“I mean who will pick you up from the garage?” he added quickly. “Is your husband on his way?”
He was trying like hell to make his voice sound casual, as if her husband—the man she had lived with, kissed, lay with every night—as if he wasn’t the last thing in the world Jace wanted to know about.
Selena shook her head, and her cheeks flushed a little, despite the cold. “He’s my ex-husband. And I think he’s in Hawaii by now with his new girlfriend and her kids.”
Jace’s heart gave a hard thump. So itwastrue. She wasn’t married anymore. Jace cringed at the selfish pleasure he got from this news. Selena probably was hurting from this.
“I’m sorry,” he said after a pause.
“I’m not,” she said flatly. “Not really. I’m the one who left him.”
But her mouth turned down anyway. If Jace’s oldest brother Drake was right, divorces were always complicated. Not that Jace knew anything about marriage, but Selena wouldn’t have made the decision lightly, especially considering her parents’ more traditional views. Did she regret leaving her ex? He studied her for clues, but it was a lost cause. On the up side, her teeth had stopped chattering.
“I can drop you off anywhere,” he said. “I’ll take your car into the shop, but the lead technician is off until Monday.”
“I was heading for…for my house.” She said the words slowly, like she was still getting used to the idea. “In that new development north of Sacred Harbor. If that’s not too far.”
He knew exactly where the house was. He had even driven by it once, years ago. But it was the words she had used that had given him pause.My house.Was she really living here full-time, just a few miles from him?
Still, the details didn’t matter. Selena had married someone else, and he’d had his share of girlfriends and variations. He had made a good life for himself, taking over the family business and growing to become the most well-known Mercedes restoration shop in the Northeast. Nine years was a lifetime ago, and he hadn’t thought about her in a long time…aside from the occasional sex fantasy.
Jace swiped a hand over his face. Years ago, they had been so close, so it was natural to be curious about her, wasn’t it? As for the attraction, well, he could think about that later. When she wasn’t sitting right next to him, with those red lips… Damn, he was thinking about kissing again.
Jace flipped up his hood and grabbed the door handle. “I’ll go take care of your car.”
Chapter Three
Sleet pounded against the windshield as they drove up the highway, a welcome distraction. Jace could focus all his energy on the road instead of staring at Selena. The cab of the truck was damp and warm, and he glanced at her a couple times, just to make sure she wasn’t shivering too badly. Between the blanket and the air blasting from the heaters, she wasn't shaking anymore, but, stripped of her fancy coat, she looked more…vulnerable. His breath caught in his throat, and he searched for something to say, something to distract himself from this closeness.
“I tried to start your car, and it didn’t sound good,” he said. “Just so you know, it might need some work.”
“I’m hoping for a miracle fix,” said Selena. “I can’t afford a lot of work right now.”
Jace gave her a skeptical glance, then returned his gaze to the road. “You’re driving a Mercedes. Maybe our definitions of affordable are a little different.”
Selena frowned at him. “That was harsh.”
It was.
He sighed. “You’re right. But between your car and your address, it’s hard to imagine that a few thousand dollars would be too much of a stretch.”
He looked over at her in time to catch an eye roll.
“Not that it’s any of your business,Jace,” she said, slowing at his name, “but I got the car and the house in the divorce. Since they’re both paid off, they’re actually my cheapest options. As long as both of them hold up.”
“I see,” he said softly. “Sorry.”
But now he had more questions reeling through his mind. What was her plan, if she didn’t have enough for car repairs? Where did she work? Certainly not in town. No one would have let him miss that detail. But these were more intimate questions, and most of them were way out of line. Instead, he searched for a less personal conversation topic.
“You’re living up here again?”
“For now,” she said. “It was just supposed to be a month or two, but…”
He waited for the end of that sentence, but it never came. Jace frowned. It didn’t matter because the message behind it was clear: Selena wasn’t here to stay. And there was no good reason that should bother him. He swallowed. “I see.”
The rain pounded on the windshield as they slowed through Sacred Harbor in silence. Past their high school. Past his garage. Past the well-worn turn-off to the beach. He stole glances at her a few times and found her watching as the settings of their history together played out through the window.
“How’s your family?” she finally asked. Her voice was a little wary, as if she, too, was navigating these rocky waters of their past with care.
