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  “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” he joked, smiling at me smugly. It became impossible to peel my eyes away from his lips.

  Smirking, I asked, “You like thinking of my bed, huh?”

  Something dark flashed in his eyes, something hidden and filled with desire. There was a promise in the way he winked at me as he wordlessly opened his door and slid into the car. Without uttering a word, he commanded me to join him by angling his head to the passenger side.

  Of course I obeyed.

  He’d given me no choice, really.

  Where he wanted me to go, I went. What he wanted me to do, I did. Even though I had no clue where we were going, I followed. Not a word from the guy in over two weeks and I was simply following him, because somehow not following him made far less sense.

  Lightly hitting his hand on the panel of his door, he finally spoke. “It’s about time you got in. We’re going to be late.” Before I could even buckle my seatbelt, he revved the engine and pulled away.

  We drove lazily down the side roads, hugging the rounded curves of the road before pulling onto the highway. With the windows down, the cool spring air filled my lungs, flowed through my hair.

  The instant his wheels merged onto the empty highway, he floored it, racing toward wherever we were headed. No stranger to speed, I relaxed into the soft leather seat. From behind my shades, I was able to really look at Parker without fear of being caught. With his attention on the road, I could focus mine on him. His long, lean, hard body fit the space perfectly—strong, confident, controlled. His left leg rested up against the door panel as he casually tapped his foot to the beat of the music, matching the rhythmic movement of his fingers on the window frame. When he lifted his hand from the door to run his fingers through his wind-blown hair, I felt the same urge. I wanted to touch the silky strands, run my hand along his jaw, but instead of doing that, I rubbed my thumb over my fingers, trying desperately to calm the itch he’d created there.

  As we approached our exit, I watched him shift gears and slow the car. Witnessing him drive was like watching art in motion. Everything about him was fluid and sexy. His forearm flexed as he moved the gear shifter and of course, I could think of nothing other than what his hands and arms would feel like when they were otherwise engaged.

  My body’s reaction to his movements became evident—more evident than I was willing to show at that point. Turning away from him slightly, I adjusted myself in my seat and watched the trees pass us in a mossy blur. With my eyes focused on the landscape of the empty roads, I was able to calm myself. But when I felt the heat of Parker’s stare on my body, I twisted in my seat to face him again.

  The air was heavy and lust-filled. Despite the cool temperatures, I was hot and bothered, and based on the very prominent bulge Parker was sporting, he was feeling the same.

  Unable to suffer the silence any longer, I cleared my throat. Reaching over, I turned down the music. “Where exactly are we going?”

  “Driving,” he remarked quickly, his lips pulling into a playful grin. “I was wondering when your curiosity would get the best of you. You held out a lot longer than I thought you would.”

  “I have excellent self-control.” When I said those words, he fumbled with the gears, making the car buck with his mistake. A burst of laughter fell from my mouth at his discombobulation. For the entire fifteen-minute ride to wherever we were going, he’d said nothing. He hadn’t even done more than look at me once. And even though he seemingly paid me no attention, I knew I was the primary focus of his every move. He’d made this abundantly clear when one simple sentence from my mouth threw him for a loop.

  Soon the trees thinned and white picket fences lined the streets. With carefree smoothness, the BMW glided through the suburban streets. Neighbors greeted each other and chatted amicably as they cleaned their yards and watched their kids play soccer. The scenes playing out as we drove down the block screamed normal. They spoke of everything I’d run away from and tried so desperately to keep hidden.

  On its own will, my leg jumped nervously, which only increased as we pulled to a stop in front of pale blue home. “We’re here,” Parker announced, shifting the car into neutral before engaging the parking brake. His words barely reached me through the anxiety-laden distraction. In the blink of an eye, the house was no longer blue. It was a deep green, a near perfect match to the massive evergreen standing next to it. To anyone who would have seen it from the outside, my childhood home looked like a happy place, a picturesque image of suburban normalcy.

  But if anyone would have bothered to look inside, they would have seen things too grotesque, too raw to ever erase them from their mind.

  Those visions haunted me as I watched a man, not much older than me and Parker, walk out of the garage. With my body on edge, I sat nervously in my seat. Waiting for what, I’m not sure. But when Parker spoke, his voice cracked through my dazed stare. “Hey.” He dropped a hand to my bouncing knee. My head whipped around, staring at him, wide-eyed and confused. It was as if he’d come out of nowhere because just seconds ago it was only me and visions of who I used to be that were here in the car. “You okay?” The concern of his words was etched onto his face and it helped calm me.

  “Yeah.” Shaking my head, I took a deep breath and tried to let my body relax. My eyes fell to his hand, which was still draped casually over my thigh, offering me the occasional gentle squeeze. “I’m good,” I whispered, covering his hand with mine.

  Whatever passed between us then was powerful, a wave of heat pulsating from his skin to mine.

  “Good, because I really need your help.” He smiled at me before unlatching his seatbelt and stepping out of the car. Pausing for a minute, I sat there as Parker walked in front of the car to greet the man approaching us. They shook hands and exchanged a few words before Parker waved me from my seat.

  As I headed toward them, Parker introduced me. “Liam, this is Chris.” He turned his attention to Chris, saying, “I hope you don’t mind me bringing my mechanic with me. He knows much more about cars than I do.”

  His words may as well have been a fist to the gut. Somehow, I’d foolishly convinced myself that he’d picked me up because he’d wanted to see me. My brain went into teenage girl mode and, all too giddily, I’d gone along for the ride. Literally.

  Chris shook my hand. “Of course not. Come around back. Let me show her to you.”

  Parker smiled, waving me along to join them. Unaware of the insult he’d just served me, he followed Chris, excitement bouncing off him in every direction.

  On the other hand, I gritted my teeth, silently following them. My mouth fell open when I figured out why he’d brought me along. Chris pulled back a tan car cover to reveal a beat-up 1969 Mustang.

  “A Boss 429?” Though I knew the answer already, the question fell from my shocked mouth.

  Rolling up the canvas, Chris looked at his treasure with pride. “Sure is. They made less than a thousand of these babies.”

  “Eight hundred and fifty nine to be exact.” Moving around the car, I inspected the less-than-perfect body. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Parker’s face brighten. As Chris rattled off more details about his car, I nodded, adding bits of my own and correcting his as necessary. All the while, Parker stood to the side, arms crossed over his chest, a satisfied look plastered to his face.

  Forcing his attention away from me and back to Parker, Chris asked, “So what do you think?”

  Parker looked at me only to find me astonished by his need for my approval. He took my non-response as an affirmative. Clapping a hand on Chris’ shoulder, he held out his other to shake. “I think you’ve got yourself a deal.”

  Still in shock over the classic car in front of me, I watched as they walked away from me. The car was a rare gem, worth whatever amount Parker was paying. The exterior was in desperate need of an overhaul. With dents and dings everywhere, I couldn’t find more than a square foot of space that wasn’t imperfect in some way. The hood was so
busted that I broke a sweat trying to lift it. When I finally did, I found an engine in far worse shape than the body.

  Parker strolled back over to me as Chris unfolded the canvas from his arms. “The entire thing needs to be overhauled. Nothing is salvageable.” As I began rambling off a laundry list of things which would need to be repaired, Parker listened on with amusement.

  “Is that all?” Sarcasm hung heavily on his words. Chris stood at our side, a sudden look of worry that I’d somehow talked Parker out of whatever deal they’d just made apparent on his face.

  “Where’d you even get this car from?” My brows pulled together as I waited for Chris to answer my question

  “My grandfather.” He choked on the words a little, gripping the canvas tightly in his arms. “He died a few weeks ago and left it to me. He loved cars, but me?” He shook his head, adding, “Not so much. I’m your typical computer geek and he knew it. So he left me the car and told me to sell it so I could do something with his money.” He laughed, saying, “He was a practical man.”

  “Yeah, but still,” I challenged for some odd reason. Parker shot me a look, begging me to stop before I talked Chris out of selling his grandfather’s legacy. “You have to know how rare it is.”

  “Liam.” Parker’s voice barked through the building tension, putting me in my place.

  “I do,” he said, becoming aggravated with me. “Which is why your friend here paid what he paid.” He shook out the canvas before turning to Parker. “We’re still good, right?”

  Parker agreed and grabbed the end of the canvas, assisting Chris in stretching it out over the car. With a stilted awkwardness accompanying us, we walked back out to Parker’s BMW. Flopped in the front seat, I watched them shake once more as they worked out the details of when Parker would pick up the car.

  When he sat next to me, his anger was like a visible force covering his body. “What the fuck was that all about?” His voice boomed powerfully.

  “Nothing.” I sulked like a child who’d just been yelled at.

  “The hell it was. What if he’d changed his mind?” Parker started the car, revving the engine, mimicking his anger.

  “What did you pay?” I knew it was none of my business, but if he was going to be angry, I was apparently going to be nosy.

  “Enough,” he answered cryptically.

  We pulled away from the house and silently made our way back to the highway. When I’d given myself enough time to relax, I could appreciate why he’d been so angry with me.

  With my tail between my legs, I apologized. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to jeopardize things. It’s just that I would never sell a car like that.”

  Parker snickered. “Yeah, well luckily for me, Chris is the kind of guy who would. Said he wanted to buy some stock in Apple.”

  “Seriously?” I scoffed at the idea of giving up that car for stock.

  Parker laughed with me, relaxing into his seat. “Yeah, but I guess to each their own, right?”

  “Okay. So now I know why he didn’t want it.”

  “Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming?”

  Stifling the laugh at him saying “but” and “coming” in the same sentence, I angled my body toward him as he merged onto the service road. “I still don’t know why you want it.”

  He said, “To restore it. Give me something to do on nights and weekends.” But it was clear that he meant something else entirely.

  And with the way he looked at me as we turned down my block, I couldn’t wait to find out the hidden meaning behind his rather extravagant purchase.

  As I drove Liam back to his house, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d done something wrong. He was obviously on edge after his little interchange with Chris, but to be honest, I found the whole little fight, or whatever you’d call it, to be kind of endearing. In less than five minutes, Liam had tried his best not only to defend the honor of a classic car, but also the honor of a man he’d never known.

  That right there showed me a lot about the man whom I’d already vowed to learn more about. Wanting that and much more, I shifted the car into park, rocking forward as the car settled in his driveway. “So can you have it towed tonight?” Moving to turn off the radio, I noticed an odd look of confusion dance across his face.

  “Tonight?” He laughed. “Uh, no that can’t happen.” Liam reached across his body, unlatching the seatbelt before resting back against the seat. With his elbow resting against the ledge of the window, he looked cool and collected.

  Not used to not getting my way, I angled my body toward his, my eyes focusing on his face. “Tomorrow.” There was no question in my words. That car needed to be moved into my possession in order for the rest of my plan to fall into place. However, the self-assured smile that pulled at Liam’s lips made me feel as if anything but what I wanted was going to happen.

  “Yeah, that’s not possible either.” Liam glanced at the clock flashing on the dashboard, before moving to open the door. With his hand resting on the handle, he looked over at me. “The shop’s closed tomorrow and I have to be somewhere in a little bit. Earliest I can do is Monday afternoon at best, and that’s only if the tow truck is free.” He sighed. “And there’s no way to know until then.”

  Frustration set in. This wasn’t how I’d planned things out. He wasn’t supposed to have somewhere to be; the shop wasn’t supposed to be busy. People catered to my needs. What was so difficult about that? Slumping back into my seat, I combed my hand through my hair. There was no way I would admit aloud that I was disappointed not to be able to spend more time with him, but in my head, I was having a difficult time dealing with it. I hadn’t spent the last two weeks searching for, and working out the perfect deal with the sole purpose of luring in the man I was interested in, only to have it not work out. But it looked like that was what I was dealing with. Laughing at myself, I realized how much of a fool I’d sounded like. Out of nowhere, I found myself asking, “Where do you have to go?”

  Yeah, I know it sounded petulant and needy, but I didn’t care.

  “Birthday party. Look, I’ll be in touch.” Liam’s tone was deflective at best as he opened the door and stepped out of the car. Following his lead, I walked behind him up to the door.

  With the key hovering in front of the doorknob, I watched as Liam steadied himself. There was no other way to describe it, his body rigid and on edge.

  “Whose?” I reveled in the shiver I set loose on his skin as he felt my breath flow over his neck.

  Slowly, he spun around, holding my penetrating gaze. “Annie’s. It’s her thirtieth.”

  The fact that he had somewhere to be surprised me. Pathetic, I know, but still, he’d seemed so solitary, so the fact that he had any kind of social life was somewhat eye opening. Just like I had the other night, I stepped into his space. With my legs pressing between his, I fully enjoyed the feel of his heat against my body. “Who’s Annie?”

  His words whispered over my cheek. “My boss’ wife.” Though he said, “I can’t miss it,” he sounded like missing it was exactly what he wanted.

  “Take me with you,” I demanded, out of nowhere.

  Standing dumbfounded, Liam scanned my face for any trace of insincerity that might be there. “I’m sorry. What did you just say?” He leaned against his doorframe, disbelief apparent in his dark features.

  “I said take me with you.” The glimmer in his amber-brown eyes was enough to tell me what his answer was—even if he hadn’t spoken the words. But, since he still wouldn’t give into what I wanted, I had to fight for him just a little bit more. My hand fell to his chest and we both stared at it as if it were some kind of foreign object.

  “Why?” Shock and disbelief were written on his face.

  After pulling my hand away from his hard chest, I mourned his heat under my touch. Taking a deep breath, I tried my best to come up with some sort of logical explanation as to why he should take me with him. But the truth was, there was absolutely no reason for me to go. We both knew it
, but I still had to press on. I had to offer some kind of explanation, or else I risked looking like a fool.

  Unwilling to screw up what my plans had been for the night, I decided to give him the truth. Plus, it gave me a reason to touch him again. With another step toward him, I caged him in between my body and the door behind him. My hands were on either side of his head and our faces lined up so that our lips were mere inches apart. We were so close, his exhale was my inhale.

  “Why?” Mirroring his question from seconds ago, I let a hint of sarcasm hang between us. Arching an eyebrow at him, I licked my lips before speaking. “Because I spent the last two weeks finding the perfect excuse to get close to you again.” His face twisted with confusion. “You know as well as I do I only bought that car so I could bring you along with me. So I could spend more time with you.” Using my last words as an opportunity to press my body tighter against his, I reveled in the way he nearly melted against the door. “And I have a very distinct feeling you wouldn’t mind spending more time with me.” As I pressed my hips against his, I was rewarded with his hardness—a clear sign of his interest.

  Slowly, I moved one hand to the belt loop on his jeans, tucking my thumb there. Using the other to cradle his scruff-covered jaw, I pulled his face even closer to mine. When he leaned into my touch, I knew I could say or demand anything and he would give in, but I wanted more than that. I wanted him not only to give into me simply because I had made him. He needed to give into me in the same way he needed his next breath. “So you see, you have a choice here.” Stroking my thumb along his lower lip, he swallowed hard, taking in a deep gulp of air. “You can take me with. Or you can send me off and I’ll see you in a few days.”

  On a ragged breath, Liam pulled his lower lip into his mouth, sinking his teeth into it as he considered his options. When I pried his lip from his mouth, I rubbed my thumb over the spot he’d just bit, enjoying the feel of his skin under my own; the touch of moisture he’d left there. We both waited anxiously on some kind of precipice for his answer. Despite having bought the car as a front to get to know Liam better, the part to which I couldn’t fully admit was that I’d also hoped restoring the car would somehow bring me closer to myself—or at least the part of myself I’d lost so long ago.