“Yep. Have a nice night.” He began to walk away. He knew he was being a prick, but he wasn’t about to get involved with someone else. Harley had trained him well in the art of broken hearts and Bailey wasn’t willing to have another lesson with this guy.
And Jordan was hot enough for Bailey to want more than just sex. The guy was well over six foot five, nicely built in all the right places—that he could see—and his attributes were stuff legends were made of. Bailey didn’t need the temptation. Hadn’t he already learned not to trust a good-looking face?
He put as much distance as he could between him and the striking man. Bailey knew that there were more than good looks that made up the man’s package. He wasn’t willing to find out if Jordan’s personality matched his amazing physique.
Pulling the door open to the diner, Bailey stepped in and spotted Reno and Baker just finishing up their dinner. Perfect. “Hey guys,” he said as he slid in next to Reno. “Mind giving me a ride home?”
Reno quirked a brow. “Had one too many?” he asked as he wiped his hands on a napkin.
“How do you know?”
“I can smell the beer on your breath.”
Bailey grabbed Reno’s cup of coffee, draining the mug. He winced. How had he forgotten that Reno liked a little coffee with his sugar? Bailey might as well have unscrewed the lid on the sugar container and taken a drink.
Baker chuckled. “Too sweet?”
“And then some,” Bailey said as he set the cup down. “I’m surprised you don’t have diabetes by now.”
“I can take you home,” Reno said as he polished off the rest of his food. “Although a buddy of mine wants me to pick his cousin up, so you’ll have company in the back seat.”
Bailey stood, moving out of the way as Reno pushed from the booth. His friend grabbed the check and took it to the counter to pay for his meal. Bailey and Baker headed toward the door.
He didn’t care about Rio picking up some friend’s cousin. The only thing Bailey wanted to do was go home and take a hot shower. It had been a long day and hanging out with Travis, listening to the man badger him about dating wasn’t a great way to end his night.
Leaning his head back and closing his eyes, Bailey relaxed as Reno drove. He didn’t even bother to open his eyes when his friend stopped. They must be picking up the cousin Reno had mentioned. He heard the back door open and close and then the car began to move again.
“We meet again.”
Bailey’s insides froze when he heard Jordan’s deep and alluring voice. Un-fucking believable. His night seemed to be getting better and better. He didn’t bother to open his eyes. Bailey chose to ignore the man. If he opened his eyes, he would only be reminded of Jordan’s amazing looks and huge-ass body.
“Are you always this standoffish?” Jordan asked quietly from beside him, his tone low and satiny.
“What’s today?” Bailey asked sarcastically.
“Wednesday,” Jordan answered and Bailey could hear the humor in the man’s tone. The guy had to know what Bailey was about to say. He didn’t know the man from Adam, but Jordan had looked like a fairly intelligent guy.
“Yep,” Bailey answered. “Wednesday through Tuesday.”
“But that’s all seven days,” Jordan said playfully.
“You catch on quick,” Bailey answered as he turned his head away from Jordan, his eyes still shut. He didn’t want to have a conversation with Jordan. The guy’s voice melted him like hot butter and Bailey wasn’t going to allow the man to get to him.
“So young to be so jaded.”
Bailey shrugged uncaringly. Maybe he should have asked Travis for a ride home. He had thought Reno the safer choice, but fate decided to fuck with him again. Bailey hoped like hell that Jordan didn’t live too far. He didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary around this guy. He was five seconds away from telling Reno to pull over so he could walk home.
“Tell me, Bailey. Who broke your heart?”
Bailey gnashed his teeth together at the whispered tone, refusing to answer Jordan. The man was getting just a little too personal for his taste. If he didn’t talk about Harley to his friends, Bailey sure as hell wasn’t telling a stranger.
“The man was a complete idiot.”
Bailey snapped his head around, narrowing his eyes at Jordan. “Mind your damn business.”
Jordan didn’t seem the least bit put off. That alone pissed Bailey off to no end. Who the hell was this man anyway? He had no right to sit there and give Bailey his opinion.
Jordan’s amber eyes seemed to fill with fire as he studied Bailey in the backseat that was only lit by passing street lights. There was something intense about the way the mechanic was staring at him, studying him. He didn’t like that look because it made Bailey uncomfortable, as if Jordan could see right through him, to his very soul.
He looked away, unable to stand the man’s probing stare. It felt too damn intimate. They rode in silence for a few miles before Jordan spoke again. “How long have you lived here?”
It was an innocent enough question. “A few years.” Bailey hadn’t bothered to turn around when he answered Jordan. He just kept staring out of the window, wishing he was out of the car already. Clenching his hands in his lap, Bailey reminded himself that he wasn’t interested in Jordan.
He wasn’t interested in anyone. He just wanted to be left alone. Talking with Jordan only reminded Bailey of his heartache. Bailey could tell that if he hadn’t been hurt, hadn’t been screwed over, that he would be very interested in the stranger who seemed to rattle him.
But he had been betrayed. He had been hurt. Jordan was nothing to him and Bailey needed to remember that.
“Brac Village seems like a nice enough place to settle down.”
Why
