“Well, it’s nothing fancy. But if you want to tag along?—”
“I’m in!” she said a bit too loud and enthusiastically.
Briggs grinned. “I better drive. I’d hate to get paint on your car seats.”
Before she could answer, he stepped back, took his long-sleeved shirt off, revealing the black t-shirt he wore beneath it.
For a moment, while he was shedding the top layer and before he could adjust the other one, his washboard abs were visible.
Riley licked her lips but then caught herself, hoping she wasn’t being too obvious in her lust.
But damn. Briggs was super-hot!
“Let me go wash up,” he said.
She nodded, unable to speak, her eyes open wide as she watched him trot up the walkway and disappear through the mansion’s front door.
“Lord have mercy,” she whispered as she began to fan herself with her hand. “Have mercy, please!”
Chapter Seven
Briggs wasn’t the type to be self-conscious, but he sure was right now.
There he was, in his pickup truck, taking a movie star to lunch to a fast-food burger joint.
Okay, so it wasn’t just any fast-food place. It was In & Out and he didn’t know a soul alive who didn’t enjoy those burgers, fries, and their special sauce. But still. Shouldn’t he be wining and dining her at Musso and Frank’s or something?
Not that he really had a Musso and Frank’s sort of budget every day. A few times would be fine. He wasn’t hurting. But he couldn’t be making a habit of it.
Why did it matter? he asked himself.
It wasn’t like this was a date or anything. Just a friendly lunch between two people who were getting to know each other. That’s all.
Briggs couldn’t help but wonder, however, what the famous Riley Hartwell thought of riding in a seven-year-old Ford F-150 with painting equipment in the bed.
He tried to recall if he’d ever seen anything about her dating some hot movie star or something. Nothing came to mind.Maybe there was something about a co-star from her latest movie.
He enjoyed going to the movies as much as anyone. If he didn’t, he’d be living in the wrong town. But he didn’t really keep up with celebrity gossip or anything.
The truck’s speakers, automatically connected to his phone, had fired up right where he’d left off on his playlist. Willie Nelson sang “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” and Briggs had been so lost in his thoughts he hadn’t even noticed Riley was singing along until about a minute into the song.
“You’re a Willie fan?” he asked, only briefly taking his eyes off the road to look over at her.
“Why does that surprise you?”
He shrugged, turned his focus back on the road, and admitted, “I don’t know.”
Riley chuckled. “My agent tells me to downplay it. But I’m from Arkansas. My grandpa was absolutelyobsessedwith country music. He didn’t have any money. Like, I’m talking aboutdirt poor. But he managed to save up for Willie tickets one year. Took me with him and we drove all the way to Little Rock.”
Briggs heard her shifting and he knew her eyes were on him as she continued.
“But this is a Kristofferson song. Willie covered it. So did a bunch of people. Have you heard Elvis’s version?”
He wanted to look at her, to smile into her eyes and drink in that deep blue, but he kept his attention on the road. They were close to Hollywood High and there were plenty of students walking around for lunch.
“I have.”
“It’s a good one,” she said. “My grandpa took me to Memphis too, and we saw Graceland. Got to go inside. Elvis is buried in the back. We also went to the Sun Records museum. It used to be a recording studio where Elvis and Johnny Cash and RoyOrbeson all got started. It was cool because it’s just this tiny little brick building that’s left standing around all these newer offices and medical facilities.” She sighed wistfully, and Briggs could tell she was in a good memory. So, he gave her some space and just let her unravel things at her own pace.