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Damn it. “I was coming back,” I try to explain but her back is already facing me.
She collects the tray and starts for the back, but I take the tub of dishes from her and swing it over my shoulder. “Lead the way.”
For a second it looks like she might fight me on it, but I’ve spent ten years commanding bad ass men and I have a killer bulldog face.
It doesn’t seem to faze her though.
My determination hardens and that’s not the only thing either.
Tough Kandy holds her ground, and those sculpted arms of hers cross over her chest again.
“I see you’re still as bossy as ever. Fine. Sink is in the back.” She holds open the kitchen doors for me and lets me pass.
I nod and deposit the heavy load of dishes by the sink and contemplate washing them when she shouts, “Don’t even think about it. You do and then Theo won’t have a reason to come in tomorrow morning for free pie and coffee for washing all the plates.”
Got it.
I walk back out and take her hand in mine, loving the feel of how soft the pads of her fingers are against my palm.
“I was going to stop in after I finished. See you, your parents. Maybe stay a day or two and just visit.” None of that was on my mind. I didn’t even know if Kandy still lived here, but now that I have her vanilla scent playing with my scenes and her pumpkin pie in my belly, it’s all I can think about. The two of us rekindling a little of that old fire.
Her eyes find mine, and I see sadness there in place of the spunk and spice.
She brushes strands out of hair out of her face. “My parents passed about a year ago. Mom first, Dad shortly after. I swear it was from a broken heart.”
I pause.
“Damn, I’m sorry, Kandy.”
I grip her hand a little tighter.
Looking for anything to change the topic, I turn back to what brought me here instead of riding on through. “The mechanic. Think he’s in, sweetheart?”
A cocky smile is back and spreads across her red lips. She drops another load of dishes on the counter, grabs a worn denim jacket off the hook by the entrance, and shrugs it on over her wedding gown.
“Um, yeah. You can say that.”
I shake my head. “Meaning?”
“Iamthe mechanic.”
“Fuck me,” I breathe, as visions of her curves draped over my bike plays through my mind. How can they not? White dress and all. The picture is so vivid, I fight to keep from leaking pre-cum in my pants.
“No, thank you. I’m in a committed relationship with my vibrator. Let’s take a look at your bike so we can get you on the road.” Her haughty tone tells me just how happy she’d be to see the back of me. Which again...burn.
I hide my grin from her. Suddenly my stay in Pineville, Vermont is looking a lot more promising.
Chapter Two
Kandy
Oh God.
I can feel Ryder’s eyes on me, watching every move I make. My fingers fumble with a bolt and it pisses me off. The wrench hits the floor in a clunking clatter for the third time in a row. No man has ever made me nervous. Ever.
But seeing him again has knocked me off my game. I mean, he was supposed to be the man I walked down the aisle to in this dress. Not the one to see me as the failure I am. Never left home and apparently can’t get a man.
Not that Ryder ever popped the question. We were kids, me just starting high school and him just graduating. He promised he’d never leave and I took that as a proposal for a one-day kind of thing.
