Page 43 of Betting on the Bad Boy
“Well, stop. If you want to call it off, fine.”
“What are you trying to hide?” Dante stood bathed in the moonlight before me, a perfect specimen of the male species.
I needed to get out of there. Being that close to him was making it hard to think. A guy like Dante and a girl like me...it was all wrong.
“I’ll just go out to the couch.” I brushed past him and escaped out into the hall. The wooden floorboards creaked as I tiptoed back to the living room and settled on the couch, snuggling under a homemade throw. What was he trying to do to me? The sex I could handle. But there wasn’t room for him to start messing around in my head. The sooner I got back to Newbridge and away from Dante, the better off I’d be.
Dante
The smellof coffee roused me from a deep sleep. I woke up, fully naked in between the sheets. As I turned my head on the pillow, the scent of Faith’s shampoo surrounded me.
So, I didn’t dream it. I wasn’t sure what I’d done wrong the night before, but it was obvious she couldn’t wait to get out from under me. She’d seemed to enjoy herself. What the fuck? I rubbed my eyes and yawned. It was better this way, anyway. I didn’t need the hassle.
I pulled on my clothes from the night before and walked into the bright kitchen. Sun reflected off the snow outside and streamed through the windows. Faith and Meemaw sat at the kitchen table, a carafe of coffee between them. I walked over to Meemaw and kissed her on the top of her head.
“Good morning, my boy. How did you sleep?”
I glanced at Faith, but she was busy studying the handle of her mug and wouldn’t look up at me. “Great, I slept great. I must have really worn myself out yesterday.” I turned to the cupboard and reached for a mug.
“Well, that’s nice,” Meemaw said. “I thought I told you to give Faith the bed? Poor girl, she probably didn’t get a wink of sleep on that ole couch.”
I looked over at Faith, still intent on her mug. She looked up at Meemaw and smiled. “The couch was perfectly fine. Dante offered the bed,”—she glanced up at me and a slight flush danced across her neck—“but I insisted.”
“Yep, she was pretty adamant about not sleeping in the bedroom.” I sat down across from her at the table and poured the hot steaming coffee into my mug. Faith knit her brows into a frown.
Meemaw got up from the table and started hauling pans out of the cabinet. “What do you two want for breakfast? I’ve got some fresh bacon from that ole hog Bugsy finally put down.”
Faith pushed back from the table to stand. “I really ought to be getting back, Mrs. Bishop.” She looked over at me. “Do you think you could give me a ride to my car now?”
“Oh, so soon? I was hoping you could stay for a while.” Meemaw set the giant frying pan on the counter and walked over to Faith. “I wanted the chance to have a nice long talk and get to know you better since you and Dante have become so close.”
I studied her over the brim of my cup. “Faith doesn’t appreciate conversation that much, Meemaw. She’s all about just getting things done.”
“Dante! Don’t be rude.”
Faith glared at me then turned to Meemaw. “I’m sorry. I just have a lot of work I need to get done this weekend.”
“I understand, sugar. Dante, can you run her over to her car? You should probably follow her back?—”
“Oh no, that’s okay. I don’t want him to miss out on any more time with you.” Faith gave her a quick hug. “I’ll be fine. I checked the weather report on my phone, and it said the highways are all clear now.”
“Well, okay.” Meemaw wasn’t used to someone challenging one of her orders.
“Thanks so much for dinner yesterday and letting me crash here. It was the nicest Thanksgiving I’ve had in a long time.”
I scoffed and pushed back from the table, then padded back to the bedroom with bare feet and returned with my socks and boots. “Let’s go, Faith. Wouldn’t want to keep you here any longer against your will.”
She thrust her arms into her jacket and opened the front door. I threw my coat on and snagged the keys to the truck off the hook. “Be back in a few, Meemaw.”
We trudged through the deep snow to the driveway. I didn’t bother trying to open the door for her. The sooner I got her out of my sight, the sooner she’d disappear out from under my skin. I fired up the truck and threw it into four-wheel drive.
My arm stretched across the back of the bench seat, and I looked over my shoulder as I reversed and turned the truck around. Faith scooted as far as possible to the other side of the cab, pressing herself up against the door.
“Careful you don’t fall out.” I removed my arm from the seat behind her and put both hands on the wheel.
“Hey.”
“What?” I glared at her, not sure why I was so pissed off. If she didn’t want to acknowledge the fucking fireworks that went off every time we were close enough to breathe the same air, it was fine with me.
