Page 30 of Rules, Roses, and Rivals
All at once the last of the ballooning tension burst around us and I could breathe. Jake took a step back, but not before he turned his hand over underneath mine and squeezed my fingers gently.
Coop just snorted, but he didn’t dispute us.
“Right,” Jake said with another squeeze to my hand. “I’ll call you later.” Then he pivoted and strode away. Coop watched him go and I could read the worry etched into his expression. Or maybe I was projecting.
Warm hands settled on my hips. Bubba lifted me and pivoted so I was next to the car and he was on the other side of me. “Get in the car,” he said. “Cool off and go feed your cats before they starve to death.”
It was almost playful, but his smile didn’t quite touch his eyes.
“If you want to skip after this,” he offered but I shook my head.
“No, I won’t have time before the weekend if we don’t do it today.” I glanced to where Jake disappeared then summoned another smile for Bubba. “I said I would help.” Then because I didn’t want him to think it was just an obligation, I added, “I want to help… and I want pizza.”
That pulled a real laugh out of him. “Go on then, I’ll see you soon. Text when you’re on the way okay?” He dropped a kiss on my forehead, damn near muting any other words from escaping me.
Like Jake before him, he strode away. I glanced at Coop who just raised his brows. “You okay?”
“I have no idea,” I admitted. “But we should go.” Because I wasn’t sure I could take anymore upheaval at the moment. Pivoting, I retrieved my lavender rose and slid into the car. Thank fuck the air conditioning had kicked in and the cooler air washed over me.
Coop dropped into the passenger seat and dragged on his seatbelt. He was silent until I pulled out of the parking lot.
“Frankie?”
I didn’t hold my breath. “Yeah?”
“I don’t like you dating Mathieu either.” At least he didn’t call him Frenchy. “And I don’t want you dating him either.”
I cut a look at him. “How was your lunch date with Laura?”
He frowned, then glanced at me. I could see his mouth open then close without saying anything. Finally, he leaned back and stared out the passenger window
“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “That’s what I thought.”
Chapter
Thirteen
BUBBA
Ipulled my helmet on and got the engine started on the bike.
“Bubba!” Sharon called my name and I spared a look in her direction, but just shook my head. She was the last person I wanted to see at the moment. More than once, she’d dropped hints about grabbing a ride on the bike,
So not happening.
Ever.
Today I’d planned to invite Frankie to take a ride with me. From the first time I’d gotten the keys to this bike, I’d thought about taking Frankie for a long ride. Her showing up at my birthday party had been a good sign, or so I hoped. She’d never been this mad at us—hell at me—for this long before.
Finding out she was dating the French foreign exchange student was a punch to the nuts. The fact I wasn’t alone in floundering over what the hell happened, didn’t help as much as one might have thought.
Jake and Archie were all in on just getting rid of the guy. Since at least one of their plans had bordered on straight up violence, Coop and I were taking turns trying to talk them down. Wanting the guy gone and wanting himdeadwere two entirely different things.
And Frankie likes him.
The thought was enough to make me sick. Whyhim? What had he done that none of us managed? How had he convinced her to go on a date? I had a dozen questions, none of which I could answer. Not yet.
Now someone put flowers on her car. Yeah, a second someone putting moves on her wasn’t any more appealing than the first guy. It did, however, give me an idea. Specifically, that Frankie deserved to be treated like gold.
