Free The Rocker That Loves Me (Volume 4) by Terri Anne Browning Page A

flying out of my head when I saw her come into the shop and head straight for the counter. Picking up my half empty cup of triple espresso—which had nothing on Jesse’s special blend—I tossed the now cold drink and got in line behind Harper to order another one.
    While she spoke to the skinny kid, ordering some kind of girly mocha with extra whipped topping, I took my time checking out the view from behind. Gods, but I loved her ass. The leggings she was wearing outlined it perfectly, and I had to ball my hands into fists to keep from reaching out to cup those sweet hips.
    She was wearing running shoes and a tank top, so I had to assume she was planning on a trip to the gym. It was after one, which didn’t surprise me. Lana had told me that my girl liked her sleep, and I had kept her up pretty late the night before.
    When she started to pay for her coffee, I stepped forward and took care of it while ordering my own with some pastries. I hadn’t needed Lana to tell me that Harper had a sweet tooth. After paying, I turned to face the quiet girl standing beside of me.
    Was it me or was she more beautiful when she was trying to be mad. “I can pay for my own coffee, Shane.”
    “No one said that you couldn’t, beautiful. I just wanted to buy my friend something to drink.” I leaned closer to her as I said the word friend and enjoyed the sight of pink flushing her cheeks. Of course I got a hint of the perfume she was wearing and nearly groaned as it had an effect on my dick.
    The barista put our cups down in front of us along with the dish of pastries. I sent the kid a smile as I picked up our order and led her toward the table I had taken up for most of the day.
    I sat the coffee down and pulled out a chair for her. Other than a few times for Emmie, I didn’t think I had ever done that for a girl before. Harper didn’t look impressed, though. She just sat down and snatched up one of the cherry filled pastries. “I really don’t have time for this.”
    “What’s so important that it can’t wait twenty minutes while we share a snack?” I asked as I sat down across from her so I could see her eyes. Gods, I loved her eyes!
    “I’m meeting Cecil at the gym for some racquetball.”
    My entire body tensed up as the name of another man left her lips. “Who the fuck is Cecil?” I demanded before I could stop myself.
    “My stepdad,” she said with a roll of those gorgeous eyes.
    “Oh…” Dammit! Now I sounded like an obsessive asshole. Girls didn’t like shit like that, did they? Emmie and Layla didn’t like it much, or at least they said they didn’t. Was it some kind of reverse psychology and they really did?
    A small smile teased at Harper’s Cupid’s bow, but she didn’t chastise me. “Cecil is kind of the only family I claim. He wanted to adopt me, but my real dad wouldn’t let him.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because he’s a control freak.” She grimaced and took a sip of her coffee. “He and my mom are a lot alike in that area.”
    “So you and your stepdad get along?”
    “Oh yeah. He and I are so similar, just like Ariana and my mom. Dallas used to joke that we got switched at birth.” Her grin was adorable and I wanted to sit there and stare at it for hours. “We don’t get to see each other much these days. He’s been so busy with work, and I’ve been trying to find a full-time job. But we try to get together at least once a month for racquetball or dinner.”
    “Then you should get going.” I didn’t want her to go, but I hated for her to miss out on time with her stepdad.
    She glanced at the watch on her left wrist. “I still have a few minutes. He’s always a little late anyway.”
    I would take anything she was willing give me. Minutes, hours, days. I wasn’t going to ever turn that down. “How is Dallas feeling this morning? Sore from the fight?”
    Harper laughed. “Apparently, that drunk girl got a hit or two in last night. Dallas has a bruise on her right cheek. It really