Forgive Me (Callaway Book 2) Read Online Free

bit her bottom lip as she spoke, her nervous tell. The one good thing about his relationship with Amanda was that he knew her, knew her ticks. He knew her body better than he knew his own.
    He kept his eyes locked on her as he spoke, forcing himself to hide the smile crawling on his face when he noticed she couldn't take her eyes away from his body. She was definitely still attracted to him. At least that was something he could work with, something he could use to break down her defenses. "I can."
    "Are you going to make me say it?" He laughed at the annoyance in her tone but if they were going to do this, he needed to hear her say it aloud.
    When his laughter died down, Drew grinned at her. He smiled at her. "Yes, Mandy, I am." He chortled.
    She laughed, and it was the sound he remembered, the one he would give his life to hear her make all the time. There was just something about her, no matter how many years had flown by, that made him want to do everything he could to make her smile and laugh every day. "Would you please consider helping me fix my house before it caves in and kills me in the middle of the night?"
    "Was that so hard?" He loved teasing her; she was always so easy to bait. Even back in high school, he would spend hours goading her, except back then, she would give as good as she got. But that was the girl; the woman sitting in front of him looked almost sad, like she was at the end of her rope. He just couldn't have that. It killed him to see her like this, to see her struggling. All he ever wanted was for her to be happy.
    "Yes, as a matter of fact, it was. Listen, I'm really tight on money right now, Drew. I don't know how much all of this is going to cost, but I don't think I can do it all. I know I won't be able to afford all the work right away. I'm out of my league here," she told him honestly.
    "How about I come over and take a look? I can tell you what's most urgent, and we can go from there, okay?" He didn't tell her that he wouldn't let her pay a dime for anything. Whether or not she knew it, she was his, and he took care of what was his. It's how he was built, not just how his dad raised him.
    "I know you're really busy with the ranch. I don't want to take time away from your work. You guys work so hard." That was one of the reasons why he loved her so much—she cared about everyone.
    "It's fine, Mandy." She continued to bite her lower lip, and it felt strangely good to know he still got to her on some level. But she had enough on her plate. He didn't want her to worry about him; he wanted the right to worry about her.
    "Okay, well, when do you want come over?" she asked, twirling a piece of her hair around her finger.
    He grabbed another bottle of water as she climbed off the tailgate. "I can be there tonight, if that works for you," he told her as he watched her take in his half-naked body. Her eyes roamed over him.
    Drew coughed, and when Mandy looked up, she blushed at being caught ogling him. "Oh, hmmm, sure. That's fine."
    He tried to think about what he had to get done that day and what could wait until the following one, because there was no chance he was letting this opportunity pass him by. "I'll drop by around eight. Is that too late?"
    She looked at the ground, and he knew she was avoiding eye contact. She used to do the same thing when they were younger. He wouldn't force her to acknowledge there was still something between the two of them, not right then anyway, but one day soon, they were going to talk. "That's fine. Well, I'll see you tonight then."
    "I'll be there." He watched Amanda walk away and his eyes went straight to her ass. It had always been one of his favorite things about her; it fit perfectly in his hands, even more at the present than back in the day.
    "Drew?" He looked up when he heard her call his name, and the vulnerability he saw broke his heart.
    "Yeah?" he managed to say through a cloud of lust that told him to lay her back down on his tailgate, explore every