Page 67 of Panty Dropper

The smile that spread across her face told me that she knew I had her number.

I looked back at the road and in my peripheral vision, I saw her knee lift up as she shifted in her seat and took a deep breath. “Can I ask you something?”

“Darlin’, you can ask me anything.”

She took another breath and I could sense how nervous she was to speak. I wondered, hoped, that maybe she was gettin’ ready to redefine the terms of our relationship. I’d imagined it would take weeks, maybe months, to move out of the friend zone. But if she’d done a one-eighty in twelve hours, then that just meant we were ahead of schedule.

“How well did Mr. Abernathy know your mother?”

My fingers gripped the steering wheel and I felt myself gettin’ hot under the collar. Saying his name was like strikin’ a match to my anger, which was doused with gasoline.

“I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.” Reagan waved her hands in front of her.

“He didn’t know her.” I forced myself to answer because I’d meant what I’d said, she could ask me anything. But that road went two ways. “Why do you ask?”

“It was just…I don’t know. He had to have been lying when he said that he didn’t know that I was handling your father’s will. He hired me to specialize in family law and arbitration. I don’t know why he would do that. And then there was just something behind his eyes when he was talking about your mother…”

“Like you said, he’s a liar. He’s also an asshole. He was just tryin’ to get under my skin.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Nothin’ to apologize for.” I tried my best not to let any of the rage I felt bleed into my tone. It wasn’t her I was mad at, and I didn’t want to take my anger out on her. She’d been the one to calm me down when I was about to do somethin’ that could’ve got me locked up for life, it was natural that she would have questions.

We continued down the road and I could sense that the energy in the cab was still a little tense, and not in the sexy way. Things had been going so well, I wasn’t going to let that asshole ruin our day. I’d have to be careful where the conversation took us from here on out.

As I pulled off the road and onto the sloping driveway, Reagan gripped my arm. “Is that it?” she asked, pointing at the small yellow clapboard cottage that sat at the end of the long drive.

“It is,” I confirmed.

“Oh my God,” she whispered. “It’s so cute! I love the flower boxes under the windows. Wait…is that a wrap-around porch?”

“Yep. Sure is.”

She slapped her hand over her mouth and shook her head back and forth. “This is like my dream house!”

“I thought you might like it. Now, just to warn you. It needs a little fixing up inside.”

“Okay. I’m sure the owner and I could come to some sort of agreement on maintenance and repairs.”

I smirked. “I’m sure you can, darlin’. You’re talkin’ to him.”

Her forehead scrunched as she turned her head toward me. “You own this place?”

“Guilty.”

“But it looks so…”

Her sentence trailed off, so I jumped in. “Is ‘girly’ the word you’re searching for?”

A light chuckle filled the cabin. “I probably would’ve said ‘feminine’ but, yes. That’s the general concept I was getting at.”

“Well, sugar, I never lived in it. I bought it to rent out, use as an Airbnb, or maybe flip.” I’d planned to have it ready for spring break, but with all the stuff with Pop, I was behind schedule. “I’ve still got to do some repairs, but I thought I’d show it to you in case you were interested.”

She practically bounced in her seat as her eyes glimmered with excitement. “Can we go inside? I can’t wait to see it!”

“Of course.” I cut the engine and she rushed out before I had a chance to go around and open her door for her.

She beat me up the steps and when I opened the front door and she sucked in a deep breath. “Oh, Billy. It’s so beautiful.”

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