When the corners of her mouth rose slightly, I had to force myself not to kiss her. My resolve was breaking, though, when her eyes searched my face and then landed on my lips.
Leaning down, I kissed her on the forehead because if I didn’t kiss her somewhere, soon I’d be pulling her mouth to mine. “You scared me, Ari.”
“I was scared. I’ve never been so scared before in my life, Jeff.”
Her head dropped, and I hugged her again.
“I’ll never let anything happen to you, I swear. Come on, let’s go grab a coffee really quick so your nerves calm down some before you go home. I’m sure you don’t want to come home upset.”
She fisted my shirt again, as if she was saying she didn’t want me to let her go. And in true Ari fashion, to cover her tender side, she used it to wipe her nose. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You don’t mind? I mean, I don’t want to be alone right now.”
Lifting my hand to her face, I brushed my thumb over her cheek. “I don’t mind at all.”
Her smile made my knees weak and my heart jump.
“No fighting?” she softly asked.
“No fighting.”
After waiting for her to get back into her jeep, I got in my truck and followed her over to Mozart’s Coffee. We got two cups of coffee and sat outside.
“So how is school going?” I asked.
She shrugged. “It’s going okay.”
Ari wasn’t the type of girl to brag, so I knew she wouldn’t tell me she was valedictorian of her class. I only knew because Ellie had told me.
“Been a busy year?”
Chuckling, she nodded. “Yes and no. The teachers seem to be giving up on us. We hardly do any work. The closer we get to the end of the year, the more boring it gets.”
I laughed. “Yeah, wait until the last few weeks. It’s boring as hell.”
We both gave each other a grin. This was nice. Just the two of us being civil with each other.
“Ellie said you’re going to UT also.”
“Yep. I’m a little nervous. The campus is so big, and after today . . .” Her voice trailed off, and her eyes filled with tears again.
I reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Don’t ever walk around campus alone at night. Okay?”
She nodded. “’Kay.”
“If you ever need anything, y’all call me or Gunner.”
Her brows lifted. “Who’s Gunner?”
I sat back in my chair. If she got one look at the bastard, I’m sure she would have to wipe the drool away.
“My roommate.”
She grinned. “That’s right. You always make him leave when Ellie comes over. Why?”
It was my turn to shrug. “I don’t know. He’s good-looking, and I don’t really want my sister having a crush on a college guy. At least not yet,” I said, shooting her a wink.
Ari took a drink of her coffee, dropping her head so I wouldn’t see the pink on her cheeks. “You ever think maybe she might not have a crush on him?”