And it had been a damned good point. At the time, he’d been so wrapped up in his dad and his guilt and shame that he hadn’t really seen all the facets to that story she’d told him about her life.

More than just a way to prove her point about not carrying other people’s actions, it showed him how tender she was. Despite the horror she’d grown up with. Despite enduring stuff that would make most people hard and angry, she was not.

She’d done nothing but show him love. Kindness and compassion. At the same time, she’d shown spine to keep coming back. Even as he rejected her over and over. She’d encouraged him to keep fighting to find the right course of treatment for his father. Even as he’d stopped answering his door when she came over.

She gave and gave without expecting anything in return. She did it because he needed it.

That was love.

He pulled off to the side of the road and yanked his helmet off.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

If he let Beth go he was a total moron.

He loved Beth Murphy. Loved her persistence. Her strength. Her humor. Her sexy walk. The way she just bulldogged her way through everything. He’d never in his life met a more stubborn woman.

And it worked.

He put his helmet back on, turned the bike around and headed back to Petal.

Chapter Fifteen

“Man oh man, he’s totally going to hurt me tomorrow.” Trey cast quick glances at the back where Joe was.

“He won’t. He’s got too much pride. Anyway, when he finally wises up, I’ll let him know it was just a way to poke at him and then he won’t want to hurt you anymore.”

He’d better wise up. Here she was looking absolutely freaking gorgeous, sitting with another man who totally couldn’t stop looking at her boobs. If Joe didn’t come over to their table and declare how stupid he was being, she…well, she might just give up.

They chatted as they drank their beer. People stopped by their table to chitchat. Mostly though because the whole damned town knew she and Joe had broken up and that he was in the back playing pool. The drama of it was too delicious to pass up.

Whatever. She had no intention of giving them a show. That would have been too much like her parents.

“People in this town are nosy.”

She smiled at Trey. “No one can resist the excitement. This is going to be all over town tomorrow. Maybe I made a mistake doing this.”

Trey took her hand, kissing her fingertips. It brought her words to a halt. He gave her such a wicked grin too, knowing that he’d gotten her a tiny bit tangled up.

He laughed. “Ha! See, I can do it too. Now you listen here, if that dumbass back there doesn’t come to his senses, you’re better off without him. I’m not playing now. You intended to give him a lesson about how beautiful and desirable you were. That if you took his advice to move on, this is what it would look like. It’s got to be hard to swallow, a man like him. But he needed to understand what his words would mean. As for all over town? Well yeah. It’s Petal after all. But look, it would have been anyway, no matter who you started dating. There are only so many places in town to take a date. It would be bound to happen.”

“Thanks, coach. That was a good speech.”

“You use humor to push stuff away too, I know your game.”

“You’re right, of course. Really, thank you. I hope I don’t have to start dating anyone else. It would suck to break in someone else. All that work with Joe down the drain. Plus, I like the man’s dog. And his motorcycle. He orders extra cake when we go out so I can have it.”

“If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”

“So is he looking over here? I’m trying to act like I’m caught up in your sexitude so I can’t look.”

“My sexitude? Cripes. Yes, he’s looking. Frowning. Glowering. William has looked too. They’re talking about you. That much is clear.”

They stayed a while longer but that butthead didn’t come over.

“Let’s go. It’s loud in here and I’m tired and if he’s going to make his move, he might need the push of me leaving.”

Trey leaned in a lot closer. “Maybe if he thinks we’re going back to your place to smooch, you’ll push him that last bit.”

Beth put on a little show for Joe, letting her eyes slide halfway closed. “Or more. We, Joe and me I mean, have some smoking hot chemistry in bed. If he thought I was giving that to you…” She shrugged, sliding from her chair and letting Trey help her into her coat.

She flipped her hair back over her shoulder, knowing how much Joe loved her hair, and turned, locking her gaze with his, feeling that connection they had straight to her toes.

Beth willed him to come over. Willed him to just admit he needed her.

But he stood there, not making a move.

She covered her disappointment the best she could, turning and letting Trey lead her outside.

“I surely did think that last thing you did would get him. Hard to resist a woman when she does that thing with her hair.”

Trey was a sweetie pie. She smiled at him and tried not to cry.

He slung an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t cry, doll. Don’t let him see your tears. I’ll take you home.”

She heard the motorcycle and her heart skipped. She’d tried to sleep and had ended up watching Mary Poppins instead. Eating an entire bag of Doritos and drinking two Cokes. Diet, naturally, as if that would combat the eleven billion Doritos calories.