“I’m okay with that.”
“Good.”
“You wanna know why?” I whispered.
“I got a pretty good feeling of why, but it’s be nice to hear it from your mouth.”
I closed my eyes and felt the words on the tip of my tongue. “I love you, Remy.”
He hissed out a breath, and hugged me tight. “Yeah, I was totally right.”
My elbow bumped in the chest, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “You wanna keep the cockiness down to a minimum while I profess my love for you?”
“Should have done it when I had my dick buried in you, baby.”
“I was a bit speechless at that point,” I muttered.
He brushed my hair off my shoulder and pressed a kiss behind my ear. “Give me five minutes, and I’ll make you speechless all over again, baby.”
*
Chapter 32
Harlyn
“What are your plans for the day?”
Remy looked up from the bowl of cereal in front of him. I had pulled out all the stops with breakfast this morning after professing our love to each other. Cinnamon Toast Crunch and orange juice. I was a regular June Cleaver.
“Run to my house, change, then go to the shop.”
“You’re suspended, Remy.”
He shook his head. “For the next hour or so. After, I’ll either have my job back or I’ll be looking for a new one.”
Jesus. I thought maybe Remy would let Roc calm down the week he was supposedly suspended. Apparently, that was not in his plans at all. “Uh, what exactly are you going to do?”
“Talk to him, Harlyn.” He shoveled a bit of cereal into his mouth.
I don’t know how the man could be so calm when he was about to face the firing range in an hour. “Maybe you could wait until Monday?”
Remy slowly raised his head. “I’m not waiting ‘til Monday, baby. The way I feel isn’t going to change from now to then.”
“I know it’s not, Remy, but maybe if we give Roc a little time to calm down that might help.”
Remy pushed his stool back and patted his leg. “Come here, Harlyn.”
I took a sip of my coffee and looked down at his lap. “If I come over there, I’m never going to make it to work to make sure Roc doesn’t kill you.”
“I promise to keep it quick.” He held up his hands and parted his legs.
I moved between his legs and rest my hands on his thighs.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. “I love you, Harlyn. I don’t know when it happened, but I do.”
My heart sighed at his words. “Same thing happened to me. Although, I think it happened when I was at your mom’s.”
“Don’t tell her because then she’ll somehow try to take credit for getting us together.”
“You’re probably right,” I laughed.
“Back to what I was saying.” He cleared his throat. “I love you, Harlyn, and nothing is going to stop that. I’m not going to wait a week hoping your dad will come to his senses about you and me. If he thinks suspending or firing me is going to make me run for the hills, he’s wrong. I talked with Frankie today. There are jobs out there. Jobs just as good as this one.”
“But you love this one, Remy.” And I was going to be the reason why he didn’t have it anymore.
“I do, but I’ll live if I have to find a new one. I know I won’t live if I have to give you up.” He slid his hand up my body and behind my head. He delved his fingers into my hair and pulled my head to his. “I love you, Harlyn.”
“I love you, too, Remy.” I sighed and closed my eyes. “Now let me go or I won’t be responsible for my actions in ten seconds.”
“Is that so?” he laughed. He pressed a slow, hot kiss to my lips.
That was why I didn’t want to get this close to him. I lost all my senses when he was close, and I craved his touch. Thoughts of getting to work or dealing with my dad fled. It was just me and Remy in that moment.
“God damn, baby,” Remy gasped when he finally let me go.
“Yeah,” I agreed. I took a step back and ran my fingers through my hair.
“No more touching until we get things figured out with your dad. Hopefully when I see you at the shop, I’ll be able to control myself and not take you right there on your desk.”
I giggled and moved to the other side of the counter. A safe distance between Remy and me. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure Roc walking in on us again would make the vein in his throat burst.”
“You saw that too,” Remy chuckled. “Pretty sure he should have a name for that thing.”
I sputtered on the sip of coffee I had just taken. “Now I’m never going to be able to argue with him seriously because the whole time I’ll be trying to name his vein.”
Remy held up his hand. “I say we just call it Throbber and move on.”
“How about Throbert?”
Remy pointed his finger at me. “That’s it right there, baby. Throbert for the win.”
I set my cup in the sink and glanced at Remy over my shoulder. “You do know you have a little bit of your mom in you, right?”
He shrugged and lifted up his bowl to drink the milk. “I lived with the woman for twenty years. You have to think she rubbed off on me in some ways.”
“You know, if it comes down to it, we could always have your mom come and talk to Roc. There is no way in hell he would be able argue with her. She would start out talking about you and me, and then suddenly, she’d be talking about beer drinking fish and the way cheese binds her up but she’ll never give it up.”
Remy downed the cereal milk and set his bowl on the counter. “She told you about the cheese, huh?”
I nodded. “Yeah. It wasn’t pretty.”
“There’s the class just oozing out of Mom again,” he chuckled. He stood up and reached for his bowl, but I grabbed it before he could.
“I got this. Head home and prepare for your showdown with Roc and Throbert.”
“You sure, baby?”
I waved him off and turned on the hot water. “Yes.”
“I love you, Harlyn,” he called.
I looked over my shoulder and smiled. “I love you, too, Remy. Now leave before you kiss me again and we never leave the house.”
His panty-dropping smile crossed his lips, and he winked. He was out the door without another word, and I was left with a few dishes to wash and my own worries about what was going to happen with Roc.
I had already said my peace with Roc. There wasn’t much else I could do.
Now it was up to Remy and praying Roc would actually listen.
*
Chapter 33
Remy
I didn’t know if I was brave or a damn fool.
I had parked the Challenger in front of Cummings Racing five minutes ago, and I was still sitting in the car. Nothing in life ever prepared you for confronting your boss and telling him you were going to date his daughter no matter what.
Roc wanted me to choose between Harlyn and Cummings Racing.
He thought he knew which I would pick.