We headed down the sidewalk, and I swung onto the bike, waiting until she climbed on behind me.The moment her arms circled my waist, I knew I’d just blown a hole straight through every one of my rules.
“We’ll take the long way,” I muttered again, more to myself than to her.
The engine roared to life, and we pulled out of the driveway.
The backroads out of Weston stretched before us with fields rolling on either side.The air was cool, the wind whipping against us, and it carried the faint smell of fresh-cut hay and asphalt warming under the sun.Her hold on me was tentative at first, but when we leaned into the first curve, she tightened her grip.
Christ.
Her chest pressed against my back, and her thighs were snug around me.Every nerve in my body lit up.I tried to focus on the road.The curve ahead, the truck in the distance, and the rising hum of the engine, but all I could feel was her.
Fourteen years hadn’t dulled a damn thing.If anything, it had sharpened it.Made the ache worse.
I told myself this was just a ride.Just killing a little time before work.Just making sure she got there safe.
But with her pressed up against me, ad laughing when the wind caught her helmet just right, I knew better.
By the time we pulled into the parking lot behind the Social Club, my jaw hurt from clenching it the whole ride.
She slid off the bike, tugged the helmet free, and her hair spilling around her shoulders.She looked at me, with her cheeks pink, and her lips curved into a sexy smile.“Guess that wasn’t so awkward,” she said softly.
I didn’t trust myself to answer.
I just killed the engine and swung off the bike, reminding myself of every rule I’d made.No staring.No closer than five feet.Only talk about work.
But as we walked inside, side by side, I already knew I was lying to myself.
Chapter Twelve
Adley
Half past nine and my feet already felt like they were two sizes too small for my shoes.Friday had that warm buzz of people staking out tables before the real rush, TVs flipping through pregame shows, and the jukebox waking up one dollar at a time.I topped off a pitcher at the bar when Penny breezed up like a gust of glittery wind.
“Come on,” she said, grabbing my hand and tugging.“Mason says we should take our break right now with there being a lull.Bay said she’ll watch our tables.”
I wasn’t going to argue with the wordbreak.I set the pitcher down for Bay with a grateful nod and let Penny tow me toward the back hall.
Calla was coming in through the service door.“Still slow?”she asked.
Penny bugged her eyes out and pressed a finger to her lips.“Don’t say that word.You’ll jinx us.”
Calla barked a laugh.“Girl, we’ve been working here for a while now.We know it’s inevitable that Friday and Saturday nights are going to kick our ass.”
“Yeah, but we don’t need to invite it,” Penny said, even as her grin said she knew exactly what was coming.
Calla tipped her chin toward the front.“Also, I heard my mom talking about the aunts coming in for another round of party planning.”
“Let’s just hope the captain doesn’t come with them,” I laughed.
Calla groaned dramatically.“Dear Lord, please don’t let my mom get that drunk.I will cut her off myself if my dad doesn’t.”
She vanished through the swing door.Penny and I pushed out the back exit into the narrow yard between the building and the alley.The air bit pleasantly at my hot cheeks; cool Wisconsin night with that clean farm smell you can’t bottle no matter how many fancy candles try.
It was instantly quieter out here, like someone put a lid over the roar of the Social Club and left us with crickets, and the distant thump of a bass from a passing car,
I tipped my head back and stared at the slice of sky framed by brick.The stars in Weston looked bigger than they had any right to, sharp pinpricks scattered across velvet skies.
“Do you miss Chicago?”Penny asked.
