Meant for You (The Connor Family 3)

I laughed as we crossed the street to his bike. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Detective.”

“When do you have to be there?” he asked.

“I’m meeting someone at a bar near the beach in forty minutes.”

His posture changed. The easy smile from before faded. He shrugged out of his jacket as we reached the bike.

“Just one protective jacket. You’re getting it.”

“The jacket is about five sizes too large.”

“It’ll protect you anyway.”

I put the jacket on, then a helmet. He had two of those. I felt like RoboCop as I climbed behind him on the bike.

“Hold on tight,” he said after I told him the address.

Oh, yeah. Guess what holding on to him meant? I got to keep my palms on the front of his torso. The six-pack complemented his biceps just right. I had to really work at keeping my hands still. I wanted to touch more.... How did he get so ripped? My arms were pressing in on his waist. He didn’t have an ounce of fat.

Will Connor was pure muscle.

Riding a bike was an adrenaline rush; there was no other way to put it. The speed, feeling the wind on my legs. My dress was loose enough that I could spread my thighs comfortably but not be afraid the wind would blow it away. I had the craziest impulse to take my helmet off, feel the wind against my face and in my hair, but I knew it wasn’t safe.

I held on even tighter when Will took a narrow turn, bending the bike at an angle that made me break out in a sweat.

We came to a stop in front of my meeting point with Luna all too soon. I climbed down, careful not to flash Will my underwear, then took off the helmet and the jacket. I smelled a bit like Will now.

Luna was waiting in front of the bar. Her jaw hung loose when she noticed me getting off the bike. Her gaze moved between Will and me.

“Detective, I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon,” she told Will.

I held up the bag. “He helped me pick an alarm for the inn.”

“Want to join us for a drink?” she asked.

“Just the two of you out for girls’ night?”

“Yes,” I confirmed.

Will held his hands up, but his smile was back. “I have it on good authority that crashing a girls’ night isn’t a good idea. My sisters drilled it deep in my mind.”

Luna crossed her arms over her chest. “I like you.”

I liked him too. Very much so.

“I insist,” Luna continued. “One cocktail on us?”

“We don’t want to keep you,” I said. “I’ve taken up enough of your time. I’m sure you have plans.”

Will flashed me a devastating smile. I could feel one knee weaken, then the other. He was concocting a plan. I couldn’t shake the feeling that it had to do with me.

“I don’t. One cocktail.” That deep baritone voice was exquisite. “Why not?”

One cocktail turned into two, then three. All nonalcoholic for Will. I was mixing it up. The bar was crowded, but we found a table for two. It was tiny, and the three of us crammed around it rather awkwardly. Will was sitting next to me.

He was fun to be around. He knew how to keep the conversation going, shared a lot about himself without dominating the conversation. I learned that in addition to three sisters and two brothers, he also had a one-year-old niece and an eight-year-old nephew that he was quite fond of. He was the son of the sister who was getting married.

Then he told Luna about the wedding, and his relative’s propensity for matchmaking. I was wondering why he brought it up, when he said, “I asked Paige here to go with me and save my ass, but she declined.”