Page 11 of Finding You

He nodded and chuckled. “Yup. Because I was sitting here waiting for you to show up. I finally realized you weren’t going to waltz up if you knew I was there, so I drove off and went around the block.”

She shook her head and laughed with him. “What a pair we make, huh?”

Devin looked over at her and smiled, and MacKenzie’s heart kicked hard in her chest. Dear Lord, the man had dimples.

And she knew right then and there that there was a very real chance of Devin Maxwell being her next big mistake.

ChapterThree

MacKenzie awoke the next morning after sleeping harder than she had in years. Stretching, she looked around the room and smiled, remembering how incredibly kind Devin had been the night before.

When they had arrived at his home–which was a Craftsman bungalow on the outskirts of town–she had questioned her own sanity. How smart was she to go home with a stranger? And in a strange town? Not very, as far as she could tell, and yet everything about Devin screamed she could trust him–that he was one of the good guys.

Case in point–this room. She was safely cocooned in the middle of a queen-size bed in his guest room that was more comfortable and more welcoming than any hotel room she’d ever stayed in.

Devin had carried her bag in and made sure she knew where she could find anything she needed–toiletries, towels, extra pillows and blankets–and even went on to show her his fully stocked kitchen with a variety of gourmet coffee for the morning. This was far better than any B&B would have been, but she knew not to get too comfortable because she was only going to be here for a day or two.

At least, that was the plan.

One of the things she remembered from being a kid and watching her father work on the Mustang was that some parts were hard to find. And that was going back over ten years ago. No doubt that would still be an issue now, right? She was going to mention it to Devin yesterday, but she figured he knew more than she did where auto parts were concerned. And if he didn’t bring it up, MacKenzie knew she wasn’t going to. After all, what if she was misjudging him and he was a scammy mechanic who was going to overcharge her? Did she want to plant that idea in his head if it wasn’t there already?

Paranoid much?

Okay, fine. From everything she’d witnessed, he wasn’t that type of guy.

It was just so hard for her to trust naturally. A lifetime of being let down had taught her that. Thanks to her mother packing up and leaving and promising to come back–which she never did–it set her up to stop taking people’s words. Now she questioned everyone and most of the time, they let her down by not being truthful.

But Devin…

Mmm…Devin.

If he was as trustworthy as she thought he was, he just might be too good to be true.

Stretching, she turned her head and glanced at the clock. She gasped.Ten! It was already after ten? No doubt Devin was already at his shop and MacKenzie had no idea how to reach him. Jumping up from the bed, she scurried across the room and out into the hall and called out to him–just in case.

No answer.

Walking to the kitchen, she found a note propped up on the granite island.

MacKenzie,

Left for the shop early to start on your car. Call me when you wake up.

Devin

At the bottom of the note was a phone number and she wasn’t sure if it was for the shop or his cell, but either way, she couldn’t call him because her phone was still dead. With a weary sigh, she pulled up one of the barstools next to the island and sat down.

“Note to self: get a damn phone charger today,” she murmured. Looking around the kitchen, she thought, “Now what?”

And that’s when she spotted it–a phone. Like an actual landline phone. She didn’t think people really had them anymore. MacKenzie walked over and approached it like she thought it would bite her. Carefully, she lifted it up and was surprised to hear a dial tone. With a sigh of relief, she reached for Devin’s note and dialed the number.

“Hey, MacKenzie.” Devin’s deep voice washed over her and her heart rate picked up and she could almost feel herself blushing.

“Hey,” she said softly and felt completely tongue-tied.

“Did you sleep okay?”

She had to get a grip. It wasn’t possible for just his voice to make her feel this…good. And needy. God…all she could think of was hearing him ask her that as they were sharing a pillow and tangled up together. Which was completely crazy. And so totally out of character for her. MacKenzie was not someone to wax poetic or have any kind of romantic daydreams and yet…

---