Page 14 of Tempting the Player
At the end of the street, I go right at the stop sign, heading toward Jane’s house, and drive a bit before I turn down the music.
“Am I dropping you at home?” I ask her, meeting her gaze in the mirror again.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry, I spaced. You can stop anywhere on this street. I’m on the left a block or two up.”
Her house is four blocks up and I’m not dropping her just anywhere. Walking the street late at night would be a bad idea for anyone, let alone Jane. She can’t even go out in the daylight hours without being harassed. I don’t know how she does it. From everything I’ve seen, she handles it all with such ease. She’s unguarded and carefree despite the way people treat her like she’s not a real person.
There’s just something about her. She radiates this joy that makes simple interactions feel bigger. Even when I shouldn’t, I find myself watching her with an intrigue that throws me off balance.
“When’d you get here?” Arch asks, swiveling around to look in the back seat.
Jane’s laugh is soft and warm. “Around the same time you did, I think.”
“That’s cool.” He continues to stare, then points between her and Brogan. “Are you going home with him?”
“Arch.” My tone is a little harder than I intended.
“What? I’m just trying to figure out if I’m sleeping on the couch tonight,” my brother says and then keeps waiting for an answer.
“No,” she says, not sounding the least bit upset about his question. “Your brother is just giving me a ride home.”
“Why not?” Arch pushes. “Brogan is a pretty great guy. And girls seem to think he’s hot.”
She giggles and gives Brogan a quick once-over. “He’s not bad, but it sounds like you two have cuddling plans I wouldn’t want to get in the way of.”
“We share a room now that Henny is back,” Brogan says. “It’s not so bad. Like dorm rooms. As long as you and I stay under the covers, he won’t see anything.”
I tighten my grip on the steering wheel.
“Or we could make it a party and push the beds together,” Archer jokes. God, I hope he’s joking. That is not an image I want in my head.
“That’s enough,” I say as I lightly punch Arch’s leg and mouth the words again, so he understands.
“Lighten up, Hen.” Arch turns all the way back around.
Jane laughs, taking it all in stride. Fuck, maybe she’s into it. My grip tightens a little more.
She catches my eye again in the mirror right before I pull a U-turn in the road and park in front of her house. “Oh, this is my house here.”
I get out and open her door without thinking.
“Thanks for the ride.” She smiles as she pulls her skirt down and steps out of the truck. She smells like vanilla and coconut, the same way she did in front of the library and when I helped her off the bar at The Hideout. “You’re always coming to my rescue.”
I don’t know what to say to that, so I don’t say anything.
“Well, I should get inside.” The music inside my truck increases in volume again. “Sounds like you’ve got a fun ride home in store.”
I wait while she walks around the back of the truck, and she stops on the sidewalk. “You should swing by and get them food.”
“Oh, I should, huh?” I arch one brow. I don’t like her being on their side for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on at the moment. Maybe I’m just tired of being the voice of reason and responsibility.
“Yeah. Drunk people are way less annoying when they’re fed. Plus, they’ll pass out as soon as their stomachs are full, and hopefully it’ll soak up some of the alcohol and they’ll be less hungover.”
I smile for real as she hits me with a big mega-watt grin like she’s just solved all my problems. I freaking wish.
6
JANE
