Page 5 of Defining Us

“Thank you,” she breathed. “I’d appreciate that.”

He nodded away her gratitude and then walked to the truck’s passenger side, opening the door for her.

It was, quite possibly, the most gentlemanly thing she’d ever seen.

Sure, the bar was so low it was literally in hell, but his thoughtfulness moved her tremendously. Trying to play it cool, she made the short trek over and hoisted herself into the seat. Soon after, he hopped into the driver’s side, and then they were en route to Honeysuckle.

A searing silence formed, the only reprieve the radio and the sound of the wind whooshing past the open windows. But as the minutes ticked away, an unspoken serenity seeped into the air, making the moment feel simple but somehow significant at the same time.

“Nice night,” Joel rumbled.

The low pitch of his voice dried her throat. Thanks to the forced proximity, she could practically feel an inherent virility pulsate from him. Her jean jacket was a small blessing, and she pulled the denim closer together, hiding how her taut nipples pressed against her knit top. Thanks to her modest 32AA cup size, those bad boys were laughably noticeable while hard.

“It is,” she mumbled, peering at him from the corner of her eye. “Very nice.”

His hands squeezed the steering wheel, and tension wound through his arms and upper body. When his head twisted toward her, Mallory averted her gaze and tried to concentrate on the rural roads. But as the wind whipped her hair and the radio serenaded them, she could’ve sworn she heard a resigned sigh from Joel.

The phone vibrating in her purse was a welcome distraction. She expected a text from her parents or perhaps a spam email but was stunned at what flashed on the home screen.

You have a like!

So much had happened in the past hour that she’d already forgotten about the silly dating app. Dumbfounded, she stuffed her phone back into her purse, but it vibrated again seconds later.

“Oh my God,” she mumbled, pulling her cell out once more. Sure enough, there was another notification.

You have a message!

“You’re popular, huh?” he stated, cutting through the silence.

“Um. No. Not really.” She shut her phone off before it could buzz for a third time. “Just this dumb app I’m already regretting downloading.”

His jaw clenched. “Ah.”

The finality of that one word suggested that the conversation had ended before it’d even truly begun. But another question from him broke through the quiet.

“Where were you coming from?”

“Book club.” Her voice was uncharacteristically falsetto, so she cleared her throat. She also seriously contemplated opening the door and doing an action-hero roll out of the car to put herself out of her misery. “We meet at a bar over in Kingston.”

“What did you read?”

To avoid another squeaky reply, she pulled the trade paperback out of her purse instead of rattling off the title. He quickly glanced over and asked, “Did you like it?”

One shoulder lifted into an indifferent shrug. “It was okay. I think the author thought the story was much deeper than it actually was, if that makes sense?”

His mouth curled up. “It does.”

As much as she appreciated his constant scowls, the little quirk of his lips was ten times more breathtaking, and she desperately wanted to behold that grin again. She could easily continue the conversation by asking about the book from last week, but discussing a story where sex was a focal point wasn’t a wise idea—not when she was stuck in a car with him and shamelessly wanted to jump his bones.

Inhaling deeply, she noted the scent of cedarwood. The masculine aroma stirred her senses further, and fantasies of them tangled up in bed billowed through her brain. But before her imagination ran wild, Vivian’s piece of gossip once again reared its ugly head. Mallory hadn’t the faintest idea what his ex-wife looked like, but her daydreams suddenly shifted from images of herself entwined with Joel to some faceless woman. So, in lieu of continuing the conversation like a mentally balanced adult, she remained quiet.

One step forward, two steps back. It seemed to be the name of the game with her.

Just when she thought things couldn’t get worse, a piece of her past intruded. The radio segued into a new tune, and familiar chords made her sick to her stomach.

The first dance.

Without thinking, she reached over and changed to another station. His eyebrows rose at her immediate reaction, his head turning a fraction to glance at her. But then he returned his attention to the road without comment.

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