Page 17 of Rules, Roses, and Rivals
The last thing I should do was let any of it go, especially if she was hurting. Not even the sheen of tears could extinguish the fire blazing within those green eyes. The desire to push the issue was an almost violent urge, because I wanted to fix whatever it was.
Neededto fix it.
The fact she was taking a minute to get her breathing and mood under control wasn’t lost on me. Biting my tongue hurt like a bitch. For Frankie, I could and would do a lot worse. Shoving my vibrating phone into my pocket, I focused, waiting her out in the blazing sun.
After sliding her sunglasses on, she unlocked her car and opened the driver’s side door. I could practically see the balloon of hot air that it released. She leaned in to start the car, then rolled all the windows down before she straightened again.
“Do you need a ride home?” The husky alto of her voice rippled straight through me.
A dozen different answers danced through my head, but none made it to my tongue. Not while I considered her mood and her posture. What did she want to hear? The fact I had absolutely no idea gutted me more than I wanted to admit.
“Are you heading that way? Or do you have plans?” It was a safer response, I hoped. “I don’t want to just assume.”
Cause that was exactly what I’d done that morning, and hadn’t that gone so fucking well?
She frowned fiercely, and I clamped my jaw shut on giving her shit. Not yet. The tectonic level shift in our relationship wasn’tjuston her. No way in hell it could be. While her sunglasses still hid those beautiful eyes from me, the tension in her shoulders seemed to ease.
“I was going to take Mathieu home, but he has a meeting with Madame, his exchange advisor, and his host parents.” The little note of loss in her voice stabbed me. “So, yeah, I guess I am going that way.”
She wasn’t looking at me anymore, she’d shifted at the familiar sound of a sports car’s engine. Archie pulled in right behind, his orange classic Ferrari all but purring. Jake’s SUV was right behind Archie.
Fuck. I wanted to wave them off, this was a bad idea. We did not need to be cornering her. The looseness in Frankie’s back vanished as she stiffened. Her chin came up, and I could guarantee the fire in her eyes was back.
The rumble of a motorcycle announced its prowl up past both Jake and Archie. The rider paused on the far side of Frankie’s car and braced his feet to the ground, before he flipped his helmet up.
“Bubba?” Shock shifted Frankie’s tone again as she took a half-step back and bumped into her driver’s side door.
“Surprise,” he said, a real smile on his face. “I wanted to show you earlier, but we didn’t have time.”
“You got a motorcycle?” The bombshell rocked her, clearly.
“Yep, birthday present from my parents.” Another smile, he seemed a hell of a lot more relaxed than the rest of us.
“Is that safe?” Worry drenched her question. That eased the first of tension that had been twisting my guts since she basically disappeared on us for the summer.
“Took a class so I could get my license.” Yeah, I really did envy Bubba for his ease. “Maybe I can persuade you to take a ride?”
Jake’s jaw dropped and Archie whipped off his sunglasses. Good, I wasn’t the only jealous one. That fucking helped.
“I’ve… never ridden on a motorcycle.” Far from sounding put off, she actually seemed intrigued.
“Any time you want,” he said. “I’ve got a second helmet just for you.”
For real dude? I raised my eyebrows, staring past Frankie and meeting Bubba’s brief glance. His grin wasn’t quite smug, but it might as well have been.
Jerk.
“She doesn’t need to ride the motorcycle until you have a little more experience,” Jake announced. He’d turned off his SUV and slid out to stand.
“She is standing right here and can answer for herself,” Frankie retaliated.
“Oh,nowyou can say something?” There was no mistaking the bite in Jake’s tone.
“Hey,” I said, taking a couple of steps forward. “Ease up.”
“Or what?” Jake flicked a look past her to me. “I got news for you, saying fuck all hasn’t been working.”
“Jake,” Archie snapped as he slammed out of his car and faced off with Jake. “You don’t get to talk to her that way.”
