Bad Boys Do (Donovan Brothers Brewery 2)

“I think it was more quantity than quality. When I was a teenager, I was always skipping school and blowing off assignments and hanging out where I shouldn’t have been hanging out. Sometimes I’d take off for a couple of days, then just waltz back home like nothing had happened. But mostly, I just blew them off. I wanted them to leave me alone. I didn’t want to owe them more than I already did.”

She frowned at him, trying to figure out what he meant.

“But that was in high school,” he said. “I mostly screwed around in college like any other kid at a notorious party school. Since then, I’ve just…gotten by.”

“Why did you feel like you owed them?”

His eyes flew to hers before sliding away again. He shrugged. Traffic stalled out as a huge crowd of bicyclists passed in front of them. A police officer held up his hand when the light turned green. More bikes passed. They must have accidentally cut through a race route.

“What did you owe them?” she pressed.

He shook his head. “Everything.”

“You mean Eric? He took care of you guys, right?”

“Yeah. It’s complicated.”

“By what?”

The last of the bicycles appeared to have passed, but the light had turned red again. Jamie shifted in his seat.

“I’m sure it’s perfectly normal for a teenage boy to act out after his parents die, Jamie. Anyone would. You can’t blame yourself for that.”

“That’s not what I blame myself for.”

“Then what is it?”

He set his jaw and didn’t answer, and Olivia decided to let it go. He’d talk about it when he wanted to, and she didn’t want to start a fight. They’d only made up a week ago and they were on their way to see his family. Now was not the time for tension.

She took his hand and squeezed it. “All that matters is that you’re getting along now. I thought you were happy when I first met you, but now it’s almost like you’ve found peace.”

“Yeah,” he said, squeezing his hand again. “It’s something like that.”

The traffic jam finally gave way, and Jamie seemed to sigh with relief.

“We’re late, aren’t we?”

He laughed. “

We’re not late. I told them we’d be there around six.”

“You told me five-thirty. I’ve been so worried!”

He leaned in and stole a quick kiss. “You know how hot it gets me when you’re responsible.”

“Jamie!” She shoved him back to his side of the car. “Why did you say five-thirty?”

His smile faded and he cleared his throat. “I thought we might stop somewhere else real quick.”

The nervous way his fingers tightened on the steering wheel confused her, but she nodded. “Of course.”

They drove down the street, then took a few more turns until they were in a part of town she didn’t think she’d ever driven through. Jamie pulled into an entry gate that made her sit up straighter. It was a cemetery.

He eased slowly down the narrow lane before he stopped and cut the engine. “I wanted to bring you here because…my parents are buried here.” He gestured up a hill dotted with large trees.

Olivia gasped and reached for the door handle. “Do you want to go up? We can. I don’t really care about being late, Jamie.”

His hand closed over her wrist. “No. I don’t want to. I…I don’t go up there.”