“I was looking in the florist shop.”
“What? Seriously? You wanted to see all the pretty flowers?” She couldn’t help but feel a little sarcastic. Pushing her hair out of her face, she looked up and stopped.
James Hard pulled off his helmet and came barreling toward her.
“So you were probably looking for flowers for your next conquest?” she asked, chuckling.
“What?”
“You haven’t changed a bit.”
“Eliza Reid,” he said. “I have changed a lot, actually.”
She wasn’t going to point out the obvious. Neither of them were teenagers anymore, and well, it looked like he was still blessed to be so handsome.
He came toward her, and she held out her arms to be helped up. As he tried to lift her, she cried out.
“Oh, no. I saw what happened,” Aunt Betty said, rushing out of the shop.
“I’m fine. Do you think everyone would mind if I just camped out here all night?” She looked down at her leg. Blood seeped from some of the cuts and she wrinkled her nose.
“Does it hurt?” Aunt Betty asked.
“Tickles a little.”
“You can’t get up,” James said. “I didn’t mean to hit you. Were you standing in the center of the road?
“You were the one paying attention to the florist shop. You got a crush on my aunt or something?” She cringed. “Ignore me. I was checking our lunch order, and well, nothing bad ever happens here.”
“You need to get her to the doctor to look over her leg. It doesn’t look broken,” Aunt Betty said. “I’d rather know, though, than risk hurting her more.”
“He’s got a bike. How am I going to get there?”
Aunt Betty pulled out a pair of keys. “I’ll help you into my car and he can drive you. I’ll call from the shop. You know I can’t leave it.”
“Yeah, that big order you’ve got coming. No problem. I’m fine, really.” Spending her time with James Hard was exactly what she wanted.
He was hot, cute, and of course, a total player. She didn’t think for a second he’d changed a bit. There had been a rumor she’d heard back in high school that he was going to ask her to the prom. She’d waited, and waited, and waited, but he never did. There was no way she was going to ask him. No, not with the old reputation her real mom had, she wouldn’t risk it.
Instead of going to prom, she and Aunt Betty watched lame romance movies and ate way too much popcorn and ice cream. It had been fun, but it also made her realize she needed to get out of town.
Pushing all of those thoughts aside, she focused on James. She wasn’t going to get her hopes up. The guy had just mowed her down with a bike.
Chapter Two
He ran her down!
He ran her fucking down because he’d been so preoccupied with trying to see her.
As he drove Aunt Betty’s car, he could tell it needed some work. Nibbling his lip, he tried not to think. To keep his mind completely blank.
James couldn’t believe he’d hurt her. Out of all the people he could have run down, it had to be Eliza.
She was stretched out in the back seat, resting her head against the window.
“You can’t go to sleep. You may have a concussion if you’ve hit your head.”
“I don’t know what I hit. When did you start riding a motorcycle?”
“Some time ago. Not long after you left town.”
“You don’t like cars?”
He chuckled. “I like cars just fine. I just happen to like my bike a lot more. Maybe one day I’ll take you out for a ride on it.”
“I’d like that. We’re not going near any florist shops, though. I don’t think my body could handle it. You know, if I was a kid, I’m sure I’d have just jumped right back up and not had a problem. Today, my body isn’t playing with me.”
“Bodies have a way of doing that. You know, telling us what they want.”
“I hear you. It hurts. Big time.” She rubbed at her temples. “I think I’ve got a headache.”
“I’ll have you at the doctor’s soon.”
“I know. Is it still David?”
“Yep. David is still the main doctor.”
“Can he still see? I remember his glasses were huge and thick when I was a kid. I’m sure he didn’t put the right Band-Aid on me once. He put the sticky bit across the boo-boo.”
James smiled. “I can’t believe you’re thirty years old and still say boo-boo.”
“It is what it is. How about you? How are you?” she asked.
He glanced in the rearview mirror, taking a good long look at her. “How am I?” he asked. “I’m good, you know. I’m coping. Handling everything. Doing what I must do. That kind of thing.” He shrugged. “You?”
“I meant, do you have a wife? A couple of kids? Do you work on your motorcycle? Any of the good stuff, James.”
“Ah, we’re doing the whole catching-up routine. We really are grown-ups now.”
Eliza laughed and he loved the sound. “It’s been a long time. I don’t know how all this goes. I think it’s polite to ask people about their life, right?”
“I’ve heard it helps.”
“Please tell me to fuck off if you really don’t want to know any more,” she said.
“Look at you using all the curse words now.”
“Don’t tell Aunt Betty. She’ll have me dusting her plants back at home for the next week.” She winced. “I think I’ve got a good enough reason to not be, you know, eloquent. She always told me a lady holds herself in high standards. This coming from a woman I heard curse out one of the known asses in town.”
James laughed. “I’m not married. No kids. My brother is the mechanic. I own the DIY store near the library. I’m also the resident plumber and electrician. I’ve been known to help with building projects as well.”
“Ah, okay. Which brother is the mechanic?”
“Caleb.”
“The rebel.”
He burst out laughing. “Yeah, the rebel. I do like that.”
She snorted. “What about Rome, is it? Isn’t he the youngest of you Hard boys?”
“He’s doing good. He’s an accountant.”
“I’m not going to lie. That sounds so boring.”
“It is, but whenever we’re around, he doesn’t start talking about numbers so dinners aren’t sleepy.” He looked back in the rearview mirror. Her hair seemed more blonde than he recalled, almost as if she’d put a dye on it, but he knew that wasn’t the case. She’d always had the lightest and softest-looking hair.
Every time he looked at her, he just wanted to run his hands through the locks.
Of course, he never had. That had stalker and all kinds of weirdo attached to it, and he wasn’t about to make her uncomfortable.
“I hate my leg.”
“I’m sorry about your leg.”
“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have stopped to check my lunch. Force of habit.”
“So, tell me about yourself,” he said. “We’ve talked about me, what about you?”