Page 46 of Grumpy on the Mountain

"My hands will be on the wheel if you need them. My foot ready for the brake. Nothing bad will happen, Molly. I won't let it."

For a moment, we just stand there in the middle of the empty mountain road, the wind whispering through the pines around us, the world holding its breath.

Then, without even thinking, I lean down and kiss her.

Her lips are soft against mine, hesitant at first, then opening for me. I pull her closer, one hand sliding to her waist, the other tangling in her hair.

I pour everything I can't say into this kiss. That she's brave, worthy, perfect. And when she sighs against my mouth, I feel something break loose inside me.

This woman deserves the whole damn world.

And I want to be the one to give it to her.

When we break apart, she's looking at me with something that makes my chest tight and my heart race.

"Okay," she whispers, her voice trembling but determined. "Okay, you're right. I'll try."

I smile—actually smile, wide enough that it feels foreign on my face—and take her hand, leading her around to the driver's side of the truck.

"Good," I say, opening the door for her. "Because this isn't me telling you what to do. This you learning what freedom feels like."

Chapter Eleven

Molly

The truck engine idles beneath me like a sleeping dragon, and I'm pretty sure I'm about to wake it up in the most violent way possible.

"Okay," I breathe, hands gripping the steering wheel so tight my knuckles have gone completely white. "This is fine. This is totally fine. People do this every day. Teenagers do this. If a sixteen-year-old with questionable judgment and raging hormones can drive a truck this big, surely I can—"

"Molly." Beau's voice cuts through my spiral, warm and amused. "You're not performing surgery. It's just driving. Just like you've done it before… only a little different."

Just driving.Right.

Just controlling a two-ton death machine on winding mountain roads with a gorgeous man sitting inches away from me, close enough that I can smell his soap and feel the heat radiating from his body.

Not to mention I can still taste him on my lips afterthatkiss.

Yeah.

No pressure at all.

"Okay, but what if I accidentally put it in reverse and we go flying backward off a cliff?" I ask, staring at the gear shift like it might bite me. "What if I hit the gas too hard? What if—"

"What if," Beau interrupts, reaching over to cover my hands with his, then staring so deep into my eyes I forget to breathe. "…you just trust me when I say I'm not going to let anything happen to you?"

His hands are warm and calloused and completely engulf mine through sheer size.

Seriously. I forget how to breathe, let alone drive.

"Foot on the brake," he says softly, his voice way too close to my ear. "Good. Now shift into drive, and let's go."

I follow his instructions and the truck lurches forward about an inch. I yelp, slamming on the brake so hard we both jerk forward.

"Jesus!" I gasp. "Why did it do that? Is that normal? Did I break something already?!"

Beau makes a sound that might be a laugh.

Or he might be him dying inside.