hands to my sides and try not to look at the perfection that is a shirtless Leo Preston. Jesus, take the wheel.
I take a step back—a teeny, tiny one—asking, “So, why are you here?”
“He asked me to—well, I called—”
“You called?”
He finally lets go of my waist and takes his own step away. With a shrug, he says, “I check in on him occasionally.”
Warmth fills my chest. “You do?”
He nods. “He said that you weren’t coming this summer,” he repeats.
“I wanted to surprise him.”
A hiss sounds from between his teeth, and he’s doing that adorable nose-scrunching thing again.
And then it hits me. “He’s not here, is he?”
Leo shakes his head, almost apologetic.
My heart sinks, and I pout. I can’t help it. “Where is he?”
“Some RV road-trip thing with his friend Philip…” He trails off, his words heightening in pitch toward the end as if I should’ve known this information. I didn’t.
I try to hide my disappointment. “For how long?”
Leo squats to pick up the broom that he dropped when his hands became busy lifting me. “A couple of weeks,” he says, still crouched down. His eyes are level with my bare legs, and they focus there for a beat before making a slow trail up my length and back to my face. “He said you were too busy with your boyfriend to visit.”
I thrust my head back in frustration. “I just said that to throw him off.”
“The too-busy part or the boyfriend part?” Leo asks, standing to full height. I realize now why I assumed he was Holden. Leo’s grown at least a couple of inches, and his body… it’s no wonder I believe in God because his body is definitely a divine gift to women.
Aaaand I’m staring.
And blushing.
Crap.
“The too-busy part,” I manage to say.
“So the boyfriend part is real?” he asks, one eyebrow cocked.
I nod. “Yes, the boyfriend part is real.” And as soon as the words are out of my mouth, I take three full steps back, because dang it, Mia! You have a boyfriend, and you shouldn’t be looking at other boys the way you’re looking at Leo effing Preston.
“Huh,” Leo deadpans, pushing the broom back and forth. “So little Mia Mackenzie Kovács is all grown up.”
My eyes narrow to slits, and I don’t know what part of his statement I want to be pissed off about first. “It’s pronounced Ko-vatch,” I tell him. Yeah, because that’s relevant.
“That’s what I said.” He shrugs.
I shake my head. “No, you said Ko-vax, like pro-vax. It’s pronounced Ko-vatch.”
The boy smirks and covers the distance between us in the time it takes me to blink. Towering over me, his eyes study mine before dropping to my mouth. “Say it again.”
“Ko… vatch,” I breathe out, my voice as small as I feel.
“One more time,” he orders, his mouth an inch from mine.
I lick my lips, repeat myself.
When he pulls back, his smile is cocky. “I just really like the way your mouth moves when you say it.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Mia
Crap.
Crud.
And, wait for it…
Fuck.
This situation is absolutely worthy of a curse because fuck. I was not at all prepared for this.
My phone rings in the pocket of my shorts, and I already know who it is without having to look. When I pulled into the house, I’d been on the phone with him, and I’d told him I’d call him back in a minute. That was, what? Thirty? Forty minutes ago? Who knows how long I’ve been standing in the barn with Leo while he’s explained everything that led to him being here? According to him, he’d call my grandpa every few weeks just to check in. It was the second day of summer break when one of those phone calls occurred. Leo had mentioned to him that he was doing some assignments for some extra credits and was spending most of his time in the library because his house didn’t afford him the quiet he needed. Then, Grandpa told him that he was going on this random road trip, which was, at the very least, an odd thing for my grandpa to do, and that he’d be grateful if Leo would come and house-sit while he was gone. He got here a few days ago, and Grandpa mentioned, off-handedly, that he’d appreciate if Leo could clear out the barn while he was here, which is where we are now.
Me, standing in front of Leo Preston, while he gives me those eyes, and that smirk, and my phone is still ringing. Balls.