“I can do that.” He steps back and drops his hand. “Ember, I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?”
“Yeah, I think we both know why.”
“We do?” I say as more of a question.
“Yeah, I haven’t exactly been nice the few times we were around each other. There’s no excuse for my behavior.” His voice is laced with regret.
“You were polite at the party.”
“Polite?” he sneers. “That’s a good way to say I was a jerk.”
“No! That’s not at all what I said.”
“You didn’t have to. But that stops now.”
“What stops?” I’m completely lost trying to follow this conversation.
His eyes dance with humor, and he gives me the sexiest grin I’ve ever seen. “You’ll see. Let’s start with dinner.”
Without another word, he walks out, leaving me stunned.
Chapter 2
Give Something a Chance
Ember
“Wakey, Wakey, little skanky!” Cruz sings as he barges in my room, plopping down on the bed.
“Ugh, go away. I’m still tired.” I cover my head with a pillow, hoping he’ll leave me alone.
“Nope, you’ve got some explaining to do. And then you have a few texts to return.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Who’s the hunk on the video footage coming and going into the shop last night?”
“Are you serious? What possessed you to look through the footage from the security system?” I kick my foot, hoping to connect with one of his body parts. He grunts when I hit his hip.
“You told Mom you were thinking of closing early because of the creeper that came in. Of course I was going to look. I don’t like you there by yourself at night, Ember. You know this.”
My eyes open to see my cousin wiggling his eyebrows at me suggestively.
I groan and throw one arm over my eyes. “Don’t get any ideas. He was being nice. That’s Robbie Hayes.”
“Why would I get any ideas? Maybe because he left and came back fifteen minutes later with take-out and then walked you to your car after closing? And now you have three text messages from this ‘Robbie Hayes’. So, yeah, safe to say, time to spill.”
I love my cousin more than anything in the world. He and my Aunt Chloe saved me from a dark and twisted path that was inevitable if I stayed in Alabama five years ago. If it wasn’t for them, there’s no telling where I’d be today. For years, they tried to get me away from the shit happening in my home and move to Tennessee. But I never left, hoping things in my house would change. Finally, I realized it would never get better, so I moved.
He’s more like a brother, always protecting me, pushing me to come ‘out of my shell’, wanting to test my limits and enjoy life. So it shouldn’t surprise me that he would question my visitor last night. But knowing he has my phone alarms me. There is no telling the lengths he would go to if he thought there was a chance to set me up on a date.
“What do you mean, three texts? He doesn’t have my number.”
Cruz lays back and props up on an elbow, watching me expectantly. I sigh and replay the story from last night in detail. Then I tell him about all the other times I’ve been around Robbie, and his cold reception towards me. When I’m done, he exhales loudly and pats my hand gently.
“Sounds like he has seen the error of his ways. Maybe he recognized what an ass he’s been.”