Her laughter bubbles up, light and relieved. “Then buckle up, Garage Daddy.”
She reaches the door. Pauses. Looks at me over her shoulder like a question she already knows the answer to. “See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” I say, no hesitation. “Tomorrow.”
She leaves. The door shuts.
And I smile for the first time in a long goddamn time.
I lean against the Mustang, touching the shift knob she held like a promise.
“I’ll take care of her,” I tell the car again, knowing I’m also making that promise to her grandpa.
Chapter 9
Sally
I don’t know which is more dangerous:
The way Nolan looks at me tonight.
Or the way I look back.
We’ve spent hours working side by side—flushing the new fuel filter, cleaning out what feels like decades of neglect, chasing down little gremlins in the wiring. Every time our hands brush, something inside me lights up like a spark hitting a fuse.
When we do this, we do it right.
Nolan’s words echo in my head.
It’s been a week sincethatkiss.
A week of subtle touches and lingering glances. Of near-misses and almosts. Of conversations that stay just shy of the edge, like we’re both waiting for someone to make the next move.
I’ve let him take the lead with whatever this is between us, but lately, doing itrightfeels less important than simplydoing it.
Because I want him.
I want this growly, gruff man who hides his softer edges like they’re secrets he’s not sure he’s allowed to share.
I want the quiet parts of him. The loyal ones. The ones that feel too much and show too little. I want the hurt I see in his eyes, not so I can take it away, but so I cancarry it with him.
Eventually, Nolan gives the Mustang a satisfied nod. “That’s enough for tonight.”
He wipes his hands. I pretend I’m not watching his forearms flex. He pretends he doesn’t know I’m pretending.
He locks the tool chest. I power down the camera.
There’s a moment when I could stay quiet. Could let this stretch between us another night, another week.
But I’ve spent too much of my life waiting for the “right person” and the “right time,” and missing therealone. The one standing in front of me, if I only have the courage to reach out and claim him. Because I never wanted perfect. And I’m done pretending I don’t already know what I want.
So I take a step closer. Close enough to feel the heat rolling off his body. Close enough to watch his breath hitch when I reach up, thread my fingers behind his neck, and press my mouth to his.
I kiss him slowly. Softly. I’m not asking. I’m offering.
Nolan’s hands hover like he’s afraid to grab hold too fast and break something. His lips part under mine with a low, wrecked sound. Just for a second…
But then he pulls back. “Sally, you deserve someone?—”
