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His eyes closed and his chest lifted with a deep inhale, as if he were taking the sound of his name from my lips inside himself and savoring the feeling.
“Little treasure,” he started to sign, then paused, his head turning to look at the closed bathroom door. His jaw turned to stone, and his mouth formed a word I didn’t understand. Pushing his wet hair back from his brow, he kissed me hard before opening the stall door and grabbing a towel to wrap around himself. “Stay here. I’m going to see who is at the door.”
I nodded and watched him go before finishing my shower, missing him even though he was only going to the front door.
By the time I was clean and turned off the water, Max still hadn’t returned. I grabbed a towel to wrap around myself and then another for my hair. Opening the door, I peeked out. Not seeing anyone, I tiptoed back to the bedroom and quickly got dressed.
Unsure what to do, I made the bed and then picked up my phone to read one of the free books I’d discovered on the Apple Books app the night before. I got so engrossed in it, I jumped in fright when something brushed my leg.
Max stood over me with a mug of coffee in one hand and a plate of toast and eggs in the other. Grinning, he sat beside me and placed the plate on my lap before taking the phone from my hand and replacing it with the cup of coffee. “Eat,
” he commanded, and I noticed he was already dressed. He must have come back to the room after seeing who was at the door and then started on breakfast while I was still in the shower. “I have an oil change to do and then a brake job, but that’s all I have to do today. It shouldn’t take long to get that done, and then I’ll be back.”
“Who was at the door?” I asked instead of eating like he wanted.
His face became drawn for a moment, but in the next instant, it cleared, and I was left wondering if I’d even seen the anger in his eyes. “Just one of my cousins. He finished cleaning things up for me last night so I could come home and get some sleep since I had to work this morning.”
“Oh,” I signed, wondering if maybe he’d been mad because his cousin hadn’t cleaned up as well as he should have. Deciding to change the subject so he didn’t have to think about it, I thanked him for the breakfast. “This is delicious,” I praised after the first bite. “You are a great cook.”
“I can’t do much, but Mom made sure I knew the basics.” He bent and brushed his lips over my brow. “I’m going to head down so I can get those two vehicles taken care of. The sooner I’m done, the sooner I can come back and have you all to myself for the next two days.”
“I miss you already,” I confessed, and his metallic-blue eyes I loved so much darkened.
“Me too, little treasure.” With one more kiss, he reluctantly made himself back away. “Eat, and then you can read. I don’t want you to be hungry.”
It was nice having someone worry if I was getting enough to eat. The experience was so different from what I’d grown used to over the past eight years living at my aunt and uncle’s house. Marta fed me when it was time for dinner, and she woke me up with breakfast most mornings, but that had been part of her job. Her kindness was expected.
Not for the first time, I wondered if she’d gotten fired for helping me run away. I hoped not.
“What?” Max was back at my side, tipping my chin up so I was looking at him. “What’s wrong? You have this sad, lost look on your face. Tell me what put it there, and I’ll fix it.”
How could I possibly be falling in love with this guy when I’d only known him a few days? Yet I was falling—hard—with each passing hour I spent with him. “I was just wondering if something happened to the housekeeper who took care of me at my aunt’s house,” I told him honestly. “She helped me run away. I hope she didn’t get in trouble.”
He stroked his fingertips over my cheek before tucking a few locks of my still-damp hair behind my ear. “I’ll try to find out for you,” he promised.
“Really?” I bit my lip as I contemplated it, then shook my head. “No. I don’t want you to go near my aunt and uncle. They’re dangerous people. If you got hurt because of me…”
He captured my hands and tucked them against his chest, kissing me and making my protest slip from my mind. “See you soon,” he mouthed.
“Bye.” I waved.
With a wink, he was out the bedroom door, leaving me to my coffee, breakfast, and the many, many books I’d already downloaded on the app. For the moment, my life was perfect.
I never wanted this to end.
8
Max
I finished tightening the last lug nut on the final tire and lowered the car so I could drive it out of the garage bay for the customer whose brakes I’d just changed. I was surprised the guy hadn’t wrecked with how badly they had needed changing. There hadn’t been anything left of the old pair, which explained the screeching I’d heard earlier when the driver had pulled into the parking lot.
Once I had the car parked to the side so the customer could pick it up, I grabbed my stuff and was ready to make a run for my apartment, desperate to see Delaney again. But before I could even turn for the stairs that would take me back to my little treasure, my sister called my name.
Swallowing a groan, I glanced over to where she had her head sticking out of the shop door. She worked the front a few days a week and on Saturdays when Ben was on duty. Typically, Mom babysat Finn for her most weekends so Lexa and her husband could have some alone time.
“Hey,” she greeted when I walked over to her. Her lips were pressed into a firm line. The closer I got, the more I felt her tension. Frowning, I glanced inside the shop. All I saw was the top of the head of the guy whose vehicle I’d just finished working on. We’d started making Saturdays appointment-only to give our other mechanics more time off. This was my Saturday to work, so I was the only person around other than my sister. “The Corolla done?”
“Just finished,” I assured her, catching hold of the door so I could step into the shop with her. As I did, the guy sitting in the waiting area lifted his gaze from his phone. His eyes ran disdainfully over me, and I realized this guy didn’t live in town, because I had no idea who he was. Figuring he must live in one of the surrounding small towns of Trinity County, I took a moment to memorize the guy’s face.
