“Yeah,” he replies nonchalantly. “It looks good on you.”
Our eyes lock, and hold.
“Thank you,” I whisper, looking down and then back at his bike. “So, where are we going for dinner?”
“Well, I checked out all of the options here,” he says in a dry tone. My lip twitches. We have two restaurants other than Franks, and none of them are anything special, so we aren’t too spoiled for choice. No matter where we go I’m going to likely run into someone I know and get people talking, but so be it. I’m over playing by the rules, and I just want to enjoy myself tonight without worrying about anything else. “And I didn’t like any of them, so I got creative.”
“Got creative how?” I ask, grinning. I was expecting to go to one of the same places I’ve been eating at for my entire life, but now he’s mixing things up a little, surprising me.
“You’ll have to wait and see,” he murmurs, handing me a matte black helmet.
I eye it. “Tell me you didn’t go out and buy a helmet as well.”
“I didn’t have a spare,” he simply says, then lifts me up by my hips like I weigh nothing, and sits me on the back of the bike. I’m not a light woman, and it takes me a few moments to process this.
Just how strong is he?
I mean, sure, his biceps are huge.
“You ever ridden before?” he asks, bringing my attention from his arms back to his handsome face.
“No,” I say.
“Keep your feet on here and off the exhaust,” he advises, positioning my boots.
“Do you go to the gym?” I find myself asking him.
“No.” He laughs. “I do some boxing with the men sometimes, though. We have our own little gym at the clubhouse, but it’s been ages since I’ve stepped into there.”
“Huh,” I whisper, slide the helmet on and flick open the visor. I have so many questions I want to ask, like what else the clubhouse has, but now I’m picturing a bunch of hot, shirtless men boxing each other, sweat dripping down their bodies.
Temper is in the center of my daydream.
“You ready?” he asks, hopping on the bike, my breasts pressing against his back.
My arms come around him of their own accord, and they feel comfortable there somehow. “Yep!”
He revs the engine and my fingers tighten, excitement filling me.
I’m ready for this, and I don’t just mean the ride.
Chapter Three
I can see the draw of riding on a motorbike. The sense of freedom, the adrenaline, the speed. I hold on to Temper and smile the whole way, glancing around and taking everything in. I’m sad to admit that it’s been such a long time since I’ve done something new or ticked something off my bucket list, and that it took Temper coming here to get me to finally let loose.
When was the last time I smiled like this?
It’s scary thinking of the person the last few months has made me, when I should be living my best life and enjoying every precious second of it.
When the bike comes to a stop, it’s in front of our town’s flashiest hotel. We don’t have a five-star hotel here, but the mayor recently built a three-star, hoping it would attract more tourists.
It didn’t, and now we have this new building that looks so out of place compared to the rest of the old town—a hotel the locals refuse to even look at.
Getting off the bike and removing my helmet, I arch my brow at him. “You’re taking me to a hotel?” I don’t know how to feel about this. Why would he bring me here? If he thinks I’m going to sleep with him, he has another think coming.
“Not exactly,” he replies, grinning at me. “Have some faith, Abbie. You’re safe with me.”
Not exactly? I don’t know what his plan is, and I don’t even know if I should be here with him right now.
I need to trust him, or I need