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“I can handle—”
“I got it.” He brings his phone to his ear and turns around. Whoever he’s talking to picks up on the first ring, and Riley gives him instructions before hanging up and turning back to me. “Yep, not a problem. In the meantime, why don’t I give you a ride?”
Universe, you’re killing me today.
I stare out the windshield. “Your guy can’t bring me another cart?”
“Nope. Not in time, anyway. And you don’t want to miss this tasting. Chef is preparing us a small feast.”
Turning my head, I glare at him. “Why are you doing this?”
His smile falters. “Doing what?”
“Being nice.”
“As opposed to . . .”
“Being the asshole I know is in there somewhere.” I nod at his chest.
He frowns. “That’s not where my asshole is.”
I don’t want to laugh, but I do. I forgot how infuriatingly charming—disarmingly pervy—this guy can be.
His frown morphs into a cocky, dazzling smile that turns my heart upside-down. “See? I’m not all bad.”
“Just mostly.”
He grabs onto the roof of the cart and hauls himself to his feet. “C’mon, let’s go. Least I can do is feed you after over-serving you last night.”
I follow him, pressing a hand to my face. My skin is burning.
“To be fair, I’m pretty sure I over served myself.”
“Good thing we got grouper sammies on the way, then.”
I grab onto the seat railing as I climb into his cart, holding on for dear life. Grouper sandwiches are my favorite lunchtime meal here at the beach. The fish you can get on Bald Head are some of the freshest, and most delicious, on Earth.
“Another idea you stole.”
He puts the cart in reverse. Uses the heel of his hand to guide the wheel as we pull out of the spot, the sinews in his bare forearm rippling.
Reaching down to put the cart in forward, he looks at me. All cockiness and tanned skin and white teeth.
“That’s because your ideas were always the best, Lu.”
My heart twists. “I asked you not to call me that.”
“You can ask me ’til you’re blue in the face, but I told you, you’ll always be Lu to me.”
nine
Riley
Passenger Princess
The pieces of my plan to win back Lu fall into place as we drive across the island.
First, I feed her.
Then I talk, in the hopes she’ll talk too. I’ll take it slow. I don’t want to overwhelm her, but it’s only fair she knows the truth.
When I’m not helping Coop, I’ll be helping Lu. Anything she needs, a ride, a meal, a quickie in my office, she’ll get.
I gotta prove I’m not the man she thinks I am. Her ex is a cheating scumbag, but I’m not. I can only hope she’ll understand why I had to end things the way I did. Why she doesn’t know I tried reaching out in the meantime.
I gotta hope she’ll forgive me.
It’ll take a full charm offensive, no doubt. Luckily I’m one charming motherfucker.
I nod at the portable speaker in the cupholder. “Why don’t you put on some music?” It was always one of her favorite things to do, ride around with the music blasting, her feet propped on the dash. We’d have to do it at night back in the day so no one would see us, the cicadas and crickets loud enough to drown out the sound of our music. Feels good to be able to do it out in the open now.
Lu shifts slightly as she grabs her phone out of her bag, her movements stiff. “Sure.”
“Whatcha listening to these days?”
She keeps her eyes on her screen and scrolls. “I’m actually having a huge Kelsea Ballerini moment. I also just discovered this new chick Julia Wolf—”
“‘Fuck Falling in Love’ Julia Wolf?”
Her head jerks up. “You know her?”
“I keep up with my ladies in rock.” I grin. “Been kinda addicted ever since someone introduced me to Joni Mitchell about ten years back.”
She looks away, but her lips twitch as her thumb keeps moving over her screen. “You’re welcome.”
“I actually saw Joni in concert about a week ago.”
“Stop! In L.A.? I heard about that!”
I nod. “Yup. I stayed in Santa Monica a couple nights for work. Then I caught the show before heading back.”
“I’m jealous. Bet she was incredible.”
“She was.”
“If you’re still into Joni, you should check out Maggie Rodgers. And Vérité. Both very soulful. Big voices, with big things to say.”
Sparks ignite up and down the column of my spine.
This.
This is what made me fall so hard and so fast for Lu Wade. She was always so into things. She loved nothing halfway. Instead, she dove deep into whatever caught her attention. Musicians. Ideas.
Me.
“I’ll definitely check them out. Thanks for the recs.”
Julia Wolf pours from the speaker. Lu reaches down to turn up the volume. I smile grimly when I catch the lyrics to “Get Off My”, which is, quite literally, Julia telling the world to leave her the fuck alone.
