Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Several people turned their heads, but she didn’t care. The gossip would make its way back to her parents, and then it would be up to them. Not that she expected anything. It didn’t seem to matter what she did or didn’t do, they were going to judge her regardless. Unlike her sister who got a free pass, she never did. They judged her for everything. Pushing them out of her mind, she followed Brick’s lead as he got a table.
“Is this place any good?” he asked.
“You’ve never been to the diner?”
“Nope.”
“How long have you been in town?” she asked.
He wrinkled his nose. “In all honesty, we’ve not been to town that often. The bar and clubhouse, as well as the open road, draws us out. We’re not ones for hanging around small towns. Also, Rebel doesn’t want us causing trouble.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Are you used to causing trouble?”
“Only the best kind.”
Cathy loved the way he winked at her.
They found a quiet booth, and Brick let her go so she could slide in opposite him. She was pretty sure he didn’t like letting her go, which was an entirely new experience for her.
She wasn’t used to men wanting to be so close to her, but it was a feeling she rather liked.
****
Brick stared across at Cathy, who smiled at him. Damn, he loved her smile. Even a small one seemed to light up her whole face. When he saw her come into the bar last night, she hadn’t been smiling. He’d been so caught up in her body that he hadn’t realized she wasn’t happy. Then, all he’d wanted to do was make her smile.
He hoped he never met her sister because he didn’t know if he would be able to control himself. He’d known a lot of bitches in his time, but her sister seemed to be on another level.
The waitress came to take their order, and Brick ordered double of everything. He was starving and needed food. Cathy placed her order for the same, only single of everything.
“Are you sure you’ll be able to eat all of that?” she asked.
“Babe, I worked up an appetite last night. Trust me, it would have been better if you’d stayed and we’d gotten breakfast, but lunch is the next best thing.”
There was that beautiful, sweet smile again.
“So, uh, I don’t really know what to do or say right now,” she said, frowning.
“Have you been on a lot of dates?” he asked.
“Is this a date?”
“Yeah, it is.”
Again, that fucking smile. It was twisting his guts.
“I’ve not been on loads of dates. A couple. Not many. I don’t really have a lot to compare to. It’s hard to explain.”
“Nothing hard to explain. You’ve been around a bunch of fucking losers, it sounds like to me,” Brick said. He shrugged. “Their loss.”
“You really think so?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s their loss, all of it, but I’m the lucky bastard who got you.”
She opened her mouth and closed it. “Thanks.”
He frowned. “You’re not used to getting compliments, are you?”
“Not in person. Through my channel, I do, but not in real life.” She took a deep breath. “Trust me, I’m not looking for pity or anything like that.”
“Well, let’s change that. I want to get to know you,” he said.
“You do?”
“Yeah, I noticed you don’t have a lot of pictures around your house,” he said.
She frowned and sat back. “How could you know that if you haven’t been in the rest of my house?”
“It’s kind of a knack of mine. Scoping out the area, knowing my surroundings. When you’re on the road, it’s what you’ve got to do to survive. There are a lot of people out there that would have you killed.”
“Is that why you’re settling down at Storm’s Bar?” Cathy asked.
Normally, when it came to personal questions, he made sure to shy away. He didn’t want people he didn’t know snooping around in his business. The law has always spent its fair share wanting him and the club.
Again, they never got what they wanted. Rebel, the club president, knew what to do and when to do it, to avoid any bullshit landing at their door.
Cathy was no snitch. She wasn’t an undercover cop. She was a woman who was curious about him. And he found that refreshing.
“Yeah, I guess. Also, the club prez is married now, has a kid, and that whole deal. The clubhouse is open to those of us that want to settle down, or just pit stop. We’re a club that has each other’s backs, but we’re not like close-close. If that makes sense.”
“And did you love it on the open road?” Cathy asked.
“I did for a long time.”
“And now?”
“I’m the one that is supposed to be asking you all these questions, getting to know you.”
“And I can’t ask them of you?”