"What do you want?" I crossed my arms." he looked at me with one of those looks that make you feel violated.
He bent down to meet my height before whispering, "you."
the words left his lips without any form of hesitation.
And just like his words...
Steve showed up in California like he'd lived here. Same cocky grin, same too-perfect hair, and that irritating swagger that made me want to roll my eyes straight out of my head. He walked up the driveway with a duffel bag slung over one shoulder and said, "Miss me, Hargrove?"
"Like a root canal," I muttered, barely moving from the porch.
Kai tried to play peacekeeper, of course. She greeted him like an old friend, offering iced tea and a place to crash. I offered nothing but a glare. The guy had barely set foot inside and was already trying to charm the cat.
Things didn't improve much that first day. He laughed too loudly, left his sneakers in the hallway, and gave unsolicited advice about how I was stacking firewood wrong. I told him if he didn't shut up, he'd be sleeping outside with it.
But then, the next morning, he challenged me to a game of basketball in the driveway.
"Unless you're scared," he said, spinning the ball on one finger.
I wasn't. We played hard. Trash-talked harder. First to eleven. I won by three.
"You play like a toddler," he grumbled, out of breath, leaning against the fence.
"Better than crying like one," I shot back.
We played again the next day. And the next. Somewhere in between games, he noticed the new Camaro parked under the carport and whistled low.
"This is yours? Doesn't look like the one from high school."
I nodded. "Restored her myself. Took me a year."
"Damn," he said, genuinely impressed. "Didn't know you were into muscle."
"You're looking at one."
That got a laugh. Real one.
By the third night, we ended up in the garage, engine grease on our hands and old rock blasting from the radio. We argued over which band had the best guitar solo of all time and somehow agreed on Zeppelin, barely. By then, I wasn't glaring as much. And he wasn't acting like he had something to prove.
Later, something happened that I didn't imagine would happen in a million years. We sat on the porch and drank a cold beer, watching the sun dip low behind the hills. Kai came out and joined me, curling against my side. I didn't say much. Neither did Steve.
After a while, I looked at him, then at her, then back again. "He's tolerable," I muttered. Kai smiled, tilting her head. "That's basically a love letter from you."
I scoffed. "Don't get used to it."
Steve raised his glass. "I'll take it."
And just like that, we weren't rivals anymore.
Just two guys who made it out alive, trying to figure out what came next.
A/N: Wanted to end the book on a funny note and close the real story which was the Harrington/Hargrove feud, Hope you enjoyed this book make sure to check out my new upcoming stories especially if you are a Harry Potter fan much love xoxo!
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