Page 12 of Coty

Chapter 6

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Kayla

The awkward silence in this truck makes me jittery. My nerves were shot from the moment the TV monitor to the Den blinked to life. Just having his eyes on me twists my emotions into knots. Now, we’re in the same vehicle. Sharing the same space and air sends those emotions into overdrive.

The whole situation is insane. I’m a grown woman, not a lovesick teenage girl. Yet, here I am acting like one. I’m one step away from a Dear Diary moment. I don’t even have a diary. Jack’s niece, Everly, could probably give me one. She’s always writing or drawing something. She’s only seventeen, but she’s very talented. No. I’m not stooping to asking a teenager for a diary. Geez. Just thinking about it proves how messed up my mind is.

When we get to the clubhouse, Ross opens the gate and waves us through. Jack drives around to the side parking lot. Before the truck is in park, Lily runs out the side door. Jack jumps out without turning the engine off.

He wraps his arms around her, lifting Lily off her feet. He slowly spins around with her once. “Slow down there, angel.” He’s so protective of her.

“I need to see her,” Lily insists.

“You will after Rodeo helps her out.”

I shove the door open and stick one foot out. “I can get out by myself.”

Sadly for me, my childish display of independence is pointless. Coty’s muscular body fills the doorway, leaving me nowhere to go except across the seat and out the other side. I glance over my shoulder. Could I make it? Nope. Not at all.

Coty quickly realizes my plan. His arm wraps around my waist and pulls me from the truck. He’s close. Way too close. He hasn’t been this close in years. My hands, with a mind of their own, automatically push against his chest. He doesn’t budge an inch.

He leans even closer with his lips next to my ear. “I’m getting a little tired of this tough girl act.”

“It’s not an act,” I whisper back.

Yeah, I’m an idiot. The heat from his body, even in the middle of winter, turns me to jelly. What was that about not being a teenage girl?

“It’s not you. Sooner or later, you’re gonna have to talk to me.”

“You don’t know who I am.”

“Move, Rodeo.” Lily squeezes between Coty and me. Thank goodness for my friend’s pushiness. “You okay? No. You’re not okay. Let’s get you inside.”

With her arm looped in mine, Lily walks me into the Viking Den. It’s louder here than it was at the Roadhouse. Most of the club members are here. Only the younger members show up in town for holiday parties.

Jack catches up with us and gives Lily a quick kiss on her temple. “Angel, take Kayla to the bar so she can get to work. The guys need a break.”

“What?” She spins to face him. “Jack, she just went through a horrible ordeal.”

“I know,” he agrees. “But she insists, very strongly in fact, that she’s fine. She wants payment for her lost time at JB’s. She agreed to work at the Den for two hours.”

“But…”

I quickly grab her hand. I appreciate her standing up for me, but I don’t want to cause her problems with Jack. “It’s okay. He’s right, and it’s fine. I’m fine.”

“You can sit at the bar with Granddad and talk with Kayla while she works. You two can have girl time after the party.” Jack presses his lips to hers for a long, slow kiss, turning Lily into jelly. She’ll agree to anything he says now.

“She’s staying with us tonight. Right?” Lily’s mind isn’t in a kiss fog like I thought.

“What? With us?”

“Yes.” She lifts up on her toes and kisses him.

“Let’s go, lover boy.” Jay walks by and shoves Jack’s shoulder, pushing his lips from Lily’s.

“We’ll talk about it later.” Jack doesn’t completely give in. He doesn’t say no either. “Come on, Rodeo,” Jack yells over the noise.

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