Taking a breath, I look down. I never knew how dangerous eye contact could be. "Okay," I mutter, pushing him away as I can't breathe with him this close. He turns his ball cap backwards, and my insides warm at the bad boy vibe he gives off. I look away, not comfortable with the direction my mind takes when he flips that damn hat backwards. He holds his hand out, his blue eyes conveying he wants me to shake it.Slipping my hand into his palm it's just like I thought, callused and firm. Solidifying that he does like to get his hands dirty. I wonder what else he likes to get dirty... He squeezes my hand and I shake my head of the thought. "Deal," I murmur, hypnotized by the size of his hand and the way it feels around mine. It makes me small, and vulnerable. Protected."We should swear on a Bible," he arches a brow, as if my word isn't my bond.I cross my arms. "I don't have a Bible."A sly smirk pulls at his lips. "Naughty girl," he whispers. "Now, let's go through my ru
"Seriously though, we need to know things on a personal level. Things serious couples would know," he says. "Things that normally bore me and I avoid at all costs," he continues.I furrow my brows at him and his Neanderthal ways of courting a woman."I agree about knowing some aspects of each other's lives, but some things need to be left out to keep this platonic on our end," I advise twirling the ends of my hair."We need to learn about each other's families, what they like, what they don't like-" "My dad won't like you, I know it." I shake my head, imagining the questions my father will fire at him. "Oh, you have no idea what you're in for with my mother. She's hard to please, and won't like you instantly because she didn't pick you out herself." Skepticism bounces behind his eyes, and my face falls."What happened to she'll go to the ends of the earth for you," I respond sarcastically. "Yeah, if she likes you." His brows rise. "She won't like you," he chuckles.M
"I like it," I admire, turning to see how my ass looks in the mirror. Not that Max will be looking at my ass, but a girl needs to know how her ass looks at all times, I think. "You're not getting this back." I glance over my shoulder at her, and she rolls her eyes. "It's too lumberjack for my taste anyway."I don't think Quinn knows what being mother approved entitles. I haven't seen her in anything more than a skimpy dress since I've known her. Hell, the maid of honor dress she was wearing took work. She kept pulling it down and pushing up her cleavage. She looked like an expensive hooker. But beautiful, nonetheless. "You look good cleaned up," Quinn compliments, her gaze growing soft as her eyes take me in."Thank you," I mutter, turning back around to look at myself again. "Are you going to the BBQ?" I ask on a sigh, hoping to have my wingman with me."Nope, it's lady's night at the Southern Fox. Think I'll go find some lonely schmuck to buy me a drink," she informs c
Then again, Rae is one of a kind. I remember the first time I saw her at that wedding. I was jealous of Jacob and I knew immediately she was too good for him. Especially after he told me he screwed the wedding planner the day before the wedding. Me taking Rae and running away with her was the nail in mine and Jacob's relationship and I couldn't be happier about it. He deserves much worse, and if karma has anything to do about it he will soon.Climbing inside, I start the truck and we head to the BBQ."So, my mom is nosey. Try not to engage in conversation too much," she informs. "She's very good at reading body language.""Mine is too. Keep it simple and follow my lead," I suggest. My mom will have you turned around in your own lie before you even know it. She rubs her forehead with a shaky hand; she's nervous."We'll go, make our appearance, and split. It'll be fine," I try to reassure her. Reaching over, I cup her hand, and her eyes drop to our joined palms. My heart sl
"We'll call it a deal after you eye fucked me from across the room and then didn't even have the nerve to compliment my dress," she sasses. Touché. "You look nice," I state dryly, but in all fairness she does look fucking stunning."Why thank you!" she show tunes like I complimented her all on my own accord. "Quinn helped me pick it out," she blushes, looking the dress over."Have you had time to choose what you'd like?" a waitress asks, stepping next to our table. The logo on her shirt indicating Bob's BBQ is catering the town's event. She's cute with her blonde pixie cut, and black apron. Those cheeks are full of freckles, giving off an innocent allure. "I'll take the lobster," Rae hands her the menu. "Hey sweetheart." I wink at the waitress, and can hear Rae roll her eyes from here. "I think I'll have the pulled pork," I inform, slowly taking my eyes to a pissed off Rae back to a sexy little waitress. "I'll get that right in," the waitress replies in a sultry voic
"So tell me about your parents," I change the subject. He rubs at his chin, clearly not liking the turn of conversation."I co-own a business as an architect. It's different than most people think as we take one project on at a time and we help on the building process," he explains."That sounds nice," I genuinely reply and he scoffs. "The other one is my dad, he's all business and ties. We have different ideas on how owning a company should work," his words come out with pain and anguish. "My mom is a trophy wife, her words not mine," he smirks, his hard eyes softening mentioning her. "She is a retired lawyer but you wouldn't know it by the way she's always debating everything you say."I swallow hard, lawyers and architects... I can't help but sound like a third wheel with not going to any prestigious college. "So what about you?" he asks with a lift of his chin.Raising my head I blow a breath through hollowed cheeks."Let's see. My mother teaches night school for dr
Oh shit I'm not ready to do this again. I reach for Max's beer but he snatches it away.Growling, I look over my shoulder at my mother once more.Ponytail high on her head, and yoga clothes so tight they looked painted on. A pink yoga mat tucked under one arm. Yep, that's her."Mom!" I wave, catching her attention. She mumbles something into the phone before hanging up."Rae?" she squints her eyes, it's dark and getting hard to see. "What are you doing here?" she questions with surprise as she walks over to us. "Oh, nice to see you again!" She smiles big at Max."This is Max. Do you remember him?" I gesture my arm out toward Max."Of course," she screeches, and everyone looks our way. "Nice to meet you again, ma'am," Max holds his hand out, the drawl in his voice making my mother blush and me weak in the knees. Oh, he's good."Oh, don't call me that. Makes me feel old. Call me Bailey." My mother blushes and I roll my eyes.My mother shakes his hand, her eyes turning
***RaeThe next dayClimbing out of the shower I glance in the mirror noticing the red splotches from the allergic reaction have started to slowly fade. I learned a valuable lesson last night. Be careful what you wish for. I prayed for dying of an allergic reaction to the lobster, and I broke out in hives late last night. I felt like I was going to die. If it wasn't for Quinn asking our neighbor for Benadryl, who knows maybe I would have.Grabbing the towel, I rub the droplets from my chest."Jeez, I look like a lobster," I frown. Maybe it's because the water was a little hot?Tightening the towel around my body I try not to focus on the spots. Max will be here soon, I have to get ready.Pushing the clothes in my closet aside I look for something date appropriate. Something that doesn't say 'I worked hard to look like this for you', but something that doesn't suggest I didn't even try.I settle on a green tank top with a red and white flannel blouse to match.Biting