The Right Time (11 page)

“Definitely.” His thighs and calves burned, and he was tired as hell, but right then and there, Ransom promised himself that he would do this more often. Get out more. Enjoy the elements and the freedom of just exercising and taking a few hours to think. During the ride, he’d even managed to work out the problem to one of his cases.

“Eric, we have another convert,” she called over her shoulder.

The group leader smiled. “Welcome to the family,” he said. “Considering you haven’t ridden in a while, you kept up pretty well. Sophie, do you mind getting him signed up?”

“Not a problem.” She looked at Ransom. “Follow me. The paperwork is in the back.”

They went into the back office of the bike shop and she lifted a clipboard from the desk. “Fill in your contact information here.” She pulled together a packet of papers and stacked them at the edge of the desk. “Mostly these are just waivers saying that you’ll be responsible and adhere to all safety guidelines and rules of the road. You can read through them later and bring the signed acknowledgement with your membership fee when you come back next time.”

Ransom finished filling in all his contact information and then handed her the clipboard. She scanned the page and then set it on the desk. “Now you’re officially part of the group.”

“Great.”

They fell quiet, and he had the distinct impression she didn’t want to leave any more than he wanted to.

“What made you decide to ride with us today? I’m surprised you’re not holed up in your office, since it’s your first week in Atlanta.”

“I should be, but…I wanted to get out. See the sights.”
See you
.

“Oh.”

Quiet.

Sophie straightened the papers on the desk.

“You didn’t give me a chance to explain about last week,” Ransom said.

“There’s nothing to explain. The meeting took us both by surprise and we reacted badly.” She laughed, albeit a bit nervously. “Like you said, we both got what we wanted in the Bahamas, and…it’s done. The fact that we ran into each other is a crazy coincidence. So…let’s just leave the past in the past. Okay?”

“Right.” He ignored the burning in his stomach, pushing through to ask a question he had no business asking. “You and Keith are definitely staying together?” His neck muscles stretched tight like bands of elastic.

“Yes.”

He fought the urge to smash something.

Sophie took a deep breath and tucked her helmet under her arm. “I have to pick up my car at the mechanic shop, so I’ll see you later,” she said quietly.

They walked out to the parking lot together, and one of the other riders came rushing up with a grimace. “Hey, Sophie, I hate to cancel on you at the last minute, but I’m not going to be able to take you to get your car. I just got a call from the babysitter and she needs to leave right away. Can you catch a ride with someone else?”

“Oh. I—”

“I can take you,” Ransom volunteered.

“Super! Thanks, pal. Sophie, I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.” The guy hurried away.

Sophie crossed her arms. “You don’t have to take me. I can ask my mother.”

“Your mother’s working, and I don’t mind.” When she seemed to still hesitate, looking around the parking lot as if searching for an alternative ride, he added, “Buy me lunch. Consider it payback for taking you to the mechanic. For saving you again.”

Just as he thought, the reminder elicited a small smile. “Saving me? I don’t see a cape.”

“Someone once told me not all heroes wear capes.” He smiled at her. “Let me walk back to my apartment to get my car and I’ll be back to pick you up.”

“I’ll wait for you at my mother’s shop.”

“See you in a few.”

Riding in Ransom’s SUV turned out to be a bad idea. Sophie knew she’d made a mistake as soon as she strapped into the seat. Sitting so close to him in a confined space provoked memories, and tiny pulses of need erupted over her skin. She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Where to?” he asked.

She gave him the address and he plugged it into the GPS.

They took off down the road, but a heavy silence hung over the car.

“I don’t want things to be awkward between us,” Sophie finally said.

“I don’t, either.”

“We’re adults, and we had a fling. It should be no big deal. Surely we can be friends.” She’d simply have to stop noticing the way the jersey molded to his chest or the black shorts wrapped tight around his powerful thighs.

He was silent for a while. The GPS indicated the next turn was a left, and he took it. “I suppose we could do that. Friends can ride their bikes together. Friends can drop each other off to pick up their car at the mechanic shop.”

“Exactly.” She felt as if a load had been lifted.

“Are you attending the cocktail party at the Wong home?” Ransom asked.

“Yes.”

“I’ll be there, too. It’s supposed to be quite an event.” He made another turn.

Sophie chewed on her lip. There was a question she wanted to ask, but hesitated. Finally, she could no longer hold it. “Are you taking anyone?”

“No.”

She shouldn’t be relieved. After all, she was going to be there with Keith. Nonetheless, she was relieved.

They didn’t speak again until they pulled up at the mechanic shop. Sophie hopped down from the vehicle, and Ransom stayed outside while she went into the garage.

“Is Ronnie here?” she asked the guy behind the counter.

He picked up the phone and used the intercom. “Ronnie, you have a customer out front.”

A few minutes later, a petite female with very short hair and deep chocolate skin came from the garage.

“Is my car ready?” Sophie asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Sophie and her father, Walter, didn’t trust anyone else to work on their vehicles. Ronnie was probably the best mechanic in the place. Walter had been bringing his car to this location for years, from back when Ronnie’s father used to run the shop.

Ronnie typed into the computer and printed out an itemized receipt. “Your spark plugs need to be changed, but you’re fine until the next tune-up.” She handed the printout to Sophie.

“Thanks.” Sophie signed and handed over her card. “By the way, would you please tell my dad to get rid of that Volvo?”

Ronnie laughed and swiped the card. “No way. Those babies are made to last. As long as he keeps up the maintenance, he’s easily got a few more years on that car.”

“Come on, Ronnie. That ancient thing drives me and Mom crazy. He needs another car.”

Ronnie lifted her hands in surrender. “You’re talking to the wrong person.” She handed Sophie the sheet and she signed her name.

“I was really hoping to get you on my side.”

“No way.” Ronnie pulled the keys from the rack. “Here you go. See you next time.”

Sophie waved goodbye and exited the building.

Ransom was waiting outside, back against the SUV and arms crossed, and she got a good look at him as she approached. The man was truly magnificent. The biker shorts emphasized his powerful thighs, and the fitted jersey molded to his sculpted chest and arms.

She took a deep breath. Whatever she felt would go away. It had to.

Please go away. Please
.

“You ready for lunch?” Ransom asked.

Sophie nodded. “There’s a Mexican place about a mile down the road.”

“That’s fine. I’ll follow you.”

They drove off in their respective cars, but even in separate vehicles, Sophie felt this was a bad idea—a dangerous temptation. Her stomach twisted and turned in revolt. Being in Ransom’s presence made her feel tingly and uber-aware of her surroundings. But she was the one who’d said they were adults and could handle a friendship, and she needed to act like it.

When they entered the restaurant, Ransom placed a hand at the small of her back. He dropped it almost immediately, but the fleeting touch jarred her insides and she stumbled mid-stride, which made him reach for her again, but Sophie jerked away.

“Are you all right?” Ransom asked, frowning.

“Mhmm. Missed my step.”

On legs as sturdy as a wet sponge, Sophie trailed the hostess showing them to a booth near the window, and she fell onto the seat, willing her heart rate to slow down. Seconds later a server arrived and plopped down a bowl of chips and salsa in front of them.

They ordered quickly and then settled into another one of their awkward silences. They looked across at each other and laughed at the same time.

“We should relax, shouldn’t we?” Sophie said.

“Yeah, we should.”

She clasped her hands together on the table. “I’m curious about something…well, two things. Do you ever wear your earring? And the tattoos surprised me. That’s quite a collection you have.”

The tattoos were a variety of images, including the face of a lion on the outer bicep, and other pictures that were a combination of faces, places, and symbols.

Ransom rubbed a hand over the ink printed on his skin, which ended in a series of flames in the middle of his forearm. “All part of my rebellious youth.”

“You? I can’t believe it,” Sophie said, eager to learn more.

“Believe it.”

“Were you a bad boy at one time?” she teased. She remembered thinking on the plane that he had a certain edge to him under the preppy shirt-and-tie exterior.

“Let’s just say I used to do a lot of foolish things when I was younger.”

He didn’t elaborate, and she didn’t pry any further.

“Eventually you found your way,” she pointed out.

“Eventually, but I drove my parents crazy with all the trouble I caused. The piercing I got in college, but the ink started in high school with some of my buddies, without our parents’ permission, of course. I started off small, with these two arrows here.” He pointed to the inside of his hard bicep. “By the time I’d graduated, I had a few tats. To be honest, half of these I added in the last three or four years.”

“Really? That surprises me.”

His mouth twisted up. “Why? Because I’m supposed to be a stuffy lawyer?”

Heat filled her cheeks. “I guess so, but that’s silly, isn’t it, to lump people who get tattoos into some kind of category?” She paused. “Why did you get so many recently?”

“I guess I had a moment of regret that I didn’t get them before. Or I just needed…something to symbolize that I could still be as fearless as I was when I was younger.” He said the last part slowly, in a more thoughtful tone.

“Not The Shark.” Keith had told her about his nickname.

Ransom’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he chuckled. “I’m afraid so.”

He did that sexy thing again, where he rubbed a thumb along the edge of his bottom lip. She held her breath, lips parted as she watched him.

“You don’t have any tattoos. Ever wanted to get one?” he asked.

“Who says I don’t?”

“You don’t.”

The words were weighted. The implication was clear. He should know, because he knew every inch of her.

A tingling sensation settled between Sophie’s thighs, and she squirmed in the seat to alleviate the sensation. “I thought about getting a tattoo once, but I never had the nerve to go through with it.”

She glanced at a nearby table. A young brunette woman was staring at Ransom. When her eyes locked with Sophie’s, she blushed and diverted her attention to her female companion in front of her.

The waitress arrived with two Coronas.

“You have an admirer at the table at three o’clock,” Sophie said.

Ransom shifted his gaze and caught the woman looking. This time she was bolder. She didn’t look away, letting her eyes linger on him.

“You should ask for her number.”

He swung his head back to Sophie. “You think so?”

“Mhmm.”

“Maybe I will.” He tilted the bottle to his lips and made eye contact again with his admirer.

Sophie’s stomach clenched until it hurt.

“If I’m lucky, maybe her friend would be interested, too.” He smirked this time, and looked Sophie dead in the eyes. “What do you think, pal?”

“I guess you’ll have to see.” She didn’t like the direction of the conversation. She didn’t even know why she’d suggested he get the woman’s number. To prove she didn’t care? To prove she and Ransom could be
friends
?

He twirled the beer bottle on the table and winked at the woman. The brunette winked in return and blew him a kiss.

What the hell?

Am I invisible?

“I could probably have them both tonight,” Ransom said.

“You’re a pig,” Sophie said, voice tight.

“Me?” he said, cocking a brow. “I’m just taking what you said one step further, good buddy.”

He was taunting her, but she had only been trying to establish a friendship between them. She needed to show him, and herself, that she didn’t care about Ransom so much.

“You’re being disgusting on purpose.”

His jaw locked into a hard line. “And you’re being ridiculous if you think I need you to tell me how and when to get phone numbers,” he snapped. “I don’t need you to coach me. I know how to get what I want from a woman.”

Her heart jerked painfully. “You most certainly do.”

“That wasn’t a dig at you, it’s a fact. I don’t have a problem with us being friends, but I draw the line at you playing matchmaker.”

The unexpected anger shut her down for a minute. Taking a deep breath, Sophie said, “Understood. I’ll refrain from playing matchmaker. May I ask something of you, too?”

“Anything,” he said slowly.

“Could you refrain from touching me? It’s just a little…much.” If they were going to do the friend thing, Sophie couldn’t handle Ransom putting his hand at the small of her back—or anywhere else, for that matter.

He looked steadily at her. “I’ll do my best.”

At least they’d established ground rules for their friendship, but
I’ll do my best
did not inspire confidence.

Ransom tapped his pen on the desk, reviewing the photos and report received from the investigator the firm hired for the Creplar case. A very interesting twist had developed in the past week. On a hunch, Ransom had asked the investigator to do some digging, and they discovered the lead plaintiff had invited a trio of hookers to a suite in Las Vegas—and the photos they uncovered would no doubt be of interest to his wife.