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She bit her lip, drawing my attention to the pink lip gloss again. “I wanted to let him know that I got it. That it was tough, but he’d come out the other side okay.”
I paused by the passenger side of my truck and opened the door for her.
She climbed in, and I braced my hand on the doorframe, leaning in to say, “It meant something to him.”
It meant something to me.
She licked her lips, and I barely restrained myself from groaning. Hailey was girl-next-door beautiful, and she didn’t even know sexy she was. It made her even more attractive.
I had the sudden urge to kiss her. Ripping my gaze from her lips, I stepped back, shutting the door. I needed space before I did something completely insane, like kiss her.
Inside the cab, I handed her the bag of pastries and set my coffee in the cupholder. When I pulled into traffic, I wondered if there was more to her than what she’d already revealed to me and Corey. I wanted to know all her layers.
She’d hinted at a rough childhood, and though I was generally aware of what Jake went through, and how concerned he was about Hailey, I hadn’t paid close attention. I was the typical self-centered teenager.
I was regretting that now because Hailey was still a relative stranger to me. As I merged onto the highway, my heart rate picked up because getting to know her would be like getting to know any other girl. There was so much I wanted to learn. What was it like to grow up with her grandmother and her overprotective brother?
No one spoke about their mother, and I wanted to know why. Was she that terrible? Or was her absence her biggest crime?
“You’re quiet this morning,” Hailey finally remarked.
“There’s all this stuff going on in my head.” I gestured with my hand and hoped she wouldn’t ask what it was.
She crossed her legs, and I had to force myself to focus on the road. I liked her in my truck, filling the cab with her lavender scent.
“So, you’re a football fan?” I glanced over in time to see a soft smile spreading over her face.
She nodded, her eyes filling with excitement. “High school football games signaled the start of fall, pumpkin lattes, pumpkins, and hayrides.”
The smile created a little dimple on her cheek I’d never noticed before. Something inside me softened further.
“You like all that stuff, huh?” I wasn’t surprised. Everything about her screamed good girl.
“I love it.” There was a dimming in her eyes that made me think she felt her mom’s absence doing things she enjoyed.
I wanted to ask her more about her childhood, but it wasn’t the time or the place. We weren’t dating. I had to remember we had one common interest—Corey—and that was it.
Jake was the second thing we had in common, but I definitely didn’t want to think about him or what he’d say about me bringing his sister to a game. Would he think it was a friendly gesture, or would he see right through me?
She set her coffee in the cupholder, her hand brushing against mine, and sifted through the bag of pastries. “These are from Sophie’s bakery.”
“Brooke must sell them in her store.”
When she didn’t respond, I looked over to see her licking chocolate from her fingers. The blood drained from my head to my dick, making me feel light-headed.
When her gaze clashed with mine, her cheeks turned pink. “I love chocolate croissants.”
“I can see that.” I locked my jaw as I returned my attention to the road, where it should have been all along. Today was obviously going to be a test of my patience. I need to strengthen my resolve when it came to Hailey.
If I repeated that she was Jake’s little sister in my head, it just might do the trick.
“Why didn’t you play sports in high school?” she asked.
“I probably would have if someone had encouraged me.” I’d been thinking about that a lot lately. If a coach or a teacher had encouraged me, I probably would have done it. But back then, everyone looked at me like I was trouble waiting to happen. It was all too easy to meet those expectations.
“You said your parents wanted you to be involved in student council?”
“Yeah, can you imagine? I was too busy skipping class and smoking behind the bleachers to get involved in school politics. Besides, that was for the kids going to college.”
