Conception (The Wellingtons #4) - Tessa Teevan Page 0,8

a pretty damn good way to spend my summer in Crystal Cove while trying to forget everything I’ve lost here before.

Maybe next time, I won’t play so hard to get.

THE CAR TAKES OFF SO abruptly that I have to jerk back so the girl doesn’t run over my shoes. Red taillights gleam across the wet pavement, and I stare after her, rain dripping down my face. Another crack of lightning shoots across the sky. I barely notice. I’m too focused on the girl. She seemed frazzled, her green eyes wide with terror when I knocked on her window. I want to follow, ensure she gets to where she’s going.

Something, however, tells me she wouldn’t appreciate it.

Still, with the crazy heat wave hitting Tennessee and much of the South, we’ve experienced stronger storms than usual lately. Even downed trees blocking roads across the county, according to the crackling radio.

With a curse, I jog back to my car and hurry inside. A towel hits me across the face the moment I slam the door.

“Thanks, jackass,” I say, wiping my face off and running the fabric through my hair in hopes of not soaking the driver’s seat. Probably a lost cause.

“What was that about?” In the passenger’s seat, my younger brother, Clay, watches me curiously. I’m not even sure why he decided to come along for my summer break when he’s got a woman back home who’s usually attached at his hip.

“No idea. She wouldn’t roll down the window. Not even an inch.” An image of those pouty, plump lips scowling at me replays in my mind. “A bunny in a bangin’ car like that? Hell, I just hope she gets where she’s going with both of ’em in one piece.”

Just as I utter the words, I do what I’ve been telling myself not to: I follow her. When she turns right onto a small lane, I do the same.

“What the hell are you doing, Knox?” Clay asks.

I turn to glance at him. “What?”

“I told you to go straight back there.”

“Oh. Yeah, well, she seemed shaken. I just want to make sure she gets to wherever she’s going.”

“Ah.”

That one word has me side-eyeing him. “Ah, what?”

“She must’ve been one hell of a ‘bangin’ bunny,’ as you so called her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you said she wouldn’t even talk to you, yet you’re following her home. That’s not creepy at all.”

My hands grip the steering wheel, irritation setting in because he’s probably right. Not that I’ll admit it. “Fuck off. According to the sign, this is a dead end. Soon as she’s parked, I’ll turn around and head towards my place.”

“Whatever you say, bro.”

I’m not sure why I’m following her. There was something about the way she white-knuckled the steering wheel, practically banging her forehead on it, as if she were trying to beat some unwanted thought out of her mind. Or maybe it was the flash of terror and then annoyance in her animated eyes. More likely, it was the fact that she couldn’t be bothered by me, even though I could tell the last thing she wanted to do was drive away.

So here I am, following a random stranger home, for no good fucking reason.

She parks at the last house on the lane, and I wait for her to get out.

“All right, she’s good,” Clay tells me, and I hold a hand up to silence him.

I’m not gonna lie. I want a look at the girl. All of her. We wait for what feels like an eternity, but she doesn’t exit the car.

“Be right back,” I mutter.

Clay’s grumbling protest is lost when I get out of the car and shut the door, effectively silencing him.

Raindrops pelt my skin all along the way to her sports car. Without thinking, I yank on the handle of the passenger’s door, thrilled when it opens. Making a mental note to scold her about leaving her door unlocked to strangers, I slip into the car. Her sudden shriek makes me realize that I’m said stranger and this probably isn’t the best introduction to a pretty girl I wouldn’t mind getting to know over the summer.

The first pretty girl who’s stirred interest in me in a long damn time.

Our ensuing exchange confirms that thought. This girl is one tough cookie. Still, I can tell that her outer shell won’t be that hard to crack, if given enough time. After her initial shock, the girl banters back and forth with me. She alternates between glaring at me and