A risk worth taking comp.., p.45
A Risk Worth Taking Complete Series,
p.45
The sheen of sweat only added to her sex appeal. An image flashed in my mind of the two of us in the greenhouse up ahead, naked, bodies sliding against each other. I shook it away.
“This couldn’t wait until I got back?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I wanted to catch you before you left. I was hoping you could give me a ride somewhere when you’re done here.”
I frowned. “I told you, use the truck as long as you need. Why do you need me?”
She bit her lip and I caught myself staring at her mouth. “I bought a car from John and I need someone to take me over and get it.”
My chest tightened, the pain her words caused making it easy to look away from her face. “Yeah, fine,” I said. “I’ll do it.”
“Great.” She flashed me a smile that made absolutely no sense. Even if she didn’t love me or want to stay, she could at least stop looking so damn pleased with herself. “This is fun, by the way. I can see why you like this tractor so much.”
“I do not—” I breathed deeply. “Is that it?”
“Yep. Oh, before we go pick up my car can we make a stop first?”
I grit my teeth. “Sure.”
“Great.” She flashed another smile and I actually considered pushing her off the tractor. It was only dirt. She’d be fine. “Case … I’m sorry about the other night.” Her expression clouded and my chest tightened all over again.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not. I hurt you, and I’m sorry. I … want to make it up to you later.”
My eyes narrowed. Had I imagined the sexy undertone in her words just now? “Make it up how?”
“I promise to explain later. Right now, I need to go see Frank.”
My heart thudded at all the possibilities that left. “Frank? Why the hell—?”
“I’ll explain it all later, I promise.” She started to go and then stopped and turned back, bending low to look me in the eye. “It’s all going to work out, trust me.” She kissed me fast on the cheek and then jumped down and waved. “See you in a bit,” she said and dashed off.
I watched her go, blonde hair flying behind her until she disappeared into the main house. My heart thudded as I watched her ass until she was too far out to see. My cheek burned where she’d kissed me. Work out, my ass. That girl better not be teasing me or I’d definitely drag her through the mud before this was all over—literally.
I should have told her no. I was so weak. I’d caved in the moment she batted her lashes. And now she wanted a ride. To pick up her new car. That she’d use to drive herself out of my life, no doubt. And of course I’d be the one to take her. To enable her to break my heart just a little more.
Fuck my life. Maybe this tractor and I deserved each other after all.
Chapter Sixteen
Jordan
Casey didn’t speak a word on our drive from Heritage Plantation. I knew better than to press him on his silence, though, and the closer we got, the more nervous I became about my plans. He’d clearly already distanced himself from me, and for good reason.
What had I been thinking concocting such an awful bet?
And he’d agreed to it. Just stepped right up and volunteered to let me hurt him. God, I’d been a bitch. Hopefully today would make up for some of that. If not, if he turned me down cold, I deserved it.
Casey’s pickup jostled over a pothole and I straightened, startled to realize we were already here. I’d almost missed the turn—again.
“Stop,” I called out.
Casey looked around. “Here?”
“Yes.”
“But this is—”
“I know what it is,” I said, impatience leaking out in my attempt to make my surprise work. Casey had a thing for flair. He also had a knack for seeing right through my bullshit. One-upping all of that hadn’t been easy.
Casey rolled to a stop in front of the now-familiar farm house and I took a minute to soak it in. Noticing details I hadn’t seen before. Making plans, imagining how I’d bring this or that detail back to life again.
Casey pulled up on the grass in front of the house but left the engine running. “I don’t understand. I thought you needed me to help you pick up your new car,” he said and I winced at the pain in his words. I hated how badly I’d hurt him. Hurt both of us, really.
I looked away from the house and back to Casey. “I do. But first, I need to show you something. Come on,” I said, pushing the door open and climbing out.
The heat of the day, muted here under the treetops, washed over me like a wet blanket. I rounded the hood of the truck and opened Casey’s door, coaxing him out until he stood in front of me, grumbling.
“I need to say something to you and I thought this was the best place to do it,” I said, nerves dancing in my belly.
What if he rejected my idea?
Or me?
Frank did tell me Casey would have final say. It was his name on the papers.
“What the hell, Jordan? Haven’t you said enough already?” he demanded, clearly already pushed to the breaking point. It was time to come out with it.
I swallowed hard. “Not nearly. Especially when all that other stuff was bullshit.”
That got his attention.
“You were wrong,” I said. “I lost the bet.”
“You … what?”
“I bet on our failure. That you’d fall for me and I’d still want to leave when it was all said and done. But that didn’t exactly happen,” I explained. “So I lost.”
“Look, I hate to point out the obvious, but I think you nailed that one, slick.” Casey’s words were biting but I did my best to ignore it. I deserved it anyway.
“But you weren’t the only one to fall. And the thing is … I’m not leaving.”
The only noise in the yard was the creaking of the warm engine and cicadas in the trees beyond. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at Casey. I was so sure he’d look furious or worse. Indifferent.
I stared at my work boots and wondered if it was too late to change my mind on the house. Right on cue, a truck pulled into the drive and rolled toward us. Frank waved from behind the wheel. “Damn,” I muttered. “He’s early.”
“What’s he doing here?” Casey asked.
“He has some paperwork for you to sign,” I said. “Or tear up,” I added under my breath. Casey’s brows went up. I sighed, my hair blowing off my forehead before resettling halfway in my eyes. I left it. “I asked Frank who owned this place. Imagine my surprise to find out it was one Casey Luck.”
Casey’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth but I pressed on. “Anyway, I had him draw up a lease. If you’re willing, I move in this weekend. I’ll stay on here until the rehab is done—or longer if you’ll let me.”
“You want to move in here?” he asked.
Frank got out and slammed his door, drowning out my small, “Yes.”
“Hey, kids.” Frank waved a stack of papers in the air. “I just need your signatures and we’re all set.”
“Signatures?” Casey echoed.
Frank came over and set the papers on the hood of the truck. “Leasing contract,” Frank explained, gesturing to the top form. “One year to start and then we’ll see.” Frank looked at me and added, “It’s all under the name of your firm, like you asked, Jordan, so when your paperwork’s all done, you can use this place as an office as well.”
Casey made a small noise of disbelief. Frank grinned and I smiled back at him. “Thanks, Frank.”
“Sure. Casey, I took the liberty of drawing all the papers up but this is your place, kid. You decide.” Frank held a pen out to Casey. He ignored it and stared at me.
“You want to live here?” he repeated.
I suppressed a smile at how cute he looked standing here in shock. “I can’t live with my boyfriend. I don’t move that fast,” I said, my voice stalling halfway between teasing and terrified.
Casey’s eyes went wide and he looked from me to Frank. Butterflies batted my stomach until I felt nauseous. Was he going to reject me?
“Unless you want to live here instead …” I trailed off and then realized what he really meant. “If this isn’t what you want, I can go—” I began and was almost knocked over as Casey rushed me.
He caught me up in arms in a low growl that sounded like, “Hell no,” as he dragged me against him and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around Casey, kissing right back with everything in me. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“That’s a yes?” I asked when we came up for air.
Casey laughed, his belly shaking mine. “It’s a hell yes.”
“It’s your house,” I said, still unsure. “If you want to live here—”
“Oh, I plan to live here one day,” he said, a glint in his eye. “But you’re right. You can’t live with your boyfriend right away. Let’s give it a few days at least.”
I laughed but he swallowed it, kissing me again until Frank cleared his throat and I pulled back. Casey grinned, but I wasn’t done making things right. “I’m sorry,” I whispered for Casey’s ears only. “For the bet. For hurting you.”
Casey laid his forehead against mine. “Don’t be sorry. It was on both of us. Not just you, and you’re staying, so don’t be sorry. But when it comes to love and you and me, slick, all bets are off. Deal?”
I grinned. “Deal,” I told him, even while I wondered how the cards would fall at my decision to stay. But I realized with a surprising certainty I wasn’t worried at all. We’d already beat the odds.
Casey Luck was all mine.
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About the Author
Heather Hildenbrand was born and raised in a small town in northern Virginia where she was homeschooled through high school. (She’s only slightly socially awkward as a result.) She writes Young Adult & New Adult romance including the bestselling Dirty Blood series. She splits her time between coastal Virginia and sunny Florida and loves having a mobile career and laptop lifestyle of living in two places. Her most frequent hobbies are riding motorcycles and avoiding killer slugs.
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Heather Hildenbrand, A Risk Worth Taking Complete Series
