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Chapter Seventeen

Elena

“Ohmygod,I’mso hungry,” Helen groaned.

We were in the parking lot, kicking sand off our feet, ready to head out. I was happily crisp and ready for a nap. But now that Helen mentioned hunger, my stomach let loose a growl so loud, all eyes fell on me.

I rubbed my belly. “The demon that lives within me needs to be fed.”

“Makes sense,” Marco muttered under his breath. I flipped him off. He drew a heart in the air.

We were becoming such great friends.

Everyone started checking their phones for nearby restaurants while Lachlan stood by his truck. He threw his hat down in the bed and ripped his T-shirt over his head, using it to wipe his sweaty hair. Then he poured water into his hands and splashed it on his face. My tongue almost rolled out of my mouth when he dumped the water over his head, streams sluicing down the sides of his face to his broad chest.

He opened his eyes, finding me staring. He cocked his head. I raised an eyebrow, biting my lip. God, why did I have to be so attracted to this man? It was annoying, considering I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. We were done, done, done.

I walked over to him, leaning against the side of his truck. “I swore I just stepped into an eighties hair band video. Only, instead of a writhing woman with big hair, it’s a big, sexy lumberjack.”

He chuckled as he pulled a fresh T-shirt over his head. “Sexy, huh?” He touched the tip of my nose. “You have freckles.”

“The sun always brings them out.”

“You look like a California girl.”

“Born and bred, baby.”

He scanned me from bottom to top. “Are you thinking about covering up?”

I touched my bare stomach and batted my lashes at him. “Not really.”

He pulled a T-shirt out of his bag and held it out to me. “Put this on.”

I batted his hand away. “Why are you always trying to cover me up?”

Before he could answer, Theo called for him, asking for the name of the diner they’d gone to once. While Lachlan’s attention was off me, I drank in my fill of his sun-kissed skin, wishing I could slide my hands under his tee to get to more of it. He turned back to me, finding me staring again. The look he gave me would have been stern if not for the heat behind it.

“You’re riding with me,” he announced.

“Why? Wait—where are we going?”

He chuckled, pushing me into the passenger seat. I was so used to it now, I went without much resistance. “While you were eye fucking me, everyone else decided where to go eat.”

“You’re smug. You can’t be sure that’s what I was doing.”

He buckled my seat belt, then dragged his fingertips along my bare belly. My body betrayed me by shivering.

Lachlan smirked like he’d proven something. “I know what I know.”

The drive to the beachside diner wasn’t long. Once we were there, I hopped out of the truck and grabbed my sundress from Theo’s car. I wasn’t about to admit I liked riding in Lachlan’s truck better than being crammed in the back of Theo’s Toyota—but that was solely for the leg room.

Our group found a round corner booth that fit us all, and I ended up wedged between Marco and Lachlan. It wasn’t bad, as far as man sandwiches went.

Lachlan was uncharacteristically twitchy, passing the laminated menu back and forth between his hands. I dug my nails into his thigh under the table.

“Stop moving. You’re driving me crazy,” I hissed.

When he stilled, I started to move my hand away, but he reached down and placed his on top of mine, keeping me there. I didn’t have time to process the move before our bubbly, adorable brunette waitress approached the table, her pen and pad poised and ready for action.


Tags: Julia Wolf Romance