’t even give me a hint all day.”
“I’m glad you’re happy.”
“Very much so.” She smiled at him over the flowers, the porch light playing with the hints of gold in her red hair. “Is this what I smelled in your car this morning?”
“You’ve got me there.”
She scrunched her nose. “I can’t believe I was such a jealous brat.”
“I would feel the same if I thought you were seeing someone else.” Rafe couldn’t shake the image of how Quentin Dobbs had looked at her. He knew she wouldn’t lie to him, but still. The guy liked her and didn’t make any secret of it even though the whole world knew Sarah was dating Rafe.
Possessiveness pumped through his veins. Not smart. He prided himself on being calm, focused.
Sarah put her flowers on the porch swing as carefully as she placed an expensive dinner on the table at work. “I have something for you, too.”