To Love & Protect (Bryant Brothers Book 2) Page 11
“Yeah, there’s a restaurant in the Delta terminal that makes decent Bloody Marys. But you don’t have to drive.”
She waved down at him while he secured the drain plug on the oil pan. “Consider it payback for changing my oil after hours. Especially since I know you won’t let me actually pay you.”
“You’re right on that count.” He’d never let anyone in his family reimburse him for taking care of their vehicles, and he wasn’t about to start now. Certainly not with Madison.
“Also, I’m sure you’d be more comfortable with me leaving my ten-year-old car in long-term parking rather than your brand spankin’ new truck.”
“Also a fair point.” He’d recently purchased a shiny, new Chevy Silverado, and, yeah, he wasn’t keen on leaving his new baby anywhere long term except in the garage here at his shop.
“Seven thirty it is,” he said, climbing out of the concrete hole and pressing the button to lower her car to the ground.
She threw her arms around him and pulled him into a quick hug. His brain registered that Madison was hugging him, and he’d just wrapped his arms around her midsection when she abruptly let him go and backed away. “Thanks so much. You’re the best. Now, I seriously need to get something to eat. I haven’t had anything other than a cup of yogurt since eight this morning.”
“Come on upstairs,” he said, referring to his apartment above the shop. “I made a pot of chili a couple days ago, and there’s still a bunch left. Better to feed it to a friend than to toss it.”
She tapped her chin, pretending to think about his offer. She was cute when she was teasing him. “Hmm. Do you have jalapeños?”
He nodded solemnly. “Of course. Fresh ones. Which also need to be eaten, since I doubt they will last until we get home next weekend. Come on,” he said again. “You said you’re already packed. Help me clean out my fridge and you’ll leave with a full belly.”
“You’re right. And I’m sure your chili is better than whatever fast food I’d pick up on the way home.”
He’d never invited her up to his apartment before. There had never been a decent enough excuse. And now that he had, he hoped to hell he’d left it in decent enough shape when he’d come down for work this morning. Not that she’d see anything but the kitchen and living room, but a guy could hope, right?
Kyle was good at hoping and dreaming.
“Trust me, there’s no comparison.” He pressed the button to lower the bay doors. “I just need to close out the till and lock up.”
She followed him into the office and dropped into one of the nearby chairs while he took care of his closing responsibilities. After he twisted the deadbolt lock and flipped off the lights, he gave her knee a squeeze. She glanced up from her phone and offered up a blinding smile that made him blink rapidly, probably looking like a lovesick fool, until he shook it off and motioned for her to follow him.
He led her out the back door and to the covered staircase that would take them up to his apartment. When he’d decided to go into business for himself, this particular piece of real estate had been perfect for a lot of reasons, including the space above the garage, which he’d easily converted into a comfortable living space. There was plenty of room for him and…himself.
Huh. When was the last time he’d had a woman in his apartment? He was coming up empty. Which was, he knew, largely a result of this annoying crush he’d developed pretty much the instant Madison and Elliot broke up. One of these days he needed to make the executive decision to quit pining after a pipe dream and throw himself into the dating pool. It would be nice, at the very least, to get laid once in a while.
“I think this vacation will be good for both of us,” he commented once they were upstairs and had taken off their boots and he’d hung Madison’s coat on one of the hooks on the wall near the door.
Scrubs, generally speaking, weren’t exactly designed to show off a person’s figure, yet Madison wore them well. Really well.
He’d always found her attractive, from the first time they met, at that bar near Purdue where she and Elliot had gone to college.
“Why do you say that?” Madison asked, trailing him into the kitchen, where he pulled the Dutch oven that was still half full of chili out of the fridge and placed it on the stove.
He snagged a couple of beers and offered her one.
“Thanks.”
After taking a cooling drink, he said, “I was just thinking, I haven’t had a date in…I honestly don’t even remember. It’s been two years at least.”
“Two years?” Her eyes widened before she tilted the bottle to her lips. “That’s a long time.”
He shrugged and stirred the warming chili.
She picked up a notepad off the counter, read what he’d written there, and chuckled. “I make lists like this too.”
It was his list of items to pack for this trip to Florida. “Yeah, I need to get on that. At least I managed to get all my laundry done yesterday.”
“I’ll help, if you want.”
He arched his eyebrows. “You’re going to help me pack?”
She lifted one shoulder. “It would make the process quicker. Come on, we can get it done while dinner is warming.”
Without waiting for him to respond, she left the kitchen and headed in the direction of his bedroom. Although she’d never been up here before, it wasn’t a large space, and it was pretty obvious which of three doors led to his sleeping quarters.
“Okay, where’s your suitcase?” she asked, turning in a circle in the middle of the room, her gaze touching on the homemade dresser, the matching bedside tables, his king-sized bed with the rumpled sheets and comforter half hanging off the side.
He hurried over to straighten the blanket and then pointed. “Closet.”
She walked over, opened the door, and said, “Wow. This is huge,” and disappeared inside. He wandered over, because honestly, he had no idea what sort of condition it was in.
He breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t nearly as messy as he’d feared. She turned around to face him, only a foot or so away in the small—okay, for a closet, it was pretty big, but it was still small when two people were standing inside—space.
His heart began thumping so loudly in his chest, he was surprised she couldn’t hear it.
“Smart, to design yourself a walk-in closet. Also smart to build your living quarters directly above your office. You’re a planner and organizer too, Kyle Bryant.”
Taking in a shaky breath, he lifted his hands, as if in surrender. “Guilty.” He’d always believed he and Madison had more in common than she and Kyle.
He pointed over her shoulder. “Suitcase.”
She turned and bent over to grasp the handle, her rounded backside so close he could reach out and smooth his hand over it, maybe give it a little squeeze. He was unsurprised by the strong desire to do so. Her ass was nothing less than perfection, and he’d had so many fantasies about her without even trying, he instantly called up a visual of her doing that without clothing.
And then he imagined her lying on his bed, all that thick, dark hair fanned out over his pillows, her nude body quivering with anticipation. Which was so wrong of him. Especially when they were standing in such tight quarters, and his pants were starting to get, er, tight.
He cleared his throat and took a hasty step backward. And then another and another, for good measure.
The backs of his legs hit the bed, and he plopped into a seated position on the mattress.
Madison walked out of the closet carrying his suitcase, her brows furrowed. “What are you doing?”
He hopped to his feet. “Nothing. Here.” He snagged the bag and flipped it up onto the bed. “Okay, where’s my list?”
“I left it in the kitchen. I’ll go—”
“I need to stir the chili anyway,” he said, and they both started for the door, practically crashing into each other when they realized they couldn’t get through at the same time. “I’ll be right back,” he promised, and then he hightailed it out of
there.
What the hell was wrong with him? Normally, he had a much better leash on his attraction. Was it because Madison was in his apartment for the first time? Or was it just her? Which made no sense because Madison had been hanging around for two years now, so why all of a sudden was he acting like a bumbling idiot?
He stirred the chili, checked the burner, and grabbed two more beers from the fridge. He chugged half of one, hoping it would calm his nerves.
He headed back into the bedroom, to Madison, to finish packing. And not to think about shoving that suitcase off the bed and falling onto it with her in his arms, kissing him passionately and…
Keep reading on August 18, 2020!
Tami’s AMAZON PAGE
Contemporary Romance by Tami Lund ~
Bryant Brothers Series
Racing Home
To Love & Protect
The Right Tool
Picture This
Sexy Bad Series (co-written with Misti Murphy)
Sexy Bad Neighbor
Sexy Bad Daddy
Sexy Bad Boss
Sexy Bad Escort
Sexy Bad Halloween
No Jerks on Monday (co-written with Misti Murphy)
Detroit Mafia Romance
Paid by the Mob
Trapped by the Mob
Freed from the Mob
Tough Love Series
Naked Truth
Undercover Heat
Delicious Deception
Baby, I’m Home
Separation Anxiety
(free read available on Tami Lund’s website)
Paranormal Romance by Tami Lund ~
Taming the Dragon Series
Dragon His Heels
Hungry Like A Dragon
Dragon in Denial
Bewitching the Dragon
Let Go My Gargoyle
Lightbearer Series
First Light (prequel #1)
Broken Light (prequel #2)
Into the Light
Dawning of Light
Light Beyond the Darkness
Change in the Light
Cupid’s Light
Twisted Fate Series
Of Love and Darkness
Prim and Proper Fate
Prisoner of Fate
(Blood Courtesans Vampire Series, written by multiple authors)
Resist
Eternity
All’s Fair: Love & Warlocks
Mirror, Mirror
Dark Moon Falls
(Shared world, written by multiple authors)
Coming soon!
Benjamin
Lyall
Anthony
Which Witch Series
Coming soon!
The Demon You Love
Vino With A Vampire
Open the Magic, a Collection of Short Stories & Novellas
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Tami Lund is an author, a wine drinker, an award winner, and a lover of romance. She writes happily ever afters, one book at a time. You should sign up for her newsletter for updates, sales, free reads, and a regular dose of her quirky sense of humor: http://www.subscribepage.com/Tami_Lund