Page 4 of Need (Men of Inked Sinners #3)

LOU

“What?” my dad asks as he throws a towel over his shoulder, standing above our table and staring at me like I’ve grown an extra head.

Of course, he had to be working this afternoon. He would find out about the accident sooner or later, but I was definitely hoping it was later.

I motion toward Oliver, who looks like he’s a deer in headlights. The man jumped in front of a speeding car, but he suddenly looks petrified in front of my dad.

“Dad, I’m fine. It’s no big deal.”

Dad drops into the open chair at my side and takes my hand in his. “You could’ve died.”

“But I didn’t,” I tell him, turning my head toward Oliver. “He made sure of that.”

“I don’t know how to thank you,” Dad says to Oliver, who’s squirming in his seat like he’s sitting in a puddle.

“No thanks needed. I’m happy I was there to help.”

“Help?” Dad’s eyes are wide and wild, a look I know well when he’s panicked. “Help is changing a tire, not saving someone’s life.”

“Hey. Hey,” Aunt Daphne says, walking into the bar in the cutest pair of black leather boots that almost kiss the hem of her knee-length skirt. “What’s up?”

Dad doesn’t even look in her direction when he says, “Lou almost died today.”

Aunt Daphne stops mid-step, her one foot still in the air. “What?”

“Her car broke down, and she was on the side of the road when another car came speeding at her, but this guy—” Dad throws a hand toward Oliver “—pushed her out of the way before it could hit her.”

Aunt Daphne gasps, covering her mouth as she finally stands on two feet. “Damn,” she whispers into her palm. “That’s some crazy shit. You okay, kiddo?”

I nod and drag my gaze toward Oliver, who’s still sitting silently, staring straight at me. “Help,” he mouths, and I giggle softly.

“What’s so funny? Is dying funny?” Dad asks, and I suddenly feel like a little kid again, being chastised for some stupid thing my cousins talked me into doing .

“No, Dad. Dying isn’t funny at all,” I tell him, not looking in his direction because I don’t want to see the all-too-familiar look that goes along with his tone.

“Who’s the hunk?” Aunt Daphne asks, and I can’t stop the smile from forming on my lips.

Dad grumbles a slew of curse words.

“He’s Oliver, the tow truck driver,” I answer.

“Well, Oliver, the tow truck driver, thanks for saving my niece. You saved this family a bunch of sadness today.”

“Not a problem,” Oliver says and shifts his weight again in the wooden chair that’s probably too small for his wide frame and that ass I still haven’t been able to get a good look at.

“We owe you,” Aunt D says to him as she moves toward the bar and sloughs off her coat. “Big-time.”

Oliver shakes his head. “The best burger in town is payment enough.”

“And I’m going to organize his garage.”

“Jesus,” Dad mumbles, scrubbing his hand up and down his face in distress. “You’re talking like nothing big happened today.”

“I’ve had time to deal with everything, Dad.”

“She lost her shit for a while,” Oliver adds, “but I made sure she was okay and wasn’t in shock too long.”

Dad’s head swivels toward Oliver. “Thank you. Did I say that already? If not, thank you. ”

Dad is obviously in shock right now, much like I was earlier.

“You have, and again, no thanks needed.”

“What are we thanking him for?” Gram asks, walking out of the back room of the bar.

Jesus. Doesn’t anyone in the family have anything else to do today than be here?

“Lou almost got killed today,” Aunt Daphne says, so casually my grandma takes a minute to absorb the information and almost stumbles forward.

“What?” Gram screeches.

I roll my eyes. “I’m fine. I’m fine,” I reassure her. “He made sure of it.”

Oliver’s eyes flash, and I know he’s sick of hearing the praise, but I’ll never stop telling people.

Gram crosses the room, stopping at Oliver’s side. “You saved my baby?”

Oliver turns his head upward, still looking nervous. “Yes, ma’am,” he tells her.

Gram throws her arms around the man and snuggles into him. “Thank you.”

Oliver’s almost frozen, and all uncomfortable movement from earlier disappears. “Not a problem,” he says as he pats my gram’s arm.

“I need to cook for you,” Gram says as she backs away, but she keeps her arms on his shoulders. “You deserve so much thanks.”

“No, Gram. I’m treating him,” I tell her. I don’t have the heart to say eating her cooking isn’t a thank- you. It’s the complete opposite—except for her eggplant parm, which is the best I’ve ever had. “We’re having some burgers.”

Gram shakes her head. “A burger doesn’t seem like thanks enough.”

“It’s plenty, ma’am,” Oliver tells her, trying to force a smile onto his face.

“Gram,” Gram corrects him, and I chuckle.

The scared look on his face doesn’t fade. “Um,” he mumbles, staring up at her in sheer terror.

“You guys are all over the top,” I say. I knew coming here would be a mistake, but I still suggested it. “Stop scaring the man.”

“The man jumped in front of a car. I don’t think a few people are going to scare him,” Dad says.

“You jumped in front of a car?” Gram asks, still touching him. “Oh my word.” Gram looks over at me and gives me a look that totally says marry him. “I’ll make the burger. You deserve a good meal.”

“I’ve got it,” Daphne says, saving us all from my grandmother’s cooking. “We do have a cook, Ma.”

“But it should be made with love,” Gram tells my aunt.

“Not if we want him to keep breathing,” Aunt Daphne says as she heads to the kitchen before my grandmother can shoot back a response and argue about her cooking.

Gram’s phone rings inside her purse. “Shit. I have to go. I’m meeting the girls for coffee to gossip, and they’re going to eat this story up when I tell them about this fine drink of water.” She pats Oliver’s shoulder, giving him a wink. “You take care of yourself, handsome.”

“Thanks,” he says, but his voice turns up at the end.

“Don’t mind her,” I tell him when she runs out of the bar like her ass is on fire. “She can be a bit much.”

“A bit?” Dad says, finally laughing.

“Leave the kids alone, Lucio. They need time to talk and decompress. Stop hovering,” Aunt Daphne says when she walks back into the bar from the kitchen. “They’ll be out in five.”

I give her a smile because I’m starving and because she’s trying to save us from my father. “Thanks, Auntie.”

“Fine,” Dad grumbles as he taps the table, completely irritated. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“Yay, me,” I say, earning myself a side-eye glare before he stalks away. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” Oliver says as his shoulders finally relax and we’re alone—or as close as we can be with my dad and aunt still nearby. “They seem nice.”

“Seem is the operative word.” I smile as my gaze wanders to where my aunt and dad are talking near the bar. “They can be a lot sometimes, even to me, and I was born into this circus.”

“Is your family big?”

“Yeah. ”

“Close?”

“Too much.”

Oliver smiles, and my heart flutters in my chest. “That’s nice.”

“Yours?”

“Small and not close, besides my parents. Everyone else lives out of state.”

“Where?” I ask.

“Georgia.”

Now the darlin’ makes complete sense. “Half of my family lives in Florida, but they moved away before I was born.”

“I was around seven when we moved here. My stepdad thought he’d make more money in the big city than the sticks.”

“And did he?”

“Yep, and I’m thankful he made that decision every day of my life. I’m not a country boy.”

“You look like one,” I blurt out, unable to stop myself and my big mouth.

He chuckles. “I like hiking and being outdoors, but I wasn’t made to live in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do other than go to church or sit at the local bar. No offense.”

“None taken,” I say, smiling. “I love the city too. I wasn’t made for the outhouse life.”

Oliver chuckles loudly, and the sound of it makes my insides warm. He’s handsome all the time, but there’s something extra special about him when he’s laughing. “They have indoor plumbing, Lou.”

“Hiking is my limit.”

“Camping?” he asks.

I tilt my head, trying to think about the last time I went camping, and I draw a blank. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been. I don’t know if I’d survive.”

“You got to do it right, and then it’s the best thing in the world. Just you and nature.”

Now, it’s my turn to stare at someone like they have an extra head. “That doesn’t sound delightful.”

“It is if you do it like I do.”

I can almost guarantee if I did anything like he did, I would die from exhaustion and lack of strength. But that doesn’t mean my interest isn’t piqued. “And how do you do it?”

“A good tent, an air mattress, a roaring fire, some whiskey, and a sky full of stars.”

The only time I get a good look at the night sky is when I visit my family in Florida. The Chicago skyline is too bright to see much of anything except the brightest stars.

“I’m going in a couple weeks to see the meteor shower.”

“I’ve never seen one of those. I’ve heard they’re amazing.”

“You should come,” he says, so casually I don’t think he means it.

“Someday. ”

“This time.”

“You’re serious?” I ask, leaning forward. “You’re asking me to go?”

“Why wouldn’t I want you to? I’d love to add pretty girl to the list of how I camp.”

My heart does that weird flutter thing inside my chest again. “Can we do s’mores?” I raise an eyebrow, figuring that will be the deal-breaker. I’m giving him a way out if he isn’t serious.

“We can do anything you want.”

Gah. I want to jump this man’s bones, which is so unlike me. I don’t know if it’s because I’m ovulating or because he saved my life, but the pull is so strong, it is becoming too hard to ignore. “It’s kind of cold to camp.”

“I’m going south and chasing the heat.”

“You sure you don’t want to take your wife?” Man, I am fishing for information, and I pray he doesn’t realize it.

“Don’t got one.”

“Girlfriend?”

He shakes his head and smirks. “Just me.”

Shit. He knows I was fishing for information, but I guess it doesn’t matter. “Let’s see how next week goes, and then I’ll let you know.”