“Why don’t you take your car and I’ll drive Grace to the sale?” Sloan slid down in the booth just as the waitress placed his meal in front of him. “I can bring her back when she’s finished.”
Grace shook her head. “No, that’s too much of a bother. I’ll just ride with Allison.” She dug around in her purse for cash to pay her bill.
Allison waved her down. “No, Sloan’s right. You stay and let him drive you around. He can take you back home if I don’t make it back in time.”
Grace wanted to get up right now and leave with Allison. But she didn’t want to seem too obvious or else he’d get suspicious. She didn’t need Sloan digging around in her background.
“It’s no trouble at all.” Sloan took a bite of his burger.
Grace’s heart sped up. She pressed her lips together and finally nodded. “Okay, if you’re sure it’s not too much trouble.” It wouldn’t take long for Allison to unlock Tabitha’s door and be back. She was looking at two hours at most.
She could do two hours with Sloan. She hoped.
“No trouble at all.” Sloan met her gaze.
Allison hurried out the door, leaving her with Sloan.
Sloan put his burger down and rested his hands on either side of his plate. He leaned close and kept his intense gaze riveted on her.
“Grace, I know why you’re acting like this around me.”
She cleared her throat. “What do you mean?” She tightened her hands in her lap.
“You’re the independent type. You hate it when people offer to help.” His expression softened. “It’s okay to let people in.”
She breathed out a sigh of relief.
Sloan shrugged. “I’m the same way.”
“You certainly don’t strike me as needing help.” She took in his broad shoulders and muscled arms.
“Maybe not physically, but Allison sure kept me from becoming a hermit last year. She had to kick my ass to make sure I wasn’t wallowing in my own self-induced pity.”
“You mean with your ex.”
“Yeah.” He frowned. “Don’t ever tell Allison I said that. She’d never let me live it down.”
Grace grinned. “I think she already knows.”
***
After lunch Grace followed Sloan out of the café. He peered over into the bed of the truck. “Is this all you have? A couple chairs and some fabric?” His ex could fill the bed of a truck within an hour of shopping.
“I don’t want to get the first thing I see. It takes time to find the right piece.”
A smile tugged at his lips. Not only were the chairs ugly, they were something Felicia never would have chosen.
He opened his door and retrieved the duffle bag he’d tossed in before going into the Café. He pulled out a black T-shirt and began unbuttoning his shirt.
“What are you doing?” Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink.
“I’m changing my shirt.”
“Right here?” She glanced around looking to see if anyone was watching.
“It’s not like I’m taking my pants off.”
She shot him a glare. He laughed.
She turned her back and crossed her arms while he changed. He found it oddly seductive that she was so embarrassed about seeing him without his shirt.
“You can turn around now. I’m properly clothed.”
She pressed her lips into a white slash and got into his truck. His heart did some kind of weird flip when he slid into the driver’s seat. It had been a while since he’d had a woman, other than his sister, in his truck. He snuck a glance, taking in her slim jeans, white sleeveless T-shirt and sneakers.
Even without makeup she knocked the wind out of him. It had been a while since a woman had this kind of physical effect on him. It scared him a little.
There was something else that scared him. He’d seen her flinch when Tabitha touched her at dinner and she was clearly uncomfortable with him. The wary look in her eyes alerted him that someone had hurt her. She didn’t seem to trust him either, despite the fact that he was a cop.
The very idea of someone hurting her made him tighten his fingers on the steering wheel.
Whoever the culprit was, he better not show his face in Cloverton or there was going to be hell to pay.
Chapter Four
“Nice truck.”
“Thanks.” Sloan stole another glance at the brunette beauty. He silently hoped his gut instinct about Grace was way off the mark.
“Your truck fits your personality.”
“My personality?”
She laughed a little. “You can tell a lot about a person by what they drive.”
“So what does my truck say about me?” Now he was curious.
“It’s white, which means you don’t take a lot of risks. And by the fact that I had to hoist myself up into the seat, it means you like to tower over people. It makes you feel in control, even though you can’t control everything.”
He scowled. “You make it sound like I’m a stalker.”
She shook her head. “No, that’s not it at all. You like to watch over things, make sure things are in order.”