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I bend down to grab my grocery bags, but Matt’s already taken care of it. I see him tucking them neatly in the tow truck’s storage area before securing the door.
“Need anything else out of the car?” he calls.
“No. I already grabbed my purse.”
In a whirlwind of activity, I find myself squeezed between Matt and Al on the bench seat of the tow truck.
Al, I quickly realize, is nothing like Matt, who seems comfortable with stretches of silence. Al, on the other hand, gossips so much I can barely sneak in an “Mm-hmm” or a nod before he’s launching into a new story.
Before I know it, we’ve got my car at Matt’s shop and are going back to Al’s place to retrieve Matt’s truck so he can drive me home.
“Anyway, Annie probably has a casserole fresh from the oven, and if you both don’t stay, I’m going to wind up eating the whole thing. My doctors were just telling me I need to cut back a little since my cholesterol is getting up there, and I know it worries Annie, so you’d really be doing me a big favor. Plus, Matty, you know how much she enjoys having you over for dinner.”
I look at Matt to see what he thinks since he’s in charge of getting me home. I suppose I could try for an Uber, but it could be a long wait and expensive.
All Matt does is look at me with a raised eyebrow. It seems he’s offering payback for our teasing earlier. I hate making these kinds of decisions, so I raise an eyebrow back at him. Al and Annie are his friends, and I’m terrible at gauging whether or not I’d really be imposing if I said yes.
My heart skips a couple beats as a sly grin spreads across his face. It makes him look devilish and so unlike the serious and focused man I’ve spent a good part of my day with. I wonder what he would have been like when he was younger. He seems like the type who played sports in high school and had girls always chasing after him.
And why does that thought make my stomach sink?
“Sounds good to me. Lenore, did you eat yet?”
“Actually, my dinner is in one of those bags you stashed for me.”
Al's face lights up with a toothy grin. “Save it for tomorrow. I’ve got a chest freezer you can put them in while we have dinner, so you don’t have to worry about them thawing out too much.”
“Sounds good to me, then.”
“Fantastic.” Al looks like a kid in a candy shop.
We pull into a residential neighborhood and come to a house with an extra-wide driveway with rows of perennials on either side. Low brick walls make a curb along the flower beds.
A woman sticks her head out the door and hollers, “Al, is everyone staying for food?”
“Sure are,” Al yells as he hauls himself out of the cab.
Matt hesitates for a second and leans close. “Just so you know, they mean well, but they’re probably going to ask you five hundred questions.”
This close-up, it’s impossible to deny how much I’m aware of him. It feels like his body heat radiates in waves toward me and his citrusy scent is all-encompassing.
Feeling more than a little distracted by the unusual butterflies in my stomach, I manage, “They seem like nice people.”
“They are. Ask them about how they met if you can ease a word in. That’s always been a guaranteed distraction.”
Matt slides out of the truck before turning and offering me a hand. I’m grateful for the help since, with my luck, I’d have face-planted while disembarking from my second rescue chariot of the day. This thing is ridiculously high, even with the solid metal step.
Suddenly, I feel the jangling of nerves signaling the onset of a panic attack. I know they aren’t really vibrating, but my fingers feel like they’re about to shake right off my body. The cold clamminess that means my blood has evacuated my head to protect my vital organs washes over me. Usually, at this point, I look and feel like I’ve seen a ghost.
By rote instinct, I force myself to focus on breathing. After counting up to and down from ten, I feel stability slowly returning. The blurriness that always clouds the edges of my vision recedes, and I find myself looking up into Matt’s worried eyes. The worry lines are back, and I wonder how old he is. He’s using both hands to support me while I half lean into him, and I become acutely aware of how much of a size difference there is between us.
This man clearly works hard for a living, and on top of my already heightened senses, the feel of his muscles supporting me makes me half swoon again.
His hands move on my arms, easing up and down as if trying to rub some heat back into me. The sensation of his skin moving against mine makes my stomach leap. I fixate on the few gray hairs starting to wing out from his temples, making him seem even more distinguished and reliable than he is.
“You okay? We don’t have to go in if you don’t want to. I didn’t mean to scare you with the heads up.”
I take one more deep breath before responding. “It’s okay. I think everything from today crept up on me all at once.”
