Something Tattered (Joel Bishop Book 1) by Sabrina Stark

Author:Sabrina Stark [Stark, Sabrina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-07-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 38

From the open doorway, I gave Joel a nervous smile. "I'm really sorry about that."

His brow wrinkled in confusion. "Why are you sorry?"

"Well, he called you a name for one thing."

"Forget that." He moved closer until we were standing within arm's reach. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure." I gave a shaky laugh. "We fight all the time, so I'm kind of used to it."

Joel's gaze darkened. "That happens a lot?"

"No. Not really." I glanced toward the driveway, where Derek's car had been a moment earlier. "But he's been in a rotten mood all summer. Honestly, I don't know what's going on."

After a long, ominous silence, Joel asked, "You want me to have a talk with him?"

"No," I blurted. "Definitely not." In fact, that was the last thing I wanted. Trying not to be rude about it, I added, "But thanks. That's really nice." I ran a trembling hand through my hair. "But he's already gone, so…"

"So, I'll go after him, not a big deal."

That's where Joel was wrong. It would be a big deal. Already, it was a big deal. Looking to tone things down, I said, "It's fine, really."

"Sorry, but you're wrong."

I blinked. "What?"

"Talking to you like that? It's not fine. And you know it."

"Well, yeah. But you just saw the tail end." I tried to shrug it off. "He said some things. I said some things." I forced a laugh. "And you said some things..."

"Yeah. I did." His jaw tightened. "And he's lucky I only said something."

I didn't ask what Joel meant, because I could see it in his stance, along with the way his gaze kept shifting to his car, like he was thinking of making good on his offer – to have a "talk" with Derek.

I summoned up a smile. "I know. And I appreciate it, really. But can't we just forget it?"

Joel still wasn't smiling. "Forget it."

"Yeah. I mean, you're already mowing my lawn. You don't need to fight my battles, too." I deliberately brightened my tone. "When you're done, I was thinking I'd make dinner."

"I'm already done."

"Seriously?" I turned to study the lawn. With all of the Derek-drama, I hadn't even noticed, but the front yard looked surprisingly terrific. And I'd heard Joel mowing out back, so obviously, that part was finished, too.

Still, I couldn’t quite believe it. "The whole thing?"

"Yeah. Unless there's more you haven't showed me."

I stared in amazement. "But you've only been at for a couple of hours."

Finally, to my infinite relief, Joel smiled back. "What? You wanna inspect?"

I felt myself swallow. That smile was almost my undoing. With a conscious effort, I pushed aside any thoughts of Derek. He wasn't here, thank goodness. But Joel was.

In the long shadows of the fading day, he looked utterly amazing. I didn't want to stare, but it was hard not to. Everything about him was pure perfection – from his beautiful face to his finely-cut shoulders and chest.

My gaze slipped lower, and I tried not to notice that his flat, defined abs glistened

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