Page 34 of Whiskey Chase
He rubbed the space between his dark eyebrows. “In this instance, I happen to agree with you.”
“So why did you go along with the four stooges today?” I pressed. “You had to know they wouldn’t be civilized about it.”
“Curiosity. I wanted to see the kind of man you’d choose to spend your time with. Plus, it never hurts to have an attorney with you when you dance across the lines of the law. Also, according to your phone conversation, I was curious about how tiny his balls were.”
I dropped my head to the steering wheel.
“You don’t have to explain to me. Just because I opened up to you about my painful, humiliating experience. Don’t feel obligated to balance the scales. I’d hate for you to talk to me out of guilt.”
I flopped back against the seat and groaned.
“Look, it’s not like I loved Wade. Hell, I don’t think I even like him. It’s just I didn’t want to go home every night and think about the fact that my father was dying and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.” My voice broke, and I closed my eyes as the emotions I’d tamped down for so long bubbled to the surface. “My brothers, as you may have guessed, wrote our father off years ago. For me, it was different. We still went to work almost every day together. Went to lunch together. I did his grocery shopping. I took him to the doctor.”
I took a steadying breath and stared hard at my sweet little cottage in front of us.
“I was there when the doctor told him he had weeks. And I was there when he kept right on drinking. And I was there when he didn’t wake up.”
Devlin leaned over the console and reached for me. He dragged me into his lap and tucked my head against his cheek.
I didn’t realize I was crying until my breath hitched. “Dang it. I don’t cry. Like ever. This is just stupid.”
He just held on to me tighter.
“I just didn’t want to have to think. So I stirred things up with Wade again. He was familiar. A familiar asshat, but still he didn’t try to make something out of nothing. He let me call the shots and didn’t bring any expectations to the table.”
Devlin tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, and I stopped talking so I could listen to the steady thud of his heart under my ear. He stroked my hair slowly, leisurely.
We were quiet for long minutes. I felt the tension slowly seep out of my body, replaced by the heat of his. It felt like a relief to give it all up for a minute.
“You haven’t asked me about that kiss,” I said finally.
“I haven’t had you alone since then,” he pointed out.
I picked my head up to look him in the eye. “You’ve got me alone now.”
“All right. Why did you kiss me, Scarlett?”
I loved how my name sounded on his lips. Reaching up, I toyed with the collar of his t-shirt and trailed my fingers over his neck. His breath was hot on my face, the warm sunshine pouring in the windows of the truck. Outside, birds sang, bees buzzed, and the world went on.
“Maybe I was curious,” I admitted.
“And what did you find out?” he asked softly, dangerously.
I raised my gaze to his. Those brown eyes warm and interested.
“That I liked it.”
He made his move and leaned in, but I pressed my fingers to his lips. “Hang on, Dev. I made myself a promise I wouldn’t just hop into someone else’s bed after the Zirkel debacle.”
He stilled under me.
“But you’re not just someone else. And that kiss wasn’t just a kiss,” I continued. “I haven’t decided if I’m sleeping with you or not,” I fibbed. “But I’m giving it a whole lot of thought.”
“Me too, Scarlett. Me too.”
14
Devlin
