Page 21 of Big Red

My eyes travel down his body, and I notice how his abs are literally pressed against his shirt like a second skin. I try to resist the urge, but my eyes travel lower. After what I felt against my stomach yesterday, I’ve had a few lingering thoughts that I have tried to stop having. But that thing has been seared into my brain. There is no forgetting it.

Red clears his throat, and my eyes shoot up at his. He’s wearing a smirk, but his eyes are very much heated. Will and Nova are standing off to the side, quietly giggling to one another. Red can’t see them, but I can. Lord, the embarrassment. I was just ogling this man from head to toe.

“O-oh, that won’t be necessary. W-Will has agreed to let me use his car to get to work,” I stammer. I quickly close my mouthas I stutter like an idiot. I feel like the geeky nerd who has a crush on the handsome jock.

“I’ll take you. I’ll be waiting by my truck.” Red turns swiftly and walks down the stairs of the porch and to his truck. He left no room for argument.

“You heard the man. He’s taking you to work. Now get.” Will smirks and shoos me out the door.

Well, I guess I’m riding with Red. When I reach his truck, he opens the passenger door for me.

Okay, can I just say I swooned a bit? Not only is this man smoking hot, but he’s chivalrous. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.

Red closes my door once I’m seated and quickly walks around the truck. Once he’s seated, he cranks the ignition, and we’re off. When he pulls out the front gate, he quickly glances at me before turning his attention back to the road.

“So, how are you liking it at the clubhouse?” he asks.

“Oh, umm… it’s been great. Will and the ladies have been so welcoming, having me at their house. It’s going to make leaving here really hard.”

Red frowns. “Leaving?”

“Well, yeah. I can’t stay there forever. I figure once the divorce is final, Declan will move on, and I can live my life. The lawyer you guys set me up with called last night. Michael said mediation is in three weeks. Hopefully, Declan doesn’t drag this out. I figured once all that is squared away, then I can start looking for an apartment.”

“I don’t know about that.” Red clenches his jaw. He looks a little upset. For some reason, I’m not the least bit afraid. I always feel safe with him, even when he has a scowl on his beautiful face.

“What do you mean ‘you don’t know about that?’”

He shrugs. “I just don’t know.”

What the hell does that even mean? For the first time, I’m getting a tad bit irritated with him. He needs to stop speaking in code and tell me something. Before I can press him further, we’re pulling into the shop parking lot.

We get out of the truck, and Red opens the shop's front door and holds it open for me. Turning on the light switches as he walks, he leads me to the front desk.

It’s a mess, a complete and utter mess. Papers cover every bit of this desk. The phone is barely visible because it's covered by paper as well. I turn to Red with wide eyes.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he looks away in embarrassment. “Uh, the last girl we had working the front desk left with no notice, so the guys and I have been trying to manage everything on our own.”

I scan the desk and start thinking of ways to tame this catastrophe. “Can I ask why there is so much paperwork? With technology, you could have all these documents pulled up with the click of a button. It's less chaotic.”

Red chuckles, and there goes those damn chills shooting down my body. “Well, I can have a laptop here in thirty minutes. That cool with you?” I nod my head since forming words is impossible at the moment. I’m still trying to get over the way my body reacts to this man.

“Okay, well, let me show you around before the rest of the guys get here.”

He gives me a full tour of the shop, showing me where the breakroom and bathrooms are. I even get a look inside his office. Red also let me know under no circumstance does he want me out in the service bays. He said if I needed any of them, I could call them on the PA. Once he leaves me in the office, I feel I can finally breathe again.

I don’t know what’s happening, but fighting it seems futile at this point. I guess whatever happens, happens. I can only hopethat when it’s all said and done, it doesn’t leave me with another heartbreak.

Chapter Nine

ALICE

It’s been a few days since my first day working at the garage, and I love it. The guys are so nice. Well, maybe not Bear. He isn’t exactly mean, but he doesn’t really talk either. Just a casual “good morning” when he arrives and a “see ya later” as he walks out the door. Chains told me that’s a significant improvement from how he used to be before Sara came into the picture.

Now Chains and Diablo are some deviants. Everyone knows about the tension between Red and me. Those two are constantly flirting with me just to get a rise out of Red. Yesterday, Chains ran a finger down my cheek while talking to me, and I swear Red looked like he was about to explode. His skin had turned so red I was afraid for his health. When Red began making his way toward us, Chains ran faster than a rat up a drainpipe.

What I’ve really been enjoying are my rides with Red. We’ve been getting to know each other. Red never bothers to turn on the radio because we’re asking each other questions during the entire ride. Nothing too major, but things like where we grew up, favorite foods, and favorite kind of music. Nothing deep. But somehow, the conversations are satisfying.

I’ve put myself in a real pickle here. I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily attached to him, but every night, I go to sleep with thoughts of him as I anxiously wait to see him the next day. My brain and heart are at war about how to react to this man. I know I should focus on the divorce, but there is something about Red. I’m sure a nun would have a hard time resisting him.

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