4
LEXI
“What the hell was that about?”
“He’s looking for Riley,” I tell Penny as she walks up behind me.
Turning away from the window where I watched him drive away, I hand her the business card. She glances down, barely skimming the printed words.
“A private investigator...” she whispers, looking back up at me. “Why?”
“I’m hoping Riley can tell me. If not... I’ll do what I have to do to find out.”
I hold my hand out for the card. Penny hesitates but passes it back to me. “Don’t do anything stupid, Lexi.” Penny follows my gaze to the baseball bat propped up by the front door and sighs. “Don’t do anything else stupid. You’re lucky he didn’t call the cops!”
I am.
Lucky, that is.
I don’t know why he didn’t make the call. I know I would have if roles were reversed.
Smashing the shit out of his headlight wasn’t my finest moment, but I wasn’t thinking clearly. I wasn’t thinking at all if I’m being honest. I’ve been on edge for days, feeling guilty as hell for assuming Hope was being paranoid about the strange car across the street. When I saw him there again today—I lost it. I was out the front door with the bat in my grip before I realized what I was doing.
I almost didn’t follow through.
Not when I saw him get out of the car.
Recognition flared, and for half a second, I questioned my actions.
It was him.
The fine as hell guy from the Chinese restaurant.
The one I’d shamelessly eye-fucked while he stood all serious and sexy, letting me look until my lusty little heart was content. Everything about him screamed, “exactly my type.”
But I was on the clock, and I don’t make it a habit to mix pleasure with business, so I went about mine, thinking I’d never see him again.
Then, there he was.
Standing in front of me, imposing, but not threatening… even after I busted the headlight of his pretty black car.
Jake Strickland.
At least I have a name to put with his face.
And he’s as fucking hot as I remember.
A sharp, angular jaw covered in a few days’ worth of scruff, but not enough to hide the sexy little cleft in his chin. Full lips, a perfectly straight nose, and deep brown eyes under stern brows, giving him a perpetual sexy bedroom look.
His body… damn, a girl could do delicious things to a body like his.
I remember every inch of it, as if he were still standing right in front of me.
Tall and muscled, but not bulky. All broad shoulders under a white tee stretching across his wide chest. A slim waist and thick thighs encased in dark denim. Strong, corded arms that instantly make me think about how effortlessly he could throw me around a little bit, toss me over his shoulder while those big hands of his palm my ass. I doubt the man would struggle to hold me up against a wall.
Yeah, I could absolutely get into that.
Don’t even get me started on the backwards baseball cap and dark tattoos peeking out from the bottom of his sleeves.
I’m a sucker for ink.
And there’s something inherently sexy about a backwards hat.
“Lexi?”
Blinking out of my vivid thoughts of Jake, I find Penny watching me, concern creasing her brows.
“Sorry. What?”
“Nevermind,” she says, still looking at me curiously. “Are you going to call Riley?”
“Yeah…”
I’m still distracted, but not so much that I don’t slide my phone from my back pocket. Penny mutters something about checking on Mercy and leaves me to it. Resting my ass against the windowsill, I text her, knowing she’ll respond quicker this way. Riley rarely answers her phone.
Me: Any idea why a private investigator would be looking for you?
Riley:What PI? What does he want with me?
Me: If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking.
Riley: No idea.
Me: Want me to see if I can find out, or tell him to fuck off?
Riley: Find out. Let me know what’s up.
Me: Sure. You planning to come home anytime soon?
Riley: Tomorrow.
About fucking time.
She’s been avoiding the house far too much lately because of Hope and we could use her here. Especially now, with Jake coming around. I’m not sure what he wants with Riley, but it could be a complication that none of us need. We have enough shit to wade through without adding additional drama to the mix.
My insane attraction to him…
Another complication.
He’s a gorgeous complication I’m not sure I can avoid. Not sure I even want to try.
The attraction is mutual. That’s a fucking fact. He wants me as much as I want him. He didn’t bother trying to hide it. The question is whether we can act on it, and that all depends on the reason he’s looking for Riley.
Glancing at the business card still in my hand, I know what I need to do.
I dial the number and listen to it ring.
Once…
Twice…
“This is Jake.”
“I’d be disappointed if it wasn’t.”
His deep chuckle reverberates through the speaker, and I shiver.
“Can’t have that, now can we, Lexi?”
Shit.
I shouldn’t be flirting with him, but I can’t seem to fucking help myself.
“I told you I’d call.”
“That you did.”
As much as I’d love to play this back-and-forth game with him, I can’t. This call is about business, not pleasure.
“Why are you looking for Riley, Jake?”
“No bullshit with you, is there?”
“Not when it comes to this.”
“I respect that.” He pauses for a minute. “How about you meet me tomorrow? I’ll tell you the reason I’m looking for your friend—”
“Sister.”
Not by blood, but in all the ways that matter.
“Your sister, then. I’ll tell you as much as I can, and then you can decide whether to make things easy for me… or hard.”
I bite back the flirty response sitting on the tip of my tongue. If I’m lucky, there will be time for it later, but it isn’t now. I have to keep my head on straight, at least until I get the answers I need. I may be blonde, but I’m not dumb enough to believe the only reason he wants to meet with me is to talk. But what happens between the two of us is dependent upon the answers he gives me tomorrow.
“When and where?”
“You tell me, doll. I don’t exactly know the area well.”
“There’s a small coffee shop a block from the tattoo parlor. Meet me there at nine tomorrow morning. Don’t be late.”
Without waiting for his response, I end the call.
I know when to leave a man wanting more.
***
“You’re late… and you owe me a headlight.”
Ignoring the way his deep, rumbling voice sends tingles down my spine, I smirk, setting my coffee and car keys on the table as I slide into the booth across from him. I was wondering how he was going to handle that whole mess. I like that he doesn’t fuck around.
He eyes me expectantly. I don’t know if he’s waiting for an apology, but he won’t get one. Not for being late—it wasn’t intentional, there was drama at home—or for the headlight. At least not yet. I have to keep my thoughts and feelings close to my chest for now. I’m donning my “don’t fuck with me” mask, and I want answers.
“Tell me why you’re looking for Riley.”