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He frowned, exhaling in annoyance. “Hanging out with Keely is rubbing off on you, I see.”
“Keely is fun and nice. You should try it sometime.”
He pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes at me, shaking his head. “I’m fun and nice.”
“For a grouchy old man.”
Pete smacked his lips and turned to face me. “I am not old. I’m forty.”
“Well, that sounds pretty old to me—”
He took two large steps toward me, leaning over the counter so we were face to face.
“Well, you’re turning thirty next year, so your time is coming soon too, sweetheart.”
“Oh, God!” I exclaimed dramatically, my hand resting on my forehead. “What am I going to do?”
“None of my business.” He smirked, giving me one of those smoldering looks that had me slightly weak in the knees. “I’ll be trading you in for a newer model on your birthday.”
I grabbed one of the pamphlets and smacked him with it, but he grabbed my wrist. His thumb grazed over the sensitive space between my palm and wrist, sending a shiver shooting down my spine.
When was the last time he’d touched me?
“Did you come in here just to harass me?” I asked.
His thumb stroked my skin one more time before he let go of my wrist and straightened up, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “I came here to close this place down for the rest of the day. We have somewhere to be.”
“Oh? Where?”
“The Hallston Ranch. For dinner.”
“Hmm…” I leaned my weight on the counter and looked up at him, my mouth tightening into a firm line.
He nodded empathetically and shrugged his broad shoulders, looking just as uncomfortable as I felt.
I’d gone out to lunch with Keely twice this week and it hadn’t been awkward in the slightest. She was warm, kind, and bubbly—the exact opposite of her steely brother.
Hanging out with Keely felt natural.
Hanging out with what sounded like a found-family situation felt nothing but daunting, especially since they were the only people in the world—besides Jane—who knew our situation.
They knew we weren’t together, not romantically at least. I was just some girl he’d gotten pregnant and was now thrust into their lives.
“Are you nervous?”
“Yeah, a bit,” he replied, turning from me to flip over theopensign and lock the door.
“Because I’ll be there—”
“I think I’ll actually enjoy myself if you’ll be there, so no.” His words were softer than I thought he intended, and that was quickly confirmed by the ruddy blush on his cheeks as he turned to face me. “I’m a bit of an outsider in their little group.”
“Well, so am I, so I guess we’re in this together.” I flashed him a smile, but he didn’t return it. I turned off the tablet and stuck it under the counter, then grabbed my purse before asking, “Why do you think you’re an outsider? Haven’t you lived here your whole life?”
“I’ve just been a dickhead my whole life,” he deadpanned, and I grinned despite his serious tone.
“I like you,” I added with a shrug.
He stared at me for a moment. A soft twitch of a smile touched one corner of his mouth before it disappeared. “You might be the only one.”
