Page 10 of Bad Boy Crush

She didn’t take his hand, pulling her sunglasses off first and sticking them into her wavy, dark blond hair.

“Something the matter?”

“Do you… Need anything from me?” She squinted up at him, vulnerability in her clear blue eyes. Vulnerability had never been her strong suit. It was as if someone had told her she should have life figured out from go, and never, ever make mistakes. Walling up was her defense to feeling the sting of embarrassment, like she had when she’d found out that Liam had cheated on her.

“Like what?”

She shifted from one foot to the other. “Like an apology?”

Ah, hell. This was why he liked her so damn much. She had many admirable attributes but being brave was near the top. She was prideful, stubborn. But she was also willing to do the hard thing.

“A handshake will do. Unless you want to give me a big hug.” He held his arms to his sides. Her lashes fluttered.

“No, no. No, I’m good. You’re good. You’re”—fluttery hand gesture—“wet.”

She seemed to be having trouble keeping her eyes north of the equator, which was an even more interesting development than them agreeing to be friends again. He tucked a smile into his jaw. No way would he let on that he knew.

She put her hand in his. He shook it but held on for a few seconds while taking a step closer to her. He angled his head, met her eyes, and muttered under his breath, “Glad to be back. Let’s not do this again.”

“I don’t plan on marrying another cheating bastard, so I think we’re okay.”

His laugh sneaked up on him and invited a returning laugh from her. Standing inches from his friend Lou, laughing with her, his hand in hers.

This day was looking up.

four

Five a.m. wasn’t typically the hour Lou chose to rise and shine, but, once again, she hadn’t slept well.

Her insomnia wasn’t caused by a thunderstorm this time around. The reason for her tossing and turning could be laid squarely on Ant’s wide, slightly sunburned shoulders.

Without her permission, her old-friend-turned-new-friend had become the object of her distraction. Or, was it infatuation? Either way, she felt that her sex-free existence for the last year-plus was to blame. What healthy sex-starved woman wouldn’t notice an attractive man leaping into the lake in his underpants?

Plus, she further rationalized, Ant was convenient. Familiar. She wanted to trust him. She hadn’t given him much credit over the passing months, but he’d been more than fair to her. She used to believe attraction was the number-one requirement for romantic interest, but now she knew that wasn’t true. Trust came first. Liam had thrown her trust into the incinerator and then blended it into a smoothie that he flushed down the toilet. The idea of dating again had been terrifying when she was unraveling her life from his. She would have sooner gone into the remote woods of Tennessee and invited a family of black bears to a picnic.

After a shower, she felt more herself, if a more tired version. She had the interview at noon to prepare for, which Ant had offered to drive her to as he hadn’t been able to clear her driveway yesterday. She’d tried to convince him to go home after his swim, but he’d insisted on finishing up what he could, which had taken him another hour and a half. She peered out of the window at the stacks of smaller branches and limbs in her yard, recalling their conversation yesterday evening.

“Nothing else I can do today.” Ant had come to her front door with a shirt on, thank God. Who knew what she’d have said or done otherwise? It was like she’d inadvertently opened Pandora’s box. His hair was no longer damp, having dried in the sun.

“I appreciate what you were able to get done. It’s a big job.” Way bigger than she’d anticipated. “Is there any way you can have me out of the driveway by noon tomorrow?”

“I have a prior engagement in the morning,” he’d answered.

She’d wanted to ask when and with whom but then had considered their fledgling friendship and had opted not to pry.

“You gotta be somewhere?”

“I can call an Uber.” Maybe. Sometimes they were hard to find in the Cove, but she’d smiled a reassuring smile anyway.

“Where are you heading?” He placed his hat on his head and waited for her to answer. She realized she hadn’t had anyone in her life to tell her plans to in quite a while. She’d tried to convince herself that being accountable to no one was appealing, but she’d missed sharing simple day-to-day comings and goings with someone who cared about where she was coming and going.

“Pate Mansion. I’m interviewing Sofie about the Paul Bunyan festival.”

“Right. That. I’ll pick you up after my appointment and drive you over. I haven’t seen Donny in a minute. Like to find out what the original bad boy of Evergreen Cove has gotten himself into.”

“Other than a marriage and children?” Brady and Ant had both shared bits of Donny’s background with her. It involved an abusive father, a grandmother who had overlooked her son’s abuse, and Sofie—the heartbroken woman Donny had left behind when he’d left the Cove for good. “For good” in his case had lasted seven years. Donny had returned to inherit a mansion and marry the girl who’d popped out two babies—so far.

“That work?” Ant had asked.

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