“Then please stop treating me as if I am.” Scarlett held his gaze steady for a beat. “I know you don’t trust me, but that’s only because you don’t know me. All I’m asking for is a chance here, Olly. I’m not looking for a handout, and this isn’t some grand scheme to try to bilk you or Rose out of money or anything else.” Her tongue darted out as she gave her lips a nervous lick. “I mean, no offense, but…from what Thomas shared, it’s not like either of you are sitting on a big pile of cash or anything.”
He understood the point she was trying to make, but damn if that comment didn’t sting.
“You’re right.” Olly stared back at her as old defenses began to rise. “I don’t have jack shit to offer you.”
I have nothing to offer anyone.
“You’re wrong,” Scarlett spoke with a confidence she shouldn’t possess. “I know why you’d think that, but you’re wrong.”
“Yeah? And what makes you think that?”
This should be good.
“Because of your record.” She didn’t pull any punches. “Thomas told me you were in prison. He even sent me a picture of your mugshot, though you look like a completely different man. And, not that my opinion matters, but I have to say…this look suits you much better.”
She was staring up at him with that same doe-eyed expression she’d worn when he’d pulled her to the side, out of the path of those two mouthy jackasses. They’d been standing there, his hands on her shoulders, and though his intentions had been pure, the thoughts that had rolled through his brain at the time had been anything but.
Out of your league, dumbass. Out. Of. Your. League.
“You say you have nothing to offer because you’ve been labeled a felon,” Scarlett continued. “But you’re wrong. You can help me find my sister. To me, that’s worth everything.”
“Why?” Olly had to ask the question again. “Why are you going through all this trouble to find a woman you’ve never met?”
A spark of confusion flashed behind the greens in her eyes. “I told you, already. Rose is my family.”
“Rose doesn’t even know you exist.”
Scarlett flinched as if he’d physically struck her, and Olly immediately wanted to take his words back.
Her shoulders fell, and when she released an almost defeated sigh. “I just want to find her, Olly.” She blinked. “I want to find her, make sure she’s okay, and let her know Idoexist.”
“And after that?”
“The after is up to her.” She blinked again, this time sending a single tear streaking down her flawless cheek. “If we find her and she wants nothing to do with me, I’ll go back home and never bother either of you again.”
Something shifted inside him, then. A tightening deep inside that had nothing to do with her calling him out for being felon. Hell, she was spot on with that assessment.
No, the emotion twisting him up had more to do with that last bit she’d said. The part about going back home and never bothering him or Rose again.
What should have been a relief created an almost immediate rush of anxiety. Like the thought of her leaving town bothered him on some masterful level. Which made absolutely no sense whatsoever.
He didn’t know this woman. Hell, they’d only met a few hours before. Sure, Jax and Ivan may have dug up every last detail about Scarlett’s life. And while he hadn’t had the chance toread over everything in that file, Olly felt as if he had a good bead on the type of person this woman was.
But that still didn’t mean heknewher.
I want to get to know her, though. I want to know everything about her.
That sensation building up inside him grew stronger. Olly couldn’t name it. Had no idea what the fuck it was. All he knew was he couldn’t stand to see that damn tear on her cheek another second.
He lifted his hand, cupping one side of her face. In a soft, gentle move, he carefully brushed the moisture from her flawless cheek. The longer he stood there, staring down at a woman whose only crime seemed to be her desperation to locate and meet her sister, the stronger Olly’s overwhelming urge to kiss her became.
Leaning inward, his focus dropped to those sweet, tempting lips. He expected Scarlett to back away. To yell at him for being inappropriate or slap him and drive away.
She didn’t back away. And she didn’t yell or slap his face. Instead, Scarlett rose onto her tiptoes, the move bringing her body even closer to his.
Perfect pink lips parted slightly, offering what appeared to be a tantalizing invitation. Olly’s palm was still cupping her silky-smooth skin, his thumb still caressing her there as he brought his mouth closer and closer to hers. Their lips touched. Scarlett’s breath hitched. Her lids fluttered shut, and then…
Passion ignited.