Page 71 of Something You Need

“That waiter sounds rude, by the way. I hope you gave him feedback.”

“I gave him all my cash,” he confesses solemnly.

I squirm. “That’s not how you leave a proper customer review.”

“Maybe I’ll give my ‘proper’ feedback later,” he says, his voice so flirty that my mouth opens and an embarrassing squeak jumps out.

Flustered, I point at his control panel.

”Will Elvis be singing again if I press this?”

“I’m better prepared this time. Go ahead.”

I tap the screen. Ace of Base fills the car, and I turn to him, startled.

“This is my favorite!”

“You told me you like ‘90s music,” he says, a slow grin pulling at his mouth. He looks pleased at my reaction.

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d remember,” I admit. “Maybe I’ll start mentioning things I like all the time.”

He holds my gaze, his voice dipping dangerously low.

“Please do. That would make me very happy.”

Oh. Okay. Um. What?

Before, I thought Caspian looked like all the questions no one dared to ask.

I was wrong. He looks like all the answers I wasn’t ready to feel yet.

CHAPTER 41 – CASPIAN

We pull over by a quiet cove. No one has ever been here with me. Not evenCole.No one knows I own this tiny sliver of the shore. I’ve never marked itor fenced it off. I don’t mind others passing through or spending time here. Ijust likeknowing it’s mine.

I grab the picnic basket and the blanket from the trunk.

“There’s a private spot over here,” I say, guiding Antonio down a narrowpath.

“Let me carry something,” he demands.

I hand him the blanket. His warm fingers brush mine, and heat jolts through me. Antonio walks ahead of me, blanket tucked under his arm, hair catching the evening light.

I try to be a gentleman and not stare at his ass.

I fail .

(To be honest, I wasn’t really trying. It’s one hell of an ass. If brushing his fingers nearly gave me heatstroke, looking at that tight curve might just finish me off.)

I take a calming breath.

We settle by the lake, sunlight glittering across the surface.

Antonio’s more interested in the basket than the surroundings. He takes a strawberry and pops it in his mouth, sighing. It’s a soft sound. Pleased. Completely unguarded. My total and utter destruction.

“Did you bake these?” he asks, biting into one of Earl’s rolls.

His eyes flutter closed. He moans.