Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Amy
“I’m just glad you had the sense to make me wear sunscreen,” I told Wolfe as he drove down my street.
“You didn’t put it on your nose,” he teased.
I pulled down the visor to look in the mirror. When I saw how red my nose was, I laughed.
Seemed I'd been doing that all day. Laughing. It felt good. Strange, almost. But definitely good.
Now that I was going home to an empty house, the familiar trepidation was coming back and I was dreading it.
We’d spent the better part of the day at the lake, the three of us laughing and joking and enjoying the sunshine.
To my surprise, both men had kept things relatively impersonal.
They’d answered my questions when I rapid-fired them, telling me about growing up in a small town, about Friday night football at the high school, bonfires and all-night parties, but not once had they turned the questions on me.
Halfway through the day, I realized they’d done it on purpose. They were respecting my space, and I appreciated them for it, even if I did want to share a little bit about myself with them. I hadn’t had real friends in … well, not since high school. Before my parents died, before…
Wolfe pulled up in front of my house.
Shaking off the revelry, I took a deep breath. “I had fun today,” I told him, closing the visor and looking directly at him.
Of course, his nose wasn’t red. In fact, his skin had bronzed more than it had been already, and he really was too handsome for words.
“Me, too.” Wolfe turned and looked out the front windshield. “Do you work tonight?”
“Yeah.” I peered up at the empty house. “But I could make dinner if you … uh … want to come inside.”
I noticed his hands gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles were white. He obviously had something on his mind, something I probably wouldn’t like.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be forward. I … uh…”
Wolfe’s warm gaze traveled over to me, and I sat still, waiting for him to say something. Anything.
“I’d like to go inside your house. And I’d love for you to cook for me,” he said, his voice soft, deep. “But I’m not sure that’s a good idea right now.”
“Oh.”
Oh. Right.
Rhys.
I shook my head. “I didn’t mean… I…” I swallowed hard. “I know about you and Rhys.”
Wolfe cleared his throat.
“I mean, I don’t know about you. It’s not like anyone has said anything, but it seems to me that you like each other.”
“Like each other?” Wolfe’s words echoed with amusement.
I squared my shoulders and looked directly at him, my face flaming. “It’s okay. I get it. I didn’t expect … anything. I mean, I like you as a friend and all. If you and Rhys are in a relationship, that’s cool.”
Wolfe laughed, the sound booming inside the truck.
“What?” My face heated more. “What are you laughing at?”
“Is that what you think?” He grinned and I couldn’t look away. The man was so incredibly good-looking. “That Rhys and I are…”
I swallowed hard.
“Darlin’, there’s a lot you don’t know.”
“Then tell me.” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, but I could handle the truth.
I'd accepted the fact that whatever was going on between me and Wolfe and Rhys was friendship. I liked both men immensely, and I was sort of happy that they liked each other. It meant I would never have to choose between them, because honestly, I wasn’t sure I could at this point.
“It’s … complicated.”
I nodded, understanding. “I get it. I promise I won’t say anything to anyone. It’s really not my business.”
Wolfe turned to face me, his arm sliding behind my head, over the seat back, his hand brushing my neck. He tilted his head forward, holding my gaze with such intensity it stole my breath.
“I guarantee, darlin’, it’s not what you think.”
I held my breath, silently willing him to tell me. There was a tiny ray of hope lingering deep inside, although I had no idea where it had come from or why it was there.
His touch, his mere presence, was so comforting I wished it could be different. I'd never thought I'd want anything to do with another man after the hell I'd been through, but when I was with Wolfe and Rhys, I felt safe, cared for.
Then again, Wolfe was my boss. My friend.
And here I was pushing for something that I couldn’t have, no matter what I wished for. I wasn’t at a place in my life where I could share anything about myself, and Wolfe deserved to have someone who could be honest with him. He’d been nothing but honest with me, and I couldn’t return it.
On top of that, I wasn’t sure I was ready for anything as serious as a relationship. It seemed I'd been under someone’s thumb my entire life, and I wasn’t interested in doing that again. Wasn’t sure I ever would be.
“It’s okay,” I told him, leaning into his touch slightly as I reached for the door handle. “Thanks for today. I hope we can do it again.”
Wolfe nodded, but he didn’t say anything. I noticed how his eyes dropped to my mouth, and for a second, I thought he might kiss me. Instead, he pulled back, put both hands on the steering wheel again.
“I’ll see you at Reagan’s tonight.”
“Okay.” Not wanting to make things any more uncomfortable than I already had, I hopped out of the truck and shut the door quickly.
The hair on the back of my neck prickled as I walked to my front porch.
Rather than look around like a scaredy-cat, I shored up my nerve and went right for the door.
If Wolfe hadn’t been there, I probably would’ve walked around the house a few times, peered in the windows to ensure nothing had been tampered with.
I didn’t think he’d found me yet, but I knew he would eventually.
If he’d figured out that I wasn’t dead, he would try to find me.
Swallowing against the lump of fear in my throat, I inserted the key into the lock and twisted.
Forcing a smile, I turned to look back at Wolfe.
He was watching me. I offered a quick wave and then slipped inside, my heart thumping painfully in my chest. Closing the door, I leaned up against it and strained to listen for any unusual noises.
My eyes darted around the room, taking it all in.
I didn’t notice anything out of place. The throw pillows were still in the same position on my couch, the coaster holding last night’s glass of water still on the coffee table, my sandals still tucked underneath.
With the air conditioner on and my clothes still damp, a chill ran through me.
I needed to take a shower. Not only to warm up but also because I had to be at work in a couple of hours.
Surely I could get through a couple of hours alone without having another panic attack. It shouldn’t be too hard considering I could relive today over and over again. Hands down, today had been the best day I'd had in years.
Granted, I was going to have to tamp down the anticipation of seeing Wolfe or Rhys again. It wasn’t going to do me any good, and if this crush I had on the two men turned into something more, I was in for some serious heartache.
I had been through enough.
That was the last damn thing I needed.
Wolfe
I watched as Amy disappeared inside her house. I should’ve put the truck in gear and pulled back down the gravel driveway, but I couldn’t seem to do it.
I'd hated seeing the disappointment in her eyes when I turned her down. Hell, I would’ve given my left nut to go inside that house, but I honestly didn’t trust myself.
It’d been a hell of a day, one that had tested my patience.
Spending the better part of it with Amy and Rhys had been more than I could stand.
Not in a bad way, of course. But I wasn’t a damn saint.
I could only handle so much. And the temptation they presented was too much.
It made me want things, crave things. Need things.
Truth was, I had no business going down that road. Not yet.
“Fuck.” I twisted my hands on the steering wheel, staring out the front windshield. “Go home, Caine. You’ll see her tonight. Go. The fuck. Home.”
I turned off the truck.
I got out.
I walked right up to Amy’s front door.
I knocked.
And when she opened the door, I nearly fell to my knees at her feet.
Her big brown eyes stared back at me, confusion etched on her pretty features.
I put my hands on the doorjamb and leaned forward. I refused to touch her, afraid that if I did, I'd never let her go.
Locking my eyes with hers, I decided to give it to her straight.
“I want to come inside.”
Her eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything.
“But I’m fuckin’ scared, Amy. I’m scared that I’m gonna do somethin’ to scare you, and that’s the last goddamn thing I wanna do.”
“You won’t,” she said softly.
“I will.” I made sure there was a ton of confidence in my tone.
“I can only take so much, and the more time I spend with you, the more I want to touch you, to kiss you.” To lay you down and bury myself inside your body.
I kept that part to myself, though. “And if you let me in your house, if you sit down to dinner with me, if you smile at me the way you did today … I’m scared I won’t be able to stop myself. ”
I saw the way she swallowed hard.
“Do you understand what I’m tellin’ you?”
She nodded.
“That’s why I can’t come inside. It has nothin’ to do with Rhys.” I shook my head. “Well, maybe a little, but like I said, that’s complicated.”
I got another nod.
I pushed off the wall and stood to my full height. “I’ll see you at Reagan’s.”
Turning away from her was the hardest damn thing I'd ever done, but I knew I had to. It was the right thing to do.
“Wolfe.”
I heard her feet on the wooden porch behind me.
“I want you to come inside.”
Dropping my head, I closed my eyes. “I don’t wanna fuck this up with you, Amy.”
“You won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
I turned to face her. Only then did I realize how close she was standing. I had to stare down at her, holding my breath when her arms moved toward me, her hands sliding up to my neck, pulling me down.