Chapter 12 #2
Then Shaw let me go, leaned back, and there it was. The most blinding, beautifully handsome smile in history.
“Oh, fuck,” I groaned and dropped my forehead to his chest. I only stood tall enough to reach his sternum. “You are killing me here.”
He chuckled. “You make me smile.”
“Shut up.” I pinched his side, making his laugh louder as I stood and soaked in that smile. “Maybe I’m confused because this seems too good to be true.”
“It’s not too good. If it was too good, you’d live in California and I wouldn’t have to say goodbye in a month.”
Reality came crashing down around us, sobering us both.
Shaw wasn’t a neighbor neighbor. He was fleeting. Soon, we’d say goodbye, and the only connection I’d have to him would be on social media and in the movie theater. I’d share him with the world, limited to the camera smiles.
But I didn’t have to share him tonight.
“Would you like to stay for dinner?” I asked.
“We could go out.”
I scrunched up my nose. “What’s with you and wanting to take me out to eat?”
“My parents always had this thing.” He shrugged.
“They’d go out to eat once a month, and only once a month.
With one income and four kids, they couldn’t afford restaurants often, so it was a big deal.
Mom would spend the day at home, cleaning and doing laundry for all of us kids.
Then she’d get dressed up so when Dad came home, she was ready to go.
He’d change out of his uniform and put on slacks and a starched shirt.
Then they’d go on a date. I don’t date much, but I’d like very much to date you, at least once before I go. ”
Hadn’t I told Genevieve weeks ago that I wanted to date? Hadn’t I wanted Shaw to be the man sitting across from me?
But I couldn’t do it. That was a step with Shaw I wasn’t ready to take. He’d put me in his spotlight, which was fine when we were alone. But in public? Not yet. And definitely not before I told the guys at the garage.
The entire town would know if I went out to dinner with Shaw and word traveled fast in Clifton Forge. Everyone would speculate that we were dating or that Shaw was my rebound or that I was his easy fling. It would probably be a combination of that and more.
I wanted to enjoy my time with Shaw on my own terms.
“No.”
His frame slumped. “Huh. I thought that story would work. I mean, I just made it up but . . .”
“What?” I smacked his arm. “Seriously?”
He laughed. “I’m just kidding. The story is true.”
“I don’t know if I can believe you.”
“Want to call my mom and ask?” He shoved his hand in his pocket.
“Put your phone away.” I scowled. I was definitely not calling his mother. “Would you like to eat here instead?”
“Sure.” He ran his thumb across my cheek, sending a rush of tingles to my toes. He didn’t make me explain my refusal, and he didn’t ask for a date again. Maybe he thought he’d have a better chance at another kiss if we were alone.
He would.
The two of us ended up on the deck after I’d whipped together some simple turkey sandwiches with potato chips. A no-fuss meal made special because I wasn’t alone.
“How’s shooting going?” I asked as we ate.
“Good.” He nodded. “We’re on schedule, which is important. There’ve been some long days, but we’re getting through. I just hope . . .”
“Hope what?”
He sighed. “I hope I’m doing a good job.”
It was strange to see insecurity on his face. “You are.”
“Maybe.”
“You are. You’re a good actor and I know this because I’ve watched every one of your movies at least twice. You’re doing a good job.”
The light in his eyes danced. “Twice?”
“Is this going to inflate your ego?”
“Most definitely.”
“Well, that backfired,” I muttered.
Shaw tipped his head back and laughed at the cloudless blue sky.
I hid my smile by chewing a chip.
His laughter was like music, and the more I heard it, the more I could make out different notes. Like his smile, it was different when it was real. It was huskier and came from deeper in his throat. It was raw and unrefined. It ignited a pulse between my legs that would stay long after our meal.
“Any word from your ex?” he asked.
“Nope.” I’d blocked Jeremiah’s number, so if he’d tried to call, I wouldn’t know, and he hadn’t tried to reach me at the garage.
The Warriors hadn’t contacted Dash since his phone call to Tucker, and we all hoped he’d managed to smooth things over. But I wasn’t blind to the risks. Leo had screwed up, and I suspected he spent his nights at The Betsy looking over his shoulder.
“You said something that day, the one where Leo was here after he kicked your fiancé’s ass. You said, ‘You’re stirring up trouble we don’t need.’ What did you mean? I’m missing something here, aren’t I?”
Yes, he was. “If I tell you something, can you promise me it won’t go into your movie?”
Shaw frowned and shot me a glare. “I’m kind of pissed you’d even ask.”
I cringed, replaying my words. “Sorry. That’s not— I trust you.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.” I held his gaze. “I trust you.”
But the Tin Kings and the Warriors had been our secret for so long, it felt strange to let the words loose.
“Jeremiah, my ex, joined a motorcycle club. The Arrowhead Warriors. Back when Draven and Dash were still running the Tin Kings, they were rivals.”
“I’ve heard of them. In the paper, Bryce speculated that one of their members was the one to steal Draven’s hunting knife and kill Amina.”
It had actually been Marcus, disguised as a Warrior because he’d known about the rivalry. But he’d been smart. Everyone had immediately suspected the Warriors given their history.
“Jeremiah, in his infinite stupidity, decided he wanted to join their club. He moved to Ashton years ago, even though we stayed together. That was my infinite stupidity.”
“You’re not stupid,” Shaw scolded.
“No, I am. When it came to Jeremiah, there’s a lot of stupid there.” I waved off another one of his frowns. “Anyway, Jeremiah is a Warrior. Leo was a King.”
“Enemies.”
“Exactly.” I nodded. “Jeremiah deserved what he got, but when you mess with one member of the club, you mess with them all. We don’t need trouble with the Warriors. I don’t want to see my friends get hurt.”
“Hmm.” Shaw nodded. “Your ex sounds like a fucking asshole.”
I grinned. “You’re not wrong.”
“You can tell me to mind my own business, but why’d you stay with him?”
I’d been asking myself that question for weeks. “I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t know. We have a long history, and I think that clouded my feelings toward him. But it’s done now and that’s all that matters.”
“You’re sure?” Shaw sat up, swinging his long legs between our chairs. He leaned his elbows on his knees so he was close. “I thought maybe the reason you were avoiding me was because you need some time to get over the ex.”
“No.” I shook my head. “It’s done.”
The heartbreak, the humiliation, was fading too. Turns out all I’d needed was some time to see Jeremiah’s betrayal on our wedding day as a gift. He’d given me my freedom.
I wasn’t going to say thank you, but I wasn’t angry anymore.
“Does that mean I can keep kissing you?”
I sat up and mirrored his pose, one knee threaded between his. “You’re here for a month?”
“If shooting goes as planned.”
“Then how about I make you a deal? I’ll trade you that dinner out you so desperately want for a kiss every day for a month.”
“No-brainer.” He held out his hand. “Shake on it.”
My hand slipped in his.
Then he smiled, the real one, and took today’s kiss.