“Lemons and pizza.” Josh laughed, setting down three huge pizza boxes on the kitchen island. “As good as cookies sounded, something told me you were missing a few food groups.”
I blew a loose strand of hair from my face, his smile too contagious for my own good. “And pizza has all the food groups?”
He reached out, tucking the strand of auburn behind my ear, his fingers grazing my neck by accident. Or, at least I convinced myself it was. “Pizza is the exception to every rule.” He didn’t step back, but stayed within inches of me, and everything in my body became aware of how close he was.
“Of course.”
We stood there, staring at each other in a charged silence. There was nothing awkward about being quiet around Josh. No pressure to fill the silence or find something witty to add, but man, the air hummed with electricity.
“Ah, Mr. Walker!” Grams patted him on the back as she came into the kitchen. “My granddaughter needs to get out of the house, and her boyfriend has yet to do anything about it.” I heard an as usual slip out under her breath. “Could you haul her out of here for me?” Blood rushed to my cheeks, announcing my mortification. It’s like she knew he’d blown me off. Or maybe she’d just expected it?
“Ma’am?” Josh asked with a tilt to his head, and a curious gaze tossed my direction.
“She’s turning into a hermit, Mr. Walker. I firmly expect cats to begin arriving at the doorstep at any moment. Please, do the world a favor and take her out.”
“Where’s Riley?” Josh’s mouth turned down. Double mortification.
“Breckenridge, throwing some frat party.” Oh, was that a twinge of bitterness slipping through my voice?
“Mmmhmm.” Grams sighed.
He nodded once, his eyes unfocused. “Right.” A myriad of emotions I couldn’t place skated across his face, changing the landscape in small, instantaneous, meaningful ways. “Want to crash it?”
A wave of excitement hit me. Ooh! Surprise Riley! But common sense and reality got the best of me. “I shouldn’t really go that far.”
Grams sighed. “Nonsense. Josh, she’ll be ready in an hour with an overnight bag. I’m assuming I won’t be seeing you until tomorrow. Just grab the key and stay at your parents’ cabin.”
The cabin had been Mom’s forty-fifth birthday present from my father; his one splurge to prove they would retire here, and she wouldn’t have to move anymore.
Nausea gripped my stomach at the thought of doing something fun, like I was betraying Dad. I hadn’t grieved enough; I wasn’t wearing black; I hadn’t cried the requisite number of tears. “I just don’t want to. I’m not ready.”
“Neither was your sister. Did you really think I would go easier on you?” She arched her eyebrows and dismissed me, turning back to the kitchen.
Well, I guess that was settled. Grams had spoken. To the party we were going.
Chapter Four
Two hours later, we wound through the mountains in Josh’s Jeep Wrangler. He insisted he drive, but let me control the radio. Given the grimace on his face when I started playing country, I think it was punishment enough.
“I’m glad you don’t have the motorcycle anymore. That would have been hell in the snow.”
A small smile crept across his face. “What makes you think I don’t still have it?”
“They’re dangerous.”
“They’re fun.” He swung the Jeep into the oncoming traffic lane, passing the Subaru with Texas plates in front of us. I swallowed a protest at the speed he did it at. It was freaking snowing, but it didn’t seem to faze him. He eased off the gas once he pulled back into our lane.
“Is it true?” I asked, sliding a glance at him. “About all that illegal racing stuff in high school?”
A muscle in his jaw twitched, flexed. “I left a lot of things behind when we moved from Arizona. It’s the benefit of moving. You get to start over, and what you used to do doesn’t define you anymore, or at least it’s not supposed to.”
Didn’t I know it. We’d moved more times than I had fingers to count. His phone buzzed on the console between us, and a discreet glance revealed the name, “Heather.” Yeah, I guess not much had changed on the girls-chasing-Josh front. It was a good reminder.
“Looks like you’re wanted.”
A smirk played at the corner of his lips. “Sure, by the ones not worth chasing.” He didn’t try to read the text, or even ask me to do it for him. He ignored it completely.
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Why are you doing this, anyway?”
“Taking a pretty girl out on a Friday night?” His hands flexed on the wheel; he knew darn well what I meant.
“Driving over two hours to take me to see my boyfriend.” Man, when I put it that way, why the hell was he doing it?
“Because it’s what you need.” His eyes didn’t leave the road, so he couldn’t notice the way I studied his profile in stunned silence. The cut angles of his face leaned more toward Grecian, less all-American than I originally thought, but that mouth of his . . . I shook my head to clear it of the thoughts I should not be having, especially with a text from Heather sitting between us. “Why are you with Riley, anyway?”
Well, that sure snapped me out of my Josh-watching. Riley. Right. “Because it’s what we do.” Once it was out of my mouth, I realized how stupid it sounded. “That came out wrong. That’s not what I meant.”