Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
It was after two, and Will was sound asleep beside her. Sloane, however, couldn’t sleep. It had been a long day with all the traveling and then going to the opening of The Ridge and dealing with her family. But afterwards, making love with Will as soon as they got home was the perfect way to end the day.
Perfect night.
Perfect man.
Yeah, that thought had been spinning around a bit and it scared the hell out of her. This is what she did—what she always did—she fell hard and fast for guys and then realized they were all wrong for her. Now she was wondering if the same thing was happening where Will was concerned.
That whole habit—falling hard and fast—was exactly what her family had been eluding to breaking her of and now look where she was. True, it had been a slow build for three years, but then as soon as she finally took the steps to truly meet him, she was all in and thinking about the future.
More specifically, a future with Will.
As in saying “I do” and having their happily ever after.
Even though she had zero interest in small-town life and his car hobby was enough to make her want to roll her eyes and yawn loudly whenever it came up, she could probably get used to it if she had to.
Then she started thinking about cars.
And then topics she could use to change the subject of cars when he brought them up—stripping naked to distract him, talking about float spas, talking about sexy lingerie, learning a foreign language so she could talk about how bored she was in another language…
Great, now her mind was going a million miles an hour and wouldn’t shut up long enough for her to fall asleep.
She needed the sleep—needed to bring her A-game to meet with Devin in the morning and show how creative she could be. The last thing she wanted was to blow her chance at starting to build her own portfolio of clients so she could start her own business.
Then she thought of Will and his dream.
Sloane knew it had to have been hard for him to tell her about his past earlier. She wasn’t so sure if she was ready to be that honest about her own screwups. The whole kissing booth thing had been painful enough to admit to, but that was only the tip of the iceberg where screwups were concerned. But he had put it all out there and she respected him for it.
She was also fairly certain he was being harder on himself than anyone else was. He seemed willing to finally take a chance by offering a partnership in the garage to Devin. However, she knew how paralyzing the fear of taking that step could be.
And she wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
Especially someone as good as Will.
As if reading her mind, he rolled toward her and gently pulled her into his arms. She smiled and gladly settled against him—her hand on his chest, her head on his shoulder. Their legs tangled together, and she felt him place a small kiss on her head.
Slowly, she felt herself relax. This was so nice, so good, and she wondered how she had gone for so long not being with him. How could she have wasted three years? And just like that, her mind started racing again.
“I can hear you thinking from here,” Will murmured quietly. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
What was the point of lying? They were eerily in sync with each other. “I can’t get my mind to quiet down enough to let me.”
“I hate when that happens. I’m sorry.”
Sloane placed a light kiss on his chest. “Me too. I’ll be all right. I’ve never let it keep me up all night before.”
“What are you thinking about? Anything I can help with?”
And now she felt bad because she’d kept him awake when he needed sleep more than she did. He had an actual job to do tomorrow and thanks to her, he was going to end up going in tired.
“It’s nothing. Go back to sleep,” she said softly, running her hands over his warm skin in hopes of relaxing him. He was so warm and muscular—more muscular than she had let herself imagine over the years—and he felt wonderful. Somehow, she couldn’t imagine ever growing tired of touching him.
Another kiss on his chest.
And then another.
Will hissed out a breath when her tongue teased around his nipple, and his arms tightened around her. “You really don’t expect me to go back to sleep now, do you?” His voice was rough and deep, and it sent tingles down her spine.
“Maybe,” she teased even as she moved over him, straddling him under the sheets. “I can’t help it. You just feel so good.”
Then Will’s hands joined in—caressing the backs of her thighs, her bottom, and then up her back. Sloane’s back bowed and before she knew it, he leaned forward and captured one of her nipples with his lips.
“Payback,” he said against her skin.
She sighed with pleasure. It felt so good. Everything he was doing felt so damn good. Between his hands and his lips and the erection that was pressing fully against her belly, she forgot to feel guilty about waking him up.
“Sloane,” he whispered, and she didn’t wait to hear what else he had to say. She bent forward and kissed him, pouring everything she had into it.
And as he slowly positioned her so he could sink into her, the only thing she could focus on was how amazing he felt.
But there was a little voice in the back of her head that wished this was the kind of life she could settle into.
****
“Oh my God! That’s amazing!”
Sloane beamed at the praise. She was sitting in the office at the garage with Devin’s wife MacKenzie and she had just put together a basic reel for the business.
“That took you like…less than five minutes! How is that even possible? It takes me easily fifteen minutes to do that sort of thing and even then it doesn’t look half as good!”
“Practice,” Sloane told her. “There are templates I use because I stalk all the reels every day as part of my job. Then I keep a folder of them and have learned how to quickly replicate them. It’s kind of cool to have a different subject to work with. I’ve never done anything with cars before.”
Although now that she was here—and after seeing the ones Will had back at his place—she could already envision doing some fun stuff with them for content.
Who knew?
“For the most part, there aren’t a lot of exciting cars that come through here,” MacKenzie was saying. “Most days it’s pretty routine stuff—oil changes, brake jobs, transmissions. But it could be nice to feature the basics of the shop, the guys, and the relationship to the town. It’s kind of wild how the businesses here in town are almost the characters of the story, just like people.”
“So you grew up here too?”
“Me? Um, no,” MacKenzie replied with a small laugh. “I grew up in Syracuse—upstate New York. I was driving cross-country because I was planning on moving to Oregon when my car broke down about an hour from here. Devin happened to be driving down the road and found me. It was this deserted highway, and it was storming like crazy. I was convinced I was going to die there. Anyway, he stopped and looked at my car, but he couldn’t diagnose anything right there on the spot. He took me to the nearest diner until he could get a tow truck out there to get my car and bring it back here to the shop.”
“Oh, wow! That’s wild!”
Grinning, she went on. “I literally had my entire life in that car, so I had no place to stay, no job, and I was practically broke. Devin gave me a place to stay, and, because the repairs on the car were going to cost a small fortune, he gave me a job.”
“What about your move?”
She sighed happily. “I couldn’t leave. I fell in love with the town. And Devin,” she added with a wink. “It didn’t truly hit me until I was packed up and ready to leave. Now, I couldn’t imagine my life anywhere else but here.”
Sloane studied her for a moment and figured she might be the perfect person to have this conversation with.
“Syracuse is a big city, isn’t it?”
“I mean, it’s a decent size, but it’s not like where you’re from in Florida,” MacKenzie explained. “How come?”
“Didn’t you find it hard to adjust to this? Sweetbriar Ridge is tiny in comparison. You have to drive at least thirty minutes or more to get to the nearest big city, and it feels a little isolated, right?”
“A little, but there’s almost everything I need right here. The farthest we typically have to go is when we want to see a movie—which isn’t often because we’re perfectly content waiting for almost anything to be streamed—or if we’re looking for something different for dinner instead of the usual offerings. Once a month we go to Richmond for the weekend and hit up Costco or pick up supplies for the shop and really, it makes me happy.”
Then it was MacKenzie’s turn to study her hard.
“You’re thinking that moving here would be too major of a change, huh?”
Laughing nervously, she shook her head. “Am I that transparent?”
“The questions you asked pretty much told me. Personally, I think it’s different for everyone. Your sister moved here and she seems very content. We all love the yoga studio, and it’s great how she’s just become a part of the community. I don’t think it’s a one-size-fits-all kind of scenario.”
“I know.”
MacKenzie quietly glanced around before leaning in and speaking softer. “Will’s a hometown boy. He was born and raised here, and I’ve never known him to want to go anywhere else. Obviously, I could be wrong, but…he and Devin are the heart of this business, and I know it would be devastating if he left.”
“I’m not asking him to…”
“I know, I know. I’m probably just projecting here, but…” She sighed. “Will’s been searching for you for three years and he’s been positively gaga since the two of you finally met properly. I think he’d do whatever it is you asked him to because he’s crazy about you.”
Sloane felt herself blush. “I…I’m crazy about him too. I just don’t know…”
MacKenzie held up a hand to stop her. “I’m sorry. This is really none of my business. You and I just met, and you seem like a very cool person, but…I’m a little protective of Will and all the guys here. We’re like a family.”
That last statement hit her hard.
This was a recurring theme whenever anyone in this town talked about where they worked, and she’d never once felt that way about any job she’d ever had. Still…spending so much time with her family annoyed the crap out of her at times, so wouldn’t that eventually be the case at a job too?
The office phone rang and MacKenzie excused herself to answer it. Sloane stood and walked out to the waiting room area and caught a glimpse of the garage bay. Will was bent over the engine of some car, and he happened to look up and catch her eye. He grinned that boyish grin she was coming to love so much and even if his job made her cringe a bit, she knew he was so much more than that.
She was about to motion for him to come out of the garage so she could kiss him, but MacKenzie came out and held out Sloane’s phone and purse. “Hey, come with me to the café. I need to pick up lunch for everyone.”
“Oh, um…”
“And you can pick out something for yourself. Devin just said they were definitely staying until two and bringing in lunch is a great incentive. You ready?”
Waving to Will with a smile, she turned back to MacKenzie and said, “Sure. Why not?”
****
“Will! Come here! Check this out!” Devin called out, waving his phone at him. He jogged over and followed him into his office. “Mac sent me this reel that Sloane did while they were just hanging out in the office. It’s kind of amazing, right?”
It was a video of him and the guys working with some music playing and a banner of words on the screen about how they were working hard so they could hang out with everyone at Meet in the Streets. It was simple and yet totally eye-catching.
“Is it wrong that I’m so damn happy about this?” Devin asked.
“Not at all. My girl’s got a great eye for things.”
Devin chuckled and then shook his head. “I’d say something, but that was too easy.”
“Dude…grow up,” Will murmured. “What about…?” He stopped talking when the door opened and Drew Hanna walked in. He was a firefighter who worked with Reid and was also the guy who owned a classic 1968 Camaro that Will hoped to work on. “Hey, Drew. What’s up?”
“Not much,” he replied easily, smiling. “Rumor has it that you actually found this elusive kissing booth chick. Although no one’s really seen her, so I guess it could just be a vicious rumor.”
Will took the good-natured teasing and even chuckled. “I’m not really ready to share her with the town yet. I don’t want to scare her off.”
“I can understand that—especially if she found out just how crazy you were getting about finding her,” Drew teased on. “We were taking bets on you just putting a kissing booth out on the highway in hopes of her coming back.”
“Ha, ha. You’re hilarious,” Will murmured, unwilling to admit that he wasn’t that far off. “Anyway…are you here for a reason or just to poke fun at me?”
“Oh, don’t be so sensitive,” Drew said with a sincere smile. “You know I’m just joking. Whether or not this woman is real is completely your business.” He grinned and winked at Devin. “Right?”
“I’m not saying a word,” Devin laughed, holding his hands up.
“So,” Drew began, his tone a little more serious. “It took me a little time, but I finally think we’re ready to work on the Camaro. Are you still interested?”
Will took a quick glance in Devin’s direction before answering. “Absolutely. I’ve looked over the info you emailed me, but didn’t think you were really going to do it.”
“Why not?”
Shrugging, Will replied, “Because it’s been a few weeks. I just figured you changed your mind.”
“Well,” Drew began, “there was a bit of a problem—which is what I need to talk to you about. Both of you.”
Devin and Will exchanged glances and then waited.
“There’s a little more body work to be done than we originally expected.”
“What does that mean?” Devin asked before Will could.
“It seems my buddy’s son took the car out for a joy ride.”
“I thought it wasn’t drivable!” Will said irritably and then caught himself. “I mean…”
“No, no…you’re right,” Drew said evenly. “It really wasn’t. The kid just didn’t believe it. Now we have some front-end damage to deal with.” He paused and seemed to let that sink in for a minute. “So now, instead of just dealing with some minor dents and rust, you’re going to be looking at some major body work. I need to know if you’re really equipped to do the job. I feel like shit wording it like that, but…” He shrugged. “I know that body work isn’t what you do here.”
And right then and there, Will felt like he was going to lose out on working on a really great car because some teenager couldn’t follow the rules.
And man, did that seem like bitter irony.
Beside him, Devin was silent, standing with his arms crossed and studying Drew. It was a long minute before he spoke. “What kind of timeline are you looking for on this? What kind of turnaround?”
“As of right now? No expectations. We want it done right,” Drew replied, his tone very businesslike.
Nodding, Devin said, “So if I said we’d need a couple of weeks to work out logistics and whatnot, would you still trust us on this? After all, we haven’t done this sort of thing before.”
“Understood. But honestly? I’ve seen the work Will has done with older cars—dealing with rust and whatnot. He pays attention to details and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that he can handle it with the right tools.”
“I agree,” Devin said, and Will was mildly annoyed that they were speaking about him as if he wasn’t even there.
“Tell you what,” Drew said, “think about it and give me a call. Let me know what you’re thinking and when you want to start.”
“Will do,” Devin said, reaching out and shaking Drew’s hand. “Thanks.”
It wasn’t until Drew was out the door that Will turned to Devin with total annoyance. “Dude! What the hell?”
“What?”
“That was going to be a side job for me. Me! And you just totally swooped in and took over like I wasn’t even here!” He was beyond frustrated, and he moved away, raking a hand through his hair.
Then he began to pace.
“I understand this is your business and it probably wasn’t right for Drew to come here to talk to me about it, but you knew I’d be using the shop to do some of the work! I’ve done it in the past and you never had a damn problem with it. So what gives?”
For his part, Devin said nothing. He still had his arms crossed and was watching Will pace with only mild interest. And a small smirk.
Bastard.
“And what do you need a couple of weeks for?” he went on when his boss stayed quiet. “You know that whenever I do one of these jobs, I do it after hours so I don’t mess with your schedule. I don’t screw around with any of your inventory, and I clean up after myself!”
If Devin wanted to say anything, Will wasn’t aware because he was pacing and ranting and not even looking at him.
“I’m good at what I do. Damn good! I may have been a screwup at one point in time, but I’m not that guy anymore. And you know what? I can do that body work. I know I can. With the right equipment, I can do it and make that car look as good as it did when it first rolled off the showroom floor. And I have money saved up so I can have the right equipment. I can set it up in my garage at home and…”
“Will?”
But he wasn’t paying attention. “…it will be tight in there, but I’ll make it work. I’ll probably have to build a bigger garage space, but I’ve got enough room on the property. Maybe I’ll have to get some special permits—actually, I know I will—but it can be done. And if I’m going to do that, then I might as well just do all the side work there. Then I won’t have to use your garage.”
“Will?” Devin repeated more firmly.
“So if you’re going to take this job from me and do Drew’s car, then go ahead. I’ll work on setting up my own space and advertising my own body shop!” He finally paused to take a breath, hands on his hips, and faced Devin defiantly. “What do you think of that?” he snapped.
“Are you done?”
With a steadying breath, Will nodded. Now that he’d had a moment, he felt a little ridiculous—like he majorly overreacted. But…it was beyond uncool that Devin would pull a dick move like that and take over a job that didn’t belong to him.
“Okay, for starters, I didn’t mean to…swoop in. I got caught up in what Drew was saying, and it got me thinking.”
“About what? Taking my side job away?”
Devin rolled his eyes. “Are you done being a drama queen?”
Was he? Will couldn’t say for sure, so he simply stood and waited.
“I’ll take your silence as a yes. Anyway, it got me thinking that he brought up a valid point. There is no one in town who does auto body work—other than you, if it’s something you can take on. Everyone else has to go into Richmond for it and that kind of sucks. But until now, no one’s really made me want to reconsider that.”
“Reconsider it how?”
Stepping around the desk, Devin approached him. “Like expanding.”
Was he serious? Will wondered. His conversation with Sloane from last night came to mind. “As in the building or the business in general?”
Devin shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe both.” He paused. “No, definitely both if I want to do it the right way. I’m not saying that I’ve got it all worked out. It would be a fairly big undertaking. The cost alone isn’t something that I have budgeted. I’m sure I could come up with it, but…it’s still a big decision to make. Alone.”
At the word “alone,” Devin gave him a meaningful look. Was he…could he be asking what Will thought he was asking?
Swallowing hard, Will straightened his posture and did his best to appear confident. “You could take on a partner.”
“I could.”
“It wouldn’t have to be fifty-fifty or anything, but…if you had someone who had the money to put up and the knowledge…”
“The skill. The talent,” Devin prompted.
“Exactly.” He paused. “Would you consider it?”
“I believe I already am. Have been for a while. Just didn’t know that you were prepared to do such a thing.”
Will’s eyes went wide. “Dude, you better not be messing with me right now.”
At the mild threat, Devin chuckled. “I think you know me well enough to know that I don’t mess around where the business is concerned. I take this place very seriously. Always have. So if I’m talking about it, then you know I’m being sincere.”
Part of him wanted to jump up and whoop with pure giddiness, but he also knew he needed to seem at least a little bit professional. “So um…do we uh…shake on it or something?”
An enormous grin crossed Devin’s face as he held out his hand. “Welcome aboard, partner.”
Will didn’t say anything to Sloane until they were back at his place. He’d worked until two, and she and MacKenzie had spent a lot of time doing work of their own. When they got home, he was just about ready to burst.
“Hey, so, um…what do you say we go up to Summit Ridge tonight? We can get dinner, maybe stay overnight, and…celebrate.”
She looked at him curiously. “What are we celebrating?”
“It looks like that partnership I’ve been wanting is going to happen! Devin and I talked about it today while you and Mac were out picking up lunch!”
“Oh my God! That is amazing news!” Sloane said excitedly as she ran over and hugged him. “I know it’s something you’ve been wanting. You must be so happy!”
Holding her tight, he nodded. “You have no idea. And I’m even happier because you’re here to celebrate it with me.”
“Me too.” When she pulled back, she was still smiling. “And this definitely calls for a celebration! I was going to see if you wanted to go over to Hailey and Max’s with me to hang out with my family, but I’d much rather go out just the two of us. And a room at Summit Ridge? Um…yes, please!”
Part of him felt bad for keeping her from spending time with her family, but he deserved to be a little selfish tonight. “Are you sure you don’t mind?
“I’m positive. One thing you should know about the Donovans? We spend way too much time together. I saw everyone last night, and I’ll see them all on Saturday at the festival. When I go home to Florida, I’ll see most of them there. Hailey talks about how much she loves getting together with our cousins all the time, but I don’t see the appeal. I enjoy my freedom and hanging out with people I’m not related to.”
“I don’t have a big family like yours. We get together for the holidays and if there’s a special occasion, but that’s it. Most of my cousins moved away and I wish they lived closer. They’re all very cool to hang out with. I thought your cousins were too.”
“I mean…they are, just not all the time.” She shrugged before moving in close to him and practically humming as she rubbed up against him. “But I don’t get to spend nearly enough time with you, so…that’s my priority right now.”
It was hard to argue with that logic.
His arm banded around her as he gave her a quick but thorough kiss.
“Let me see if I can get us reservations, and then we can pack.”
She gave him another kiss before countering with, “Or…you can go and take a shower, and I’ll make the reservations.”
Being dirty was part of the job, and it never bothered him before. But Sloane was dressed nicely and probably didn’t appreciate him getting her all messed up. “Sounds like a deal. I’ll be out in a bit.”
“Take your time!”
In the bathroom, he turned the hot water on and stripped down before stepping under the spray. It felt freaking awesome, and he made sure he scrubbed a little extra hard to make sure there wasn’t any grease under his fingernails. He had his back to the shower door when he heard the bathroom door open.
“Did they have any open reservations?” he asked, washing his hair.
“They did! I booked us a room for one night, and our dinner reservation is for seven o’clock. This way, we can take our time and maybe hang out in the room for a bit before going to dinner. Will that work?”
Ducking his head under the spray, he nodded. “Sounds perfect! Why don’t you…” His words were cut off when he felt cool air on his back. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Sloane stepping in beside him. Slowly, he turned around and stared appreciatively at her glorious curves. When he met her gaze, he asked, “Is there something I can help you with?”
Her smile was all sweet and sexy. “I was going to ask you the same thing. Maybe I can help you wash your back.” She stepped in close and ran her hands up and down his back before going lower and squeezing his butt.
“Sweetheart, you can do whatever you want,” he told her.
“Mmm…good. I was sitting out there thinking about you in here and I just couldn’t stay away.” She soaped up her hands and then began touching him everywhere.
The moan was out before he could stop it. “I’m glad you didn’t stay away, but…I’m going to want to help you get clean too.” Reaching around, he grabbed the soap dispenser and pumped some of the liquid into his hands.
“But…I’m not dirty,” she said in a husky tone.
Will dropped to his knees in front of her. “You will be in a minute. Trust me.”