Page 26 of Phoenix

“I just meant, your face is makeup free and absolutely stunning, but now that you mention the wet T-shirt contest...Ouch!” He laughs when I swat his arm. “Go change anything you’d like. I’ll wait right here. I don’t have to be on shift until this afternoon.”

“Okay, then. I’ll be right back.”

I turn on my heel and head back to the bathroom to put on my bra and smile like a fool when I feel his eyes on me as I walk away.

I leave my face makeup free, as his compliment made me swoony, and just put on a bra under my tank top and wind my hair into a quick side braid. I give my mouth a quick rinse with the mouthwash in my bag and I’m ready to go.

He’s waiting for me in the lobby right where I left him, only this time, he has his hoodie off and folded over his arm.

“Ready?” I ask.

“Ready. Here.” He offers his hoodie to me. “You can hold it up over your head or put it on. Just to keep the rain off of you.”

“Thank you. That’s so nice.”

“My mama was a wise lady. Taught me to be a gentleman and my dad made sure it extended into manhood.” He holds the door open for me so we can step outside. “I’ll drive you and I can just drop you back here.”

“Okay. I drove Grayson’s truck this morning, so I’ll shoot him a text and let him know it’s safe.” I pull the hoodie on and tug the hood up over my head. The garment is huge, nearly swallowing me whole, but it smells like him. Soap, citrus, a hint of his cologne, and fabric softener.

“I can’t believe he let you drive it. He won’t even let me.”

“Amelia has softened him. Made him a bit of a pushover. It wasn’t hard to convince him,” I giggle.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Hey, I’m parked right over there.” He points to a large black truck to the right. “I’ll unlock it now and we’ll make a run for it.”

“Big truck. Compensating for something?” I tease.

“Play your cards right, and you might find out one day,” he spars right back and laughs when I roll my eyes.

“We both know I already played them right once.” I smile when he winces at the memory. “On the count of three,” I say. “One…Two...Three!” I take off in a sprint and he does the last thing I expect; he takes my hand and moves stride for stride with me.

We reach the truck quickly, but instead of going around to his side, he opens my door and helps me safely inside before taking his place behind the wheel.

“You’re soaked!” I say when he finally closes the door, sealing us in silence away from the rainfall.

“I wanted to make sure you didn’t fall. You’re in flip-flops.”

It’s those things, those little things—that really shouldn’t mean a lot—but they mean the world, and they make it even harder to resist this beautiful man beside me.

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