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His head snapped up and his heart dropped to his knees. Faye stood just inside, her hands behind her back. She was dressed from head to toe in a blue jumpsuit.
“Where did you get a ridiculous thing like that?” he asked with a smirk.
She glanced down at her clothing and let out a small laugh. “I might have accidentally borrowed it.”
“Stolen it, you mean?”
Faye moved closer, and he scrambled to cover the pages he’d dropped with something else. He prayed she hadn’t noticed his movements. If she saw those papers, their relationship was over.
She leaned her hip against the counter and jerked her head toward the shop door. “You need anyone to hold a rachet today? How about wipe windows? Put me to work and maybe we could go get lunch.” Faye leaned over the counter, concern etching in her face as she placed her hand to his cheek. “Actually, you don’t look so great. Do you want me to take you home? Are you coming down with something?”
Adam grasped her hand and pulled it away so he could kiss her palm. “I pulled an all-nighter. I’m just tired.”
Her frown deepened. “Why did you do that? I thought the point of working here meant you were in charge.”
He grimaced. “Thatisa perk, and actually one of the reasons I was able to get away with it.”
“You didn’t get away with anything,” Bridget interjected.
Flinching, Adam ducked as if doing so would make him invisible.
Faye chuckled. “I think you got caught,” she whispered.
“I think you’re right.”
Bridget stood there with her hand on her hip. “Faye, please take him home so he can at least get a few hours of shut eye. Bring him back after he’s done that and gotten some food in his stomach.”
“I’ll go, but that means you have to do me a favor.”
“Fine. Whatever it is, I’ll do it if you’ll just get out of my hair.”
He tossed her the keys in his hand. “Change the oil in this? The customer needs it by seven because she’s going to be doing a lot of driving today.”
Bridget scowled at him, and for the first time in a while, he drew pleasure from it. “Fine. Now, leave,” she muttered. “Don’t you dare come back before noon.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
23
Faye
It was worse than she thought. Adam was clearly having a rough time of it, and she couldn’t help but blame herself. Gone was the man who had an easy smile that could make her feel as light as a cloud.
She nibbled on her lower lip as they exited the building and headed out into the parking lot. “You want to get some breakfast?”
He glanced at her. “I’m not really hungry.”
Faye didn’t know why, but his statement made her heart splinter. It was early, and he hadn’t slept all night. She shouldn’t even be worrying about herself. This was about making him feel better. “How about I take you home and then pick you up for lunch?”
They stopped at his truck. He rested his wrist above the driver’s side door and glanced up at the sky, which was starting to brighten. “Nah. I’m good. I’ll head home and then we can meet for lunch. How does that sound?”
Once again, she felt like she was on the outside. Every option she came up with, every action, she couldn’t see an outcome where he would welcome her back into what they once had.
“Hey.” Adam’s features pinched and he stepped away from the truck toward her. He traced his thumb along her jawline, causing chills to erupt along her arms. “What’s the matter?”
Faye grasped his hand and held onto it, studying the lines there along with the callouses and the grease beneath his fingernails. “Are we okay?”
The first indication she got that they were anything but was that pause. The silence stretched between them far longer than she was comfortable with. When she lifted her gaze to meet his, she only caught a glimpse of something that confirmed her suspicions. Just as quickly, he schooled his features. He smiled as he slipped his hand behind her neck and pulled her in for a kiss.
