since your mom passed.”
His stony jaw flexed as if he was chewing over her words. “Sorry doesn’t mean much when you turn right around and do the same thing all over again.”
Anger edged aside her sympathy. She came by her red hair honestly, with a temper to match. Sometimes she could control it, sometimes not. She clenched her teeth together for a second, holding back the urge to snap at him.
Three heartbeats later, she took a deep breath. “You’re being grouchy because I upset you. I really am sorry, and if you knew me at all you would realize that I didn’t mean any harm. I was just trying to help.”
He hooked a finger in the loose silky scarf looped around her neck and tugged her closer. “Is that an offer to soothe my hurting heart?”
“Argh!” She punched his shoulder, temper winning out. “God, Rafe. Don’t be a jerk. It’s Valentine’s Day. And I’m trying to be understanding here, but Valentine’s Day is supposed to be all about the girlfriend.”
“You’re really pretty when you get fired up like that.”
His words stopped her tirade dead in its tracks.
“Oh,” she said. Brilliant.
He eyed her with that steamy look that sent shivers up and down her spine until she ached to climb in the back of his El Camino and make out on a blanket under the stars. And just that fast, he clamped his hands around her waist and plopped her down to sit on the hood of his car. Yum!
The chatter and revving engines in the parking lot faded as her world zeroed in on Rafe. What would his hands feel like against the bare flesh under her sweater? Under her bra. They’d had some heavy-duty make-out sessions and he’d touched her—there—with her clothes between them, not that he would have been able to miss just how crazy he made her as she went all tight from his touch. Her breasts tingled even now just thinking about all the time they’d spent at Busted Bluff.
Her skin went hotter than from any embarrassed flush. He stepped closer until his legs pressed against hers, denim to denim. He could be a model in one of those bad-boy faded jeans commercials and she would buy out the store. Her emotions were all roller coaster careening inside her, but then that seemed pretty much the norm around Rafe.
She leaned forward, nibbling her bottom lip in anticipation. Thump. The sound echoed, jolting her upright. She looked left fast—at Quentin Dobbs from English class and work.
Quentin’s backpack dragged along the side of Rafe’s El Camino. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scratch your paint.”
Rafe angled away, placing his body between her and Quentin. “Really, Dobbs, do you think I would even notice?”
“Yeah, right, I guess so.” He glanced from Sarah to Rafe, then back again. “Bell’s gonna ring in a second. You don’t want to get a detention and be late for work at the restaurant. See you inside.”
She watched him walk away, feeling bad about things she couldn’t change.
Rafe draped his arm over her shoulder. “He has a crush on you.”
“I know.” She pulled her eyes off her classmate and back to Rafe. “But it’s harmless. He’s a nice, good-looking guy. He’ll find somebody else.”
“Nice, good-looking guy?” He stared down at her intently. “Maybe I’m the one who should be jealous.”
As if. “Do you see me wearing his school ring?”
“You’re not wearing mine, either.” His jaw flexed again so hard she worried he would crack a tooth over the fact that he didn’t have a high school ring to give her.
“Stop with the money thing, okay? I’m with you. The day you see me wearing his ring—” she rolled her eyes, certain that would never happen “—then you can worry.”
That night, Rafe stood on the front doorstep of Sarah’s mustard-yellow stucco house, flowers behind his back, his jaw just about on the ground. “You look amazing.”
And she did. Her red hair was loose, how he liked it most. She’d curled it, though, until it danced all around her face, on her shoulders and down her back the way he wanted to touch her. She wore a silky dress the same shade of green as her eyes, like the leaves on the exotic plants in the greenhouse. Over her shoulders, she had a black sweater with some kind of silver threads in it that winked like the stars.
She was all prettied up and as much as he enjoyed looking at her, he hated that his change in plans tonight