After I grabbed two coffees, I drove to her apartment and took a beat to get my shit under control before I went in there. Technically, this had nothing to do with the bucket list. I wasn’t specifically paying her for anything that wasn’t directly related to us traveling together. I didn’t know if she saw it like that, but I was choosing to believe that she hadn’t agreed to come with me today for the money.
If I was wrong, so be it. There was nothing I could do about it now anyway.Booked. Paid for. She’s waiting. It’s a done deal.
When she opened the door for me, my breath got stuck somewhere between my lungs and my mouth. Her smile was fucking brilliant, so radiant it could light the sun. That fiery hair was pulled back off her face into a low, loose ponytail that was hanging over one of her shoulders.
Since she didn’t know where we were going, she’d gone for a smart-casual look, wearing skinny jeans with ankle boots and a dressy, patterned brown and purple top. Fine golden jewelry adorned her fingers, wrists, neck, and ears, and her makeup had been only to accentuate her beautiful features.
To me, she looked like she should’ve been taking the damn stage. She looked perfect, and that was without the edgy leather jacket she had hanging over her arm. I recognized it immediately, grinning when it brought back memories of her eighteenth birthday party, which had been the only time in my life when I’d really enjoyed karaoke.
“Argentina, huh?” I asked.
She smiled, seeming surprised that I remembered. “Yeah. Argentina. When my dad got back and said Shawn and I would still be wearing these in ten years’ time, I didn’t believe him, but lo and behold, he was so right. I still love this thing.”
And I have a feeling I’m still going to love you in it.“You look gorgeous. Are you ready to go, or do you need me to wait a few minutes?”
“I’m ready,” she said, stepping out and locking up while glancing at me with her eyes full of curiosity. “Do I get to know where we’re going yet?”
“Nope, it’s still a surprise. You’ll see soon enough.” When she turned and started for the elevator, I followed after her. “How did your writing go yesterday? Where are we on those chart-toppers?”
She laughed. “It actually went really well after your cryptic message. I used all my curious energy to fuel the creativity fire and it really worked. I’m not sure any of my songs will ever top the charts, but there are definitely a few maybes in there.”
“That’s great news,” I said earnestly. “I’m glad it’s going better again. You had me worried for a while there.”
“I know. I had myself worried too, but I’m back on track now, I think.” We climbed into the elevator and descended to the small lobby of her building, chatting on the ride and as we walked out to my car. She looked up and down the street, winking at me when I caught her eye. “What, no limo today? You’re slipping, Mr. Philips.”
“On the contrary, Ms. Ramirez, I like to keep things fresh,” I joked. “The limo has been done now. As has being driven around, so today, I’m driving us in my own car.”
“Which one would that be?” she asked, peering around at all the cars parked against the curb.
I inclined my head to my old Jeep, and her eyes widened. “You’re joking. I really didn’t think you’d still have that.”
“I’ll never sell Rusty,” I said solemnly. “We have too many good memories in him.”
“Her,” she corrected playfully. “We’ve had this argument before, and your ride has to be aher.”
“Rusty is too masculine for that,” I protested, rehashing the same old argument. “I’ve got a few other cars that can be girls, but he’s a boy.”
She groaned. “Girls can be masculine, too, but fine. If you want it to be ahim, who am I to argue?”
I frowned as we headed toward it. “That’s new. If memory serves, you’ve always been more than happy to argue about it.”
“Sure, but that was when I still thought I had a chance at changing your mind. You’ve had this car for a decade now, and you still haven’t changed it. I recognize a lost cause when I see one.”
“So I’m a lost cause now?” I gaped at her, pretending to be hurt as I opened the passenger door and motioned her in. “That’s not very nice.”
“Maybe not, but it is very true.” She smiled sweetly but then dropped the act and sighed happily as she settled into the worn material seat and ran her hand across the dashboard. “Hello, old friend. How have you been, Rusty? It’s so good to see you again.”
As I watched her ringed fingers lightly stroke my car, I groaned internally and wondered when I’d becomethatguy who got jealous of inanimate objects.Just another thing to add to the fucking ridiculous list.
I couldn’t deny that I was jealous of the way she was touching Rusty, though. I’d have given him to her for a chance to have her touch me like that, and I loved this car more than almost anything else. As I rounded it and climbed in behind the wheel, I pointedly reminded myself that today wasn’t about giving her anything or having her touch me. It was merely about doing something nice for her.
Although if seeing her running her fingers along my dash is getting me hard, maybe I need to get laid.It wasn’t the first time I’d had the thought since we’d been back, but I hadn’t acted on it yet. I couldn’t imagine sleeping with anyone else right now, even though there wasn’t anything going on between us.
It would feel too much like cheating on her, and besides, I wasn’t the type to sleep with one woman while sleeping with another, and if my recent fantasies were anything to go by, I’d definitely be thinking about Serenity regardless of who I had underneath me.
Shaking the unnecessary reminder of my recent fantasies—all starring her—out of my head, I turned over the engine and checked the oncoming traffic before easing out of my parking spot. “I’d love to hear more about all your new songs, if you’d like to tell me about them.”
“A lot of them were inspired by our trip,” she admitted. “Not all of them in an obvious way, though. I haven’t written odes to the place, although it certainly deserves them. It’s more that I’ve used our experiences to get my juices flowing again.”