streets leading toward Brunelli’s apartment.
Holly glanced over at him with a wide-eyed innocent look. “Oh, just someone I met when I was here a couple of summers ago.”
“Oh, come on. I just risked my life pretending to be your boyfriend back there,” he said.
She turned to him with a wicked grin. “How does it feel being on the other side of the charade?”
He had to laugh at that. What were the odds that he would find himself pretending to be in a couple…again. And with Ivy’s sister, no less. “Okay, fine,” he said, “I guess I did have that coming. But you’ve got to admit. I did come to your rescue in a time of need—the least you can do is give me the dirt. How did you two meet?”
He was more curious than he cared to admit. This woman, who looked like an angel who had fallen straight out of heaven—hell, her hair even looked like a halo under the streetlamps—was definitely not a saint. And that dichotomy was extremely…intriguing.
He thought she was ignoring him but it seemed she was only lost in the memory for a moment. When she spoke, her tone was whimsical. “He picked me up on his motorcycle.”
He nearly tripped over his own feet. “Excuse me?”
She gave him a sidelong look of amusement—clearly he hadn’t succeeded in hiding his surprise. “I was hitchhiking from Nice to Paris and Lyon picked me up.”
He found himself scowling at her and the voice that came out of his mouth sounded absurdly like his father’s. “So you just got on the back of a bike of a complete stranger?” Hating himself for how stodgy he sounded, he still couldn’t stop from adding, “A stranger who looked like that ?”
“Like what?” she asked, again all innocence. But she was clearly laughing at him, the twinkle in her eye was not from the wine. Well, maybe it was a little from the wine, she was walking a little…crooked.
Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and stared straight ahead. He would not be his father, the square. Or worse, his brother, the square of all squares. “So you two shared a cozy ride on his Harley—”
“It was an Avinton motorcycle,” she corrected.
“You shared a ride on his bike ,” he said. “And what, you rode off into the sunset?”
“More like, we rode to the nearest biker bar,” she said. Her eyes crinkled up in the most adorable way when she was laughing at him. “And then we took the scenic route to the city.”
She got that dreamy nostalgic look on her face again and it irritated the hell out of him. “But true love didn’t last, I take it.”
She outright laughed at that. “It was hardly love. It was more like…lust.”
Jack had to force his feet to keep moving, one in front of the other. He was overcome with the simultaneous urge to head back to the hostel to pummel the giant biker and spin her into his arms to kiss her silly. The word “lust” coming from those lips, that mouth…he wanted her to lust after him .
No he didn’t. Come back to reality, son. This is Holly Sinclair you’re talking to, sister to one of your best friends . Although at that moment, Ivy and Daniel seemed very far away. In another galaxy. Would it really be so bad to taste the forbidden fruit? After all, she wasn’t a sheltered innocent from Ohio as he’d assumed. She was wild, adventurous…passionate.
So then why the hell had she run away from him that night?
“He hooked me up with a job waitressing at the club where he was a bouncer,” she continued.
“How sweet,” Jack muttered.
She ignored him. “We had a lot of fun that summer but….”
“But?”
She gave him a rueful look and shook her head. “It ended. Story over.”
“Aw, what kind of ending is that?” He honestly wanted to hear her bad-talk her ex. What was wrong with him? He was jealous. No, that couldn’t be right. He didn’t do jealousy. He was not a jealous guy. He was laid back, he was cool, he was….
“You were amazing back there,” Holly said.
He looked over to see her
Holly glanced over at him with a wide-eyed innocent look. “Oh, just someone I met when I was here a couple of summers ago.”
“Oh, come on. I just risked my life pretending to be your boyfriend back there,” he said.
She turned to him with a wicked grin. “How does it feel being on the other side of the charade?”
He had to laugh at that. What were the odds that he would find himself pretending to be in a couple…again. And with Ivy’s sister, no less. “Okay, fine,” he said, “I guess I did have that coming. But you’ve got to admit. I did come to your rescue in a time of need—the least you can do is give me the dirt. How did you two meet?”
He was more curious than he cared to admit. This woman, who looked like an angel who had fallen straight out of heaven—hell, her hair even looked like a halo under the streetlamps—was definitely not a saint. And that dichotomy was extremely…intriguing.
He thought she was ignoring him but it seemed she was only lost in the memory for a moment. When she spoke, her tone was whimsical. “He picked me up on his motorcycle.”
He nearly tripped over his own feet. “Excuse me?”
She gave him a sidelong look of amusement—clearly he hadn’t succeeded in hiding his surprise. “I was hitchhiking from Nice to Paris and Lyon picked me up.”
He found himself scowling at her and the voice that came out of his mouth sounded absurdly like his father’s. “So you just got on the back of a bike of a complete stranger?” Hating himself for how stodgy he sounded, he still couldn’t stop from adding, “A stranger who looked like that ?”
“Like what?” she asked, again all innocence. But she was clearly laughing at him, the twinkle in her eye was not from the wine. Well, maybe it was a little from the wine, she was walking a little…crooked.
Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and stared straight ahead. He would not be his father, the square. Or worse, his brother, the square of all squares. “So you two shared a cozy ride on his Harley—”
“It was an Avinton motorcycle,” she corrected.
“You shared a ride on his bike ,” he said. “And what, you rode off into the sunset?”
“More like, we rode to the nearest biker bar,” she said. Her eyes crinkled up in the most adorable way when she was laughing at him. “And then we took the scenic route to the city.”
She got that dreamy nostalgic look on her face again and it irritated the hell out of him. “But true love didn’t last, I take it.”
She outright laughed at that. “It was hardly love. It was more like…lust.”
Jack had to force his feet to keep moving, one in front of the other. He was overcome with the simultaneous urge to head back to the hostel to pummel the giant biker and spin her into his arms to kiss her silly. The word “lust” coming from those lips, that mouth…he wanted her to lust after him .
No he didn’t. Come back to reality, son. This is Holly Sinclair you’re talking to, sister to one of your best friends . Although at that moment, Ivy and Daniel seemed very far away. In another galaxy. Would it really be so bad to taste the forbidden fruit? After all, she wasn’t a sheltered innocent from Ohio as he’d assumed. She was wild, adventurous…passionate.
So then why the hell had she run away from him that night?
“He hooked me up with a job waitressing at the club where he was a bouncer,” she continued.
“How sweet,” Jack muttered.
She ignored him. “We had a lot of fun that summer but….”
“But?”
She gave him a rueful look and shook her head. “It ended. Story over.”
“Aw, what kind of ending is that?” He honestly wanted to hear her bad-talk her ex. What was wrong with him? He was jealous. No, that couldn’t be right. He didn’t do jealousy. He was not a jealous guy. He was laid back, he was cool, he was….
“You were amazing back there,” Holly said.
He looked over to see her
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