Brazen and Breathless (Untouchable #6) - Heather Long Page 0,83
talk at lunch.”
Archie nodded. “I need a minute with her before she goes.”
“You got this?” was all Bubba asked.
“Yeah.” Rubbing the back of his neck, Archie let out another sigh. “I got this.”
Hands raised, Jake stepped out of his way, and Archie vanished back toward Frankie’s bedroom. “He does not have this.”
“He’s doing fine,” Bubba said before I could answer. “Let’s face it, none of us like this, and he and his parents have a contentious relationship. Throw in Ms. Curtis…”
“It’s a clusterfuck,” I agreed. “But we can’t tell him how to feel.” I leveled Bubba with a look.
“Not trying to tell him how to feel.” Not flinching, Bubba met my gaze steadily. We hadn’t discussed what I’d walked in on, and I had a feeling he was waiting for me to say something. Actually…
“Ride with me?” I said as I grabbed my bag. “It’s supposed to rain again today, and you don’t need to be on the bike.”
Bubba chuckled. “Sure.”
“Am I missing something?” Jake asked, eyeing both of us.
“You miss lots of things,” Frankie murmured from behind him, and Jake curled around to give her a hug as she stepped into the kitchen. I had to say, Frankie in business casual clothing was pretty snappy. Today, she’d put a colorful vest over a button-down shirt, and she’d pulled her hair up into a bun that I immediately wanted to free. The fact that Jake’s hand twitched up toward it said I wasn’t the only one.
“You look amazing,” I told her, and she grinned at me.
“Thank you.”
“He’s right, Baby Girl, you look fantastic.” Jake dragged her in for a kiss, and I grinned as I drained the last of my coffee. I rinsed out the mug and set it in the sink, then paused to rinse the others sitting there, and Archie grimaced and mouthed an apology. I shrugged it off. He’d learn.
He was getting better at it. Then Frankie turned to me, all flushed and bright-eyed. I gave her a kiss and murmured, “Check in, yeah?”
“I will, I promise.”
I couldn’t very well fuss at her when I was telling the others to dial it back. But she searched my gaze for a long moment, and I raised my eyebrows. Yesterday had been a little tough, and I’d dumped some things in her lap. But she’d picked them right up and today was better. Apparently, that translated, because she pressed a hand over my heart and gave me another kiss before she went to tell Bubba bye.
On my way past them, I squeezed her ass, and she laughed. That was a sound I would never get tired of. It’d been the soundtrack of my childhood, my teenage years, and would be for the rest of my life. I believed in having goals.
Bubba didn’t keep me waiting long. I had the car on and the defrosters on to get rid of the slick of ice off the windshield when he dropped into the passenger seat. Jake was right behind him, but he just waved and headed to Frankie’s car.
Heh. Smart guy. “He’s warming it up for her while she and Arch talk?”
“Yep,” Bubba answered, leaning his head back against the seat. “It’s not a long drive, so ask what you want to know.”
I cut him a look. “What I want to know, or what I need to know?”
“We’ll see. Some things you don’t need to know,” he answered, and while the tone might be mild, there was a distinctive core of steel in his words.
Turning that over in my head, I backed the car out and sent Jake a wave before accelerating. “We getting coffee since they’re gonna be longer?”
“That sounds like a plan,” Bubba said and pulled out his phone. “Gives you more time to talk.”
“Shockingly clever, I know.” But I gave him a sec to send the message before I asked the first question that came to mind. “Is the tying up why you were really pulling away from her? ’Cause I didn’t know you were into that.”
A shrug. “I’ve always been interested, just never had someone I trusted enough to share it with. No offense.”
“None taken.” But I waited.
He blew out a breath, then tapped his knuckles against his knee before he said, “I pulled back because I wanted to protect her. That hasn’t changed. I want her to be able to trust me to handle whatever gets thrown at her and to put her ahead of myself. I handled it badly. But it hasn’t changed my feelings.