Sighing, he jerked the gearshift into Reverse. He’d handle this later. But just as he was about to turn his head to ease his truck back out of the parking space, the building’s side door popped open and a blonde stepped out. There was no mistaking that platinum hair; it was definitely Starla. He put the truck back in Park and reached for the door handle, but something stopped him before he could open the door.
A small flame flared in front of her shadowed face, illuminating soft features in an orange glow. He didn’t especially like the fact that she smoked, but it wasn’t a deal breaker. Shelly had smoked when they met, though she gave it up when she got pregnant with the girls.
Bending her knee, Starla propped one boot back against the wall behind her and tilted her head back. She remained like that for a minute or so, smoking and staring up at the stars. If he didn’t make a move soon, she was going to go back in, and if he caught her, he was going to have to explain why he’d been sitting for so long, staring at her like a weirdo.
He couldn’t explain that when he really didn’t know himself. No denying there was something captivating about her, but he did have good reason to see her tonight. Grabbing that good reason from his passenger seat, he popped open his door and stepped down from his truck.
Immediately, she spied him, flicked her cigarette butt down, and ground it out with the toe of her boot. The movement was a little too quick, a little too frantic. For a second, he entertained the probably ridiculous notion that she was embarrassed by having been caught smoking. In response, he gave her his best “I don’t give a shit” grin, keeping the item clutched in his right hand slightly hidden behind his back.
“Hey, you,” she said, moving forward to meet him halfway between his truck and the building. Even in the shadows, he could see the consternation written plainly across her anything-but-plain features. “Damn sure wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“Why not?” he teased. He knew good and well why he wouldn’t ordinarily be here. The guy inside, for one.
Starla scoffed and glanced back through the brightly lit windows. Inside, Ghost was laughing wildly about something. Must be nice to laugh like that. Jared couldn’t remember the last time he’d had the pleasure. “How long have you been out here so you wouldn’t have to go inside?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
He shrugged. “Not long.” And since this had become far more awkward and painful than he had even imagined it could, he presented her with the item he’d brought her. Her purse, black leather adorned with silver skulls. “Present for you.”
Starla’s eyes widened, and she sprang forward to snatch it from his hand. “You got it? How did you—” Words seemed to fail her as she jerked it open and riffled through the contents before giving up and gazing at him in mute astonishment.
“Told you, I knew where he was going, and I saw what he was driving before I picked you up. It was nothing to walk over and get it while no one was looking. No reason for you to be without it, right?”
He’d expected her gratitude, but he hadn’t expected her to pitch herself into his arms. Just like that. One minute standing a few feet away, the next pressed firmly against his body, her arms tight around his neck, her scent filling his head. Peaches and cream. Hair like colorful silk against his cheek. It wasn’t a friendly thank-you hug. More like something…desperate?
Ah hell, he was reading too much into it. It had been so long since he’d been with a woman that his poor sex-starved brain was twisting her gesture into way more than it was, and other sex-starved parts of his anatomy were stirring when they shouldn’t be.
Gently, he returned her embrace just enough not to leave her hanging. She gripped him a moment longer, then stepped back with a sniffle.
Jesus, was she crying?
The shadows hid any evidence of tears from his scrutiny, but they couldn’t hide her vulnerability as she looked down and a long swatch of silvery hair streaked with cotton-candy pink fell over one eye. He wondered at the color of those eyes, but he thought they were dark. If he could ever see her in the full light…
“This is like the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
All his thoughts came to a staggering halt. She couldn’t mean that. “Come on,” he began, but she shook her head.
“Someone I don’t know, at least. Even among people I do know, it’s up there.”
He hadn’t done this to hear words like that. They sliced through his heart like a hot knife through butter. He’d only wanted to do the right thing by her. Doing the right thing, though, had only gotten him fuck-all for most of his life. To have it actually appreciated was something of an anomaly for him.
Her eyes flickered back up to his, and the breath whooshed out of him. He’d been thrown from horses, bulls, various farm equipment. None of those jarring impacts with the hard ground had knocked the air from his lungs like the look in this girl’s eyes right then.
Almost as soon as he’d noticed it, it was gone.
“Sorry,” she said casually, shoving her hair back from her face. “It’s been a hard night.”