Page 42 of Square Deal

He frowned and looked down, lifting his shirt, and checking his rock-hard abs. “I ain’t soft, HJ!”

“I’m just messing with you.”

He rolled his eyes and patted the hood of my car. “Drive safe, ‘aight?”

“See you later. I’ll swing by your place and drop off a casserole tomorrow.”

I heard him grumble something about no more casseroles and their freezer overflowing as I rolled up the window and put my car in reverse.

I weaved through Kristin’s neighborhood and briefly debated either driving the backroads to get home or going through Morehead City.

The backroads won out.

I pulled onto Highway 101, passing empty fields as I headed back to Beaufort. When I passed Jokers, Chase’s truck was gone, but Bridget was still there. My phone lit up, and I punched it through to the Bluetooth speaker in my car.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Princess,” Isaac said. “I didn’t know if you would pick up the call or not.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Lawson. I’m driving and didn’t look at the caller ID.”

“What are you doing out this late?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but the girls and I went out tonight, and I was the designated driver.” I glanced at the time on the dash and asked, “What are you doing up? It’s five in the morning in Luxembourg.”

“Aww, I’m touched,” he teased. “You know the time difference.”

“Jackass,” I muttered.

“Car sex is fun. Ever done that, Hell Yes Ma’am?”

“Wouldn’t this technically have to be car-phone sex since you’re in Europe?”

“I mean, I’m down with that too, but if that’s your way of asking when I’ll be back, thank you for your concern—I’m touched. I’ll be landing in New York in a few hours.”

“You’re calling me from a plane?”

“Yep.”

“You’re allowed to do that?”

Isaac chuckled, “There are certain perks that come with not flying commercially. How far away are you from your house?”

“A few minutes.”

“Call me when you get home.”

I swatted away a rogue feeling of affection like it was a pesky mosquito. “If I didn’t know any better, that sounds like something that more than a friend with benefits would say.”

“Good thing you know better, then. Because we’re not friends, and you haven’t agreed to be enemies with benefits yet.”

“Geez—I’m melting over here, Lawson. You really know how to woo a woman,” I deadpanned.

He chuckled, dark and devious, over the line. “Who says I’ve even started wooing you yet?”

“What was the coffee stunt you pulled at Queen’s then, huh?” I asked as I pulled onto my street.

The neighborhood was quiet except for the low hum of the streetlights. I passed Chase’s house and noticed two cars in his driveway. None of the lights were on.

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