life beneath them, mirroring the way she felt inside.
As they rode, the city flashed by in a whirl of dazzling lights. She felt breathless and impossibly free. The bundle of nerves she’d been dealing with since Rhys asked her out slowly drifted away with each passing mile.
By the time they slowed down, and Rhys flicked on the turn signal, she was totally at ease. Rhys pulled to a stop underneath an old bridge. It was an empty expanse of concrete covered in countless layers of graffiti. In fact, the whole place looked abandoned.
“All right, we’re here,” he said. Olivia felt a flicker of disappointment at having to let go of him, but she allowed him to help her off the bike.
“Interesting place to take a girl on a first date,” she mused as she unbuckled the helmet and handed it to him.
“Well, I considered dinner and a movie, but I thought that would be too boring for a woman like you,” Rhys explained. “I’m sure you have guys pulling that with you all the time.”
She didn’t, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.
“Are you hungry?” he asked her as he pulled out a bottle of wine and sandwiches from the saddlebags.
“Starving,” Olivia said.
“Excellent,” he replied. He tucked the sandwiches into the crook of his elbow and then took her hand. She stared down the point of contact, liking the feel of his skin against hers.
“I hope you’re not vegetarian,” he said as he led her out from under the bridge. “The sandwiches are turkey clubs. I probably should’ve asked beforehand.”
“No, it’s okay,” she replied. “That sounds great.”
They rounded the corner of the vast support beams of the bridge, and Olivia found herself looking out at an open field. It was a hidden meadow, the kind of place that was probably a public park once upon a time. It was lovely.
They sat in the grass, and Rhys opened the bottle of wine.
“How did you find this place?” Olivia asked, looking at the bridge above them. In the distance, the glittering skyline of the city blurred under the summer haze.
“I was just out exploring one day,” he replied. “Riding around for fun, burning off steam. I turned down a random road and found this bridge. I like to come here just to think. There aren’t many people out here. It’s quiet.”
He gestured around them at the tall grass waving in the breeze.
“It is beautiful,” Olivia agreed. “So, what are the kinds of things you burn off steam for?”
“Work mostly,” he said as he took a bite of sandwich.
“Is it pretty stressful?” she asked.
“It can be, but mostly just monotonous.” He shrugged. “Day in and day out, just numbers, numbers, and more numbers. It’s not really where I pictured myself at thirty.”
Olivia nodded. She understood what he meant. A guy like him, somewhat wild in spirit, didn’t seem to fit into the mold of a traditional office worker. “So, if you go through that every day, does that mean you come up here every night?”
“No, just once or twice a week. It helps me unwind.” He smiled, and she looked away, biting into her own sandwich. “What about you?”
“My job?” she asked. “I mean, I love my job. It’s fun and rewarding, and I’m working with my best friends.”
“And what about blowing off steam?” he pressed.
“I go to the shooting range,” Olivia answered without hesitation.
“Ah, right. I remember one of the girls mentioning you keep a Glock in your purse. You didn’t bring it tonight, did you?”
Olivia threw her head back and laughed. “No, don’t worry. You’re safe.”
Rhys grinned. “I like your laugh.”
“Oh…thanks.”
“So, what do you burn off steam about at the shooting range if you aren’t angry about work?” he asked.
“Oh, I see,” Rhys said. He reached out and rested his hand on top of hers in the grass, stroking her knuckles with the pad of his thumb. It was like he could sense her anxiety and wanted to do something to make her feel better. “What brought you to the Iron Ladies? Or…well, I guess you don’t have to tell me if it’s personal.”
“It’s fine,” Olivia shrugged. “My dad was a lot like Drake.”
“Go on,” he encouraged her.
“He controlled my mother like a tyrant,” Olivia continued. “Like, I remember one time when I was a kid, my mom decided to go to the gym because she wanted to build up her self-esteem. Mostly because my dad had a way of just tearing people down and leaving nothing left.”
Olivia paused, watching