Page 81 of Love Me Dangerous

Sawyer wasn’t there when I was clinging to the parked truck hood,unable to breathe, fearing for my life. He doesn’t know her father’s fierce kindness, his integrity. Or Sofie’s generosity.

“The brother is a wild card for sure, but he’s leaving for L.A.”

“Blood is thicker than water, bro. Remember that.”

“Truth.”

Sawyer and I end the call, and I toss the phone on the bed, my thoughts spinning.

When I arriveat Sofie’s house, her dusty Wagoneer is parked next to the fence. I pull Henry’s truck alongside and shut off the engine, then take a moment to soak everything in.

The tidy house with the lights glowing from inside, the tall trees framing the yard. The silhouette of the mountains in the distance like a black cutout against a night sky scattered with bright stars.

Nervous energy tickles my gut. Are the flowers I bought too much? Too forward? I haven’t… dated… since my senior year of high school. And even then, it was awkward. Kind of hard to bring a date back to the foster home.

On the road with Burnout Symphony, there were opportunities for casual hookups, but looking over my shoulder every five minutes doesn’t exactly make great mood setting.

I think of what Sawyer told me. Does it mean the cops might be closing in on Kristov, or is Vander’s death a warning of what he has in store for me?

The front door opens and Fergie slips out, followed by Sofie. She’s wearing tight jeans and an oversized V-neck sweater that falls off one shoulder, revealing a lacy strap of lingerie.

My cock jumps to life inside my jeans. I’m not sure what I expected her to wear tonight, but this wasn’t it. Damn.

I hurry from the truck to meet her. She slips through the gate and throws her arms around me. “You’re here.”

I laugh. “Missed me, huh?”

She’s still holding on to me. “I’m just happy you came.”

This tugs at my gut. She’s used to people not keeping their word. When I leave, will she think it’s her fault?

“Hang on,” I say, remembering the grocery bag in the back seat. “I brought a couple of things.”

“Flowers?” Her gaze warms with appreciation.

I give her the tidy bouquet of white roses while Fergie sniffs my ankles.

“Zach, that is so sweet.” Sofie buries her nose in the flowers. “Thank you.”

Thankfully, I remembered to stash the condoms in my wallet. Not that I expect?—

“We’re having meatless lasagna, if that works?”

“Sounds amazing.” I take her hand as we walk to the house. A rush of heat prickles down my spine.

Inside, warm scents of tomato and basil fill my senses.

Sofie slips the grocery bag from my hands and hurries into the kitchen. I pause, my gaze lingering on the dining room table cleared of the school stuff I remember from my last visit. Tonight, it’s set with cloth placemats and a different colored Fiesta ware plate for each of us. A large jar candle stands in the center of the table next to an empty bread basket.

“We’ll just warm up this bread, and dinner will be all set,” Sofie says, sliding Barb’s sourdough loaf into the oven.

“Root beer floats?” Linnea says when she peeks inside the bag. “And he got the good kind of vanilla ice cream.”

“Life’s too short for bad vanilla.” I shove my hands into my pockets.

“Can we adopt him?” Linnea says with a mischievous grin while she folds up the bag.

After a lively dinnerfollowed by root beer floats over a game of Exploding Kittens, I borrow Sofie’s phone to line up some tunes for dish duty.

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