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I’m looking for a babygirl to love and cherish. She’ll be the most spoiled woman on the planet, but not because I will buy her things. I can picture Winter as that woman. I hope she’ll be willing to be my babygirl. I don’t know if she’s into the lifestyle, but I pray that she is or is willing to try. Hopefully, I can convince her to give me the chance to show her how good we can be together.
Once we get to Lush, I walk Winter to the employee entrance.
“Thanks for the ride. Will you text me about my car?”
“I’ll update you when I pick you up and take you home, babygirl.”
Her mouth pops open in surprise. She obviously hasn’t picked up on the fact that I fully intend on driving her around until her car is road-safe. I’m unsure if she’s purposefully being obtuse or genuinely doesn’t understand that someone would go to such lengths to help her. I’m guessing it’s the latter because Winter’s not stupid by a long shot. I can tell that there is a brilliant mind behind the sweet and somewhat ditzy façade she puts on for work. Her eyes gleam with both innocence and intelligence.
A strong gust of wind blows a few strands of her hair loose from her ponytail. I gently tuck it behind her ear, letting my fingertips glide over the shell of her ear and down her neck. Her pink tongue darts out and she licks her lips. I’m seconds from crashing my lips to hers when the same bartender who flirted with her last night interrupts.
“Hey, Win! Who’s this? Where’s your car?” he asks rapid-fire.
“Oh, hi, Mike. This is Jude… he’s my… mechanic?” It should be a statement, but she says it like a question. She’s not exactly sure what I am yet and that’s okay. She’ll know soon enough.
I hold my hand out to Mike, and he shakes it while giving me a suspicious look.
“So what happened to The Scourge?” he asks.
“Wouldn’t start last night. Thankfully, Jude was able to tow it to his shop and is going to fix her up for me.”
Mike looks at me with surprise. “You’re going to fix the Nova… the Scourge of the road? That piece of shit should be sent to the junkyard she bought it from.”
Winter tenses when he says that. She knows her car is a piece of shit, but hearing someone else talk about your stuff like that isn’t fun. I listened to my fair share of jabs when I first bought the garage before I made it into what it is now. I proved those people wrong, and my girl will do the same.
“The Nova is a classic. She just needs some love and elbow grease.”
Mike laughs. “More like an exorcism and a hundred grand in parts and labor.”
“I better head inside before I’m late to clock in. I don’t want to start my shift on Aaron’s bad side,” Winter says. “Thanks again for the ride, Jude.”
“You’re welcome, sweets, but you don’t have to keep thanking me for things. It’s my pleasure.”
Her cheeks flush pink and her eyes dart down to her feet shyly. Mike looks at me critically, like he’s sizing me up. He’s either trying to determine if I’m worthy of his friend or trying to figure out if I’m a threat to his claim on Winter. She doesn’t give me any indication that she feels anything but friendship for him, but he could feel differently. I wouldn’t be surprised. She’s a stunner.
Deciding to stake my claim, I pull Winter in for a hug. She’s stiff for a moment but slowly relaxes and wraps her arms around me. I kiss the top of her head as my way of praising her for being so brave. I get the impression that she doesn’t get close to people often. The fact that she hardly has any contacts on her phone and seems genuinely surprised at every kindness I offer her tells me I’m not wrong.
“I’m going to work on the Nova for a while, but I’ll be back later.”
“Okay,” she murmurs against my chest.
She pulls away and I reluctantly let her go. I wait until she’s inside before I return to my truck and head to the shop. I doubt I’ll make it long knowing she’s at the club where dozens of men could be leering at her or touching what’s mine. I don’t want to overwhelm her, and I’m positive that my glowering in her section at any man speaking to her will go over like a lead balloon.
I last a little over three hours before I’m back in my truck heading to Lush. There’s a line wrapped around the outside of the building of people waiting to get in and I curse the fact that I don’t have Sean with me. He knew the bouncer and was waved in without a problem. I walk up to the doors, hoping he’ll recognize me from last night. Thankfully he does and lets me in without having to wait.
I make my way through the crowd, searching for Winter among the throng of people. I find her at the bar talking with Mike as he makes drinks for her. She picks up the heavy tray and glides across the floor. The way she avoids bumping into anyone looks almost like a dance. When she stops at a booth and starts passing out drinks, I quickly snag the only empty table in her section.
I watch her move from table to table retrieving empty glasses and taking orders. She never loses what I’m going to call her customer service smile because it doesn’t reach her eyes. Not like when she smiles at me and happiness dances in her beautiful brown eyes. As if to prove my point, her smile brightens as soon as she notices me, and her eyes sparkle.
Fuck, she’s beautiful.
three
WINTER
Even though it’s Sunday,Lush is busy. Most clubs close on Sundays, not Lush. Aaron takes full advantage of the other clubs being closed, and it shows in how packed the place gets. I’m making my rounds, collecting empty glasses, and taking orders when I feel eyes on me. I look around and find Jude watching me work. Butterflies fill my stomach, and I can’t stop the happy smile that spreads on my face.
All night, I’ve been thinking about how much he’s done for me already, and I haven’t even known him a whole day yet. I’m not used to being taken care of. Then Jude swooped in and saved me from not only an asshole customer but is helping with my car, and the cherry on top... he bought me gloves because he didn’t want me to be cold.
