“No.” She crossed her arms, and her eyes were fucking huge.
I took her in, and I knew this girl. I’d wanted her a fuck of a long time before I finally had her, and trying to get close to her, I got to know her, and the more I knew, the more I liked. Which meant I also knew she wasn’t lying. She didn’t remember one bit of our conversation. And I was a bastard because that made this a lot easier for me. “I asked you if you wanted to come with me and you were all for it.”
“No…hang on a minute. Why would I ever agree to this? This doesn’t make any sense.”
I rested my hand on the steering wheel instead of hooking her around the back of the neck, taking those full lips, and tasting her. “I explained and you agreed.”
She grabbed the door handle. “Explained what?”
“I don’t have a woman, but I needed one this weekend, and seeing as we’re friends and all, you took pity on me and agreed to play my old lady,” I said, the idea solidifying now that I was saying it out loud.
“I what?” she squawked. “No way.” She stared at me, looking shocked and confused. “I can’t go away with you, Manic. I have the café. I can’t just take off. Why would I agree to that?”
“Because I shared what this trip meant to me, and you wanted to help me out.”
She stilled, her gaze searching mine. “What does it mean to you?”
This was the only part that wasn’t a lie. “You already know my relationship with my old man’s complicated, yeah?” She nodded. I’d shared that much with her during our talks over the last year or so. “Well, one of the reasons is a piece of land my grandfather owned. He left it to me when he died. I was still a kid, so the old man was supposed to sign it over to me when I was old enough. I’ve been wanting to build a cabin on it so I can spend time there in the summer. After I joined the Ramblers, the old man decided I shouldn’t have it, that my pops wouldn’t want a man like me to have it. Really, he’s only hurt and pissed off I left.”
“Oh…I’m sorry.” She was softening. Addie looked out for the people in her life, and I’d become one of those people, whether she wanted to admit it or not.
I kept on, pushing my advantage. “I’m ready to build my cabin. But the only way that can happen without getting lawyers involved and fucking up what’s left of our relationship is by showing him I’m not a piece of shit. Taking you with me, making him see me as the kind of man capable of finding a good woman, who’s ready to settle down, the prospect of grand-babies, could change his mind.”
Addie just stared at me, trying to process all I’d laid on her.
“And the café’s covered. You texted Gerald last night, remember?” I added. “He was more than happy to put in some extra hours.”
“I texted Gerald?”
“Christ, cupcake, you really were wasted, huh?” I’d used her phone to let Gerald, her assistant, know she’d be gone for a few days. I knew for a fact the guy was more than capable because Addie had told me so when we were talking one night.
She watched me closely. “I don’t know about this.”
I almost had her. “We’re halfway there, cupcake. Six hours from here back to Rocktown and the same to the mountains. I’ll miss the party if I turn back now.”
She chewed her lip as her gaze slid to my mouth, then darted back. “I wouldn’t want you to miss it.”
Fuck, I wanted her under me. “So we’re good?”
Her throat worked. “You really want me to pretend to be your…girlfriend?”
“Old lady, yeah, if you’re up for it?”
Her dark eyes hit mine then slid away. “You already have an old lady, Manic. Why isn’t she here with you?”
“Levi,” I corrected again and swallowed my growl. “Don’t have a girlfriend, and I sure as fuck don’t have an old lady. I explained that last night as well. Mercedes hangs at the club. We’ve hooked up a couple times. Pretty sure she went home with Spanner last night.” I shrugged. “We’re not in a relationship.”
“You’re not together.”
“No.”
She swallowed several times. “And what happens when your dad learns the truth?”
I had her. “He won’t. I’ll tell him we ended it in a few months, and by then he’ll hopefully have realized that his son isn’t a dirtbag and the building will be underway.”
She chewed her lip again. “Manic, things are…They’re complicated between us. What happened between us that night, I’m not sure this is a good idea—”
“You said yourself, we’re friends, Addie. You telling me you were bullshitting? We were friends before we fucked, and I’d like to get that back. It’s only as complicated as we make it.”