“You’re special, Jessi,” I go on. “You deserve to be respected, loved, and cared for.”
If she were mine, I would worship her.I swing my head side to side.She’ll never be yours, Jack. You’re simply her neighbor.
I push off the workbench again and go back to my bike. Behind me, I hear her scoff.
“What’s so funny?” I say.
“Nothing. Nothing. Never mind.”
I twist toward her and raise my eyebrows. “Tell me.”
“I was imagining how Shannon and Dad would react if our big bad protective neighbor burst into the party in his motorcycle gang jacket to defend my honor during our ‘introduction to the town.’ It would almost be worth it.”
“The only reason I’m not doing exactly that is because you asked me not to. I have zero tolerance for men disrespecting women. I don’t care what sort of party is happening or who is attending. For the record, I wasn’t blowing off your party, Iwould have gone if I didn’t get the vibe that it was a hoity-toity thing more for Shannon than for you. Looks like I got that right.”
I return to my bike and keep my distance. “Oh, and another thing. This ‘motorcycle gang jacket,’ we call them cuts, and those who have any affiliation with us typically say MC for motorcycle club, not motorcycle gang,” I say. “If you’re affiliated with me, then by default you will be affiliated with the MC.”
“Am I affiliated with you, Jack?”
I pause, my arm resting on one knee, while I kneel next to my bike. “Do you wanna be?”
A car pulls into my drive and Sam, a local who recently lost his job, hops from the passenger seat. I give his wife, Deb, a wave as she reverses out of the drive.
“Hey Sam! Your bike is running good as new,” I tell him and point across the garage to a tarp covering his speedster, which I restored a few days ago.
“Jack, I can’t thank you enough. You know how much I enjoy riding, and you doing this for free is too much, man. I owe you.”
“Sam, you’re a good guy. You don’t owe me anything.” I dig out an envelope and place it in his hand with the keys. “This should help cover some of your expenses for the next few months. Take Deb out for a nice dinner. God knows she deserves it, putting up with your old ass.”
Sam chokes up. “Jack, I can’t.”
“You can and you will. Now get out of here. I have company and another bike that needs work.”
“Thank you, Jack,” Sam stutters. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”
I help Sam with the tarp and wave as he climbs aboard and starts the engine. He’s wheeling away less than a minute later.
Jessi hops off my workbench, tilting her head. “That was nice of you.”
“Comes with the territory,” I say. “I try to be a nice guy. Mostly.”
She grins then sighs. “I guess I should head back. I’ve overstayed my welcome, and Dad and Shannon are probably looking for me. Sorry for keeping you away from your work. I do really appreciate you letting me stay here for a bit.” She pauses. “I’m happy to know you, Mr. Nice Guy Jack.”
She passes me the empty Coke bottle, and my hand covers hers. “You are always welcome,” I tell her. “It was nice to have company for once. I’m normally out here alone.”
She bites her lip again, and her piercing green eyes peer straight into my soul when she says, “I can’t for the life of me think of a reason that you would ever be alone, Jack.”
Before I can string another sentence together, she bats her stunning lashes and walks out of my garage.
CHAPTER 6
JESSI
When I enter my house, the music rattles through me again and people are falling all over each other in a miserable attempt at dancing. The house is a disaster.Austin is in deep shit.
I spy Austin in a corner with a girl dancing over his lap. “Austin! What the hell is going on?” I cry, charging toward him. “If your mom or my dad walks in, they are going to be pissed.”
The random girl on Austin’s lap pipes up, “I was dancing with him first. Go find another guy.” She’s so high she doesn’t realize I’m his sister.
