Chapter 7 #3
Holland’s intensity at my side is enough to make me agree. “Okay, fine. But I better not end up with cold takeout.” I have a feeling if I push, he’ll be volunteering to hang out with me while I wait, and for some reason, that makes me feel shaky.
“Thanks for the offer, Holland, but don’t worry about me. Don’t delay your dinner any more than you already have.”
“All right,” he agrees. A perfectly friendly smile is plastered across his lips, but it feels as fake as my press-on nails. “I’ll see you around, Kylie.”
“Hey, Ky. Sorry it took me so long tonight,” Gemma comments as if summoned. “What can I get you?”
I turn to offer Holland the opportunity to order first, but he’s already out the door, no food in sight.
My brow wrinkles as I turn back to Gemma, Rook and Kane standing sentry at my side. “Oh, uh…no problem. I’ll have the skins, the burger with tomato, pickle, lettuce, and no onion, and, what the hell…give me an order of the fried wings too.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I do my best to bring this interaction with the intense hockey brigade back to some level of normalcy. “You guys want something? I can put it in with my order.”
Kane looks primed to answer, but Rook beats him to it. “No. Thanks.”
I shrug, turning back to Gemma. “That’s all, I guess. But hey, I have to run a quick errand with these guys, so if I’m not back yet when it’s up, you mind leaving it under the warmer?”
Gemma smiles. “No problem.”
“Thanks, girl.”
Kane leads the way out the door, and Rook waits to follow me from behind. I can feel his eyes on me the whole way, but I don’t dare look back or say anything. Everything with him feels so pointedly precarious.
When we get to the parking lot, most of the fancy cars are gone, even though the majority of the patrons inside are still there, and an eerie feeling blows across me like the wind.
Rook steps around me and holds out a hand, cutting the feeling mysteriously short. “Keys?”
“She’s all yours,” I say, dropping them into his hand with care. Our fingers just barely brush, and a consuming feeling runs through me, so intense my eyes water and my nose stings. I swallow hard and force a step back as he spins on harsh feet and gets to work.
I can’t help but wonder if he feels it too. Or if all this stress and confusion have me truly losing a grasp on reality.
The tow truck lights blink as Kane guides my car onto the lift and secures the chains in no time at all. Rook helps me into the cab before climbing in himself, and Kane gets behind the wheel, officially putting me in a Slater brother sandwich for the ride.
If Alyssa were in my shoes, she’d be focused on finding a way to turn the close proximity into a three-way. At the very least, talk one of them into licking her kitty or something.
I literally feel my cheeks heat from the thought, and I discreetly glance at Kane and Rook, fearful that I did something crazy like say the words out loud. Or, I don’t know, that my previous wish came true, and Rook can read my freaking mind.
But all I find is Kane smiling and nodding along to the song on the radio and Rook stone-faced and staring out the window.
Cal’s garage is only a mile or two up the road, and I’m still surprised at how efficient they are as they get my car off the tow.
When I was sixteen and a brand-new driver, Gammy’s car broke down on the highway, and I had to use AAA.
It took the man hours to get there and hook it up, much less drive me to her house so her neighbor could fix it for her.
Maybe he was obnoxiously slow, but the Slater brothers are exceptionally fast.
It’s truly impressive watching them, and watching Rook, especially, is something else.
I observe from the cab through the rearview mirror as he unhooks my car and pushes it back into the bay, studying the parts of his body his grumpy face usually precludes me from.
His hands are big and strong but finessed, and the muscles in his forearms are chiseled like tan stone.
His white shirt is stained with use, and his hair drifts effortlessly onto the skin above his eyes.
He’s not sweating, but even without a sheen, he emanates a surprising glow.
Cal smiles and waves a hello from the bay door before setting to work getting my car on the lift, and Rook returns to the door to take his spot as the hood disappears.
His posture is casual and his eyes averted to the inside of the garage, but I get the most unshakable feeling that he’s taken up this position with the intention of keeping watch over me.
Barely five minutes have passed before my Civic is on its way back out the door while Cal wipes his hands on a red rag. Kane is first to climb back into the tow truck and graciously hands over a fresh coffee in a to-go mug.
“Figured you might need this.”
“Thanks.”
My body melts at the smell alone. I can’t even imagine how good it’s going to be when it hits my lips.
Rook’s body startles mid-climb into the truck, his wide eyes jumping to my face and freezing. I blush under the scrutiny, all the while trying to maintain some sense of reality.
“What? What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head to clear it but only after his jaw has tightened noticeably. When I turn back to Kane to thank him again, his eyebrows are raised dramatically.
“What?” I ask, repeating my question to him.
He shakes his head, firing up the engine. “Nothing, babe. And you’re welcome for the coffee. Happy to help a woman in need at any time.”
I laugh. “Do I look that tired?”
Kane winks. “A minute or two from collapse.”
I sigh. “It’s been a long week already, and it’s barely even started.”
Rook’s throat-clearing is hard to miss. “Let’s get you back to Murray’s, then, so you can get home.” I would take offense, but I’m too busy noticing the way his jean-clad muscular thigh brushes mine.
Seriously, Ky. Stop it. The man is actively trying to get rid of you as we speak.
“What do I owe you?” I ask as Kane pulls out of the parking lot and accelerates toward the pub. “For the new tire,” I add. “I know new tires aren’t cheap.”
“Nothing.” Rook’s voice brooks no argument, but the idea of letting them eat the cost of a whole freaking tire is absurd. They’re blue-collar guys—just regular people like me. I cannot stand the thought of being the reason they’re short on money this month.
“But I—”
“Don’t even try,” Kane cuts in with a laugh. “He won’t change his mind. Rook’s allergic to letting women pay for things.”
I hate the intent focus my mind finds on the plural form of the word. Women, not woman. And certainly not Kylie Moon, specifically.
“Well, thanks,” I say, forcing myself back onto safer ground. “Both of you.”
When Kane pulls into Murray’s Pub, he jerks a thumb toward his brother and digs me even further into the hole of gratitude. “Rook’s paying for your order. Don’t argue. It’ll just make him grumpier.”
I turn to Rook, my expression full of both question and thanks, and he rubs a hand through his hair, struggling to make eye contact as he agrees. “I’ll come inside with you.”
Kane claps, startling our attention off each other. “Great. I’ll get your car off the truck while you guys get your food.”
“I didn’t—” I start, but Rook is already hopping out of the cab and heading toward the pub.
I follow him out of the truck, trying and failing to make him focus on me as he holds the door to Murray’s, pays for my order, and hands me my bag of food.
He’s so freaking hot and cold, he might as well be a menthol back patch.
What is with this guy?
Acknowledgment or not, though, I can still feel the heat of his fingers where they touched mine in the bag exchange ten minutes later. He’s long gone, the bag of food he paid for in the passenger seat my only company, and yet, I feel as though he’s still right freaking here all night long.
Sitting quietly at my side as I indulge in one too many heavy foods.
Grinding his jaw when a new message from Holland—making sure I made it home okay and reminding me about Friday—rolls in when I’m tucking into bed.
Staring at me as I sleep, even though the pillow on my bed is rounded, cold, and empty.
Alyssa isn’t home, and yet, I feel wildly un-alone.
I can’t shake the feeling that something is brewing beneath the surface of my life. And worse yet, I get the sense I’m not in control of it at all.