“Where are you taking her?” Brogan asks, briefly looking up from his phone.
“I was thinking Araceli’s. Is that place still nice?”
His brows shoot up. “Yeah. Yeah, Araceli’s is nice. Really nice. So, this is like a date date then.”
Archer throws one hand up in the air, the other digs into a bag of chips. “Of course, it’s a date date. Jane’s been in there getting ready with her friends for over an hour.”
The three of us are standing around the kitchen island while Knox puts a couple frozen pizzas in the oven.
“Maybe Arch and I should stop by and make sure you don’t screw it up,” Brogan suggests.
Knox snorts.
“I think I got it,” I grumble under my breath. The last thing I need is those two tagging along. They’re around all the damn time. Catcalling when they catch us kissing or grinning like idiots when they come home and find us sitting on the couch together. It doesn’t even matter if we’re touching, though we usually are, my brothers are loving that they can razz me about a girl.
Maybe I should have tried to keep things between me and Jane quiet, but that felt impossible with all of us living together. Besides, I want to give her some of those experiences she’s been wanting but struggled to find with assholes like Cam.
The door to my bedroom opens and I turn instinctively, the way I always do when Jane is nearby.
Her friends file out first. Violet, Daisy, then Dahlia. I haven’t gotten to know them that well yet, but I know how much they care about her. I’m glad she has them.
Those tender and grateful thoughts are kicked aside as Jane comes into view. Holy fuck.
The short green dress shows off her mile-high legs. It scoops low in the front and her tits are pushed up. Her hair is down and straight, falling over her shoulders like usual, but the green is gone.
She stops just outside of the room and flashes a shy smile. Her fingers come up to touch the blonde strands. “I thought it was time for a change.”
I’m still frozen, staring at her, chest tightening.
“You look great,” Brogan says. “I like the hair.”
“Thank you.” Her hand falls away and she glances up at me, still looking more hesitant than I thought her capable of.
Archer elbows me, snapping me out of my trance. I clear my throat and step forward.
“He’s right. You’re beautiful.”
Her smile widens and she gives me a once-over. “You look nice too.”
“We should go,” Violet says. She moves to Jane and gives her a quick hug. “Have fun. Text us later.”
“I will.” Jane hugs each of them one by one. “Thank you guys for coming over.”
“Any time,” Dahlia says as the three of them head to the front door.
Brogan follows to see them out.
“Ready?” I ask her.
“Yeah.” She clutches a small gold purse in both hands. “Where are we going?”
“Uhhh . . .” Brogan interrupts. “Did someone order something from Home Depot?”
My brows furrow. “Home Depot?”
“They just pulled into the driveway.”
“Maybe they got the wrong house,” Knox says as a guy fills the doorway, holding a tablet. “Hendrick Holland?”
Brogan looks over his shoulder at me.
“I’m Hendrick Holland.”
The guy looks down at his tablet. “I have a Bosch dishwasher for you.”
“You must have it wrong. I didn’t order anything.”
“Actually . . .” Jane pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. “You did. Or I did. It was supposed to come later, after we left.”
“You bought us a dishwasher?” I ask, dumbfounded.
“It’s no big deal. I wanted to do something to say thank you for letting me stay here and everything.”
I continue to stare at her.
“Is it cool if I bring it in?” The guy still standing in the door looks at me for confirmation.
I ignore him and keep my focus on Jane. “You didn’t need to do that.”
“I know. I wanted to.” She shrugs.
“This is my job. You pay me to keep you safe. I don’t need gifts.”
She tips her chin down to scowl at me. “My dad told me that you’ve all but stopped taking payment for being my bodyguard.”
Dammit. She was not supposed to know that. The only thing I’ve let them pay for is Logan’s hours. He should get paid regardless of my involvement with her.
“Okay. It’s more than a job. But that’s exactly why I don’t need payment or gifts. You’ve already thanked me and that’s enough.”
“It isn’t enough. Not even close. Besides, Knox has kicked that one so many times it’s basically useless.” She motions with her head toward the old dishwasher and smiles.
Someone must have given the go-ahead because a fancy new dishwasher is being wheeled through the living room to the kitchen. It’s a thoughtful gesture, but completely unnecessary.
“Please don’t be mad. I wanted to do something nice for you and I knew you would say no if I asked.” She steps closer and threads her fingers through mine. “If you won’t accept it, then let me do it for your brothers. It isn’t their job to look after me, but they have. You’ve all been really great to me, and it means more than I could say with a simple thanks.”
I know that the dishwasher is probably a small price compared to the fee I was originally taking for the job, but it still feels like too much.
My attention is drawn to my brothers checking out the new dishwasher and smiling like it’s the coolest gadget they’ve ever seen as the guy removes the old one. Even Flynn has emerged from his room. If I tell them we can’t keep it, they’ll be salty about it. And she knows it.
“Thank you.”
She lifts onto her toes and lets her lips graze over mine. “That almost sounded like you meant it.”
I circle her waist and pull her flush against me. “I’ll properly show you my thanks after dinner.”
Her eyes light up. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
Araceli’s is as nice as I remember, and the food is great. We talk about nothing and everything. She’s so easy to be with, so excited about everything. She really knows how to be in the moment. It’s nice.
After we’re done eating and the check is paid, we linger. This is maybe the best date I’ve ever had, and it’s all coming to an end far sooner than I want.
“Tell me about living in L.A. Where is your apartment? Where’d you hang out?” She has both elbows on the table as she stares at me with excitement dancing in her green eyes. Guess I’m not the only one that doesn’t want the night to end.
“Excuse me.” A woman steps up to the table. She looks at Jane, flicks her gaze at me, and then refocuses on my girl. “I’m so sorry for interrupting, but are you Ivy Greene?”
At the mention of Ivy, I tense. Jane shows no such reaction. She sits back and smiles. “Yeah, I am. Hi. Have we met?”
“Oh, heavens no.” She waves off the idea. “But my daughter was a huge fan of that show you were on. The one with all the singing.”
Light laughter slips from her lips. “How old is your daughter?”
“She’s seventeen. A junior in high school. All honors and she’s in chorus too.” The woman hypes her daughter and Jane just grins back like it’s all super fascinating stuff.
“That’s incredible. Congratulations. You must be really proud.”
“Thank you.” She holds up her phone. “Do you think we could take a photo? She’ll never believe me when I tell her I ran into you. You’re really going to Valley U then? What about your acting career?”
“Absolutely.” Jane nods eagerly, ignoring all the questions except the first one. I detect the tiniest bit of discomfort, but I doubt anyone else would be able to see it. “Let’s take a selfie or a video. What’s her name?”
I watch on as Jane and the woman chat back and forth and then take several photos and videos. She thanks her, and Jane tells her how nice it was to meet her. She’s sincere too, which surprises me.
“You’re something,” I say after we’re alone again. “You just made that woman’s night.”
“Sorry about that.” She takes a sip of her water.
“Nah, don’t be. I just met your number one fan.”
“My number one fan’s mother, maybe.” She grins. “Are you ready to get out of here? I saw a waiter eyeing me like he’s trying to figure out who I am and how he can use it to his advantage.”
Fuck, that has to be weird. I do a quick sweep of the room as I stand and find the waiter she’s talking about instantly. Sure enough, he has his phone out and has it aimed this direction. I step in front of her and block his view the entire way out of the restaurant.
Once we’re outside I find myself slowing my pace as we walk out to my truck. Before I open the passenger door for her, I stop and use her hand to tug her around to face me. “I don’t want to go back home yet.”
“Okay,” she agrees quickly.
“Yeah?”
“I mean, if we go back, we can get naked sooner, but whatever you want.”
I take her mouth in a quick, hard kiss. That is tempting, but I want her all to myself for a little while longer. No brothers interrupting or in the other room listening in.
I don’t have a plan when I get behind the wheel. She plays with the radio, scanning until she finds a song she likes. Finally, she stops on an old Fleetwood Mac song. Sitting back, she sings along.
I glance over at her, ignoring how this particular song makes my chest tighten. Even more so with her voice drowning out Stevie Nicks.
“You like this song?” I ask.
“Of course. It’s a classic. You?”
“It was my mom’s favorite.”
“Really?” She beams as she angles her body toward mine.
I nod.
“What was she like?”
Staring straight ahead, I try to think how to explain her. I guess no one has ever really asked me about her so directly. “She was smart and funny. Very no-nonsense, which I guess she had to be raising four boys basically on her own.”
“What did she do for work?”
“She owned a bar.”
“Really?” Her eyes sparkle as she stares at me in surprise.
“Yeah. Her family owned it for something like twenty years. She took over when her dad passed away. She was only twenty-one, pregnant with me. It was a cool spot, not far from where The Hideout is actually.”
“It’s not there anymore?”
“The building is, but the bar closed not long after she passed.”
“What was it called?”
“Rosie’s Place. Her dad named it after her. Her name was Rose, but everyone called her Rosie.”
“I love that. Let’s go see it.”
“Now?”
“Yeah. I mean if that isn’t too weird for you. I can tell it’s important to you, and I’d love to see it.”
It is important to me, but hearing her say it makes that tight spot in my chest twist a little more.
I drive out past The Hideout and turn down a gravel drive. It’s far enough away from the main road that it feels secluded out here, especially at night. It’s dark, but I can still picture it how it was then, all lit up with neon signs in the window.
This place was my mom’s pride and joy. My brothers and I spent a lot of time here, cleaning or helping her fix odds and ends. Dad wasn’t much help, that’s for sure, and a bar like this took a lot to maintain.
“I can totally picture it,” Jane says as we get out of the truck and walk up to the front windows. She puts her face up to the glass and peers inside. “It looks like it has a lot of space inside.”
“Yeah. It does. The bar ran along the left wall here.” I point. “Tables were spread all around the center, then pool tables and dartboards, and a few video games on the back right, and then there was a small stage for karaoke nights and live entertainment.”
“She ran this whole place herself?” She looks properly amazed.
“Yeah, basically. She had staff and forced us to help with some of the upkeep, but it was her vision and hard work that kept the doors open.”
“What about your dad? You said he was around on and off, but not a lot else. Was he ever in the picture?”
“He’s not my favorite topic.” I kick a rock with the toe of my shoe. “He and Mom were together until I was ten or eleven. After that he really only came around on birthdays and holidays. He drives a truck, so he was gone a lot even before they split. And later I think it was a convenient excuse to stay away. Or he did drive a truck, I have no idea what he’s doing now.”
She nods.
“The bar was a sore subject with him,” I continue. I really don’t like to talk about him, but for some reason I want Jane to know. “He thought it took too much time and money. He was always on her to sell it, but she loved it. A few months after she passed, he sold the place. They never officially got divorced so his name was on everything. He said it was to pay for bills and shit. She went through a few rounds of chemo and radiation, so I’m sure it was expensive, but I don’t know. I think it was an excuse to finally have his way.”
Jane takes my hand, making me realize how tense I am talking about it. My body relaxes a fraction.
“I was so pissed. Still am. The people who bought it ran into some money trouble and never did reopen it. It’s sat empty for years.”
“Oh, Hendrick. I’m so sorry.” She squeezes my fingers.
“I know it’s just a bar and that he never would have stayed around long enough to run it anyway, but I hate that something she worked so hard for and loved so much is just gone.”
“It’s not gone. Not all of it anyway.” She places a hand on my chest over my heart. “She sounds amazing. A total badass. I’m not surprised in the least because you and your brothers are all pretty awesome.”
“She was a badass.” I cover her hand with mine. “I think you would have liked her.”
“Duh, of course I would have.” Her fingers slide up and she drapes her hands on my shoulders. “Thanks for bringing me here.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Any other dark, abandoned buildings you want to take me to tonight?”
A laugh builds in my chest and slips free. “Yeah, I guess this isn’t the most romantic place to bring someone. Tales of death and deadbeat dads.”
“No. That’s not what I meant. I love getting to know you and hearing about your mom. Honest. It means a lot that you brought me here. The high school, this bar, even your house—they all tell me little things about you.”
I appreciate her words, but I don’t want to linger too long in the past. Especially when the present is so damn good. “Yeah? Did any of those places tell you that this dress is making me crazy?”
“No, but if it wasn’t I’d be very disappointed. I can barely breathe in it.”
I lean closer and stop millimeters away from her lips. Her breaths quicken and those green eyes darken.
“Yeah?” I scoop her legs out from under her, eliciting a happy and surprised squeal out of her as she grabs hold of my neck. “Sounds like you need rescuing.”
“Oh, I do. Immediately. It’s a dire situation. Better get me home and tear me out of it, Mister Bodyguard.”
This girl is too fucking much. And I can’t get enough.
