Page 49 of Finding You

“Something iced. Billie mentioned something about a chocolate mint Frappuccino. I’d love to try it.”

“Going all in with the chocolate this morning, huh?” Chuckling, he shook his head. “That sugar high is going to make you crash later, but considering it’s a quiet day, it won’t be so bad.” And with a wave, he walked out with a promise to be back soon.

When she was alone again, she updated some invoices, made some calls to confirm tomorrow’s appointments, and then went out to the waiting room and straightened all the newspapers and magazines. Once that was done, she was back at her desk and casually reopened the browser to check her Facebook messages.

None.

With a sigh, she reminded herself that it had only been a few minutes and it didn’t mean anything.

She hoped.

The rest of the day was relatively uneventful–although she did experience that sugar crash Will had warned her about–and once everyone was gone, Devin joined her in the front office.

“Hey,” he said casually. “I hope you’re not in a rush to get home because I’m about to pull the Mustang up for you to take for a test drive.”

“Oh, my God! Really? It’s ready?”

He nodded. “Just give me a minute and…”

“Would you mind if I did it? I know it’s crazy, but…” She was practically bouncing on her toes. “Is that allowed? Is it okay for me to drive it out of the garage?” That Mustang was her baby and she missed it.

Sad but true.

He’d told her last night over dinner that the car was more than likely going to be finished today, but she hadn’t really wanted to talk about it. While they ate their enchiladas, she and Devin had talked about the festival and all the activities, but it had seemed…stilted. Off. It was almost as if he was holding back. And when she’d questioned him on it, he had shrugged and said he didn’t want her to feel pressured to stay for it.

That would have been the perfect opening for her to say she wanted to stay not only for the festival but maybe a little longer than that, but old insecurities kept her from opening her mouth. A small niggle of doubt creeped in and had her wondering if Devin was actually wanting her to stay or kind of hoping she’d leave. The incredible sex they had said one thing, but his words and actions sometimes said another.

Like he wasn’t pushing her for an exact time she was leaving, but he certainly hadn’t given her any sign that he wanted her to ditch her plans of going to Oregon and instead stay here in Sweetbriar Ridge.

While MacKenzie chalked up her own inability to communicate well to her recent breakup. It was hard to trust again so soon, and previous experience taught her that men were consummate liars. Only…only she had a hard time believing that where Devin was concerned. But it wasn’t like she could change her way of thinking quite so easily.

The clatter of keys on the countertop snapped her out of her reverie. Devin was standing there smiling at her. “Daydreaming on the job?”

She chuckled. “You caught me.”

He leaned in close and whispered for her ears only, “Hopefully you were thinking about me and what we did in the shower this morning.”

MacKenzie felt the blush start at the tip of her toes and travel up to the roots of her hair. This morning had been totally hot–again–but so had every encounter they’d had with each other in the last couple of days. He was becoming addicted to her, and she pulled back and gave him a sheepish grin. “Maybe. Or maybe I was thinking about my car and speeding her around town with the windows down.”

A hearty laugh was Devin’s initial response. “You might want to take it easy on her for her first trip out and baby her a little. Be gentle.”

She wanted to remind him they weren’t particularly gentle with her the other night when they were climbing all over her, but let that go for now. Picking up the keys, she came out from behind the counter, giddy to get behind the wheel.

Devin studied her for a moment before he looked away, sticking his hands in his pockets. “So…um…,” he began, “everything has been done that we talked about, so she’s in good shape to take you on to Oregon. I don’t think you’ll have any problems for a while. You’re good to go.”

That last sentence made her a little sick to her stomach. “Oh…good,” she said, nodding. “I’m just gonna…you know…drive her around a bit. I’ll be back in a little while.” And without another word, MacKenzie walked outside and climbed into her beloved car.

It didn’t take long to notice the difference.

He had washed it and cleaned out the interior. He must have sprayed something too because it seriously had that new car smell to it. And when she started it, the damn thing practically purred. Hell, she couldn’t even remember a time when it had sounded this good. Her father had worked on the Mustang more times than she could remember, and he never got it to sound like this.

Cursing under her breath, she pulled out of the parking lot and out onto the main road.

Driving through the middle of town and down some of the local roads, MacKenzie was careful not to go too fast. She understood what Devin meant about being gentle. With every mile she drove, she kept looking for a problem–a gauge to run hot or a light to come on–but they didn’t.

Dammit.

Although she really shouldn’t be surprised. Devin had told her the day they met that he was going to fix it. And after talking to pretty much everyone in town, it only confirmed that he was an amazing mechanic.

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