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"Stop looking so fucking sexy. It's criminal."
She huffs and drops down into the passenger seat, fluffing her hair.
I climb in after her.
"Are you always like this?"
"Seatbelt, goddess." I reach across her and grab the belt before she can, carefully locking her into place. She gives me a dirty glare but doesn't try to stop me. Whether she wants to admit it or not, she loves having me in her space. I can tell by the way she trembles whenever I get close. "Like what?"
"Hmm?"
I chuckle, shifting away from her. As soon as I do, she shakes her head as if she's trying to clear it. "Am I always like what, Leia?"
"Shameless. Bossy. Like you, I guess." She leans forward and pushes the button on the glovebox. When it opens, she smiles to herself and then starts prowling through my shit.
"When it comes to you? Yes." I buckle up and then start the engine before turning back to her. She's flipping through the paperwork on my truck. "You having fun over there?"
"Just looking." She glances up at me, her gaze clear and guileless…and so full of shit it makes me chuckle. "You're due for an oil change soon."
I flick my gaze up to the sticker in the corner of my window. Shit. I am due soon.
"You checking to make sure there isn't a woman's name on any of the paperwork?"
"What? No." She scowls at me and then bites her bottom lip, rethinking her answer. "Maybe."
"There is no woman. There hasn't been a woman since college."
"Oh. Why not?"
I cock a brow. "Are you asking me why I'm not a manwhore?"
"No!" She shoves all of the paperwork for my truck back into the glovebox. "Just wondering why someone who looks like you and plays a professional sport is single." She shrugs. "It's a mystery."
"You like me." A smirk curves my lips.
"Do not."
"You do."
"No, I don't."
"Why are you single, then? You're the catch of the goddamn century."
She wrinkles her nose at me, rolling her eyes. "You're being ridiculous again."
"Nah, you are if you think saying that makes me ridiculous. Have you seen you?" I gape at her. "That body? The way you walk? The way you dress? The shit you say? The fact that you don't take shit from anyone, or care what anyone thinks? Goddamn, Trouble." I shake my head, speechless. If she doesn't know what a catch she is, I'm going to teach her.
She drops her gaze as a blush climbs up her cheeks, staining them pink. "Guess I never thought of it that way." A little smile dances at her lips. "I guess I am pretty awesome."
"Uh, fuck yeah, you are," I laugh. "Now, where are we going?"
"The bookstore."
I nearly choke on my tongue.
A bright peal of laughter rings out from her side of the truck. "You should see your face right now, Colter. Oh my gosh." She wipes her eyes, still laughing. "You look like you'd rather spend an eternity on the rack."
"Sign me up for that," I growl. "We aren't going to the fucking bookstore."
"Why not? I love the bookstore. There are so many interesting things there."
I narrow my eyes at her, suspicious at hell. "What did you hear?"
"About the bookstore?" She pleads ignorance, turning those wide, guileless eyes up at me. Except they shine with humor. "Why would I have heard anything about the bookstore, Colter?"
Oh, I am going to kill whoever told her. Was it Miles? I bet it was Miles. The entire team gave me shit through the whole damn meeting this morning because of him.
"I sent the damn book to Miles as a joke," I growl. "But he's in love with the chick who delivered it. So he made me go to the bookstore yesterday and tell them that it was mine so she doesn't think it's his."
"And you agreed to this?" Leia arches a brow at me.
"I had motivation." I shrug. "He knows your brother-in-law."
"Ah. He knows about the locker room?"
"Yes. But before you get pissed, Miles isn't going to say anything. And neither is Alec. I made sure of that." I threatened to go to his boss, Cormac, with the tape of him just letting her waltz right by while he played on his phone. He didn't have much to say after that. Cormac Carmichael doesn't fuck around when it comes to running security. He'll toss Alec out on his ass in a heartbeat if he knows Alec isn't taking the job seriously.
Leia sits quietly for a moment and then nods. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"I'm taking your word for it," she says quietly. "I think you mean it when you say you're here for the right reasons. And I'm really hoping I'm not wrong, Colter."
"Fuck," I groan, gripping the steering wheel like my life depends on it. I think it might right now. Because if this is a test, I'm about two seconds from failing it. I desperately want to drag her into my lap and show her exactly what I think about her confession, but I'm thinking if I do, I'll spook her. I've earned a chance with her, but I haven't earned her trust yet. Not entirely. "You're killing me here, goddess."
