Page 87 of The Lucky Heart (Jamison Valley 3)
“Do you want a beer?” I heard him in the laundry room and I assumed he was changing into some clean clothes. When he strode down the hallway wearing only his dark-green boxers, I nearly dropped the plate
in my hands. “What are you doing?” I asked as he went to the fridge and pulled out a beer.
“Getting my beer. What are you doing?”
“You know that’s not what I meant. Why are you practically naked?” My eyes traveled over all that muscle and I had to fan my face.
Forget milk. Ranch work does a body good.
“I thought you’d prefer this over my stinky clothes.”
“Obviously I prefer this look,” I said. “I’m just not sure how you expect me to eat with you sitting next to me like that.”
He walked into my space and lifted the plate from my hands, setting it on the counter. A shiver ran down my spine when his hands came to the sides of my neck and he whispered, “Maybe we should—”
“Silas?” Olivia called from the door.
I let out a frustrated sigh at the same time Silas grumbled. He stepped away and called, “In here, Mom!”
Her footsteps echoed down the short hallway and I did my best to stop panting so she wouldn’t know that seconds ago I had been about to jump her son. Who was I kidding? There was no way she would miss my flushed cheeks and Silas’s lack of apparel.
When Olivia walked into the room, she gasped. “Oh, I’m interrupting. I should come back later.” She was looking anywhere other than at Silas and me in the kitchen.
“You’re fine,” Silas said. “We were just getting ready for dinner. My clothes were filthy so I stripped.”
“Right,” she said, still not making eye contact. “I just need to borrow your keys and then I’ll get out of your hair. My car is at the shop and your dad isn’t back yet. I just wanted to run and grab the mail.”
“Sure, but it’s a filthy mess right now.”
“Do you want to take mine?” I turned and pulled the keys from my purse on the counter. “Here. It smells like vanilla, not poop.”
She laughed and took the keys. “Thanks, sweetie. Be right back.”
I smiled and went back to setting out the tacos. “We’d better eat. Otherwise your mom is going to come back to a locked door and you’ll have to go fetch my keys because I can never show her my face again.”
He chuckled and leaned down to kiss my forehead. “You do realize she knows we’re having sex.”
“Yes, I realize that, but let’s not make a spectacle out of it. She called me ‘sweetie.’ That means I’m on her good side.” And I intended to stay there.
I desperately wanted his mother’s approval. There was already so much stress in their family dynamic, I didn’t need to add to it by being anything less than the perfect girlfriend for her son.
We were halfway done with our meal by the time Olivia came back and returned my keys. She chatted with us for a while before she left to go home and cook her own dinner.
“Dinner was awesome,” Silas said, carrying his plate to the sink. “I’m going to take a quick shower.”
“Okay.” I stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek before he walked down the hall.
Now that’s a view. I wasn’t sure which I liked better, Silas’s tight behind or his sculpted back. I planned on doing some research with my hands later to help me choose the winner.
When the shower turned on, I busied myself with the dishes until I heard the door open again and slam shut.
“Did you forget something?” I walked around the island, expecting to see Olivia. Instead, Silas’s dad, Elliot, came storming down the hallway, his muddy boots leaving a trail behind his angry footsteps.
I had forgotten how much Silas looked like his father. Elliot’s blond hair was starting to gray but he still had the same build and height as his son.
I opened my mouth to greet him but he snapped at me before I could.
“Is that your fancy fucking car out there blocking the hay shed?”
