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That made sense. God knew he’d never volunteer to come out and help me all on his own.
“All right, where to first?” he asked once I’d climbed up inside his truck. I looked over at him and would swear this truck cab had looked way bigger from the outside than inside. He was peering out the front windshield. “Clouds are comin’ in so we better hurry.”
I nodded absentmindedly. But now that I was closed up in here with him, breathing the same co-mingled air—I immediately turned away from him and glared out the window, shifting in my seat.
“So…” I said to the window, trying to calm my suddenly unsteady breathing. “To Benny’s?”
“Right. The liquor.” I could feel him nod even though I wasn’t looking at him. In fact, I could feel every movement of his big body on the long seat we shared as he shifted the truck into gear—it was a manual, naturally.
The truck engine was loud as we got going, but it was still too quiet in the cab of the truck. I could hear Jeremiah breathing. I turned and reached toward the radio only for my hand to run into Jeremiah’s, who’d apparently been reaching for the radio at the same time.
I yanked back and he glanced over at me, surprised.
“Oh,” I said, then felt stupid. Especially when he didn’t pause for a second in turning on the radio to some old country station. And by old, I mean old. Hank Williams Sr. old.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“What?” Jeremiah glanced my way.
I just shook my head and reached for the dial. His big hand blocked me, though. “No way. My ride, my tunes.”
“Oh my God, you really are an old man in a young body.”
“You checking out my body?”
My mouth dropped open and furiously, I felt my cheeks heat. “You wish. I’m not that hard up.” I crossed my arms over my chest. But then, frustrated, I reached over and snapped the dial of the radio off. Better silence than having my ears assaulted like that.
Wisely, he didn’t say anything else. But minutes later I was second-guessing turning off the music. Maybe ancient old white man hollering about his dogs was better than being painfully aware of every movement and twitch of the man on the seat beside me. Especially since on these backwoods roads, he was constantly reaching for the long shifter between us, nearly grazing my thigh each time. My bare thigh.
Jesus, maybe I’d been lying. Maybe I was hard up. It was true I hadn’t had sex for a good long while. It was almost a year now. But considering the train wreck that some of my past relationships had been, I wasn’t exactly racing to find the next Mr. Right Now.
Thankfully, we pulled into Benny’s and I all but exploded out of the car as soon as it came to a stop. I expected Jeremiah to stay in the car, but a tall shadow was blocking the last of the sunlight as the clouds rolled in as I reached for the door. A raindrop splashed my cheek.
I spun on him and glared. “I’m just dropping off a check. I don’t need babysitting.”
His face was a placid mask. “I’m hungry. They have good burgers.”
“I don’t have time to stop and eat! We still have to go by the dress shop and then to get over to Wimberly to put in the check for the caterers.”
His features didn’t change. “Then I guess you shoulda checked your gas gauge before you left this morning.”
Ugh, he was impossible. I shook my head at him and then stormed inside. He was right on my heels.
By the time I’d gone to the back and dropped off the check with Maria, Benny’s partner, Jeremiah had installed himself on a barstool and his eyes were glued to the game playing on the TV up in the corner. I crossed my arms and tapped my foot impatiently. Eventually, his eyes came my way. “You tappin’ away like that isn’t gonna make George cook any faster.”
I smiled at him hard. “I don’t know, I think it just might.” I started tapping louder and more obnoxiously. The rain outside began to ping ping ping on the tin awning of the entryway as the gentle shower became a downpour outside.
For a few minutes, he ignored me. The bar was pretty empty except for us. So I knew he could hear me. Confirmed when he finally turned to me, eyes flashing. “If I’m an old man, then you’ve been possessed by the demon of a goddamned child who doesn’t know how to sit still.”
I grinned even wider, delighted to have gotten under his skin. I had no clue why it felt like such a victory. “Aww, is someone having a grouchy day? You know, if you frown too much, your face will get stuck that way.”
