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Chapter Thirteen

RILEY

“Do you want something other than ice cream?”

I’m about to answer Nat.

But then he takes his giant, tree-trunk of an arm and holds the back of my head rest while he reverses.

I used to think driving like this was lame.

Turns out, Nathan Campbell is the exception to that rule.

With his hand so close, I can’t help but notice the veins running up his arm. The shirt he’s wearing is soft cotton and it drapes over his chest like a princely robe. He has some kind of woven bracelet on his wrist. Who gave that to him? A woman?

None of your business, Riley.

I swallow hard.

His thumb is a millimeter away from my nose. The bruise on it looks fresh. Did he get hurt during training today?

I shouldn’t worry.

I shouldn’t care.

But I do.

My teeth saw into my bottom lip as I stare at the bruise.

Nathan waves in my face. “Riley?”

“What?” I startle.

“You with me?”

I blink and repeat, “What?”

I sound like an idiot.

Thisis what I was afraid of. I thought I could be tough and firm around Nat, the way I am around the guys in my trade. And, for a brief moment, I succeeded. This morning, I felt empowered to push him completely out of my life.

But then he showed up after that awful encounter with the angry customer.

He wasNat. My Nat. A big, charming, goofy, good-natured teddybear who makes everything in the world seem bright and golden.

I lost all the ground I gained this morning.

“Are you still bothered by what happened earlier?” Nat asks, a grim expression on his face. “With the crazy old man in the car?”

My eyelashes flutter. “No.”

And I genuinely mean that.

Just a few minutes in Nat’s presence and the ‘sky is falling’ feeling I had after the customer cursed me out totally evaporated.

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.”