Harlow
Grant’s apartment was just outside Rosemary. It was small and I was surprised by that, but then again I wasn’t. His place looked like him. The furniture was worn and it was everything a bachelor pad should be, from the dartboard on the wall to the empty pizza boxes on the counter.
“I should’ve cleaned up before I brought you here,” he said, walking up behind me. I stepped back until I was touching him.
“I like it just like this,” I replied.
Grant’s head dipped to my shoulder and he kissed my neck. “And why is that?” he asked.
“Because it’s you. It’s comfortable and real.”
Grant’s arms came around me and held me. “I don’t know if I want you thinking of me as comfortable. That sounds real close to boring.”
Grant was anything but boring. “Well, you’re not that.”
He moved a hand down to the bottom of my skirt and tugged it up. “I feel the need to prove just how exciting I can be,” he whispered in my ear.
I didn’t want what we were doing to be all about sex. I wanted something deeper than that. But then maybe that was what Grant wanted. I liked it . . . no, I loved it. He made me feel amazing, but was that all we would ever be? When this was over, would I have been just another girl he had sex with? Or would he remember me for other things?
“You tensed up. What’s wrong?” he asked.
Nan’s words replayed in my head. He would get bored with me. He would want something exciting. Was she the exciting one he wanted? Did I even want to be that? I wanted Grant. Who wouldn’t want Grant? That was a given.
I had always been boring. I was sick of being boring. I was sick of being forgettable. No. I wouldn’t bore Grant. When we ended it, it would be mutual, not because I’d been the boring prude that Nan accused me of being.
I reached for his hand and slipped it up higher as I spread my legs.
“Make me forget the image of you on that counter with Nan,” I told him boldly.
Grant looked pained, and he moved his hand from between my legs and cupped my face instead. “I’ve already forgotten it. I’m sorry she said that to you.”
He was taking care of me again. Treating me as if I would break. I shook my head. “No. I haven’t forgotten. I can’t get it out of my head. I don’t like thinking about you and Nan together. I’m jealous that she had you first. I want to be more . . . I don’t want to be forgettable.”
Grant scowled. “You could never be forgettable. You’ve claimed me in ways Nan never did. Nothing about you, Harlow . . . nothing is forgettable. Don’t ever think that.”
His words were always so sweet. His way with words was his greatest talent. “Then do this for me. I want to see a kitchen counter and remember us on it. Not you and Nan. That hurts too bad.”
A low growl came from Grant’s chest and he grabbed my panties and pulled them down, “I can’t stand the idea of you ever hurting because of me. I f*cking hate that. I want to make you happy. I wish I’d never been with anyone before you.” He stopped and took a deep breath. “I’ll make you forget it but know that I forgot every other woman I’ve ever been with the moment I slid inside you the first time.”
Before I could react, he ran a finger along the edge of my heat. “Do you know why she told you about the counter?” he asked in a husky voice that always made me shiver.
Yes. To hurt me. But I didn’t say that. Instead, I shook my head.
“Because I had taken her and closed my eyes,” he breathed against my neck. “And when I came it wasn’t her name I yelled. It wasn’t her I was f*cking.”
My breathing became heavy and I let my head fall back on his chest. His finger pushed up inside me. “It was your name I cried out. I was drunk, but even drunk it was you I was fantasizing about. Once I got a taste of you, nothing else worked for me. You were all I could think about.”
That wasn’t what I expected to hear, but it helped make that image in my head much more bearable. I let my panties shimmy down my legs and stepped out of them.
“I don’t want you fantasizing about me with her or anyone,” I said, turning to look at him as I pulled my shirt off.
Grant picked me up and sat me on the counter before he started unbuttoning his jeans. His eyes never left mine. I reached around and unsnapped my bra, then let it fall forward slowly. His eyes dropped to watch me and the heat in them made me smile. It eased the jealousy of him touching Nan.
He didn’t even step out of his jeans. He pulled me to him and started to sink in before he stopped. “Motherf*cker, I almost did it again,” he swore.
He reached over to a drawer that was full of junk and pulled out a condom. I didn’t want to know why the heck he had a condom jammed in there, but then again this was Grant we were talking about.
“I don’t like condoms,” I said.
Grant took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I don’t either, but I need to get checked again, then we need to get you on birth control before we go without one.”
He was right and I was glad he was strong enough to think about it. Truthfully, I was so ready to feel him inside me I wouldn’t have remembered.
This time when he grabbed my hips he sank inside me and bit down on my shoulder with a loud groan. That was exciting. Really exciting. He licked where he had bitten me then looked into my eyes. “I don’t have to pretend. I’m right where I want to be,” he said and slid his hands up my sides and covered my breasts. “Damn, these are nice.”
I leaned back on my hands and lifted my knees up his sides. “Don’t be gentle with me. You want to fulfill a fantasy, then use me to do it,” I told him. I didn’t want him using someone else to take my place. I was burning that out of his mind right now.
Grant swore and his hands clamped onto my hips and he began slamming into me over and over, his eyes never leaving mine. I slid a leg up and draped it over his shoulder.
“Holy f*ck!” he yelled and grabbed my leg. He was losing his control, and the wild look in his eyes made me want to push him further.
I lay back until I was lying on the countertop and put my other leg over his shoulders. He turned his face and bit my leg while holding my gaze. I cried out. This was better than I imagined. Having sex in the kitchen was a major turn-on.
“Come here,” Grant ordered, pulling my hips up so close that my legs were draped over his back completely now. “You drive me f*cking insane. Your plump little lips and big, round nipples, and these long-as-hell legs. All I want to do is stay buried inside you. You got me, Harlow. You f*cking got me, baby. I . . .” he paused and groaned as the tremors of my approaching orgasm squeezed him. “I can’t fight this. I don’t f*cking want to,” he finished, then both his hands landed on each side of my head. “Come with me,” he whispered, and I broke apart into a million pieces. I screamed his name and bucked underneath him while he chanted things about how tight I was and how good I felt. Every word out of his mouth sent me crying out in pleasure again. He had magic words. That was the only way to explain it.
Grant
Iwatched as Harlow stood outside on my balcony in nothing but one of my T-shirts. Her back was to me and the wind was making her hair dance around her shoulders. I had held her before I’d gone to clean up after our counter sex. Then I had to catch my breath.
I’d almost told her . . . I had almost f*cking told her I loved her. Never. Had I ever. Almost. Told a girl. I loved her. Not even if the sex was hot. It had never even come to my mind, much less my mouth.
So now I had to figure something out.
Did I?
Was I in love with her?
She wrapped her arms around her front and leaned over to look down, causing the T-shirt to ride up and give me a glimpse of her ass. I was in love with that ass. I was in love with those legs of hers, too. But was I in love with her?
I watched her silently and felt the protective streak in me roar to life when I thought of someone looking up and seeing her in my T-shirt, looking like a sex goddess. I didn’t want anyone looking at her. She was mine.
She was mine.
Holy f*ck.
She was mine.
I wasn’t ever letting her go, and I sure as hell didn’t want anyone else touching her. I wanted to hold her and keep her safely with me. It was irrational. It was . . . it was . . . I was in love with her.
I took a deep breath, preparing for the moment of panic to come along with this realization. But it didn’t come. I felt complete. The heavy weight I thought would come with this feeling wasn’t there. Instead, I could breathe deeper.
I moved from around the counter and went straight for the door. When I opened it, Harlow turned to smile at me. It was that perfect smile that could fix the world’s problems. I picked her up and carried her over to the lounger and sat down, cuddling her against my chest. I was feeling a little like a caveman at the moment, and I just hoped I didn’t beat my damn chest.
Harlow didn’t ask questions; she just tucked herself under my chin and wrapped her arms around me. Mine. All mine.
I was just going to have to convince her of this first, because although I had this figured out, I knew she didn’t. She didn’t trust me. Not with her heart. Even if she owned mine.
“Thank you,” I said into her hair.
“For what? Hot counter sex?” she asked with a smile in her voice.
“For you,” I replied.
She didn’t say anything else. That was Harlow. She didn’t ask a lot of questions. She didn’t want to always talk about things. She just took it in and accepted it. I just hoped she accepted that she was mine. Or more accurately, I was hers.
We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting there, talking. She told me about her grandmama. There was no wonder she was special. She’d been raised very differently from the other females in my life. She also did an adorable impersonation of her grandmother.
I told her about my dad and what it was I did exactly. Back when Dad married Georgianna, he had worked in construction. Now he owned his own construction company. His company was all over the Southeast. I helped him handle the Florida Panhandle. I managed things and checked on things when he needed me. I also dealt with phone calls he didn’t have time for.
I left out the fact I had ignored two of my father’s phone calls today. I wasn’t in the mind-set to talk business, especially when I’d just figured out I was in love. I needed to adjust to that first.
?
“I’m hungry,” Harlow said as she sat with her legs in my lap on the sofa.
I knew I didn’t have anything here to feed her. “Me, too. Want to get some Chinese?” I asked while playing with her little silver toe ring.
“Can we get takeout?” she asked.
I was all about keeping her to myself. “Sure. I can call and order it and they’ll deliver.”
She didn’t respond right away. She fiddled with her fingernails as if they had her answers. “Are you going to take me home tonight?” she asked, then glanced up at me.
“I was waiting until I fed you and buttered you up with a fortune cookie before I brought this up, but I want you to stay here tonight. I don’t want to take you back to Nan’s.”
She let out a breath and smiled. “Good. I don’t think I’m ready to walk back into that just yet. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
I took her ankle and pulled her closer to me, making her squeal in surprise. “I’m all about keeping you here all the time. But tomorrow morning I have to do some work before I get fired. You don’t have to leave. You can stay right here. I just need to catch up on some things. Then I have a board meeting at the club at four.”
She scrunched her nose. “I didn’t think about how I was keeping you from work. I’ll leave in the morning. I have tennis anyway.”
Tennis.
I hated f*cking tennis.
“I can be more fun than tennis,” I told her, crawling on top of her.
“Is this about Adam?” she asked, grinning up at me.
“Hell yeah, it is.”
Harlow laughed and shoved at my chest. “I don’t want Adam. I think I made that clear today. And yesterday, a few times.”
She had a point. But I wanted Adam to know it. “Okay, fine. Go to tennis, but if I come to watch while I work, don’t get pissed.”
Her eyes went wide. “You wouldn’t do that.”
I bent down to kiss the corner of her mouth. “Yes, sweet girl, I would.”
Harlow
It was three days later before I went back to Nan’s. Grant convinced me to come back to his place every evening. When he wasn’t working, he was with me, and sometimes when he was working he was with me. Like during tennis every day. Grant sat on the porch that wrapped around the main clubhouse. He drank coffee and worked on his laptop.
Adam got the hint. He would’ve been an idiot not to. Grant made it very clear, going so far as walking me to the gate and kissing me until I lost my breath before sending me to each session.
Today, however, I had to go back to Nan’s. I couldn’t move in with Grant. We had to get over this hurdle with Nan. This was my house, too. I also wanted to talk to Mase without Grant around so I had privacy if Mase wanted to ask me about Grant.
When Grant got a call to drive two hours south to check out a site for his dad, he wanted me to go with him. But I needed some space to think. I felt like we’d gone from taking things fast to super overdrive. My heart was having a hard time keeping up.
I knew the moment I’d given myself to Grant that I had deep feelings for him. Then he’d destroyed them. I had thought it would take a long time for those feelings to come back, or even resurface. But I was finding out how wrong I was. They were coming back hard.
?
While watching Grant brush his teeth this morning as I shaved my legs, I realized that this felt right. It was easy. And it scared me. He was making me picture a future for us. But what kind of future could I give him? Not the one I’m sure he always wanted. He wasn’t in love with me. Falling into the daily everyday details of life with him was dangerous. Before, I was worried about getting hurt. Now, I knew I was going to get hurt. It had gone too far.
And I didn’t know what to do about it.
I was hoping Mase had some wisdom to share.
Nan’s car was gone when I pulled up to the house, and I breathed a sigh of relief. This was good. Maybe she was gone on one of her trips. I headed inside and stopped by the kitchen to get myself a bottle of water before going up to my room.
My room was just like I left it. Nan must have told the house cleaner not to go into my room. Not that I cared. I didn’t have a messy room, just an unmade bed. I set my water down on the table and sat down.
Mase answered his phone on the second ring.
“About damn time I got a call from you,” he grumbled into the phone.
“Sorry. I’ve been busy,” I replied.
“Don’t need to know. I already got an idea of the busy you’ve been.”
My cheeks turned red. I hated thinking about what he’d heard on the plane.
“How are things?” I asked him.
“Working my ass off. With Jim down, I’m having to take up all his work. The man works hard. I wake up early and fall into bed late.”
“How much longer will he be in a cast?”
“Six weeks. I can handle it. Hard work never hurt me.”
The idea of Kiro’s only son working hard on a ranch in Texas wasn’t what the world would imagine.
“What about you? Nan eat you up yet?” he asked.
“No. I’m too tough for her. You know that.”
“Bullshit. She sees you with Grant and she’s going apeshit on your ass. He better be ready to make sure you come out without a scratch.”
“She knows, and he handled her. I haven’t seen her in a few days.”
“Good. Maybe she’ll stay gone.”
I hadn’t called him to talk about Nan. I needed guy advice. “Do you think it would be stupid for me to have feelings for Grant?”
He didn’t reply right away. I was worried he was about to say what I already feared. “I was under the impression that, for you to do what I heard on that plane, you’d already have feelings for him.”
“Well, yeah, I already had feelings for him, but I mean . . . you know, feelings feelings.”
Mase chuckled. “Are you trying to ask me if it’s smart for you to fall in love with Grant Carter?”
Well, yeah. “I guess,” I replied.
“No. It’s probably the dumbest thing you could do. But it’s done. You were in love with him when you decided to sleep with him. That’s who you are, Harlow. So you’ve done it. You need to be worrying about what you’re gonna do when this ends. How will you handle it?”
I sat there staring at the mirror in front of me. He was right. I had been in love with Grant for months. I didn’t want to admit it because it was pathetic. You didn’t fall in love in two weeks. But I had done just that. Then he’d left.
“I don’t know,” I said.
Mase grunted, and I could tell he was moving something heavy. “You pack your shit and come to Texas. I’ll handle the rest. That’s what we’ll do.”
I realized talking to Mase about this was pointless. I wasn’t moving to Texas and I wasn’t letting him seek revenge. “Never mind. I’ll figure this out. Thanks for listening.”
“I’m here, Sis. Anytime. Just call me.”
“I know. Love you.”
“You, too,” he replied.
I hung up and dropped the phone beside me. Where did I go from here?
I was in love with Grant. Full-fledged in love with him. I wanted him forever. I wanted to see his smile every morning. I wanted to know what it was like to be in his arms every day. What had I done?
Grant
It was after nine when I rolled back into Rosemary. I had tried calling Harlow twice and she hadn’t answered. If Rush hadn’t told me that Nan was in New York with Georgianna, I would be panicking. But I knew Harlow was home alone. I kept telling myself she was asleep or left her phone upstairs.
By the time I pulled into Nan’s driveway I was jumping out of the truck and running to the door. She was gonna have to start answering her phone when I was gone from now on. We’d talk about that. First, I just needed to see her face and know she was okay.
The door was locked. Good girl. I rang the bell and waited. I was about to ring it again when the door opened and a sleepy-looking Harlow answered. A smile touched her lips and she ran her hand through her hair. “Hey,” she said sweetly.
I walked inside and closed the door behind me, then covered her mouth with mine. It was so soft and plump, free of lip gloss, and I wanted a taste. It was all I’d thought about on my drive home.
She slipped her hands up my arms and held on. The little blue polka-dotted boxers and matching tank top she was wearing shouldn’t have been so damn sexy. But on her, they were that and more.
When I pulled back to look at her I smiled. “Hey.”
She giggled and laid her head on my chest. “Sorry, I fell asleep on the couch watching season one of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix.”
I wasn’t sure what the hell that was but I nodded anyway. “Where’s your phone?”
She frowned. “I think upstairs.”
I pulled her closer. “Next time I’m gone, keep it with you. I broke every damn speed limit out there trying to get back because you wouldn’t answer.”
She leaned into me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about it. People don’t normally call me.”
That, in itself, boggled my mind. Why didn’t people call her? Didn’t they want to hear her voice? Be near her? The world was full of idiots.
“I call you. I need to hear your voice when I’m gone,” I told her.
The grin that lit up her face made my heart swell. “Okay.”
I was going to have to tell her soon. I needed her to know how I felt. She wasn’t going anywhere. I was keeping her. I wasn’t letting her go. I’d chase her all over the damn world if I had to.
“It’s been a long day, and right now I want to crawl into bed with you,” I told her instead.
“Mmm, okay,” she said before slipping her hand in mine and turning to walk toward the stairs.
At this moment, life was good. I had my girl and I was about to hold her all night. Before Harlow, I didn’t get it. Why Rush and Woods would let one woman control their emotions, lives, actions.
But I got it now.
It made complete sense.
This little woman had me wrapped around her little finger, and she didn’t have a clue.
I was going to have to tell her. I just didn’t want to scare her off. I needed to let her fall in love with me, too. When I knew she was mine and my feelings wouldn’t send her packing, I would tell her.
“I don’t think Nan is in town,” she said, glancing back at me.
“She’s not. I talked to Rush.”
Harlow didn’t reply but I could see her body tense. What the hell was that about?
When we got to the top of the stairs I tugged her back to me. “What? Say what you’re thinking.”
“I’m not thinking anything,” she replied, but the look on her face mimicked her body language.
“Yes, you are. Tell me or we’ll stand right here all night.”
She let out a sigh and looked away from me. “You talked to Rush about Nan,” she mumbled.
“Of course I did. I had left you with your crazy-ass half sister to drive two hours away and I wanted to make sure you were okay. I called Rush to send Blaire over here to stay with you, and he told me there were no worries. Nan had gone to New York.”
Her shoulders relaxed and then drooped. “I guess I’m not dealing well with this thing yet.”
She was jealous, and that made me want to shout. I cupped her face in my hands. “My past with Nan bothers you. I know that and I’m going to do whatever the hell I have to in order to ease your mind.”
She nodded, then let out a soft laugh.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because I can’t believe I’m acting like this.”
Me neither, but I wasn’t about to complain. I was thrilled.
“Would it make it better if I admit that I like it?”
She cocked one eyebrow. “You like me to act like a possessive, crazed girlfriend?”
“Hell yeah, I do. And nothing about you is crazed. But, baby, anytime you want to get possessive over me, then do it. Turns me the f*ck on.”
She laughed and slapped my chest, then turned around and started strutting to the bedroom.
“You left me,” I called after her.
“Come and get me,” she replied, and glanced back and winked at me.
Harlow just f*cking winked at me.
“Get your ass naked and on that bed now before I rip that cute little outfit off your body,” I ordered before going after her.
Harlow
Ididn’t do well in crowds. I preferred to stay away from crowds. But I also couldn’t tell Grant that I didn’t want to go with him to a charity event at the club. He was on the board of directors and it was an annual ball held to benefit sea life along the gulf coast.
Kerrington Club had hosted this event for more than twenty years. Grant had told me he didn’t really want to go either, but Woods wanted him there. So we were going. Tonight was held in memory of Jace. His parents would be there, and Woods had warned Grant they would play a video that wouldn’t be easy to get through. Jace’s death was still too fresh for all of them.
I spent extra time putting on makeup, mostly because I didn’t do it often and I wanted to get it right. Choosing a dress hadn’t been easy, either. I had several formal ones that Dad had insisted I buy to bring here. He had said there would be events I would need them for. When I didn’t buy any, he’d had the personal shopper he hired for me bring several to me. I’d pointed at the few I liked and was done with it. I never expected to actually be wearing one. Now I was thankful Dad had made sure I had them.
I finally settled on the pale blue satin that hit right above my knees in the front and went longer in the back. I slipped on a pair of Daniele Michetti heels that consisted of barely there straps and tiny silver spikes. They were an impulse buy. I never bought things like this, but I’d seen them one day and couldn’t resist. I hadn’t even tried them on. I always got nervous in shoe stores.
I had only worn them around my bedroom. Tonight, I was being brave and wearing them in public. The dress called for it. I hoped if I dressed boldly then I would feel bold. By the time I finished curling, piling, and pinning the curls I’d spent over an hour working on, it was time for Grant to arrive. Nan was in her room, also getting dressed. We hadn’t spoken earlier when she came in. She just walked past me as if I hadn’t been there.
Grant had warned me she would be coming tonight. I had assured him I could get ready without him being my bodyguard. The doorbell rang right on time, and I stepped out of my room, grabbing the black and silver clutch that matched the best with my shoes.
Nan’s door didn’t open. I was relieved. Taking the stairs slowly, I headed to the door and then took a deep breath. Grant had never seen me like this. I wanted him to like it. No, I wanted his tongue to hang out. I was being vain. I had never gone to prom. This was that moment all little girls imagine.
Slowly, I opened the door. Instead of Grant, August stood there in a black tux, his hair styled perfectly. He blatantly checked me out, starting at my feet and going all the way up.
“Nan isn’t ready yet, but you can come in and wait,” I told him, stepping back and hoping to get his eyes off my body.
“I hope she looks half as good as you do,” he said with a wink as he walked into the foyer, his tall body making it seem smaller. Where was Nan?
“Um, can I get you a drink?” I asked, hoping to find a reason to get away from him.
“I’d love one. I’m sure she plans to keep me waiting another half hour. Glad I got good company,” he replied.
I didn’t like him. I turned and headed to the kitchen and felt like cursing when I heard his steps fall in behind mine. I had been planning on him going to the living room and waiting.
“I can get you a drink and bring it to the living room if you want to have a seat,” I told him.
“You don’t even know what I want.” He was amused; I could hear it in his voice.
“Oh, sorry. What would you like?”
He didn’t reply. When I stepped into the kitchen I battled my impulse to run back upstairs with the excuse that I’d forgotten something, leaving him to fix his own drink.
“Hard to believe you and Nan are related. She’s not at all this polite and sweet,” he said, pulling out a bar stool and sitting down.
I needed to get out of here. I would hurry and make his drink, then run. I turned and reached for a glass. “What would you like?” I asked.
He leaned forward and began checking my legs out again. “A lot of things,” he replied.
I set the glass down. I was leaving him to help himself.
“Who’s the lucky guy taking you to the ball tonight?” he asked.
“I am.” Grant’s voice startled me, and I spun around to see him scowling at August. I hadn’t heard him come in, but then I had been focused on getting away from August.
“Don’t blame you. She’s the nicer sister,” August said, dropping his gaze to my legs again.
Grant rounded the bar and was pulling me to his side before I could blink. “You ready?” he asked me.
I nodded. “Yeah.” This was not the moment I had been daydreaming about. Grant looked like he was barely controlling his anger, not interested in how I looked.
“Hello, Grant,” Nan drawled as she walked into the kitchen.
I turned to look at her in the short, tight red dress that hugged her every curve. She shouldn’t look stunning in red but she did. Nan was what every little girl wanted to look like when she grew up. Her long red hair hung in soft curls and rested on her cleavage, which was right out there for the world to see and, no doubt, drool over.
“Damn, baby,” August said, standing up with his mouth slightly open.
I glanced at Grant, who was also looking at Nan. The way I had wanted him to look at me. I closed my eyes briefly and took a deep breath. I didn’t want to see that.
“You always did look good in a tux,” Nan said, ignoring August and keeping her eyes on Grant.
This wasn’t a game I knew how to play. My instinct told me to take off running to my room and lock myself up and let Grant have what he wanted while I got the heartbreak I knew was coming for me. But my pride wouldn’t let me move. So I stood there, hoping he remembered me and had enough compassion to not totally humiliate me in front of Nan.
Nan’s smile curled up evilly on her lips as she sauntered toward Grant, not taking her eyes off him and knowing she had his complete attention.
I was about to give in and flee. I could go to Texas. It wasn’t so bad.
Grant slipped his hand into mine and started walking for the exit. I didn’t glance back at Nan, although I heard her laugh an amused, knowing laugh, which shot a pain through my chest. Because she knew, just like I did, that she’d gotten to Grant.
Grant was silent until we got outside and down the steps to his truck. Once we reached it, he let go of my hand, but instead of opening the door he turned me around to face him.
“You look so damn beautiful, I’m not sure how you expect me to focus tonight,” he said as his eyes finally focused on me.
This was what I wanted. The silly female in me wanted to see his appreciation, but now . . . it fell flat. I had seen the way he looked at Nan, transfixed. He hadn’t reacted that way to me. But then I didn’t look like Nan. Could I blame him? He was a guy, and Nan was breathtaking. I was just me.
“I wish we didn’t have to go to this ball. I want to take you out and keep you all to myself.”
I liked that idea. Facing a room full of people was not on my priority list. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to be alone with him tonight. There was a wound I needed to lick now, and hiding out in my room with my books was more appealing.
“We will stay long enough to make Woods happy. Then I promise I’ll make this night better,” he whispered before pressing a kiss to my mouth and making a low growl. He jerked away and opened the truck door. “Get in before I change my mind and piss Woods off.”
When he was ready to leave, I would make an excuse to come home and go to bed. Alone.
“How long was that douche there before I got there?” Grant asked as he pulled out of the driveway and onto the road.
“Maybe ten minutes. Not long,” I replied.
Grant’s nod was tight. He didn’t like August, and I wanted to believe it had nothing to do with his dating Nan. But it was hard. He’d explained his relationship with Nan to me, but I wasn’t sure I completely believed him. Especially now.