Page 15 of Finding You

Fortunately, that seemed to give her pause, and she looked like she was considering it.

“Devin…I really appreciate all that you’re doing, but I can’t do that. Staying here with you last night–a stranger–was way beyond my comfort zone and probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever done in my life. As for calling your friends and neighbors? I’m not overly comfortable with that either. All I know is that I can’t stay here. It’s…it’s just not right. I’m going to have to call some of the hotels that are a little farther away and…”

“And then what? How are you going to get back and forth into town? I’ll admit, I don’t mind giving you a job and a place to stay, but I don’t have the time to be driving an hour back and forth every day.” Raking a hand through his hair, he paced a few feet away. “And do you really want to add the cost of calling a cab or one of those ride-share services every day, twice a day?”

“I hadn’t thought about that.”

Nodding, he carefully argued his case one more time. “If everything goes the way I think it will, you’ll be here for a week to ten days, tops. Obviously I have the room, you’ll have your privacy, and a job. By staying here, you won’t have to spend money on a hotel and rides. I know you need the money for the car repairs and to get yourself all the way across the country.”

Nibbling on her bottom lip, she shook her head. “Surely there’s got to be a room opening up at the B&B soon!” she argued. “Either one of them!”

Devin shook his head. “I told you–the reunion starts this weekend. Since we’re such a small town, we hold one every five years and everyone’s invited. So basically we have people who’ve graduated last year up to fifty years ago.” He paused. “At least, I think Charlie, Bill, and Ron are still alive.” He shrugged. “It’s been five years, so…”

“Okay, but a reunion is just one day. Why are all the rooms booked up?”

“Because it’s not just one day. It’s like three days. And considering they’re all coming back to their hometown–or at least most of them are–they stick around for a while. And with the festival at the ski resort happening the following weekend? I’ll bet most are staying for both. With the amount of press it’s been getting, the crowds are going to be wild. Trust me when I tell you that you aren’t going to find a room in a twenty-five mile radius anytime soon.”

“Dammit.”

“Yeah,” he agreed.

Dropping her duffel bag on the floor, MacKenzie sank down on the bed and sighed. “So…it looks like you’ve got yourself a roommate. And a new employee.”

Clearly she’d lost her mind. There was no other way to explain it. In all her life, MacKenzie couldn’t remember doing something this reckless. Okay, maybe throwing all of her things in her car and driving across the country was a little more reckless than agreeing to stay in Devin Maxwell’s guest room, but this still felt like it was way worse.

She glanced over to where he was standing and barely suppressed a sigh of appreciation. Even when she was mad at him and thinking the worst, she couldn’t help but feel drawn to him. Everything in her mind was yelling,Danger! Danger! Danger!But it didn’t stop MacKenzie from admiring his physique. How was it possible that his clothes could be dirty and covered in grease–along with his hands–and he still made her want to run her tongue all over him from head to toe?

And why did she have to get her sexual groove back now?! She thought for sure after finding Kevin screwing that woman that she’d be turned off to sex, but…okay. If she really thought about it, she and Kevin hadn’t had sex in well over two months. They were both too lazy to move out and move on. So maybe she was just a little frustrated and Devin was a convenient target–for lack of a better word?

“There're no strings attached to this, MacKenzie,” Devin repeated, startling her out of her train of thought. “Honest. We can drive to and from work together, but you’re more than welcome to take time off and explore the town or…whatever you want. We’ll figure it all out. So…are we good?”

Good? If she were honest with herself, she’d admit she wasn’t sure she could handle being this close to Devin day in and day out for a week without jumping him. And she wasn’t the kind of girl who ever made the first move. But right now? She totally wanted to. In a big way.

“Yeah. We’re good. And…thank you.”

He nodded. “Why don’t you finish getting ready and we’ll head back to the shop? I’ll help you get settled in and show you how we do things–although I have to admit, there really isn’t a system. We need one,” he chuckled. “But it’s one of those things that keeps getting put off.”

“Not a problem. I kind of like getting things organized. So maybe by the time I leave, you’ll have the beginnings of a system in place.”

“That would be great,” he replied, smiling.

And there were those damn dimples again. She almost groaned. Forcing herself to stand up, she rummaged through her bag for a light sweater to put on over her cami and excused herself to finish drying her hair and put on makeup. It wasn’t until she caught her reflection in the bathroom mirror that she felt ready to die. No makeup. Hair a damp, matted mess. And she was making come-hither looks at Devin.

Was it any wonder he wasn’t looking at her the same way?

Yikes.

Quickly she applied her makeup and did her best to blow dry her hair. In her haste the previous night, she hadn’t brought everything she normally used with her, so other than her brush and blow dryer, there wasn’t much else she could use to style her hair. Hopefully, somewhere in her duffel, she’d be able to find something to help her tie her hair back.

Stepping out of the bathroom, she made her way back to the guest room and cursed the time. She knew Devin most likely had to get back to his shop and she was holding him up. When he called her name, she asked him to give her a minute.

One minute turned into two.

And two into five.

She heard his footsteps coming down the hall. “MacKenzie, I really need to…” his words died off when she spun around and faced him.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “I was trying to find something for my hair, but…” She shrugged. “I guess I’ll have to dig through the rest of my stuff that’s in the car.”

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