Nothing At All (Indefinitely #1)

Chapter One

Lila

“So what do you think about us going away one weekend?” Dan called from his spot on my couch, where he was nursing a beer and streaming some documentary on shipwrecks.

I paused in putting on my earrings, a flutter of anticipation under my jaw. “I'd love that.”

The idea made me giddy – two whole days of only me and Dan and nothing to do but–

“Where would you want to go?” His deep voice interrupted my imagination, stopping the fantasies of everything I wanted to do with him “You like the mountains?”

I like you.

A smile tipped up the corners of my lips. I did. We'd been seeing one another six months, exclusive the last three, a slow build of something wonderful, hot and a little wild.

“I could be pleased anywhere.” I fitted the other earring in place. “Do you want to go to the mountains?”

“This cabin I found is pretty nice.” He paused, and I stepped into my heels, the designer ones I splurged on and wore wherever I had an excuse.

Dinner with my boyfriend's coworkers really wasn’t a reason.

Dinner with my boyfriend completely was.

“So it’s off season . . . that means it's less expensive.”

He frowned at the screen, and I smiled, putting an extra sway in my hips as I crossed from my bedroom door, just in case he looked up. He didn’t, but that was just Dan when he was focused.

It was kind of cute. Kind of sexy.

Especially when I was his focus.

His attention shifted, though, when I straddled his thighs. His phone hit the cushion next to us, and his face lit up as he cradled my hips with his hands. “Well, hey.”

I pursed my lips in what I hoped came off as a sultry pout and leaned forward, bracing my forearms on his solid chest. He was as serious about his fitness as he was about his financial health, and I loved it.

Still pouting, I played with the collar of his t-shirt under his sweatshirt and flicked a glance at him under my lashes. “Fiscal responsibility is hot.”

He grinned, a flash of white, even teeth with the tiniest gap next to one incisor, good humor and a hint of lust glinting in his dark blue eyes before he rocked my pelvis into his. “You're hot.”

Resisting an urge to preen – what woman doesn't love hearing that from her man? – I edged closer so my lips were a breath away from his. He had a gorgeous mouth, a little wide, his bottom lip slightly fuller than his top one. “Tell me about your savings account, sweetheart.”

His deep laugh rumbled under my wrists. He slipped his hands to my butt and squeezed. “It's big. Growing every second.”

“Mmm.” I brushed my mouth against his, inhaling the barest trace of beer over mint. I wiggled against the bulge behind his zipper, and he groaned, another deep vibration I felt under my hands. He flexed his hands on my ass. “Compound interest.”

“Oh, my interest is definitely compounding.” He nuzzled below my jaw before a warm sigh blew over my skin. “If we don't go, we'll be late.”

A suggestion that we not go . . . or be a little late . . . hovered on my tongue. except he was excited about introducing me to his friends from work, even if he had that rigidity about always being on time.

On one hand, it made him a reliable boyfriend – I never had to worry he wouldn’t be where he said he would be when he said he’d be there.

On the other . . . spontaneity was not his strong game.

“Fine.” I pulled back enough to drop a gentle peck on his lips before climbing off his lap. “Let’s go.”

He stood, a loose athletic roll of his body, and adjusted his fly with one hand. And all of that was hot. He was just beautiful, poetry in motion and all that.

I was smitten. Not forever smitten, of course, but fully invested right now smitten.

With my minimal crossbody slung over my shoulder, we walked out to his truck. He paused in the open passenger door, frowning at his phone while I fastened my seatbelt. Brows drawn together, he muttered “five, ten minutes“ while counting off on his fingers.

I grinned. He was adorably quirky. “What is that about?”

He snorted, a small, frustrated sound. “You care if we pick up my neighbor? She’s going to the Millhouse, too, and her car won’t start.”

“Um, sure.” She couldn’t get a ride share? Coney was a small town, but not that small, since it had three whole drivers on the app.

“She’ll have to find a ride home.” He shot me a grin, fingers flying over his screen. “I’m not planning to go back to my place.”

I watched him lope around to the driver’s side.

I loved watching him move – he claimed not to have been athletic in high school, more of a gamer, but he’d run cross country.

He had a long, lean look to him, coupled with broad shoulders, but he also spent an hour or so in the gym regularly, something he claimed was a necessity to counteract the time spent in a patrol car and to keep him fit for duty.

He was fit, for sure.

While he navigated out of my neighborhood, I eyed the flex of muscles in his forearms. And his biceps bulged under the sleeve of his gray t-shirt. Why was that so darn hot, anyway?

I darted a quick look at his profile. “Do I know her?”

“Nicole?” His brows dipped into a slight frown. “I don't think so.”

I nodded, watching the library and Brooks Auto flash by. “How long have you known her?”

“Like all my life.” He shrugged, slowing for a red light. The white marble courthouse loomed, lit up on the square. “Grew up next door to each other.”

“Oh.” I hadn't heard about her, so she couldn't be that big a part of his life, right?

“She and Lydia used to play together sometimes when they were little.” He tapped his thumb on the wheel, and there was that lean muscle that ran from across his hand and along the side of his arm again. “Did you want to look at that cabin? I can text you the link later.”

“Um, yeah.” I rested my hand on his thigh and squeezed. “Of course.”

The light flared green, muscles shifting under my hand when he accelerated. The next light remained green, and he hooked a left just beyond the combined fire station and police department. The residential neighborhood, a blend of small, modest homes and sprawling ranch houses, opened up around us.

He turned into the driveway next to his mother's home and tapped the horn. I frowned at the smaller ranch that crowded the property line. “I thought these neighbors moved to Florida.”

“They did.” With a slight huff of frustration, he glared at his watch. “Nicole moved in here when she came home from college so she didn't have to rent anymore.”

A moment passed, silence stretching taut, and I almost smiled. She was messing with his timeline, and it bothered him.

The only woman allowed to be late in his life was me.

I'd initiated activities a couple of times that led to us being tardy - one memorable occasion making us miss a dinner reservation - and he never grew huffy like this.

Finally, the front door opened, and the tall blonde paused on the front porch before turning in a slow circle to lock the door. Was she posing?

Flicking her tousled hair over her shoulder, she swanned down the steps and to the car, hips swaying, steps constrained by her short skirt. Dan popped the locks.

She pulled my door open. “Hey, sweetie, thanks so much-“

The words died, her eyes and mouth rounded in surprise as she registered my presence.

Sweetie?

Oh, I thought not.

I pinned her with an unsmiling look and tightened my fingers on Dan's thigh.

She tilted her chin and leaned down to smile at him, the rounded edge of her top clinging to her cleavage for dear life. “I didn't know you had someone with you.”

“Um, yeah, my girlfriend. Lila.” He flicked a finger toward the backseat. “Get in. We're going to be late.”

Lips plumped into a pout, she shifted her weight to push one hip to the side. “I can't ride in the back. I get carsick. Trade with me?”

She blinked at me, all wounded innocence and entitlement.

Like I was taking up space she wanted.

This heifer.

“Nicole.” Dan's tone shifted to his no-nonsense cop voice. “It's four blocks. You'll be fine. Get in the back or find another ride.”

She stiffened, shock rolling over her face. Eyes narrowed on me, she stepped away and jerked open the door behind me. She slid into the seat, the click of the belt loud and aggressive, and I could feel her glare on the back of my head.

I squeezed Dan’s thigh again, and he patted my hand before reaching for the gear shift.

He and I would need to have a talk about his neighbor who'd grown up occasionally playing with his sister because now she obviously wanted to play with him and some things I did not share.

Fabric rustled on the leather seat, and Nicole leaned forward, angled toward Dan. “Did you hear about the city council meeting?”

“What?” He flicked a glance right then left before turning onto Fuller Street. “No.”

I refused to glance over my shoulder but caught a glimpse of her blonde hair from the corner of my eye. So she was hunched forward, arms braced to push her breasts together.

“Oh, it was a hot mess,” she trilled with a flirty giggle. “The mayor–”

“Cool. This have anything to do with my job?”

She froze. “No. But–”

“Then I don't care.” He slanted a grin sideways at me before hooking a right onto Broad. “You know there's always the beach.”

I smiled. “Can you hike at the beach?”

“Well, yeah. Cannon's Point if we go to St. Simon's. Hell's Forest if we go to the Gulf–”

“Danny.” Nicole touched his shoulder, and he jolted, shifting away from her hand. “Do you remember that house we rented at the lake?”

What exactly did she think she was doing?

“Uh, kinda.” His brows dipped into a sharp scowl. “I was like twelve. What does that have to do with anything? And what's up with you tonight?”

I didn't miss his muffled weird as fuck. I slid my hand an inch or so higher on his thigh and gave another squeeze. Muscle flexed under my palm, and he slanted another look at me, eyebrow quirked. I smiled, a serene little good-boy curve of my lips.

He grinned.

Nicolee subsided, angry humiliation rolling off her. “It was . . .you were talking about rentals and it just made me think about that summer with you.”

“With me?” He snorted, braking for the intersection at 19. “I think you mean with Lydia.”

“Well, yeah, but . . .” Her voice trailed away. Even through the headrest, her gaze lay heavy on me, and my neck prickled.

I glanced sideways at my oblivious boyfriend. We really would need to have a chat about his neighbor.

She retreated into silence for the last couple of blocks to the Millhouse.

The lot was full, like always, but Dan snagged a spot as a car pulled away.

With that happy-to-be-with you grin, he slid from behind the wheel and jogged around to open my door.

Something about the habit warmed my chest. It was so old-fashioned but also sweet.

And why was that hot as hell, too?

The man even held out a hand, palm up, offering connection and leverage to exit the truck. As my feet hit the gravel and I found steady footing in my ridiculous heels, he stepped in, body heat enveloping me, a hand splayed at the small of my back, a smile tugging at his mouth.

For a moment, everything fell away.

The back door didn't open, no other footsteps crunched on the gravel. Realization trickled through me.

She was waiting for Dan to open her door. He had best not.

I stood in the warm circle of his arm, studying his face. He gazed down at me, a slight crinkle at the corners of his eyes, like I held the secrets of life.

His smile widened to a grin, and he flexed his hand at the base of my spine. “Ready?”

One brow lifted, I tilted my head toward the back seat. An exasperated huff pushed up from his chest, and he leaned around me to peer through my open door.

“Nicole, can you hurry it the hell up?” Irritation laced his deep voice. “I need to lock the truck.”

A moment stretched before the back door flung open with enough force that it bounced on the hinges, and I cringed. Dan's face shifted from mild annoyance to outrage.

“What the hell?” He stepped around me to catch the door, running a hand along the top edge. He glared at Nicole, who flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “Can you not destroy my shit?”

“Sorry.” Her smile was tight, full of fake apologies. “It was lighter than I thought.”

“Yeah.” He closed the door with care, a solid thump before he engaged the lock. When he looked at me, his entire demeanor shifted, features relaxing, affection and anticipation replacing his irritation. He reached for my hand. “Let's go.”

With his fingers curled around mine, I sidled closer to him, our hips bumping every so often. Warmth and the subtle, sharp smell of his aftershave enveloped me, laughter and carefree chatter drifting from the outdoor seating area behind the Millhouse.

Nicole trailed behind us, her heavy displeasure like a radioactive cloud.

I pressed my palm against Dan’s and ignored her. She might be interested in him, angling for something that didn’t belong to her, but he clearly didn’t reciprocate those feelings.

He was mine, completely and unreservedly, and tonight I had nothing to be jealous or uneasy about.

Nothing at all.