“Find me some pastries, chef. I can’t deal with any of this on an empty stomach.”
I can’t deal with any of this at all.
chapter
SIXTEEN
Wes peeked over at Rebecca as he turned into the driveway that led to his condo. He’d offered to give her a ride home, but he hadn’t told her he had plans for a pit stop.
She seemed lost in thought and had been quiet since leaving the charity brunch, but the second the automatic gates for his complex opened, she blinked and looked his way as if coming out of a daze. “Where are we going?”
“You said you didn’t have any other plans for today.”
“I said I planned to do laundry, go to the grocery store, and catch up on some paperwork.”
He smiled. “See, nothing important.”
“Wes…”
“To answer your question. I live here, and I do have Sunday plans. And those plans would be way more fun with a partner.”
She narrowed her eyes. “That sounds ominous. Or dirty. Or ominously dirty.”
His grin went wider. “I love knowing that your mind went there first. And to be honest, dirty isn’t a bad word for what I want you for.”
Her expression remained stern, but her cheeks colored and something flickered in her eyes. Interest? Temptation? He wasn’t sure, but whatever it was, it almost had him derailing his original plan. If Rebecca wanted to go upstairs to his place and get dirty, he was one hundred percent down for that.
But she’d had a rough morning, and despite the easy intimacy they’d created with their late-night phone conversations
, this was in person and things between them were still new. He didn’t want to ruin it by rushing or even assuming that there would be more than kissing between them. He hadn’t touched a woman since his divorce. He would survive waiting a little longer. Maybe. Probably. Now he just had to convince Rebecca to join in with him on his other dirty plan. Because though she hadn’t told him what had really happened onstage today, he had a strong suspicion that what she needed today was a heaping dose of distraction.
He drove around the corner of his building, the last one in the back of the complex, and parked. He hopped out of the truck and jogged around to the other side to let her out. “Come on, lawyer girl. I’ll show you what I have in mind.”
With a skeptical look, she stepped out of the truck and took his offered hand. Her heels clicked on the sidewalk in her unique, slightly offbeat gait that he was learning to recognize. He now knew it was because of her injury, but it didn’t read like a limp to him. Instead she had developed a slower, more deliberate stride that came off as confident, like she was in no hurry to get anywhere and expected people to match her pace instead of the other way around. Plus, it gave her a little dip and sway in her step that he found unbearably sexy.
“Are you leading me out to that ill-fated camping trip you mentioned?” she asked.
He laughed. “Come with me, pretty lady. Let me show you the dark forest behind my condo. Do not be alarmed.”
“Not helping, Wesley Garrett.”
“I promise, no murderous agenda. Though you might want to murder me when you see what I’ve got planned.” He led her around the corner of the building next to his and swept his arms out to his sides. “Ta-da!”
Rebecca laughed, the light sound carrying on the wind. She let go of his hand and put both of hers on her hips. “Well, it certainly is dirty.”
The big, yellow school bus was parked on the empty side of the lot in all its full mud-encrusted, bird-bombed glory.
“Filthy,” he agreed. “Which is why we’re going to give Adele a bath.”
Her attention snapped to him. “Wait, what? Who is this we you speak of?”
“You and me and a lot of water and sponges.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“The engine work is done, so it’s drivable now. I thought I could unveil the project to the kids tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”