Page 4 of Under One Roof

A lifetime passes before he finally removes his hands from me, and I can breathe again. Though the oxygen hasn’t reached all the way to my brain yet. “I do. I mean, I did.”

He ignores my Freudian slip. “Your engine’s overheated because of a coolant leak. I called for a tow to take it to a mechanic shop. He’ll be able to fix it for you.”

After a decade in Los Angeles, I’m not used to a stranger being so helpful, and I reflexively reach for my bag, which, of course, I don’t have at the moment. “I’ll pay you.”

“You don’t have to do that. It was nothing.”

“But…” I lift the blanket and water bottle, showing him how he helped me. I have to repay him somehow.

“But nothing,” he snaps with a finality that rings through the small space we’re both sharing, and I close my mouth, sitting up straight. The response is automatic, like my body knows it’s a requirement to be at attention in his presence.

Next to me, Captain America breathes audibly, and out of the corner of my eye, I see him rub his forehead. “Sorry. I don’t expect to be repaid.” He sighs again, and when I turn to him, he lolls his head back against his seat, rolling to face me. “It’s been a long day. I apologize for being short with you. Especially since you’ve obviously had a bad day too.”

I nod, and I hate how my voice sounds so broken. “Bad week, more like.”

Months, really.

He studies me with a shrewd gaze, and I know he can read me better than I can read him. Already, he’s got one up on me, so I don’t even try to lie when he asks, “What happened?”

I wipe at the wetness in the corner of my eye. “Small-town girl tries to make it big but fails and is afraid to go home and face her past, so she keeps driving until she breaks down in the middle of nowhere.” I try for a smile. It fades quickly. “You know, the usual.”

“The usual,” he repeats dryly, though his face is soft. He extends his hand like he might touch me but changes course to point at the windshield. “You’re not in the middle of nowhere. You’re in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Not far from Philly.”

I peer around as if the city is right outside the window. “Oh yeah?”

“About forty miles east.” He gestures in that direction. “If you get back on the interstate, you’ll hit New York City in two hours.”

Not a bad spot to break down in, I suppose.

“After my car gets fixed, maybe I’ll head that way,” I say, more to myself than him, and he nods once, raising his arm to check the time on his watch that I guess must be a diving or military watch with more numbers and buttons than a person needs.

“The tow should be here in twenty minutes or so. I can drive you to the shop then.”

I open my mouth to argue that he doesn’t have to, but the words die on my tongue when he arches his brow again. He’s apparently not used to being challenged, and I will not be the one to test him.

“I really appreciate you,” I tell Captain Stone, and he waves as if it’s no big deal. But it is. It’s a very big deal.

And whether or not he meant to, he just made me fall in love with him.

Chapter2

Griffin

“I’m, uh…gonna go grab my stuff,” my roadside princess says and hops outside before I can answer one way or the other. By the time I move to open my door to help her, she’s already halfway to her Jeep. With a perturbed huff, I step out of my truck. Thankfully, the rain has slowed to a drizzle once again.

I’d been looking forward to going home to a hot meal and a nap after my shift, but that idea flew out the window along with my goddamn good sense as soon as I saw her in those tiny shorts.

I would stop for anyone who needed aid—it’s not in me to keep driving—but especially for a young woman in cowboy boots and a T-shirt that stuck to her like a second skin in the rain. It’s a ridiculous outfit to wear at this time of year. We have weeks until summer, when she could wear those tiny shorts. Not inthisweather.

And without a bra.

Killing me with those tight little nipples.

One look at her and my entire day was shot.

Because I couldn’t rest until this soaking-wet slip of a woman was taken care of.

“Fuck me,” I mutter as I reach her. She’s got a duffel bag over one shoulder, a purse across her body, and a guitar case slung on her back. She jolts with awareness at my mumbled curse, and I stick out my hand. “Let me take those.”

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