Sol passed by the kids participating in the three-legged race and guided her over to the most secluded part of the park, where unkempt bushes and trees lined the riverbank.
“So, my aunt tells me you work at a bank.”
“Yes, it’s the only place I’ve ever worked.” She hoped to keep the conversation going, dreading what her date would try if he stopped talking.
He twirled her around and backed her against a tree. “Well, I’d like to make a deposit.”
She snorted, ducking out under his arm. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
Lamest pick-up line ever.
His bottom lip stuck out. “What? I’m just trying to let you know how I feel about you.”
God, this guy is unreal.
“And how do you feel about me after knowing me for all of fifteen minutes?”
“I think you’re pretty and full of spunk.” He leaned in close enough his breath grazed the nape of her neck.
A cold chill ran through her.
“And I’d like to get to know you a whole lot better.”
She swallowed her laughter. No way did she want what he offered. “Listen, I’m only here to get your aunt and her friends off my back.”
“I am, too, so why don’t we have fun while we’re here?”
Why did she suddenly feel like his prey? “I’m not interested in your type of fun.”
“Then why are you wearing such a short dress revealing your miles of legs?” He closed the gap between them, grabbing her hips and yanking her toward him. “You have your hair all done up. Your tits are practically falling out of your shirt, and you smell so damn good.”
Bile rose from her stomach. Images of Dirk flashed through her mind.
No way. Not again.
She spun away from Sol. Her feet slipped out from under her.
Falling.
Oh, God.
Swinging her arms, she tried to regain her balance.
“Hey, Sol, long
time no see. Who’s the chick you’re with?”
She turned her head to see who had spoken.
Wrong move.
Rachel landed in the river with a splash. An eruption of laughter came from the shore, where Sol and his friend threw their heads back and held their stomachs.
“You could help me up, you know.” Why did she end up wet when she went out with a guy?
“I have to stop laughing first,” Sol said.
Silt tickled the backs of her thighs. She stood, her clothes dripping water and mud.
His friend clasped his shoulder. “That was fuckin’ hilarious. Though it would have been better if we’d seen more of what’s under the skirt.”
“Hardy, har, har.” After climbing up the bank, she marched over to her asshole of a date. Like she could return to the picnic in such a state. And she sure as hell didn’t want to spend any more time with him. “This isn’t going to work. You can tell your aunt…whatever.”
“Thank God I’m off the hook.” He turned his back to her.
“C’mon, Troy. Let’s go to the beach. I have a better chance of getting some action there.”
She stood in the grass, still dripping, mouth open.
What a jerk!
He hadn’t even bothered to help her, to make sure she was okay. Now she had to find her own way home with sopping clothes. Taking them off wouldn’t work this time. The park was packed with people. Everyone would stare, and nothing bothered her more than being the center of attention.
“You like getting wet or something?”
She froze, her panties soaked, but not from the river. How did his voice have such power over her body? It wasn’t as if she’d even seen him coming, heard him approach.
Oh, God, her clothes. The murky water couldn’t have done anything positive for her appearance. Heat flared across her neck, ears, and cheeks.
Why does he show up lately when I’m at my worst after being ditched by a guy? Is he my secret knight-in-shining-armor?
She straightened the hem of her shirt.
I wish.
With her stomach in knots, she turned around slowly, bracing for his reaction.
Wearing a ball cap, boot-cut jeans, and an oh-so-tight T-shirt, he could say anything he wanted as long as she didn’t have to look away. Her fingers tingled, longing to touch him again.
He smirked. Great, she probably resembled a drowned rat. She glanced down,
scuffling her sandal across the mud. “I kind of had an accident.”
“Accident?”
His words came out sharp, his eyes cold in their gaze. “From what I saw, you were pushed in. Was that kid your date?”
“Supposed to be.”
What’s his problem?
He’d never shown any interest in her. Why did it suddenly matter who she went out with? Though she would jump at the chance for a night with him.
Never going to happen.
She nodded toward the church ladies. “His aunt thought we’d be good together.”
“His aunt should mind her own business. I’m sure you can find your own dates.”
“Yeah.”
She sighed, wishing that were true. Unfortunately, the older women were her only connection to guys outside of Hanton, unless she went hunting on her own.
Um, no.
Having only one friend throughout school had kept her confidence deflated.
“So, can I walk you to your car?”
Her stomach fluttered. He actually wanted to go somewhere with her, to be seen by her side? She gulped. Her car was parked at home. And she doubted he would walk her that far. “I got a ride with Mrs. Norris and Sol.”
“Just my luck,” he muttered.
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
She hadn’t asked him to come over and talk to her. “If I’m such a burden, don’t worry about it. I’m a big girl.”
She stormed past him. If only he’d stayed away. Then the sexy and mysterious man fantasy she took to bed with her every night would remain in her dreams, and she could forget the asshole behind her.
Fuck.
He never knew what to do or say around her. Unlike every other woman he encountered, Rachel left him fumbling for words. What had he said to offend her?
He refused to let her walk away this time,
rushing after her. Grabbing her arm, he swung her around to face him. “Rachel, please.” The urge to draw her against him overwhelmed him, but the last thing he needed was for her to scream
alien
when she noticed his eyes, remembered how he’d changed them to look like hers. It wasn’t the middle of the night, pouring rain this time. She still wore all of her clothing, even if it was soaking wet, and clinging to her luscious body. His cock stirred, and he longed to rip off the wet material.
She jerked from his grasp. “What, so you can insult me again?” With a fierce stare, she thrust a finger into his chest. “For your information, those women are the only source I have to find a date, because all of the guys who live in
Hanton are assholes.”
She might as well have kicked him in the sac. Anger radiated off her in waves, and since it was directed at him, he ached with the emotion ten-fold. Then her bottom lip quivered. The force of her emotions dropped, and he wanted to wrap his arms around her. He would crash to the ground if she started crying.
Raising his hands, he hoped to calm her down. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you. It’s just that I have my truck with me, and I didn’t want you to—”
“Get it wet? I said don’t worry about me. I’ll walk.”
“No.”
Why is she so difficult?
She’d seemed less spiteful when he picked her up last weekend in the pouring rain. For a moment, he considered throwing her back in the river. “The seats are really dirty.”
“And I’m not?”
Her nose suddenly flared, and the glare she gave him made his cock go rigid. She frustrated him so much right now, yet his desire for her only grew. Somehow, he had to claim her, mark her as his. But, to do that, he had to stay on her good side. “The dirt on your dress can be washed off, but the oil and grime in my truck will leave stains. I think I have a garbage bag you can sit on, though.”
He sensed her agitation and sadness ebb away.
“
If
you’re willing to accept another ride from me.”
Her cheeks flushed. Maybe he still had a chance with her.
“I would appreciate a ride. Thank you.”
Resting a hand on the small of her back, he guided her to where he’d parked his truck after seeing her shoved into the river.
Time to take her home.
He drove, trying to think of something to say to her, to find out if she would be willing to spend more time with him. But every time he opened his mouth, he forgot what he wanted to say. Pulling into her driveway, he felt his heart pounding in his chest. No way would he let her leave without some agreement that she would see him again rather than the occasional late night wave or staring at him when she passed by on her evening jog.
She reached for the door handle, and he leaned toward her. “You’re going to be at the coffee shop tomorrow morning?”
That’s all you can think of?
Her eyes appeared so soft and innocent when she glanced back at him, reminding him of the night he’d first met her. “Yes. I’m there every morning.”
“Well, maybe I’ll see you there.”
A smile lit up her entire face. “I’d like that.” She slid out of his truck, and climbed the steps to her porch before he could think of anything else to say.
He didn’t want to let her leave, not without asking her to dinner. But he wouldn’t push his luck. He would see her in the morning, sense her emotions, and ask her then.
He backed out of her driveway, hoping she’d turn around and wave. She never did. And she didn’t appear in her bedroom window either. Why did she have to be such a freakin’ mystery?
***
Disappointment clutched her gut. Luke hadn’t shown up at the coffee shop as he’d said he would. No, he’d used the word maybe. That meant no guarantee. She should never have gotten her hopes up.
Rachel took a drink of her coffee then shuffled some papers. She had no appointments until ten, but had to be at work earlier for possible walk-in clients. More time to think about how her neighbor stood her up.
After he’d dropped her off at home the day before, she’d stumbled into her house with rubber-like legs.
He’d touched her. Closing the door behind her, she’d slumped to the floor.
Even now, her skin tingled with the sensation of his hand on her back.
When the chatter of women caught her attention, she rolled her chair to the farthest corner from the doorway. The church ladies came in every Monday morning, and she dreaded Mrs. Norris demanding answers as to why her date with Sol didn’t work out. The woman was the last person she wanted to see when thinking about Luke. If Mrs. Norris couldn’t see her in her office cubicle, maybe she would leave her alone.
“Rachel, my dear, what happened yesterday?” The woman waltzed into her office.
She cringed.
No such luck.
Opening a blank file on her computer, she typed away, trying to look busy. “I’m
sorry, Mrs. Norris, but Sol and I just didn’t have anything in common. Then he left to hang out with his friend.”
“He said you dismissed him, told him it wasn’t going to work.”
Not until after I fell into the river and he only laughed at me.
“No point in wasting his time, right?”
“I guess not.” She pursed her lips. “I just wish you would have told me you were leaving. But listen, there’s a dance over in Allentown on Friday night.
Always a bevy of single men there. I want you to come with me, and you can pick your own fella.”
God, no.
Like she wanted to be eyed-up and groped by a bunch of middle-aged and old men. “I, uh… I have other plans.”
“Is that right? What are they?”
She bounced her foot.
How am I going to get out of this?
Christine leaned over the cubicle wall and stared at her with an evil smirk. “Yeah, what are your plans?”
Traitor.
She drummed her fingers on her desk. Why couldn’t she be quicker on her feet?
“Well?” Mrs. Norris asked.
“She’s having dinner with me.”
She gasped. Had she heard his voice, or just imagined it?
Luke stepped past the old bat, and into her office. “Good morning, Rachel. I’m sorry I missed you at the coffee shop this morning.” He nodded to the other women listening. “Mrs. Norris, Miss Shaw. Would you mind if I have a few moments alone with this beautiful young woman?”
Christine ducked away immediately, and Rachel swore she heard her friend squee. Mrs. Norris, on the other hand, gave him a ferocious glare. “I’ve heard about you. You’re no good for her.”
Tension blanketed her small cubicle, but Luke grinned back at the old woman. “I believe Rachel can make her own decisions.”
With one last glare, Mrs. Norris huffed off.
Alone with him in her cubicle, she froze, unable to form a coherent thought. After a deep breath, her heart jumped back to life, pumping faster than ever. Luke Jones had more or less invited her to dinner Friday night.
What am I going to wear? Oh God, I have to shave.