Page 16 of Down & Dirty (Holden Cove #1)

CHAPTER 16

SKY

“ M omma, look!” Micah squealed, rushing through the glass doors of the OTM offices two days later with his new stuffy held high. Elle followed him wearing her own satisfied smile.

She’d taken him to the mall to build a new teddy bear after he’d lost his favorite one at Tommy’s. I’d wanted to go, but Ronnie had been added at the last minute to a magazine article about up-and-coming riders to watch, and I had to sit in on the shoot and interview after. It was good I was there, since talk of the OTM partnerships came up and a few choice glares reminded Ronnie to keep his mouth shut. But I’d rather have been with my son.

“Wow. Good job!” I took the bear and inspected it, Micah’s face beaming with pride. “You know how to make a good bear, pal.”

“You made that?” A voice come from behind me. Cory was looking over my shoulder with curiosity. I hadn’t seen him since I walked out of the infirmary, and it looked like he hadn’t shaved since, his face and neck covered in thicker-than-normal scruff. I might have liked it .

Micah reached for the bear, taking it from me and offering it to Cory. “I did. You can name them and add colors. He’s a brown bear, like in Alaska.”

When Cory lowered to one knee, so he was at eye level with my son, my heart did a strange skipping thing and my throat felt rough when I swallowed. It was the first time I’d ever seen them together.

“That’s exactly what he looks like. Are you sure he’s safe?” Cory handed the bear back carefully, as if the thing was alive and at risk of attacking him.

Micah giggled. “He’s not going to hurt you.”

“Are you sure?”

“His name is Spike. He’s my friend,” he replied, giving the bear a squeeze for good measure.

Cory nodded, settling back on his heel. “Oh good. Okay. You’re a bear tamer, huh?”

“Yep,” Micah said, but I was certain he had no idea what that meant.

Cory glanced up at me, a softness in his eyes as he gave me a sly grin. “Daredevil runs in the family, I guess.”

“It really does,” Elle interjected, drawing our attention as Cory rose back up to stand beside me. I could have killed her. She was gloating.

“It’s good to see you, Elle.” All the riders knew who Elle was, thanks to her job, but I could tell by the way he was looking between us that he was putting together that we were friends. “You here to crack down on our Instagram posts again?” He was laughing, because that happened at least once a season, but it felt like he was also trying to figure out exactly what was going on.

“She’s just dropping Micah off, actually,” I said hurriedly, hoping to break apart this little gathering as quickly as possible. Elle’s eyes were alight with an unsettling amount of amusement.

“Oh,” he said, a frown flashing on his face. “Can I steal Sky for one second before you go? ”

“Sure,” Elle said, at the same time as I shook my head.

“Just a sec,” Cory reassured us both, stepping toward the conference room off the lobby. When I hesitated, he jerked his head with an irresistibly playful grin. “One sec, boss.”

He might have been enjoying this, but I let out an uneasy sigh. I didn’t dare risk looking up at Elle, knowing her smug grin would make me even more uncomfortable. “I’ll be right back, Micah.” He gave an enthusiastic wave, as if my departure was even funny to him.

As soon as the door closed behind me, I leaned heavily into it. “What’s up?”

Cory strode to the other side of the table, his hands in his pockets. “How’s the leg?”

“My knee?” I asked, confused.

His eyes flicked down, as if he could see the bruise through my dress slacks. “Yeah.”

“It’s fine.” I kicked it out in front of me a couple of times for good measure. “Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

A low, breathy laugh huffed out of him, no doubt from my impatience. Having him and Elle in the same room suddenly made me feel guilty for breaking my promise to keep our agreement a secret, and I was in a rush to get them more than twenty feet apart again so I didn’t have to feel this nagging worry he’d figure it out.

“No. I’m glad it’s feeling better, though.” He swiped a hand through his hair, his jaw tensing. “I wanted to check with you about whether you felt ready to hit the press with this?”

This. Us . He actually did want to go through with it.

“Sure. That was the deal.”

“Yes,” he said, scowling. “But you can change your mind.”

“No, Cory. It’s fine.” I wasn’t sure what to read into his continued hesitation, but I was never going to get more ready.

He regarded me silently for a moment before he nodded. “Okay. These are the ones we’ll go with, if you approve.” He pulled out his phone and brought up a series of images of us taken last week when we’d gotten oysters at a place in Dana Point. It had been right on the water and the sea breeze had given my hair that messy salty look I could never replicate when I tried.

“There were photographers there?” He hadn’t told me we were being watched.

Cory sighed, licking his lips nervously. “Yeah. I didn’t tell you because I know the shooters. They weren’t going to release them without my okay. And I didn’t want you to be anxious or uncomfortable. I wanted them to look natural. I wanted you to look like you.”

The part of me that was initially annoyed he hadn’t prepared me immediately sat back down, silenced by the way he was looking at me, so open and careful. He wanted me to look like me. What did that mean?

“You could have still told me.”

“I know. I know you can handle it. I just...” he trailed off, his eyes back on the photo of us in his hand. We were walking through the parking lot after dinner, his arm draped across my shoulders and mine wrapped around his waist. I’m looking up at him and laughing. It was a good shot.

“I approve,” I said quickly before I could change my mind. I’d never admit to Cory the tiny niggle of anxiety I still had about all this. I’d get over it once we finally got the ball rolling. “Thanks for the heads up.”

His brow scrunched like he’d tasted something bad. “Of course.” He took one more glance down at his phone. “They’ll hit the press later today.”

“Sounds good.” I went to spin for the door, but Cory’s voice stopped me short.

“Cute kid. He looks just like you.”

I paused, spotting Micah across the lobby, dancing his bear across the bench Elle was sitting on. Looking back over my shoulder I gave Cory a smile, some of my nerves settling a little. “Thank you. He’s the best.”

“Also, just like you,” he said, his voice low as he walked past me and out of the room. He gave Micah and Elle a wave before heading down the hallway toward the garage.

My heart was racing, whether from what he’d just said or from us officially taking this thing to the next level. Either way, there was no going back now.