I gripped the door, feeling my heart expand in my chest until there was a good chance it would burst from what seemed like not a big deal to Reece, but it was to me.

He chuckled that smooth, deep laugh. “Roxy?”

“I’m going to get in the truck,” I told him.

A brow arched after a moment. “Anytime this year?”

“I’m taking my time.” I flushed, because I knew I looked stupid. “Don’t want to pull a muscle climbing into this monster. I need a freaking ladder to get into this thing.”

Reece laughed while I made a face at him. Finally, I stopped acting weird and got in. As I was buckling up, he asked, “Who’s that?”

I looked out the window as Kip crossed the front porch of the Victorian, the vestibule door swinging shut behind him. “Oh, that’s Kip. I can’t remember his last name, but he’s the guy who moved in upstairs.”

“Huh.”

Kip looked up, and I lifted my hand, giving him a jaunty wave, which was returned with a little less enthusiasm.

Adjusting the seat belt strap so it wasn’t choking me, I looked at Reece as he pulled away from the curb. His gaze flicked to the rearview mirror and then over to me. He winked. I narrowed my eyes at him. He laughed, and now my lips were twitching. Something about the way he smiled and the sound of his laugh was infectious. I leaned my head back against the seat. There was just something about him.

You need me.

The words floated through my thoughts and even though I wanted to ignore them, they didn’t offend me and I didn’t take them as a symbol of me being weak, a woman needing a man or any kind of crap like that. It meant something far deeper than that, something I wasn’t sure I was ready to delve into.

“Thank you,” I said.

He glanced at me quickly. “For what? The orgasms I gave you last night?”

I laughed. “Yeah, well, thanks for that, but that wasn’t what I was referencing. It’s for the paints. That was really thoughtful of you.”

“That’s me. Mr. Thoughtful.”

Shaking my head, I fixed my glasses as they started to slip. “You’re also Mr. Arrogant.”

“It’s called being well rounded.”

I let go of a very unattractive snort. “Keep telling yourself that.”

By the time we reached my parents’ house I’d almost forgotten why we were going there. The insults we’d tossed back and forth on the way there had me thoroughly and happily distracted, but when we pulled in behind my older brother’s black Volkswagen sedan, I wanted to crawl under the truck seat. Of course it couldn’t just be my parents. Oh no, it was Murphy’s Law at its finest.

Reece grinned as he glanced at me. “Want to make a bet?”