She was in town for a short while, yet she treated her job and his sister with respect. There was a lot of character in Whitney, more he was discovering every day. Which wasn’t helping his resolve to resist her.
“Just doing my job. And I like to stay busy,” she said, but he knew it was more than that. She cared enough to help in small ways. There was a lot he wanted to say to her—do to her—but the aisles were lined with people.
“Busy?” Ryder asked. “I take it you’re not the ‘take it easy and relax’ kind of woman?”
The way her gaze hit his chest, then trailed down to his belt and back up, made his cock instantly respond, and those fantasies he’d been fighting climbed to the forefront of his mind.
“There’s way too much to experience for me to relax,” she said, with a throaty tone and a lusty look. “For example, did you know people get naked, cover their bodies in paint and have sex on a big sheet of paper?” She tapped one of the cans and looked his body over as if imagining a painting session herself, and his thoughts were right there with her.
“That right?” he rasped. “Well, I’ve never been much of an art genius, but some body paint sounds right up my alley.”
“Maybe it’s an experience you should consider,” she said with a smile.
He knew right away what she meant, because he’d give up sleep just to stay in orgasmic bliss experiencing her.
He closed in the last few feet until his mouth hovered over hers. He placed his hand on the paint wall behind her and leaned in…
Crash!
One of the paint cans fell to the floor, snapping him back to reality.
Everyone looked his way, and he bent down and picked up the can, thankful it hadn’t exploded.
The trance was broken, and he was kind of pissed at the paint can for that. He set it back on the shelf harder than he meant to.
“Well, I hope you enjoy your experience painting,” he said. With that, he grabbed the red paint he knew matched the color of the booths and handed it to her. He turned and walked back to his own aisle.
Even though everything in his body was screaming for him to turn around.
Diamond: Bright, Shiny, and Rough around the edges.
Whitney held up the T-shirt and looked at the bright red lettering. Hmm. It was her first day off since she’d been in Diamond, and it was a tradition that she always got a shirt from the places she’d been. But she was having trouble picking out the right one.
At least it was giving her something to do until the next time she ran into Ryder. After the paint aisle run-in with him the other day, she’d resolved to stay away from the hardware store, and anywhere else he frequented, because holy hell, just being near him got her hot. And she knew that wasn’t the way to get naughty Ryder to come out and play again.
He wanted distance? She was giving it. It was only a matter of time before that distance ate away at his self-control and brought him back to her for another round.
After they’d had sex on his truck—pause for shivers at the memory—she’d realized that Ryder liked his boundaries and rules and control. And Whitney was learning she liked losing control with him. Especially when he lost it back. He just needed time to convince himself he was in control. And then? Pause for more shivers.
She held up another shirt and looked at the slogan.
Diamond: vampire-free but we still sparkle.
She raised a brow. It felt more lackluster than anything, but she liked the creativity.
“Hi there!” a sweet voice rang out. Lily McCade stood next to her in pink scrubs, with a small basket dangling from her arm.
“Hi,” Whitney said. “How are you?”
“I’m well, thanks. Just getting off work. It’s nice to see you again.”
Whitney had met her briefly when she’d come into the BBQ a few nights before. She and Penny seemed to be BFFs of some kind.
“You settling in all right?” Lily asked. Her sunny hair and rosy cheeks gave off a glow no one else seemed to have. She wasn’t much older than Whitney, yet she was decades beyond her in experience. There was a maturity and patience in Lily that made Whitney feel at ease. It was the same kind of light she’d loved about her sister Kacey.
“Yeah, I was just looking for a T-shirt.”
“Oh, well those look like great choices.” Though her words were nice, her frown made Whitney think twice. Lily shook her head slightly. “I think those are too big for you, though.”
Whitney glanced at the shirt she was holding. It was, in fact, two sizes too big. “I like them a bit bigger.” She usually tied them up to wear during the day, and they could double as nightshirts to wear in the evenings.
She tapped the one in Whitney’s hand. “Well, this green here is a great color. Would look great with your skin tone.”
She glanced at Lily’s basket. It had a toy water gun, Cheetos, and peanut butter in it. Though this little shop on Main wasn’t a grocery store, it had odd knickknacks and a few essentials. They also had a bulk candy bin in the back that Whitney had her eye on. She’d need to stock up on Sour Patch Kids sooner than later. But it was small and quaint and seemed to be a place a lot of people frequented.
“I was just getting a little toy for Alex.” Lily sighed and held up the water gun. “He spends most of his summers in the water, and I assume this year will be no different.”
Whitney nodded. “How old is he?”
A proud smile lit up Lily. “Almost seven. I can’t believe how fast it goes.”
Judging by Lily’s youthful glow, she must have had Alex when she was young. The closer she looked at those big blue eyes, the more she saw not only patience, but sadness, like life had been hard on her a time or two. Whitney recognized that look. It was one worn by a person who had loved and lost.
Whitney couldn’t help but wonder who Lily had lost.
“You have anything planned for Saturday night?” Lily asked, reaching past Whitney to grab a bottle of tequila off the nearby shelf. She might be a mama, but apparently she also knew how to have a good time.
“Just working,” Whitney said. “I think I have the breakfast to lunch shift that day, though.”
“Yeah, Penny mentioned that Rocco would work the late shift so you two could come over.”
Whitney frowned. “Come over?”
“Yes, girls’ night at my place. You have to come. I hope you like margaritas and The Bachelor. Although…” She let out a long huff. “We can’t actually talk about The Bachelor much anymore because Autumn gets really mad. And it has nothing to do with pregnancy hormones. She starts going off on how all the men are jerks and that no one really likes roses anyway. But she’s still lots of fun!”
Whitney remembered Autumn—aka Auto—from last week. “She’s the pregnant supermodel, right?”
Lily laughed. “Yep, that’s her. Only she runs the mechanic shop.”
Whitney nodded. It sounded like fun, a night with girls. She hadn’t done that since…
Kacey was alive.
In fact, she hadn’t really made friends in the entire year she’d been bouncing from place to place.
“I don’t want to intrude,” she said, but Lily just frowned fiercely and put a hand on her hip.
“You aren’t. I invited you because I want you there. So do the other girls.”
Wow, Lily had the mom glare and tight language down. From the tone of her voice, she was bringing Whitney into the fold, and there was no chance to turn down the offer. Like Whitney was family, and that was that. Period.
“Okay.” Whitney caved instantly, unable to deny the bright-eyed, tough chick a thing. She knew how to deliver a command, that was for sure.
“Great!” She smiled, back to being Mary Sunshine. “Just come on over with Penny. It’ll be so fun. I can’t wait!”
“Can I bring anything?” Whitney asked.