“Hi,” she says, a tentative look matching the one Becca shot me just moments ago on her face.
Spreading fucking joy wherever I go, it seems.
“Hey, Robin. Jimmy asked me to swing by and pick up the CRV from you.”
“Sure. Let me just fetch my keys.”
She ducks behind the counter to grab them from her purse, handing them to me. I not so accidentally brush her palm with my fingers and it stings when she pulls back her hand as if burned.
As determined as I was to keep my distance, I can’t let her think whatever it is putting those shadows in her eyes. We’ll need to talk.
“What time does your shift end?” I ask, standing up.
“Around four, but I’ll just walk over.”
I glance out the window where the snow is still coming down.
“I’ll pick you up.”
“Really, there’s no need.”
It’s clear she intends to avoid me, but I’m determined not to let that happen.
“Four. I’ll be here,” I insist, and almost smile at the irritated roll of her eyes.
Back at Olson’s I make quick work of switching out her tires and parking her SUV behind the building.
“Aren’t you taking it back?” Jimmy asks when I walk back into the shop.
“Figure I’d do it after her shift ends.”
“I’ll just have Kyle drive it over.”
I know he’s trying to get a rise out of me and I give him what he wants.
“Fuck off, Jimmy. I said I’m doing it.”
He raises an eyebrow and one side of his mouth pulls up. Fucking smug bastard.
“Does that mean you smartened up?”
“The hell are you talking about?”
“Oh, I don’t know. The fact you didn’t fucking leave this building for weeks and one day suddenly start heading to the diner for lunch? Then not one week later, you’re moping around here all day again? I’m not an idiot, brother. You forget, I spent more time than you at that goddamn diner, but never, not once, has that woman looked at me the way she does at you.”
I’m shocked at his words. It’s not only more insightful than I would’ve given him credit for, but it also makes me realize I’m not the only one who has more than a passing interest in Robin. Makes me feel like an even bigger idiot than I already did.
“I plan to talk to her,” I share.
“You should.”
“It could backfire on me, though.”
“If you think that, you’re an idiot. Don’t you think she already knows you’re an ex-con? Over Easy is a fucking hotbed for gossip. I’d be surprised if she doesn’t already know your entire story by now.”
I think about his words as I drive over to the diner some time later. I took the time to quickly wash up in my apartment and put on clean jeans and a fresh shirt.
Robin is already waiting outside, which ticks me off, because it’s still snowing. No reason she couldn’t have waited inside. I pull up at the curb and start getting out to open her door for her, but she’s already taking care of that herself.
“You looking to catch a cold?” I snap, when she pulls the door shut.
Her eyes jerk up to meet my angry ones and she presses her lips together as she wipes her wet hair out of her face.
“That why you’re picking me up? So you can bark at me? Because—”
She’s working up a steam and I do the only thing I can think of to do. I hook a hand behind her head and meet her mouth halfway over the console, drowning the rest of her words in a hard, almost desperate kiss.
By the time I pull away her lips are swollen and slightly abraded, but her eyes are dazed.
“Fuck,” I mumble under my breath, but she catches it and instantly her face hardens as she sits back in her seat.
“Are you gonna run again?”
“No,” I respond instantly, straightening behind the wheel and snapping my belt in place, but I never let go of her eyes.
She stares at me for a beat before sharply nodding and buckling herself in. The moment I hear the snap, I yank the gear in drive and with spinning wheels on the slush, peel away from the curb.
As I drive off, I notice Becca watching us through the diner window.
“Where are we going?” Robin asks when I blow past Olson’s, probably driving much too fast for the weather.
“Your place,” I bite off, concentrating on staying on the road when all I want to do is pull off to the side, haul her over the console on my lap, and bury my hungry cock inside her.
We get out to her house in record time, despite the poor road conditions. The entire trip I avoid looking at her but I can feel every breath she takes. The moment I come to a stop in her driveway, I launch myself out of the SUV and round the hood, my eyes on hers through the window.
I open the door and she moves to get out, but I catch her before her feet touch the ground. With my arms banding around her I cover her mouth with mine, half-lifting her out of the vehicle. I’m not quite sure how we get to her front door with our mouths still fused. There she breaks the kiss and mumbles, “Keys,” against my lips. Reluctantly I let her go so she can open the door, but I crowd her back, and the moment I hear the door release, I push her inside ahead of me.
My fingers find the tie around her messy knot and pull it out as I kick the door closed with my foot. I keep moving her toward the wall until she has to brace herself against it. I wrap the tumble of waves in my fist to expose her neck and open my mouth on the tendon stretching to her shoulder.
Thoughts swirl unchecked through my mind, but the only thing I can focus
