Page 79 of Bronco

My eyes go slightly wide, so I do what I always do and make a joke out of it. “You say that now, but then again, you did see me eat my weight in junk food last night, and that didn’t seem to turn you off.”

He laughs as I stab into my egg with the side of my fork, spreading it across my toast as I avoid his gaze. “I like that you have a big appetite. I don’t know where you put it all, but no complaints here.”

“You know this is madness,” I tell him. “And it won’t stop everyone speculating at the clubhouse and poking their noses in.”

“So date me.”

“Bronco, if we date then it means something more, and I’m not sure I can give you that.”

“Well, if my dick’s inside you, that means somethin’.” He shrugs when I almost choke on my mouthful of food.

“Bronco!”

“I’m kiddin’... sorta. You’re the one who said I was too sexy for words.”

“That’s because we shouldn’t be fucking each other’s brains out.”

“Funny, I didn’t see a rule book statin’ anythin’ like that. We’re makin’ our own rules,” he states calmly. “If that’s what you want?”

I swallow hard. What do I want? I feel as if I’m giving him mixed signals already. I want him, but I don’t want him to be my boyfriend because I’m scared of being hurt again. “It’s hardto know what I want, but I know last night was amazing. Let’s just not put any pressure on ourselves until we figure this out.”

He nips my chin. “Fine by me. Now, eat up. I gotta go into the shop early and open up, then collect Titan on the way. What time is your meeting with Star?”

Bronco assured me that Titan was more than fine on his own for the night. He likes a little me-time.

I texted her as soon as it was reasonable on a Monday morning, she said she’d fit me in today with no problems.

“Ten o’clock.”

“And you’re sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

“I’ll be fine, honestly. I’ll let you know what she says.”

He nods. “As long as you’re sure.”

“I’m sure, don’t worry about me.”

He watches me eat for a moment, not saying a word. When I look up at him, he gives me a chin lift. “I’ll always worry about you, and I still haven’t forgiven you for not tellin’ me about your ex and the cult, and that tattoo.”

I swallow my food, feeling the heavy beat in my chest. “I know, and I’m sorry. I should have. I don’t like keeping secrets from you, but I know firsthand how bad your temper is.”

“Don’t worry about my temper, Princess, no matter what happens, I’ve told you if you need to confide in me, you can, I promise I won’t go postal.”

I don’t know if he really means the part about not going postal, but I still smile. “Now get that goofy look off your face, or everyone at Iron and Ink will know you got lucky last night.”

He stands, heading toward the shower, looking at me over his shoulder. “If only they knew how lucky I am.”

His words still tingle inside of me. Bronco makes me feel like a million dollars, and here I was thinking things would be awkward between us. We just picked up where we left off, andthat was that. I’ve decided to go with the flow and enjoy myself, don’t overthink anything.

When I arrive at the correct floor, I’m greeted by Star’s assistant, Halo.

“Oh, hey!” I say, surprised to see her since she just had a baby only a few months ago. Star had twins a few months back, so that’s twice the fun, but she’s only taking on a few clients on selected days. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

She smiles brightly. “Hey, Amber, so great to see you! Romeo is with his daddy for a few hours, so I came in to help Star get on top of things.”

“That’s so nice of you. How are things with the baby? That baby shower was so cute.”

She welcomes me inside, which is typical Halo behavior because she goes out of her way to make other people feel comfortable.

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