Page 86 of Outcast
She shrugged. “The man has to eat. I’m sure he could use a break. If you want to be there for him, you have tobe there, you know?”
“Yeah,” I murmured. “Maybe.”
But were Gray and I really at thesupportivestage? We’d agreed to a series of hookups, nothing more. But this week, I’d been craving him more than a MoonShake. Each text we exchanged only made me want to get closer, to see his dark eyes intent on mine and feel the rush of heat when he kissed me.
Maybe I could drop by. It wasn’t healthy for him to work nonstop. If he was really too busy to see me, I’d drop off dinner and leave him to his work, but if he wanted me as much as I wanted him…
Well, I’d be doing both of us a favor, right?
CHAPTERTWENTY
Gray
“Goddamn it!”I threw down the package I’d just opened in disgust.
“What now?” Bailey asked, voice weary. He’d been tagged in as my assistant when it became clear I couldn’t get all this shit done before the bikers would need to roll out for Sturgis in two days.
“I was waiting for these pistons, and they’re the wrong fucking size.”
Bailey joined me at the table. “For the Indian?”
I rubbed at my eyes. “Yeah. We need oversized to get a good seal on the cylinder. Fuck, this stupid bike is gonna be the death of me.” I checked the clock. “And it’s after five, so I can do fuck all about it. I should have checked earlier.”
“You need to take a break anyway, man. Maybe it’s a good thing.”
I glared. “A good thing would be getting a start on this tonight. Now, we’re going to be down to the fucking wire.”
“I know, but you’re running on fumes, man.”
“We need this to work. Weneedthis business, Bailey. I can’t afford to screw it up for everyone. I can’t let everyone down again!”
Bailey’s eyes widened as I word vomited my anxiety all over him. “You’re not letting anyone down, Gray. You’ve been killing yourself to get this done. We’re just worried about you.”
“It’s a few shitty days. Then it’s done, and we have a reputation for doing quality work.”
“Is it going to be quality if you’re half-dead while doing it?” he challenged.
I drew a breath to argue, but suddenly, I was all out of words. I slumped down onto the nearest toolbox and dropped my head in my hands. I was so fucking tired. Bailey wasn’t wrong there. Finishing the cylinder job was going to require meticulous focus. Maybe itwasa good thing I couldn’t do it tonight. But I really couldn’t afford to wait days for parts. I was going to have to reorder it and pay an overnight shipping fee.
“Am I interrupting?”
My head snapped up. Emory stood just inside the open garage doors, a bag dangling from his fingers with the Silver Spoon logo on the side.
“Why the hell were you at the Silver Spoon?” I blurted, jealousy flaring. “Isn’t that the romantic hotspot for rich brats in Riverton?”
“Um, it’s takeout.” He ducked his head. “I got it for us…to eat. Here?”
Shit. Of course it was. What did I think, that he’d walk in carrying leftovers from a hot date withsomeoneelse? Even if Emory got tired of waiting around on me, he’d never be so insensitive.
“Oh. I should have realized…”
He raised his free hand, chewing on a fingernail. “But if you’re too busy for dinner?—”
“He’s not,” Bailey said firmly. “I’m going to head over to the house.” He shot me a look. “Relax. It’ll do you good.”
When he left, an awkward silence descended.
“Little brothers, huh?” I joked. “Thinks he’s in charge of me.”
