“You might be right, baby.”
“I tend to be.” She winked and picked up her wine glass. “So, back to you and me. Do I get to be your dirty little secret for a while?”
“Dirty, huh?” I laughed.
She stood up, grabbed my beer out of my hand, and set it on the side table. “Definitely dirty.” She planted a knee on the side of my chair and rested her hands on my shoulders.
“I have to say, I really thought you were going to be a lot less accepting of this.”
She planted her other knee next to my thigh. “It makes sense.” She sat back, her butt resting on my thighs. “You love your job. Your job makes your mom and dad proud, your dad especially. I get you not wanting to let him down, even if you’re well past the age of needing his approval.”
“You got all of that from the jumbled mess I just said?”
Her head nodded, and she smiled. “I was the same way with my mom before she died. I knew she was proud of me no matter what, but I always strived to actually do my best because I didn’t want to let her down.”
“But what if your dad doesn’t like that you are dating me?”
She shrugged. “I don’t think you really get my relationship with my dad.”
“Uh, kind of?”
A laugh bubbled from her lips. “I love him. I always have, but it’s not the kind of love you’ll do whatever you can to make them proud.” She grabbed a strand of her hair and twirled it around her fingers. “It’s really hard to vocalize it from my head to words, but I’ll try.”
I wrapped my arms around her waist. “I’m all ears, baby.”
“How can I worry about the feelings of a man who couldn’t be bothered to make it to any of my softball games or call once a week? He wasn’t there. There was a year that went by, where I could count on one hand the amount of times I had seen my father and still have three fingers left over. So, I repeat, I love the man, but whether or not he likes you doesn’t matter to me.”
“Then why did you move to Leeds Square?”
“This is where it gets a little tricky.” She sighed and rested her hands on my chest. “While I know what my father is, I still have the nine-year-old little girl inside me who will do anything to have a relationship with her father that’s more than sporadic phone calls and a check mailed every month.”
“Me being around might mess up that chance for that little girl.”
A heavy sigh escaped her mouth. “And why do you think Roc hates you so much? Did you steal his sunglasses or blow up the race car?
“Those are rather specific things,” I laughed.
“I know the things that would drive him insane the most.”
I rested my hands on her thighs. “I don’t know why your dad doesn’t like me, baby. He just seems to ride my ass hardest out of everyone. Jay could be taking a nap in the middle of the shop, and Roc will step over him to come yell at me about the loose screw he found last week.”
“Now that seems rather passive aggressive of him,” she laughed. She leaned forward and rested her forehead on mine. “Maybe he just likes you, and he doesn’t want to look like he’s favoring you.”
“Well, there is no chance of that ever happening. Roc favoring someone has never happened. Ever.”
She trailed her fingers up my shoulders and delved them into my hair. “Then I guess I’ll just have to make up for that, won’t I?”
“Hmm, I like the way that sounds, baby.” I pressed a kiss to her lips, and she sighed.
“Think maybe we should take this in the house?” she asked.
I moved my hands to her ass and squeezed gently. “I kind of like where we are right now.” I didn’t want to move. I had Harlyn right where I wanted to be with her, and I didn’t want to do anything to send her running again. I pressed another kiss to her lips. “Though, I’m not gonna be able to stay long tonight, baby. Roc made the call to roll out at four a.m., and I don’t have anything packed.”
“Don’t you just need jeans, a couple racing shirts, and underwear?”
“Socks, not underwear.”
Her eyes dropped to my crotch. “Does that mean…” she trailed off.
I hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her head back. “That’s exactly what it means.”
She swallowed hard and bit her bottom lip. “Uh, so you need to pack, uh, things, but you have time to stay for pizza right?”
“Is pizza the only thing you have me staying for?” I drawled.
“You’ll have to come inside and find out.”
*
Harlyn
I wanted him.
There was no more denying it.
I had initially been a little miffed the rest of the day at work about the way he had acted about Roc being my dad. And if I were being honest, I was miffed until he opened his mouth and told me why he loved his job so much.
Remy wanting to keep a connection he had with his dad was honorable. Even though I’m sure no matter what job Remy had, his dad would be proud. So he didn’t want to shout it from the rooftops we were dating, but I was more than okay with that. I wanted to spend time with Remy, and the less people there were honing in on the time we were spending together, the better. Besides, he knew he wouldn’t to be able to hide us from Roc forever.
“What do you guys eat when you’re out?”
Remy looked up from the plate in front of him. “Food.”
I rolled my eyes. “What kind of food? Are you always eating out?”
He shook his head. “Nah. Brooks keeps us stocked with food. Normally Hank or Charles do all of the cooking. That’s not to say we don’t eat out, though. Just for the most part, if we’re not traveling, we have meals cooked for us.”
“Hmm, totally not what I thought. I figured you survived off fast food and pizza.”
“Now you are talking about my college years,” he snickered.
I grabbed the half empty pizza box off the counter and held it out to him. “You done?”
He nodded. “I think I’m good for now.” He glanced at the clock behind me. “I need to get going pretty soon, baby. I wish I could stay longer, but I’m supposed to be driving the hauler tomorrow, and while I know what I’m doing, I’d much prefer to do it on more than two hours of sleep.”
Damn my father for deciding to leave at the ass-crack of dawn. “You’re in the hauler all by yourself?” I closed the top of the pizza and set it in the fridge. I had dinner for the next two nights.
“Jay will probably be with me. Roc tends to ride with Frankie so he can chew her ear off about all of the problems with the car.”
“Frankie is pretty important around there, huh?”
He nodded. “She is. Although she doesn’t always get the credit she deserves. Especially from Brooks. I swear, Frankie could walk around naked in front of the guy, and he wouldn’t even notice. Brooks may be her boss, but Frankie doesn’t care for the guy at all.”
“Is it weird I’ve never actually met the dude in person yet?” I laughed. “So I can’t really be a judge of whether or not he’s a sexist ass who doesn’t like women or if he’s just completely clueless?”