Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 138965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 695(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 695(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
I breathe in, and our chests press together as a result. Those questions in his stare have faded, and replacing them is . . . want. It only fuels my own unexpected hunger. The distance between our mouths closes, and I feel the heat of his breath spreading across my face, my body warming with it. I swallow. I flick my gaze to his lips and back to his eyes. Every part of me is preparing to be kissed, an exhilarating current sweeping through me.
‘It’s definitely not the last thing,’ he whispers, his lips meeting mine and resting there. Sparks erupt, just from that simple touch of our mouths, and this time I have no intention of pulling away.
‘Dad!’
Ryan flies back on a curse, looking as disoriented as I feel. ‘Shit.’ Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he quickly composes himself before looking to the door when Alex appears. She glances between us a few times, quiet and definitely suspicious.
Oh God. I lunge for the kettle and pour, my shakes no better than before, but now for an entirely different reason. ‘What are you doing?’ she asks, making me cringe.
Ryan finds his voice faster than I do. ‘I was just getting Hannah’s bike.’
‘Her bike? Why?’
Yes, why? I turn around and cock my head, and Ryan looks away, avoiding me.
‘It’s broken.’ He goes to the back door and looks back at me for confirmation that he’s heading the right way. I nod. ‘I figured since we were going to the garage to have my truck looked at, we could take it with us.’ Taking the handle, he starts pulling at the locked door. ‘Go wait for me in the truck.’
Alex throws me a knowing look, and I throw her a shrug before she pivots and struts away.
‘How d’you open this damn door?’ Ryan snaps, swinging around violently. I withdraw, and he squeezes his eyes closed. ‘I’m sorry.’ His arm lifts toward the wood. ‘Where’s the key?’
‘You don’t have to fix my bike,’ I say, but I reach into my pocket for the key anyway.
‘I’d like to.’
I don’t put up a fight and instead move forward, unlocking the door for him as I feel his scrutinising gaze on me. I move away, the tension unbearably thick. ‘Thank you,’ I say, feeling the craving in me fading under his lingering questioning stare. I can’t help but resent myself for acting so irrationally over something so silly.
‘No problem.’ Ryan goes outside and I keep myself busy around the kitchen finishing my tea, leaving him to it. As I’m putting the milk back in the fridge, something catches my eye across the room, and I frown as I close the fridge door. My phone? I wander over and collect it off the window ledge. It’s been missing for days, and I didn’t see it sitting there bold as brass?
‘Where is it?’ I hear Ryan call.
I shake away my wonder and collect my tea. ‘You can’t miss it, Ryan. Against the fence.’ It’s a twelve-foot-by-twelve-foot courtyard, so it’s not like there’s much space to search.
He appears at the door, his expression tired. ‘Hannah, your bike’s not out here.’
‘What?’ I frown and step forward, setting my mug of tea to the side as I pass. And when I reach the doorway, no bike. ‘I put it out here myself,’ I say to the empty space. ‘The night you nearly killed me.’
He ignores my unintentional dig and edges past me. ‘You been out here since?’
I shake my head, lifting my hand and pointing. ‘I dumped it right there.’
‘You sure?’
I feel anger wrestling past my bewilderment. ‘Yes, I’m sure,’ I snap. ‘I’m not crazy, Ryan.’ I know what I did.
His hands come up, his face pacifying. ‘Hey, don’t get upset.’
‘I’m not upset.’ I’m not sure what I am. Annoyed? Pissed off? Worried? I scan the walls of the courtyard, and then stomp over to the gate and check the bolt. All secure. ‘It can’t have disappeared into thin air.’
‘Maybe one of the kids in town took it for a joyride,’ he suggests, and I sigh. It was mangled. Why would any kid want a broken bike?
I slowly turn and rest my back on the gate. ‘I really loved that bike.’
‘It looked pretty old to me.’
‘It was. I got it from a secondhand shop in Grange. But it was . . .’ I fade off.
‘Old,’ Ryan says, and I roll my eyes.
‘I liked it.’ I traipse back inside, swallowing hard when I brush past Ryan.
I reclaim my tea and stare at the wall as I sip it, my mind racing in circles, my body singing again with just that one minuscule brush of my body against his. ‘Thank you for the thought, though,’ I say, turning with a smile. But it falls when I find I’m alone.
Chapter 7