Page 24 of Hot Girl Summer

“So, you have a dog?” I ask, assuming the reason for the belt in the backseat.

“No, that’s my kink,” he deadpans.

Oh.

“Oh.”

When my gaze accidentally lands on Danny’s crotch, I instantly look away, but my cheeks flush beet red.

“I’m joking. You’re not the only sarcastic person in this car.”

“There’s someone else in here?” I ask, lowering my voice. He shoots me a sardonic smile.

Relief sweeps over me. But I’m curious to know where that conversation would have led had he been serious.

“Hey, I’m not here to judge,” I say, raising my hands in defence. “If that’s what you’re into, own it.”

“Actually, I can’t say I’ve ever tried it. Have you?”

Silence sucks all the air out of my lungs and my pulse quickens as I prepare an answer in my head. I do a pretty good job of talking the talk, but I’ve never felt the need to be honest and open with a potential conquest before. This is different.Danny’s different. I can feel it.

I shake my head.

“No, I’ve never trusted anyone enough to be vulnerable like that. The thought of letting go of myself completely...”

...it scares me.

I can’t bring myself to finish the sentence, and he doesn’t push me to continue. How can I admit to an almost-stranger that I’m scared to be vulnerable? That I’ve made it twenty-six years living by my own rules, dancing to the beat of my own drum, putting up walls that aren’t made to be knocked down. If I can live like that, I’ll always be in control.

We travel the rest of the journey in silence, and when he pulls up outside my parents’ detached house, a part of me wishes that he would drive around the block a few more times, enough for me to bask in the safe and comfortable silence, with nothing but the quiet hum of the engine and him for company. But if Stefan’s so-called fate would have it, we’ll run into each other again.

“I hope your sister is okay,” Danny says, with a kind and genuine smile.

“Thank you.”

I return the gesture as my palm hovers over the door handle. Usually, I can’t get away from men fast enough, but with him, I’m hesitant to leave. He definitely isn’t the monster I had initially perceived him to be, and part of me wants to find out all there is to know about Danny Pearce.

Walking up my parents’ driveway, I can still hear the hum of the engine behind me. A moment later, Danny calls out the window.

“Her name is Penny.”

I turn around and meet his gaze. “Who?”

“My dog. I’m sure she’d love to meet you one day.”

A wide, sexy smile spreads across his face, giving those perfect dimples a final shot of glory before the engine roars, and he gives one final Maverick salute goodbye.

Chapter Six

Mysensesareinstantlycomforted by the smell of roast chicken the moment I enter my parent’s house. I follow the warming scent through to the kitchen and slide open the patio doors leading to the garden where my parents tend to their vegetable patch, and take a wild guess that it’s where I’ll find them.

I’m the image of my mother, Alessandra. We both have the same slim, petite frame, dark brown eyes and fiery nature. My mother is a force to be reckoned with. She commands every room she walks into, but we haven’t always got along. I call her Don DeLuca, because she is fiercely protective of her family, and she’s never afraid to put people in their place. But underneath her tough exterior, she’s sweet, and loving, and the best mother a child could ask for.

My dad, Costanzo, looks like he could be an extra in a mafia movie. His almost black hair is peppered with flecks of white, that classic older Italian gentleman look, and he owes his year-round tan to working overtime in his pristine garden; his pride and joy. He’s a man of few words, but he’s gentle and hardworking, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t mind being bossed around by a beautiful woman eighteen years his junior. He likes to live the quiet life, but my mum never lets him get too comfortable.

Once my parents notice my arrival, Mum slips off her gardening gloves, tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear and pulls me into the jasmine scented safety of her embrace.

“You’ve lost weight,” she says, holding me at arm’s length.

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