“’Cause it was a mistake, right?” His jaw was hard again.
“Yes,” she whispered. She doubted he heard her over the loud music, but he’d seen her answer on her lips.
He took a step closer. “Maybe I don’t want to forget—”
“You ready to leave?” Joe said to Adam, appearing suddenly at their sides.
She spun to face her brother. Shit. He was still in the bar? She’d assumed he’d left. He could have seen her and Adam.
“You two look like you’re having a serious conversation.” Her brother’s gaze slid between the two of them.
She shook her head, forcing a sardonic grin. “Adam was being his usual douchey self.”
“And your little sister is being a brat,” Adam said, catching the lifesaver she’d thrown. Thankfully Joe didn’t seem to pick up on the total lack of enthusiasm behind his words.
Joe snorted. “You two need to sort your shit out, seriously. You need to be more like me. I don’t even know how I do it sometimes. So many hats. So many. Model citizen, devoted boyfriend, sex god…”
Lucy punched his arm. “Stop there before I throw up in my mouth.”
“You’re right. There can only be one sex god. Trying to be like me is an impossible goal that will only set you up for failure.”
She gave her brother a shove toward the exit. “I have drinks to deliver. Leave already.”
Joe smacked a kiss on her cheek, patted her on the head, and glanced at Adam. “Let’s roll.”
Adam didn’t take his eyes off her as he dipped his chin.
Then they walked away, and she couldn’t take her eyes off Adam, couldn’t look away until he disappeared out the door.
She dragged in a sharp breath, only realizing she’d been holding it while she watched him leave.
What the hell was she going to do?
Chapter Seventeen
This wasn’t going to be painful at all.
Adam shut his car door and walked up to Hugh and Shay’s front door. The sun was beating down on the back of his neck, but that wasn’t why sweat trickled between his shoulder blades. He’d tried to get out of the barbecue lunch, but Shay had insisted. How did you turn down Shay, sweet, pregnant Shay? It was impossible. She’d batted those lashed, offered up one of those famous open smiles, and he’d said, “I’ll be there.”
The idea of seeing Lucy again was equally thrilling and pure torture. At least she was out of the apartment above the garage. She’d moved into Shay’s old trailer a couple of days earlier. Hugh was being weird about it. Not happy that Shay had made it easier for Lucy to stay instead of going back to school. Adam had hoped the old adage out of sight, out of mind would be the case. Well, at least make his life a little easier, since seeing her every day had been agony. Of course, that hadn’t been the case, and now he was supposed to sit in the backyard with her and pretend he didn’t want her, that it wasn’t taking everything in him not to pull her into his arms, bury his nose in that sexy spot between her neck and shoulder, and demand she give him the night she denied him when she’d gotten on that bus.
He thrust his fingers through his hair. Who the fuck was he kidding? He wanted more than one night.
He wanted more than just sex.
But he couldn’t have it.
There was no point denying it. He wanted every part of her. Wanted her to relinquish everything that was Lucy Colton to him. The secret places of her soul that she’d never revealed to another person. But to deserve that, he’d have to do the same, and that wasn’t something he could give, to anyone.
“You going in? Or are you going to stand there all night staring at the door handle?”
He spun around as Lucy came up the stairs toward him. His heart fired off one heavy beat that sucked the oxygen from his lungs. Jesus. She was beautiful. She had on a green sundress, a shade that matched her eyes. Her legs and arms were bare, dark hair a soft tumble down her back. It hurt to look at her and not be able to touch.
Lucy stayed several feet away, but that did nothing to stop the electricity firing between them. No, it seemed to intensify with every passing second. Her eyes lifted, connecting with his, and his gut tightened, his groin growing heavy.
Goddamn it.
“Luce—”
The woman moved as fast as a bolt of lightning. Striding past him, she pushed the door open before he knew what she was going to do. “We’re here!” she called into the hall, cutting him off completely.
He wanted to wrap his arm around her waist and haul her back out, drag her up against him, and make her talk to him, look at him. He wanted another glimpse of the woman she’d shown him when they were on the road. He didn’t want to go back to the way they’d been before, carrying on like there wasn’t this huge thing between them. Trying to pretend nothing happened.