Page 40 of Riding Jamie

“What are you talking about, honey?” Hailey asks tightly, an uncomfortable laugh coloring her tone.

“I just don’t think New York is for me.” Oakley is trying hard to sound casual, but she’s gripping my thigh beneath the table. “I’ve been thinking a lot while I’ve been there, and I’m just happier at home. All of my friends are here, and I know you didn’t want me all the way out there alone, right, Daddy?”

A million different emotions flit over David’s face, but Hailey answers before he gets a chance.

“You’re not alone.” Her lashes flutter over golden eyes as she blinks in confused frustration. “Kathy and Ricky verykindlyoffered you the spare room in the penthouse.”

Oakley’s cheeks color with embarrassment, and her fingers go slack on my leg as she struggles to find the right words.

“Yeah, and it’s been really nice, but?—”

“Why don’t we talk about this later, Oakley? Just the family.” Her mom’s eyes linger on my face before ehs she picks her fork back up. “Let’s finish enjoying dinner, hm?” hmm?

Her words hold the kind of finality that there’s no arguing with, and I swallow down all the words I want to say. Nothing I have to add will help right now, and Oakley can speak for herself.

Conversation slowly picks up , but it’s stilted and uncomfortable. Hailey tries to make small talk with Shane, and he does a pretty good job of it, but I can see the annoyance under the surface of his calm facade. Everyone clears their plates rather quickly, the air thick with tension. There’s no offer of dessert.

“Thank you so much for dinner,” Shane says, a wide smile on his face. “I’ve got a bit of a drive to get back home, so I should get going.”

“Of course,” Hailey says. “Can I send you home with leftovers?”

“That’s so sweet of you! I think I’ll get in trouble if I bring home food that’s better than my aunt’s cooking, though.”

Hailey laughs, charmed, as she stands and starts piling plates up.

“Alright, then, you just get home safe,” she says. “Kids, help clean up, would you?”

Everyone jumps at the opportunity to escape the still-awkward atmosphere, and soon Shane and I are the only two without a platter of food to help pack up.

“I’ll walk you out,” I offer, my smile all teeth and danger.

Shane meets it with a wide grin, a red flag to a bull if I’ve ever seen one.

“Sure thing, buddy,” he agrees. “It was lovely to meet you all! I look forward to getting to know you better sometime.”

Hailey tosses a goodbye and a wave over her shoulder as she and the rest of the family picks up the table. Oakley waves, too, but no one else answers him, and I wrap my good hand around his bicep as I practically drag him to the door.

“Awful kind of you to walk me all the way out to my car,” Shane says as the door closes behind us.

“Yeah, well, someone needs to make sure you actually fuck off,” I snarl. “You might have fooled her parents with your little golden boy act, but I see right fucking through you,buddy.”

His perfectly sculpted blond brows raise as he laughs right in my face. It takes every ounce of self control to stop myself from plowing my fist into his pearly white teeth.

“I’m sure you do, man,” he says with a chuckle. “I’m not doing anything but being a good friend to Oakley. If you think she’s going to stay with an ex bull rider without a penny to his name, you can believe that. I’ll be here when she realizes she deserves better.”

Fury flashes through me like wildfire, and I step right up into Shane’s face. My teeth are bared like a wild animal, and I can feel my muscles bunching, gearing up for a fight. He doesn’t flinch back, leveling me with an unimpressed glance.

“Fuck you,” I spit. “You have no fucking clue what Oakley wants. Stay the fuck away from her.”

Shane shrugs and steps back to pull his keys from his pocket. He reaches out to pat my arm, clapping his hand down on my bicep. Pain shoots down from the bruising to where the rest of my arm sits in the cast, but I refuse to show it. He shakes his head, looking at me with something that might pass for pity if not for the grin on his face.

“I’m not going to do that, Jamie,” he says. “I’m going to keep coming around until Oakley or her family tells me to leave her alone. And, well, I don’t want to be that guy, but I think her family likes me pretty well. Don’t think you can say the same, bud.”

He sounds so goddamn smug, but it’s hidden under a veil of casual nonchalance.

I curl my hands into fists as he climbs into his car and pulls out of the driveway, shooting me a cheery wave. There’s no any way for me to calm myself down right now, and I know what he said is true. He may be a fucking asshole, and I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him, but there’s a thread of truth in his words.

Oakleydoesdeserve better, even if she insists that I’m what she wants. And her parents have never approved of our relationship.

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