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I shoved my phone in my pocket and plastered a smile into place.
“I’d better hit the road. I still have a few hours of daylight left.”
Rooster’s brows drew together. His fingers tightened imperceptibly on my elbow. I knew that look. The dogged determination. The bull-headed stubbornness. He could see straight through me right now and he knew I was lying my ass off.
“Let me walk you to your truck,” he replied.
I opened my mouth to protest then closed it again. If I refused, he would push for details I didn’t want to give. Rooster and I…we weren’t together anymore. We’d been crazy kids in love. But we were adults now and life had taken us in different directions. It wouldn’t be fair to wrap him up in my problems.
I rose from my seat with a wave to Rooster’s club.
“It’s time to make my exit, boys. I’m glad to see you keeping Rooster on his toes.”
“You’re always welcome to visit any time you’re in the area,” Tank said.
“I’ll be waiting for you, love,” Mack said. “I’ll save you a spot on my lap.”
“Over my dead body,” Rooster grumbled.
As we made our way out to the parking lot, I laughed softly.
“I’ve never seen you so jealous before.”
“Yeah, well, I was a dumb kid back then. I didn’t know what a good thing I had going for me until I lost it. I guess it made me a little bitter.”
That sobered me up. My smile vanished and I sighed.
“Shit, Rooster. Why did you have to say that?”
He shrugged. “Because it’s true.”
I shook my head as I fished my keys from my pocket, fiddling with them. It gave me an excuse to look anywhere else except him. Rooster shifted closer and tilted my chin up, cradled between his forefinger and thumb.
For one impossible moment, I craved nothing more than his lips against mine. I wanted him to kiss me so bad that it vibrated through my body and made me tip forward on my toes, leaning into him.
Then I remembered myself. I couldn’t do that. Rocking back on my heels, I lifted my chin out of his grasp.
“You made your choice,” I replied, my voice quiet. “And I made peace with that a long time ago.”
Which was a lie. A bald-faced, terrible, transparent lie. I retreated to my truck and pulled the door open.
“I’m glad you found what you were looking for out here, Rooster. Maybe we’ll bump into each other another time.”
As I drove away, I tried to keep my eyes on the road. I tried not to look back.
But my gaze still strayed to the rear-view mirror, drinking in the sight of Rooster and his long, lean silhouette.
Chapter Three
Rooster
In the morning, I had a blistering hangover. Everything was too loud, too bright, an assault on my senses that made me want to crawl into a dark corner for a few hours.
Last night had been hell on earth. Watching Lou drive away. Watching her slip through my fingers for the second time. That’s how I found myself deep in the bottom of a bottle, trying to numb the memories that had resurfaced.
When I arrived at my auto shop, Pedro Calderon greeted me from the front desk.
“Morning, Rooster!”
