Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Devin glanced at MacKenzie as they drove back to the shop. She didn’t look upset. If anything, she looked…tranquil.
“You sure you’re all right?” he asked.
Turning to him, she smiled and nodded. “Absolutely.” Then she reached for his hand and squeezed it. “Good thing this happened now rather than while I was on the interstate in the middle of nowhere again, right?”
Frowning, he nodded. Fifteen minutes ago, MacKenzie had called him and told him the car was running hot and making a clanking noise.
It made no sense. He had gone over everything with the car.
Twice! There was no reason for it to run hot or to make any kind of strange noise.
And as much as he hated to think he’d messed something up, he was also as thankful as she was that she was still in the Sweetbriar Ridge town limits when it happened.
“I…I really don’t know what to say, MacKenzie,” he said.
“For the life of me, I can’t imagine what could have gone wrong.
This has never happened before. When I release a car, I know it’s in perfect running order.
We’re closing early for the next couple of days, and we’ve got a fairly full schedule of appointments… ”
“Devin,” she interrupted. “It’s all right. I don’t expect any special treatment. And with the festival starting…” She sighed.
And it wasn’t with disappointment.
“I promise to look at it as soon as I can.”
She smiled sweetly at him again. “I know. Take your time.”
Take his time? Was it possible she wasn’t as eager to get to Oregon as he’d originally thought? It wasn’t completely implausible–after all, with the new turn in their relationship, maybe she was a little interested in seeing where it all went?
But if she was, why didn’t she say anything?
You could bring it up…
He could, but he was afraid to get his hopes up.
Clearing his throat, he reiterated what the next few days were going to be like.
“I’ve got a line of cars needing to get done before our shortened hours start tomorrow.
I promised the guys we’d all be out of there at noon since the festival kicks off at four.
Traffic’s going to be a beast getting up there and… ”
“I know,” she replied, still smiling. “Like I said, I’m not expecting you to go out of your way.
Take care of your customers, Devin. I’m fine.
Unless…” Her smile faded slightly. “I mean, I’m sure you’re a little anxious to have some time to yourself without me hovering all over the place. I promise to find a way to…”
She never got to finish. They had just pulled back in to the shop’s parking lot when Devin hit the brakes hard and threw it in to park. He turned toward her, his heart hammering in his chest and more than a little irritated. “What’s going on here?” he demanded.
Her eyes were wide as she looked at him. “I…I don’t know what you mean?”
Taking a calming breath, he let it out slowly. “Okay, I realize we might not have known each other for very long, but it’s obvious neither of us is great at communicating.”
Her shoulders sagged slightly, but she didn’t say anything.
“This whole situation with us has been a bit unorthodox. I know that. And you should know that I’m not the kind of guy who jumps into a relationship like the way I have with you.”
“That’s because the clock is ticking,” she said miserably. “And for the record, I don’t jump either. Believe it or not, I’m usually way more comfortable with things moving much slower. Like at a snail’s pace.”
That made him laugh softly. “Yeah. Me too. But the circumstances we found ourselves in have been…I mean…it’s so far out of the ordinary and out of my comfort zone, and yet…
I’ve been enjoying it. I’ve loved getting to know you.
And while living together after only knowing each other a couple of hours might not be the norm, I think it’s allowed us to have some quality time to get to know each other that we might not have had any other way. ”
She nodded. “And I agree with you on that part, if we weren’t sleeping together, would you still feel that way? Or would you be more than happy to hand me the keys to the Mustang and wish me good luck?”
“Well, obviously I can’t just give you the keys and send you on your way, because something’s still wrong with the car.”
“That’s not where I was going with that, Devin. I’m just saying, if the car was fixed, would you be relieved to finally have your house and your life back to yourself without me being in your face 24/7?”
He let out a small growl of frustration. “MacKenzie, I’m not anxious to have time to myself. I’m enjoying spending time with you. If I gave you the impression that I wasn’t, then I’m sorry. I’m not looking to push you out the door. Honestly, I thought you were eager to leave!”
Her features relaxed, and that soft smile was back. Shaking her head, she replied, “I’m not in as big of a rush as I thought I’d be.” And then she blushed and Devin couldn’t help but reach up and caress her cheek. “I hope that’s okay.”
“Baby, that’s fine. Really. I know your plan is to leave after the festival, but…if you wanted to stay longer, I’d really like that. There’s no rush…”
He never got to finish because she moved in close and kissed him.
Thoroughly.
Deeply.
Her hands raked into his hair and gently tugged, and he silently cursed the console between them.
It didn’t seem logical for them to be this almost desperate for one another after a simple conversation, but he certainly wasn’t going to complain.
Instead, he savored the taste of her–totally sweet from all the chocolate she’d had earlier and a hint of mint–and then relished the softness of her lips, she warmth of her skin, and how her hands were greedily roaming all over him.
There was only so much a man could take…
Devin awkwardly hauled her over the console so she was in his lap–no easy feat in the confines of the truck’s cab, but neither seemed to mind.
She straddled his lap and giggled. “I feel like the steering wheel is forcing me to be all plastered against you.”
Now it was his turn to anchor his hand into her hair. “Is that a bad thing?” he asked, nipping at her throat.
“Not at all…”
And then they were kissing again as MacKenzie began to slowly grind against him.
Her hands slid under his t-shirt and smoothed up his chest and suddenly all he could think about was doing the same to her.
He hadn’t had sex in a car since he was eighteen, but right now, the thought of doing that was beyond appealing.
His hands slowly made their way down her body until he was cupping her ass, and with a not so gentle squeeze, he breathlessly asked, “How daring are you, MacKenzie?”
Pulling back slightly, she gave him a very sultry grin. “What did you have in mind?” Her hands came out from under his shirt and cupped his jaw as she began kissing his neck. “I think right now, I could be very daring.”
Devin’s hands immediately moved around to the front of her jeans. “Yeah? I think I’d like to see that.”
She lifted her head again. “After what we did in the garage the other night, I would think you’d know that where you’re concerned, I’m up for anything.” Resting her forehead against his, she repeated, “Anything.”
That was all he needed to hear; his hand tugged on the button on her jeans when someone knocked on the window.
“Hey! You need help unhooking this?” Will asked with a knowing smirk.
They both groaned as they tried to put some space between them. “I thought everyone went home?” she asked.
“Yeah. So did I,” he murmured before turning and giving Will a strained smile.
“I’ll just wait until the two of you are ready,” Will said, still smiling.
Unable to help himself, Devin threw the door open. “What are you even doing here? You left like thirty minutes ago.”
“I saw you leave with the tow truck while I was down the street trying to convince Cindy to go to the festival with me tomorrow.”
“Is she gonna go with you?” he asked.
“No,” Will grumbled. “She’s going with Phil Decker. I hate that guy.”
“Damn. Sorry, buddy.”
“Yeah, well…”
“Um…if it’s okay with the two of you,” MacKenzie interrupted.
“I’m just gonna…you know…move.” Devin helped by slowly turning toward the open door and then the two of them awkwardly maneuvered around until her feet were on the ground.
Turning to Will, she gave him a pat on the arm.
“Sorry about Cindy, but thanks for coming to help.”
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw the Mustang on the truck. What happened? We tested everything like a hundred times!”
“Oh, uh…it just…”
“It was running hot,” Devin replied. “I guess something wasn’t as tightened down as we thought. I’m going to check it out tomorrow, but for now, let’s get it back in the garage.”
“Sounds good,” Will said, ready to do what needed to be done.
Devin looked over at MacKenzie and saw that she was all flushed and still giving him a look that told him to hurry so they could get home.
There was definitely more he wanted to say–like how they might continue in his pickup when they got back to his house–but for now, it would have to wait. The quicker they got the Mustang situated, the faster they could leave.
Guilt was making her a little crazy.
The next morning, she watched as Devin immediately went to work running diagnostic tests on the Mustang and she almost confessed that she was responsible for it.
Almost.
Knowing that the festival was starting today and the shop was on limited hours, she was confident that she’d bought herself some time.
“Kind of a moot point after yesterday’s conversation, but…whatever,” she murmured.
Still, it didn’t change the fact that Devin was beating himself up for something that wasn’t his fault. Last night she’d told him not to worry about it and to take care of his customers first, but wouldn’t you know it, everyone who had their car in this morning only needed minor stuff done.