Renegade Hearts (Rebels of Sandland 1)

We drove in relative silence. I surreptitiously studied his profile as he concentrated on the road. His strong jaw and slight stubble made me lose focus and start fantasising about what it felt like to kiss him. To stroke his rough cheek and feel those soft plump lips on mine. I watched as he turned the wheel, flexing the muscles in his arms and gripping tightly with his long tanned fingers. I wondered what else he could do with those fingers and I blushed, snapping my head back to look out of the window.

“You okay?” he said, reaching over to squeeze my knee.

“Yeah. Where are we going?”

He sighed and went back to glaring at the road ahead. “I thought about taking you to the chapel again, maybe cleaning the place up and having our first date there, but I wanted to do something a bit different. So, I’m taking you to one of my other favourite places.”

We pulled into a car park and I couldn’t stop myself, “A park?”

“Not just any park. This has a forty-acre woodland garden. Plus, it’s a royal park. If it’s good enough for Liz, it’s good enough for me.” He gave me a cocky smile and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“I never had you down as a conservationist.”

“I know a lot of hidden gems around these parts.”

Yeah, like disused buildings for illegal purposes. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“This is different though,” he said as if he’d read my mind and he gestured to the greenery outside his window. “My mum used to bring us here when we were kids. I think the overdose of testosterone in our house got to her sometimes, so she brought us here to feed the ducks and connect with nature. Probably to regain some of her sanity too after a day of refereeing our fights.”

We got out of the van and Ryan grabbed a large backpack from the back and hauled it onto his back. It looked like he’d packed enough for a weekend stay.

“Are we hiking?” I asked, thinking I’d probably need those flats now, instead of the heels I’d got on. I rooted through my bag and dropped the ballet pumps onto the floor and then kicked my heels off, storing them in the footwell, and slipping into the much more comfortable and foot-friendly sparkly slippers.

Ryan laughed at me as I changed my footwear. “I guess I should’ve told you to wear shoes for walking. I didn’t think. I’m not used to all this girls’ stuff,” he said, pointing to my feet.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m always prepared. Like a boy scout.” I didn’t want him to feel bad about bringing me here. He’d obviously put thought into the date.

“You mean a girl scout?” he corrected.

“Yeah, that’s what I said.”

He chuckled and held his hand out for me to take. “Come on, Dora. Let’s go and explore. Then we can find a good spot to eat this picnic my brother, Connor, packed for us.”

I raised my eyebrow at him. The Hardy boys were full of surprises. “Your brother, Connor, made a picnic? For us?”

“He can be an asshole sometimes, but what he doesn’t know about baking isn’t worth knowing. He could give Mary Berry a run for her money.”

I was shocked he even knew who Mary Berry was. “Is this the same Connor who works with you at the garage?”

“Yep. He’d always wanted to go to catering college, but then Mum died, and he dropped out. Guess we all made sacrifices for the good of the family back then.”

Damn, this boy was continually throwing me off my game.

“Your dad must be really proud of you all.”

I gave his hand a squeeze as he led me along a path, through trees decorated with blossom and bushes of flowers with the most vibrant fuchsia pinks, lilacs, and splashes of yellow that I’d ever seen. I was clueless on the names. Unless it was a rose or a lily, I didn’t stand a chance at guessing.

All I knew was this place was beautiful. Nature at its best. And Ryan was sharing it with me.

“He’s the best. He’s had to put up with a lot over the years,” Ryan said, starting to open up to me. “When Mum died, he pulled us all together. Then it all went off with Liam and Connor-”

“He doesn’t live round here, does he? Your oldest brother, I mean.” I wanted to ask what’d happened, but I didn’t want it to look like I was gossiping. Word around town was Liam left after a fight with the family.

“No. I see him every few weeks. He still won’t speak to Connor, though. I guess walking in and finding your fiancée in your little brother’s bed will do that to you.”

“Oh my God! That’s awful! Did he still marry her?”

“No. And in Connor’s eyes, he did Liam a favour showing him what she was really like.”