Page 111 of Always

“I already know how your evening was. You plucked an Ames twin. You got laid. That’s why you have that dumbass smile on your face.”

Ben kind of always had that dumbass smile on his face, but this morning it was more dumbass than usual.

Man, six o’clock in the morning came early.

Ben seemed raring to go, though. Getting his rocks off agreed with him. Of course it pretty much agreed with all men.

I poured myself a cup of coffee and took a drink. “Damn!”

“You burn your mouth every time,” Ben said. “Think you’d learn by now.”

“It’s what gets me moving. Come on. We’re going to be late.”

Ben nodded.

One thing the Black boys had in abundance was work ethic. We both had our issues with our dad, but he’d taught us that much. He’d learned the hard way, burning our house to the ground when we were little. Our mother never fully recovered, but she’d saved both our lives.

…

“She saved you?” Skye asks.

I nod.

“There’s so much you haven’t told me about your mother.”

“It’s all related to the story I’m telling you,” I say. “Be patient.”

…

No clouds at all that day. None. The sun was blistering hot, and by the end of the nearly ten-hour day, I was dehydrated, fatigued, and sunburned. Ben had gone out for a beer with some of the guys, but I only wanted to get home and take a cool shower.

So I was more than a little surprised when someone was waiting for me at my truck.

Addison Ames. The heiress from the party last night. She wore denim cutoffs and a hot pink crop top. Her belly was flat, and her navel sported a pink-jeweled piercing.

“Hello there, Mr. Black,” she said.

“It’s Braden. What can I do for you?”

“I could use a ride.”

“Yeah? How did you get here?”

“Just happened to be in the area.”

Okay. That could be true. We were working on a mall near the Ames house. But she was lying. I could tell.

“Sorry, I have somewhere to be. I’ll be happy to call you a cab.”

“Don’t be like that.” She batted her long brown eyelashes. Then she went around to the passenger side and slid right into my truck.

Shit. Now what? I was tired and dirty and really didn’t need this distraction.

I got in. “Fine. I’ll drive you home.”

I did, only to find her waiting for me again at the end of work the next day.

This went on for four days straight, until I finally said, “No dice today, Ms. Ames.”

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