Page 33 of Embracing Hope

Nothing about the situation was humorous. He seemed to enjoy pulling her close before jerking the rug out from underneath her. Obviously, she was wrong to think he felt the connection like she did.

Out of her peripheral vision, she could see the granite set of his whiskered jaw. He held tightly to the steering wheel, and his knuckles were white. His hardened gaze stayed focused on the road ahead. So, why did he appear like he was as affected as her?

As if she silently said his name, he turned his gaze on her. The tight lines of his gaze made stark in the green halo of the light. “I’m different, Hope. I don’t just want what’s between your legs. It’s good enough to make most men crumble to their knees, but I can’t just jump into something.”

“What do you want from me? There are times you look at me like you want to ravage me, and other times I can’t see past your wall.” She covered her legs with her skirt.

“Don’t do that on my account,” he muttered.

“You’re not going to answer my question?” She refused to let him off the hook.

“Fuck if I know.” He rubbed his temple.

“Really? You don’t know?” Something akin to uncertainty flooded her. Why did she need this man’s validation? Why did she feel rejected?

“Yeah, I sort of do,” he said in a muffled tone. “Hope…”

“Isaac?”

“Is it true that your father is forcing you to marry?”

She gasped. “That didn’t take long.”

“Well?” He twisted to look at her again.

She couldn’t lie to him. “It’s true.”

“Is that what this is? You’re looking for a husband, and I fit the bill?”

His words were so absurd that she laughed. “You've got to be kidding me. Is that what you really think? That I'm trying to catch myself a husband?"

“I only heard that tonight from one of the crew. Is it too far off mark that I might think that’s what’s happening here?”

“Trust me, I’m not on the prowl.”

“No?” His attention was back on the road.,

“No,” she stated firmly. “You wouldn’t be my pick even if I were.”

“So a man like Wren is more your pick? He seems like a real tiger.”

“To be perfectly honest, he does have good qualities. He is successful. Charming. Stable.”

“And you’re not interested.”

“Did I say that?”

His granite glare blazed a hole straight through her. “Then why not makehimyour husband?”

She sighed in boredom. “Unfortunately, he’s a wet rag in the bedroom.”

Isaac made a growling sound. “Poor Wren.”

“I wouldn’t know, but I’ve heard a rumor. My friend told me she had more fun getting a Brazilian wax than getting into bed with Wren.”

The conversation quieted down over the next few minutes.

Every warning sign steered her to the exit door, but she had so many questions she wanted to ask.

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