Page 43 of The Matchmaker Club

“It’s okay,” I whispered, and he held me a little tighter.

The last time I was this close to a man was my summer with Austin. I had forgotten how much I missed that warmth.

“What is it?” Lainey called from the house.

“Probably a raccoon trying to get to the birdseed,” my grandmother said before she flipped the shed light off.

When the porch light went out as well, his arms were still around me, and I didn’t want to move.

His mouth went to my ear, sending chills rippling across my skin. “Is it safe to go?”

“Yeah.”

His arms dropped to his sides, and I stood up. “This way.”

“No, you follow me on this one, remember?”

“Okay, Houdini, let’s see whatcha got.”

He took hold of my hand and led me toward the gate. We crawled our way under the long dining room windows and made a run for it once we got to the driveway.

I stopped once we were around the bend and out of sight to catch a breath. “I hope you figured out transportation because Ben’s place is about seven miles from here.”

He tucked his hands in his pockets and started further up the drive. “Then we better start walking now.”

Great.

By the time we got to the end of the drive, I had pulled my phone from my back pocket. “I’ll call Thelma. If she hasn’t started drinking yet, she could pick us up.”

“Or we can ride on that.” He pointed to the side of the road where a shiny red ATV was parked.

“You bought that for a sneak-out?”

“Are you okay with riding it?”

I ran my hands over the seat. “Where were you during my high school years when I snuck out of the house for real? This is awesome!”

“You want to drive it?”

“Um, yes!”

He tossed me a helmet and goggles and slipped on a pair of his own. I swung my leg over the seat and searched for the ignition.

Lucas climbed on the back. “You have driven one of these before, right?”

I huffed out a laugh. “I’m from Maine. Of course I have.”

He sighed in relief. “Good.”

“I’m gonna take some back roads and a trail to his house, so it may get bumpy.”

“Okay.”

I shifted into neutral, started her up, and switched on the headlights. I let out on the clutch and eased into the throttle. We kicked forward a little faster than I wanted to, and Lucas instantly had his arms around my waist.

I smiled and took off down the road.

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