So much for his resolve to avoid women, and not only that, she was just the kind of woman he wanted to avoid. But there were definite sparks between them and they might as well explore it. Right? Right.
“Let’s go.” He took her elbow and led her out of the bar.
“In a hurry?” Amusement shaded her smoky voice.
“Yep. I really need a milkshake.”
She laughed.
He paused on the sidewalk and squinted at her. “You drive to work?”
“Yeah. I’m parked out back.”
Damn. He wanted her with him in his truck. “You want to come with me? I’ll bring you back to your car.”
She pursed her lips and considered the offer.
“Whenever you want,” he added. He wanted to just grab her and haul her into his truck, but sensed her hesitation. He had a sister and had constantly warned her about being careful around strange guys, so he got that.
She studied him with those big brown eyes, then nodded. “Okay.”
He led her down the dark sidewalk to his truck and sensed her surprise when he bleeped the locks and opened the passenger door for her.
“Nice truck,” she said.
He helped her climb in, no easy feat in that tight skirt and heels. The skirt rose high on firm thighs and he couldn’t drag his eyes away from the view. Holy hotness.
“Uh. Thanks. Just got it a few months ago.”
“Not what I would have pictured you driving.”
He rounded the vehicle and settled into the driver’s seat. “What would you picture me driving?”
“A Lamborghini, or something…expensive and fast and showy.”
He turned and frowned at her. “Seriously? You call me farm boy. What farm boy drives a Lamborghini?”
She blinked. “Right.” She tipped her head and looked around the interior of the truck. “On second thought, maybe this is what I’d picture you driving.”
“Lovey totally busted my balls for buying a truck in the city.” He reversed, shoulder checked, and easily pulled out of the parking spot. “But I like it.”
“I guess you should drive what you like.”
“What kind of car do you have?”
She snorted. “An ancient Honda Civic.”
His brows rose. “Uh…okay.”
“It’s old. It’s beat-up. It’s been running great up till recently.” She shrugged. “It gets me around. Mostly. I’d take public transportation everywhere if I could, but I don’t live exactly close to campus and work, and the modeling jobs I get can be anywhere.”
“I guess, yeah.” He flicked on a blinker and made a turn. “Why don’t you live closer to campus?”
“Easton offered me a place to live when I moved here. I can’t afford much on my own. I pay him a small rent.”
“Oh.” He considered that. The building she lived in was pretty nice. He’d figured she was doing well with her modeling, well enough to afford a good apartment. “I guess it’s cheaper to share. I have a roommate too.”
“Marc.”
“Yeah.”
“Somehow I think you can both afford your own place.”
Duncan laughed. “Yeah. Marc was living with a girl, but when they broke up she kept the apartment and he moved in with me. We have fun hanging out together, so he’s never moved on, but I think if things keep going the way they are with Lovey, he’ll probably move out. He’s hardly ever there anymore.”
He caught the flash of her smile in the dark interior. “You sound like you miss him already.”
He huffed a laugh. “Yeah. It’s been cool having someone around. Actually, Lovey was staying with us too, until she got her own place a couple of months back. I was giving her a hard time about getting her own apartment, but since she moved out I kinda miss her. I have to admit she’s fun to have around and she’s a great cook. Plus, I could keep an eye on her while she was living with us.”
“I’m sure she appreciated that.”
He caught the dry tone of her voice and shot her a grin. “Not really.”
“Are you an overprotective big brother?”
“She’d probably say yeah. She’s my little sister. I’ve always looked after her. And she’s made some bad decisions in her life, so I just want to make sure she’s doing okay.”
“Bad decisions…like what?”
“Like purple hair, getting caught skinny-dipping, taking out a loan to buy a car she couldn’t afford, quitting a good job on a whim, dumping guy after guy…I could go on.”
Amber laughed. “Those aren’t major life decisions. Everyone makes mistakes.”
“True.” Maybe he was a little hard on Lovey.