Page 123 of Small Town Firsts
“Nah. Today was supposed to be about fun. You guys earned a night off.”
“For you too.” Annette frowned. “You need it, Kira.”
She glanced at me. “I’ll have it—later.” She tucked a curl behind my ear. “Shower, pal.”
“On it.” She was so damned beautiful. Mussed up from me and from running around taking care of everyone, but that only heightened it for me. That she cared about this place and her people so much.
She kissed my cheek and left me with the secret smile that always got my dick twitching. I definitely needed a nap so I could enjoy all of her when she got home.
“All right, Romeo. Let’s go.” Annette slid her arm around mine and dragged me toward the door.
I trotted along with her. I was so tired that I could barely think around putting one foot in front of the other.
“I can’t believe you made that whole flight of ciders for Kira. That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”
I squinted down at her. “How do you know it’s for Kira?”
“If I didn’t know then, I sure as heck do now.” She glanced back at Matt. “Take notes, Matt. This is the way to woo a girl.”
Matt rolled his eyes. “Good luck with that one. I don’t have that kind of money or talent.”
“Just takes some creativity. A girl loves to know a guy is thinking about her, that’s all.” She pointed me toward Matt’s beat up SUV, then opened the passenger door. “I’ll meet you at your house.”
“You know where you’re going?” I wasn’t entirely sure I could give directions clearly.
She pushed me inside. “I dropped off some paint samples to Kain last week. I got it.”
I sat down and swung my legs in, nearly delirious. “Okay.” I grabbed her hand before she could close the door. “Thanks, Annette. You’re a good friend.”
“Of course. You’re really good for Kira. I know she can spook easy, but she hasn’t had an easy time of it for a few years. She’s really happy lately. Keep it up.” With that, she shut the door.
Just how badly had her sister screwed her over? I didn’t really have the mental acuity to puzzle that out right now, but I’d figure it out.
Matt opened his door and got in. “Think you’ll stay awake enough, or should I put your address in my GPS?”
“You’re not going to follow her?”
“You’ve never seen Annette drive, have you?” He grinned as he put his SUV in gear.
I grabbed my seatbelt and clicked it in place. “I guess I haven’t.” I squinted at him. The sun was getting low and blinding me. I flipped down the visor and a paper fell in my lap. “Is my truck safe?”
“Mostly.”
I picked up the paper. It looked like an invoice, though I didn’t recognize the address. “Is this for Kira? She’ll kill you if you didn’t turn one in.”
Matt laughed and took it from me, stuffing it in his pants. “I had to get my truck serviced.”
“Oh, gotcha.” It didn’t look like a mechanic’s name, but then again, I was so damn blurry, it could be my name and I would have read it wrong. I stretched my legs out as much as I could, but I bashed my knees into the glove box. “As long as me and my truck make it to my place, I’m good.” I clicked the seat to go back as far as it could and heard the rattle of what sounded like bottles in the back. “Oh, sorry, man.”
Matt reached back and moved a box. “No prob. Not used to a giant dude in my ride.” He tugged a blanket over it. He grinned and nodded at my rapidly disappearing brake lights. “See? She’s already leaving me in the dust.”
I turned back around. Yeah, she was outta here. “Maybe I better give you the address.”
“Good plan.”
I obviously needed that nap.
THIRTY
