Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
NATHAN
Rebel and Kinsey discover us on the trail, and the ladies gravitate to each other like long-lost sisters. Rebel offers to tour the garage together and it officially becomes a double date.
The garage is incredible, and I enjoy seeing the exotic sports cars, but I will admit, the women know more about each vehicle and the various engines inside them than me and Kinsey combined.
At the end of the tour, Rebel suggests we head back to the house, but Riley squeezes my hand, and I sense her resistance to the idea.
I speak up. “Riley wakes up early to open the garage and I want to put in a few hours of practice before the last day of training. We should head out now.”
Riley gives me a grateful smirk and my heart pounds faster.
“Okay, sure,” Rebel says. She waves goodbye and takes off with Kinsey whose usually cold mug is nothing but smiles as his girlfriend grins up at him.
Riley slips her fingers through mine. “Rebel asked me about… us,” she informs me as we stroll in the direction of our parked cars.
“Say that again?”
“Say what?”
“Us.”
Riley arches a brow. “It’s just a two-letter word that means you and me.”
“You and me. I like the sound of that even better.”
Riley smirks. “Are you that happy?”
“Riles, I waited ages for you to give me a chance.”
“You asked me out this morning.”
“I’ve been holding myself back way longer than that. I’ve liked you for a long time.”
A strange expression crosses her face. I can’t interpret it, so I hold her closer to me.
“How long has it been for you?” I ask.
“What do you mean?”
I choose my words carefully since we’re not officially ‘together’ yet. “When did you start seeing me as more than Chris’s best friend?”
“Oh, you know, probably the same time as you did,” she says lightly.
“For me, it was that day at the fair.”
“Wow. That’s… yeah, that’s a long time.”
“I could have waited even longer for you, but I’m glad I don’t have to,” I admit, chuckling.
We near the cars parked on the grassy embankment close to Chance and—soon to be April’s—house.
“I’m so disappointed we both drove,” Riley mumbles, turning her face into my chest and groaning. “I don’t want to say goodbye yet.”
Me either.
I slow down. “Now that I think about it, my car has been giving me some trouble lately.”
“What trouble?” Riley straightens and her eyes get intense. “Are you hearing any strange sounds? Describe them. Actually, give me your keys and I’ll pop the hood.”
“Is this the perks of dating a mechanic? I never have to worry about my car breaking down?”
“One of many perks.”
“Oh?” I lower my tone. “What other perks are there?”
“Pass the inspection and you’ll see.”
I laugh. “How about I drive you home tonight and you can do some more inspecting?”
“Why do I get the feeling that if I hand you my keys, we’ll be driving all night long?”
“Or maybe I’ll find somewhere nice and quiet to park and we won’t do much driving at all.”
“Mm. What happened to ‘you have to wake up early tomorrow’?”
“You wanted a guy who’s willing to sacrifice. I’ll sacrifice sleep if it means hanging out with you.”
“Noted.”
“Anything to pass the inspection.”
She chuckles, looking so beautiful when she smiles that I press a kiss to her forehead. “You have the best smile, Riles.”
Her cheeks turn pink. “Yours isn’t so bad to look at either.”
“What if I lose some teeth in the rink?”
“You can smile with your mouth closed.”
I throw my head back and burst out laughing.
At that moment, my phone buzzes in my back pocket. When I see the name on the screen, the laughter dries out instantly.
“Who is it?” Riley asks. Her gaze shifts from my face to the phone where Layla’s name is prominently displayed. “If she’s calling, the sheriff must have let her out.”
“I’m not going to answer.” I slide my finger over the ‘end call’ button. Then I tuck my phone in my back pocket. “Now, what is this about the sheriff?”
Riley ducks her head.
I crook my finger under her chin and raise her face gently. “Don’t get shy on me now. Chance McLanely made sure to tell me that he’d save you instead of me if we both dropped into the ocean. You turned my own hero against me. What on earth did you do?”
“It was more of a town effort.” Riley reaches into her pocket and produces some jangling keys. “Take the wheel and I’ll tell you about it.”
One of the things I enjoy about Riley Carter is how easy it is to talk to her, but I do not expect the story she unloads on me while I drive to her place. She tells it matter-of-factly as if every unfolding event makes total sense.
“So your plan was to get Layla arrested?” I ask as I slow to a stop in front of her apartment building.
“Detained. There’s a difference.”
“You had Layla detained and that’s how you assured Chance that she wouldn’t spoil the proposal?”
“That’s right.”
“And you came up with this plan right after I left your garage this afternoon?” I’m speaking to her, but I’m also thinking out loud. “In about an hour?”
“Less than that, really. Because I had to make some calls.”
“Imagine what mastermind plans you could spin up if you had two hours.”
“I could probably take over a city,” she jokes.
“Remind me not to get on your bad side,” I mumble.
“Me? I don’t have a bad side.” Riley blinks up innocently.
I smile and rub my thumb over her cheek as I lean closer.
Riley licks her lips and tilts her chin up.
I stop a breath away from her mouth and whisper, “I don’t believe you.”
She laughs and shoves me.
I capture her hand and interlock our fingers. I really don’t want to go, but it’s been a long day and I figure Riley needs to rest as much as I do.
“You should go upstairs.”
She leans her head against the headrest. “How are you getting home?”
“I’ll figure something out.”
“Drive home and let me drive back.”
“No way.”
“Don’t be stubborn, Nat. You didn’t bring your car.”
“I live outside of town and I don’t want you driving back on that road alone at night.”
“I’m a mechanic. If something happens on the road, I can fix it myself.”
I lift my chin stubbornly. “You’re not just a mechanic. You’re someone I want to protect. And I don’t want you to be in danger at all.”
Riley pauses to think. “I have an idea. You can take my car and come pick me up tomorrow. We both need to work early.”
My body zings with excitement. I get to keep Riley safe and see her first thing tomorrow?
Win-win.
I cover my mouth in mock shock. “How’d you come up with that?”
“I’m the brains of this operation, Campbell. Didn’t you know?”
“The brains and the beauty.”
“So that would make you the brawn.”
I curl my bicep to show off my muscles. She sweeps her gaze over my shoulders, and I see the appreciative gleam in her eyes despite the shadows of the car.
“Do I make the cut?”
“Barely,” Riley croaks. “I’m obviously underwhelmed.”
“Obviously.”
We stare at each other for a beat.
My phone chirps with a notification from my alarm system, breaking the moment.
“What’s wrong?” Riley asks.
I check my home cameras via the app on my phone. “My alarm picked up some movement on the perimeter of my house.”
“We should go check it out,” Riley says.
“We?”
“Yeah.” She looks at me with a smile. “I’m not ready to go to sleep yet.”
I’m aware that it’s late and we have early schedules tomorrow, but I don’t want to let Riley go either.
“Alright, I’ll drive to my place to check it out and then drive you back home.”
“I like the sound of that.”
I grin as I start the car.
What can I say?
When it comes to Riley Carter, I just can’t get enough.