Page 101 of Loathe at First Sight

“I can’t believe that everyone just ditched you for getting hurt.”

A pang of guilt hits me for not telling her the whole truth. “Well, there may be a little more to that story.”

“Oh?”

“After I got hurt, I got drug tested. One night of partying too hard caught up to me. I didn’t do anything serious, but it was enough to break all of my contracts and leave me with just about nothing. Every cent I had left, I took and moved to Lilly Leaf Falls where I invested it into the auto shop.”

“Why an auto shop?” She asks.

“Working on cars was about the only other thing that I knew how to do. I worked at an auto shop in the town where I grew up when I was a teenager.”

Looking over at her, I ask, “Do you feel any differently about me after knowing all of the skeletons in my closet?”

She gazes at me for a moment before giving me a warm smile. “Not even a little bit. Jack, I let a man talk me into trusting him with my business before he stabbed me in the back. I have no room to talk about anyone else’s shitty decisions.”

“You know, when I first met you, I never thought that there would be a time when you would be so sweet and understanding.”

She lets out a soft chuckle. “Neither did I. Maybe your niceness is rubbing off on me.”

I laugh. “I highly doubt that, princess.”

She gives me a sly grin. “I think the only time I’m going to allow you to call me that is when we are in bed.”

“Oh, is that right?”

“Or any other place you decide to fuck me.”

“Holy hell, Liz. You have to stop saying things like that when we are in bumper-to-bumper traffic, and I’m not able to do anything about it.”

She reaches over, rubbing her hand over my thigh and edging closer to my cock. “Well, I can do something about it.”

“Woman, you are evil.”

“Oh, you love me.” When she realizes what she said, she starts backpedaling pretty damn fast. “I didn’t mean that you love me. I meant you love it when I get all dirty and naughty and all of that. I didn’t mean to imply.”

Since we are stopped at a red light, I reach over to plant a kiss on her lips. “Chill out, beautiful. I know what you meant.”

I’m starting to realize that I do love her, but I don’t think right now is the time or the place to say it for the first time.

Changing the subject, she asks, “So, what did you have in mind for us to do today?”

“I got us an early check-in at the hotel, and then, I thought maybe we could hit the beach or something.”

“I love the beach,” she says.

“I figured you might.”

thirty-five

Bikinis and Beard Rides

Liz

“Stop staring at me,” I say when I feel Jack’s eyes on me.

“I can’t help it. You’re the hottest woman here.”

“Oh, you are so full of shit,” I scoff. “I packed my skimpiest bikini I could find, and I still feel overdressed. There are gorgeous women everywhere you look. And I don’t have a lot of the accessories that some of them seem to have.” I glance down at my chest.

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