Despite living in the same town, he hadn’t seen her in years. That damned gossip indicated she was more reclusive and damned more solitary than he was. She didn’t hang out at the Blue Wall, the main bar in Rosewood, on Friday or Saturday nights, at least not when he’d been there. Had he wondered more about her through the years? Sure. But life went on.
“So. Dead SUV?” he asked, gesturing to her ride.
“Dead SUV,” she said, sounding pissed off. “What kind of car just… dies? It’s not new but it isn’t ancient, either.” She braced her hands on her slender hips and frowned at her vehicle.
He shrugged. “Won’t know until I get it jacked up and take a look.” He met her gaze. “How’ve you been?” he asked.
“Good.” She toyed with a strand of hair.
With the sun streaming down, he took in those brown locks with sun-kissed streaks of blonde closer to the ends that hung just past her shoulders. And he immediately noticed that the face she’d hidden as a kid was all the more striking now.
Seriously.
She was fucking beautiful. And still fragile at least in appearance, her skin like porcelain, her features delicate, with a hint of freckles over the bridge of her nose. And there was still that whisper of sadness that fell over her features, there whether she was aware of it or not.
“You?” she asked. “How are you? Still working at the garage, I see?”
He’d had a job there from the time he was a kid, hanging out from a young age, just as Nicky did now.
Kane nodded. “I own the place.” He wasn’t sure why he felt compelled to let her know.
“That’s good.” She ran her hands up and down her arms.
“Let me get your truck on the flatbed and we’ll go back to the garage. I’ll take a quick look and see if I can tell you what we’re dealing with.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome to hang out in the front of the cab while I work,” he said.
She smiled. “And thanks again.” She spun on her low-heeled sandals, and her floral dress, which clung to her curves, spun out around her thighs.
Flirty. Cute. Sexy as fuck.
He did his thing and soon they were on their way back to the garage. “So what’s covered in the back of your truck?” he asked, having seen the sheet for himself.
“Paintings. I paint. My work is in the gallery in town. I was taking a few pieces over when my car died and I didn’t want the sun beating down and fading them.”
“An artist? Damn. I’ll have to stop by the place and see your work.” He was impressed with that little bit of knowledge about her.
His hands on the wheel, he glanced over. A blush stained her cheeks. “I’m not sure my work is your style.”
“Doesn’t mean I don’t want to see it anyway. Besides, how would you know what my style is?”
“You’re right. I don’t,” she murmured. She curled her hands around her purse on her lap and he refocused on the road.
“Maybe we could change that.” Now where had that suggestion come from?
Her gaze swung to his. Startled. “What are you saying?”
“Go out with me sometime.” No, he hadn’t planned it, but Halley Ward intrigued him. She always had. And now that they were adults, she fascinated him even more.
“I don’t date.” That surprised him… but it shouldn’t, now that he gave it some thought.
It wasn’t like he saw her out and about anyway, and she did like to keep to herself. But not to even date? What was that all about?
“Then call it two old friends catching up,” he said, now even more determined to find out.
He glanced over to find her lips twitching in amusement she was obviously trying not to show. She might not want to be interested in going out with him… but she was.
“We weren’t friends,” she reminded him gently.
“Do friends stand up for each other?” he asked.
She nodded. “They do.”
“Then I’d consider us friends.” He looked at her and winked. “Just think about it,” he said as he pulled into the garage lot.
Because he was definitely interested in her. Maybe it was fate that her car broke down and he’d been the one to answer the call, bringing them together again after all these years. They were adults now, and he wanted to get to know what secrets she held behind those blue eyes.
Because he sensed, then and now, that her layers ran deep. And he wanted to peel them back and learn what lay beneath.
On behalf of 1001 Dark Nights,
Liz Berry and M.J. Rose would like to thank ~
Steve Berry
Doug Scofield
Kim Guidroz
Jillian Stein
InkSlinger PR
Dan Slater
Asha Hossain
Chris Graham
Fedora Chen
Kasi Alexander
Jessica Johns
Dylan Stockton
Richard Blake
BookTrib After Dark
and Simon Lipskar
Table of Contents
Book Description
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
His to Protect_A Bodyguard Bad Boys/Masters and Mercenaries Novella Page 11
