“Yes. When you’re working on something creative, or teaching, or feeling at ease, you’re a lot of fun. And even when you’re anxious, I still want to be around you.” He shifted on his feet, hoping she took his words the way he intended them.
Britt didn’t say anything for a long moment. She wasn’t pulling on her shirt hem either. Then she suddenly moved closer and peered up at him. “You’re telling the truth, aren’t you?”
“I’d say Scout’s honor, but I was never a Boy Scout.”
“I...” She lowered her head.
He took a chance and placed his fingertip under her chin and lifted it until he could meet her gaze. “You what?”
“I’m a mess.”
“So is everybody else.”
She frowned. “I’m weird.”
“Trust me, you’re not the weirdest person I ever met. Not by a long shot.”
“But you’re so gorgeous.”
He scoffed. “Being good-looking ain’t all that.”
She crossed her arms and smirked. “Oh, really.”
At least now she was relaxing a bit. “It’s a cross to bear,” he said, half exaggerating. “People make assumptions that you’re shallow and self-centered.”
Her expression grew serious. “You’re neither of those, Hunter.”
I used to be.But to hear her say he wasn’t gave him hope. She was seeing him the way he wanted to be, and prayed he could continue to be. He closed the final distance between them. “I like you, Britt. I like you as an artist, as a friend, and as someone I really, really want to kiss. But only kiss,” he added, before she got rattled again. “I’m not that type of guy.”Anymore.
“I’ve never been kissed,” she whispered, looking away again.
He’d figured that much. “Whenever you want a lesson, I’m here for you.”
She laughed. “How noble.”
“It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”
Her eyes danced. Then she touched his arm, and he wondered if she was aware that her fingers were moving over his skin with slow, feather-light strokes. He held back a groan.
“What if I’m ready now?”
His neurons started firing again, a warm wave of happinesswashing over him. He drew her in his arms, this time for real. “Then I, Mr. Pickett, am at your service.”
But he didn’t need words to instruct her. He tilted up her face and bent his head toward hers. When she closed her eyes, he smiled, gently kissing her until she relaxed against him and started kissing him back... withrelish.
And it was everything he dreamed it would be.
Chapter 17
Classic rock rolled through Daniel’s earbud as he waxed Arthur’s Bentley. He’d spent the afternoon washing and waxing all the Picketts’ cars, including Lila’s white Range Rover, the one automobile he hadn’t had the opportunity to drive yet. “I love rock n’ roll,” he warbled as he worked the wax into the paint with a yellow microfiber towel. He didn’t actually love it, but he was in the mood for it today. Country was his usual go-to.
He’d saved the Bentley for last, having decided that out of all of Arthur’s vehicles, this one was his favorite. He loved the sleek, classic lines of the car and he appreciated that Arthur and Lila Pickett not only used all their cars, they also kept them around for a while. The Bentley was over a decade old, and the Range Rover was the newest at four years old. When he’d worked as a mechanic, he knew people who leased or bought a new car every year. He’d always believed cars were meant to be kept, taken care of, and enjoyed.
He sprayed the hood with a little more wax and belted out the next line of the song.
“Daniel?”
At the sound of Lila’s voice, he spun around, and promptly yanked out the earbud. “Yes ma’am?” Hopefully she hadn’t heard his incredibly out of tune singing. As usual she was impeccably dressed, her flair and taste for high fashion eclipsing Arthur’s.Today it was white slim pants, a tailored rose-pink blouse, and her ever-present Tiffany gold diamond bar necklace. How did he know it was Tiffany? It was interesting the kinds of tidbits he’d learned from driving the Picketts around.
