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I roll my eyes. Caleb is Caleb. He’s the definition of man-whore. He’s always talking about his latest conquest.
“I think I’m good, Caleb,” I grin, and Thorn relaxes. I’m not going to hurt his sister.
Everyone laughs, even Thorn. I’m proud of him for holding it together. He’s as protective of her as she is of him.
“What’s your story, Thorn?” Holden asks.
Thorn tenses for a moment, if you blinked you would miss him even doing it.
“Not mine to tell. If Briar wants you to know, she’ll tell you. I owe her my life. She got us out of, let’s just say, a situation and she’s taken care of me ever since,” Thorn replies.
“She sounds like a keeper. Family first,” I say, and he nods.
“She’s awesome. I don’t want to see her get hurt. She hasn’t had it easy,” Thorn says.
“Here’s your food,” Briar sets down the plates and my stomach growls. Guess I was hungry.
“Thanks, sweetheart,” I grab her hand and kiss it before she has to go check on her new table.
I can see myself falling for this woman.
Holden
I wonder why she never had it easy. I can see that she is protective of her brother but I also see her shy away from others. I wish I knew what troubled her and maybe I could make it go away.
Lane
I watch them in the diner, all of them, my so-called friends. I’ve been coming here every day to see Briar. The days she wasn’t here, I wanted to punch a wall or a person. Some random person had the misfortune of becoming a punching bag for me, oh well. I need to talk to her. She will see why she needs to be with me.
Kingston
We stay until Briar gets off work, laughing and telling stories. In between her tables, she tops off our drinks or brings a fresh beer and chats with us for a little bit. She seems to be more comfortable around the guys.
That makes me happy.
I offer to drive her home.
“My car is at the gym and we only live a few blocks away,” she says, turning down my offer. What I should have told her is that her home is with me, but I’m trying to take this slowly. I walk her down to the gym to get her car just for my own piece of mind that she’s safe.
“See you in the morning, Thorn,” I say as he gets in the passenger side.
He groans, “Yeah, see ya, Coach.”
I turn to Briar, holding her hands as I hold her gaze, “Will you come tomorrow?”
I’m hoping. Crossing my fingers like a little kid, hoping she will say yes.
“Yeah, I can come by before my shift starts,” she smiles at me.
“Great. Do you think you can get off Saturday and Sunday? At least Saturday, if anything?” I ask.
“I have both days off,” she says.
“Okay, cool. See ya, tomorrow,” I kiss her cheek and close her door and then head for my own car.
I’m about to get in when I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I spin around to see Briar standing there.
I don’t have time to say anything when she pulls me down to her level and crashes her lips to mine. I’m caught off guard, but soon I’m kissing her back. I spin her around, pushing her up against the car, moaning as the kiss heats up. I swear that the worlds align and I’m truly king when she kisses me.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she says breathlessly when we pull apart and she runs back to her car.
Well, I wasn’t expecting that, but it was hella nice.
