Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88057 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88057 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Oh, that’s right. Of course you’d know where to stop. We’re back in your old stomping grounds, right?”
“Yeah.” My voice came out too distant, and Ambrose frowned.
“Wait. Do you not want to stop?” He turned in the seat. “I was mainly being whiny. I can wait on food.”
“No, that’s not it. The barbecue place I’m thinking about is the best dinner we’ll find for a couple of hours. It’s more that I should see if either of my brothers wants to grab a bite.” I chewed the inside of my cheek, trying to keep my voice steady. “We’ll be fairly close to their garage. I texted earlier that I might be passing through.”
“Ah.” Ambrose made a noise that was part surprise and part alarm before he took a breath, voice shifting to a false brightness. “Well, you’re officially off the fake-boyfriend clock. You can introduce me as a friend. No worries.”
“No.” My grip on the wheel tightened.
“Oh.” His voice shook before he recovered his plastic cheeriness. “Client? That works too.”
“No, I’m not introducing you as a client.” My own tone was clipped, jumbled thoughts making it hard to explain why my stomach was in knots.
“I see,” he whispered, hurt lacing his words.
Damn it. I was screwing this all kinds of up. I needed to talk fast.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Harley
Ambrose was pouting. But typical Ambrose, he was doing a damn fine job trying to cover his confusion and hurt by being overly nice and accommodating and not giving me room to get a word in edgewise.
“Well, if I can’t be a friend or a client, I suppose I could eat elsewhere, preferably somewhere with a patio that won’t mind Hercules—”
I made a frustrated noise. “You’re not eating alone. And the barbecue place is super casual with a patio out back. No one will care about the dog. What I meant is that I don’t think of you as a client. Not anymore.”
“Oh.” Just that word, a little balloon of hope hanging between us.
“And friend would surely be an easier answer, but that’s not it either.” Seeing as my frustration was mainly with myself, not him, I tried hard to keep my tone gentle.
“Harley?” Ambrose matched my cautious whisper. “What would you like to introduce me as? I’m good with whatever. Promise.”
“Good buddy that I get naked with?” I suggested simply to get a laugh.
“Accurate.” Looking more at me than the terrain, he offered a small smile topped by pink cheeks.
“Accurate, but I like saving your blushes for later.” Stuck behind a slow-moving truck, I gave him a quick pat on the thigh. “But I also don’t wanna hide and just call you a friend. I’m tired of hiding. So I figured I’d say you’re someone I’m seeing.” I swallowed around a suddenly parched throat because, damn, that speech had been hard to get out.
The question of what to call Ambrose had started rattling around my brain as soon as we’d pulled out of the Rainbow Cove resort, getting louder with each passing mile. The simple fact was that I wanted to break bread with my brothers. Any other time I passed through the area, I would. But this trip had seemed different right from the jump, and after the last few days, I wasn’t sure about much, but I was sure that Ambrose was more than a friend.
“Does that mean you want to see me back in LA?” Ambrose’s voice was still cautious, but a note of eagerness made it far easier for me to relax.
“I owe you steak.” I rolled my shoulders one at a time, keeping my eyes on the road. “And rock crawling. Guess that might make us dating.” A bead of sweat rolled down the back of my neck.
“It might.” Ambrose had turned all thoughtful, which made me shift around in my seat until he laughed, all giddy and pure. “But I’m good with that.”
“You are?” I exhaled, trying to remember if I’d ever been this nervous. Other teens had crushes and broken hearts and will-they-won’t-they questions I’d never understood until here I was at forty, asking the hot, rich nerd to go steady.
I had zero idea what dating Ambrose for real would entail, only that I really wanted to do it.
“I am.” He laughed again, then sobered. “And for the record, I’d be into the idea of dating even if you don’t feel ready to come out to your family as pan.”
“I’m ready. I mean, I’m a little freaked.” I flexed my fingers around the shifter, open, closed, open, closed until I found my way back to a level tone. “But I’m not gonna sit there and let them tease me about when will I ever find someone and how I’m the most single person ever to single when you’re sitting right there.”
I’d known what I’d have to do as soon as I’d texted the twins. What I wanted to do. And what I absolutely could not do to Ambrose. My brothers were great, but subtle they were not.