Alex seemed to know where he was going, so I followed him to the coolers in the back and stood there while he loaded cases of beer into the shopping cart. He didn’t let me carry anything or pay, but he refused so politely that I couldn’t even argue. I’m a strong, independent woman who works out occasionally; I could’ve easily helped him load beer into the bed of his truck, but I kind of liked the fact that he held my door and helped me inside the cab before loading everything. It was so unassumingly sweet.

“You doing okay?” Alex asked as we headed back toward Hailey and Sean’s. “You know, after all that shit earlier?”

“Yeah. I’m okay,” I replied, turning my head to watch him as I remembered how he’d thrown that guy against the wall. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I did,” he said. He reached up and scratched where a five-o’clock shadow darkened the side of his face. “I can’t stand that kind of stuff, and if no one does anything, then guys like that think they can keep doing it.”

“He seemed pretty wasted,” I murmured.

“Don’t do that,” Alex said softly. “Don’t make excuses. It doesn’t matter how drunk I am—I’d never touch some woman without making damn sure she wanted me to. No one else should do it, either.”

“I agree,” I said simply. “There’s no excuse.”

“Good.” Alex nodded. He reached out and flipped his hand palm up.

The calluses on his fingers rasped against my skin as I put my hand in his.

“See?” he said, shrugging as he gave my hand a squeeze. “Easy as that.”

I smiled as I watched his fingers thread through mine until his swollen knuckles pressed against my unblemished ones. His thumb slid gently back and forth over the back of my hand, and all my rules about distractions and my excuses for staying single flew out the window. I was pretty sure there was no way I’d ever be able to say no to Alex Evans again.

Chapter 3

Alex

I liked having Sarai in my truck, especially with her fingers wrapped around mine. I’d never really been a hand-holder, but this felt good. Easy. The dark cab of the truck made it feel like we were in our own little world. I glanced over at her profile and contemplated taking the long route back to the house but decided against it. I didn’t want to freak her out after the kitchen incident earlier.