Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
BOWEN
The next day, Magnolia’s Mini got a flat tire, making her late to work. But when it happened again the day after that, she was a bumbling mess when she finally arrived. Apparently, being late on a rotation looks very bad.
Billy didn’t seem to care that she was having car trouble, and I watched her have a near panic attack in the parking lot at lunch after he told her he was going to fail her if she couldn’t get her crap together. Only he didn’t say crap.
But she made it clear she did not want my help. When I told her to text me if it happened again, she said she had it under control. So I suggested she move some things around in her one-car garage so she could park inside. She made no indication as to whether she’d take my advice.
But I was done doing nothing.
The day after that, I covertly drove by her house an hour before she normally got to the clinic. Her car was nowhere to be seen. I padded across the lawn and peeked through the garage windows to find her Mini tucked safely inside, all the tires fully inflated.
Then I headed to the clinic and sat in my car, working on floor plans, waiting for her to arrive. When she pulled in ten minutes early, I finally relaxed. I gathered my things and stepped out of my Land Cruiser.
I caught up halfway across the lot and fell in step next to her. “Good morning, Magnolia.”
She glanced over at me, looking anxious. “Morning.” Her cheekbones were bronzed in something shimmery, and it was catching the early morning light, making me wish I could run my fingertips over them.
“No flat tires this morning?” I asked.
“No. I parked in the garage. Thank you for the suggestion.” She tucked her hair behind her ear.
“But I’m a little freaked out because someone dropped some kind of tool in my driveway and if I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have just had to fill my tire with air, I’d be buying a new tire.
Maybe two.” She shook her hands out like she was trying to release some of the nerves.
“I just want to get through my freaking rotation and be done,” she whispered.
“Not be up every night, worried someone’s lurking outside my house. ”
I cleared my throat. “Did you see someone lurking outside your house?”
“No. But how else did the tool get there? I’m the only one at home right now. Someone’s definitely lurking.”
“What kind of tool was it?” I asked in a hush.
She found a picture on her phone and tilted the screen so I could see.
“Pliers.” Though they weren’t the kind you kept in a junk drawer.
A pair of slip-joints, big and heavy, the kind every mechanic in town had rattling around in the back of their truck.
Except these weren’t right. One jaw was snapped clean off, the metal edge jagged and crooked, like it had teeth.
Left in the road like that, it wasn’t a tool anymore—it was a trap.
And it hadn’t been in her driveway when I’d stopped by an hour ago. “Yeah, that would’ve been bad.”
“I know.” I saw her visibly swallow.
“We’re going to figure this out,” I said, making my tone firm. “We.”
Her jaw tightened, and she gave a hesitant nod, as if accepting help from me was the last thing she wanted to do. But she agreed. That was all that mattered.
She went stiff when we heard Topher’s voice around the corner. He was reliving his glory days, telling one of the construction crew about a game they ‘almost’ won his senior year. “You shoulda seen my touchdown pass. So sick.”
Magnolia’s gaze flicked to mine.
“Follow my lead.” I placed a hand on her lower back and whispered in her ear, “I’ve been thinking. If you don’t want to file a complaint and get yourself yanked from this rotation, we have to come up with another way for you to shake him loose.”
I kept close to her side as we rounded the corner of the building. Topher was already there, standing at the top of the ramp, blocking the doorway. His eyes narrowed when he saw the two of us walking so closely. Whoever he was talking to must’ve left.
I pressed a kiss to Magnolia’s temple. My gut thrummed and my breath hitched, having my lips on any part of her. She stiffened under my fingertips but she didn’t lean away.
“I think the fastest way to get him to stop is if he finds out you’re taken,” I whispered. “My Uncle Holden and Aunt Christy did a little fake dating back in the day, and I think it could work in this situation.”
Her gaze flashed to mine, worried. “You told him we were just friends though.”
I shrugged. “We’ll play the we’re-keeping-it-on-down low card.” I didn’t have a better plan.
She watched me for a second, her brow furrowed. “Okay. I’m pretty desperate. I’ll try just about anything.”
Consider my ego officially doused, not an ember of confidence left. But this wasn’t about me.
Topher stood in the doorway, his gaze volleying between us, trying to figure out what he’d just seen.
“Morning, Topher,” I grinned when Magnolia came to a stop in front of him. “Good man. Thanks for opening the door for us.”
“No.” His face twisted into an intense frown, chest puffed. “Magnolia knows the drill.”
I ran a thumb lightly over her elbow, reminding her I was right here. She leaned into me a little, her shoulder brushing my arm. Heat shot through me in a heady rush.
Focus.
“What do you mean, ‘the drill’?” I asked.
Topher’s expression went hard. “She has to give me the password if she wants to come inside.”
Was this dude for real?
It took everything in me not to laugh in his face. “You’re making her give you a password to get in the building?” I repeated, hoping he’d hear how ridiculous it sounded.
“That’s right.” He lifted his chin defiantly. Apparently, he was done trying to figure out Magnolia’s angle. He was going to harass her into dating him.
Not on my watch, NPC.
“Oh man.” I glanced at Magnolia. “Are we back in elementary school?”
“Right?” She forced a light laugh, reminding me not to make waves.
Topher’s shoulders dropped an inch, his confidence waning just barely. But then he straightened. “It’s our thing,” he said, like he believed she secretly ate it up. “If she gives me the password, she has free access to this lovely clinic, as well as other privileges.”
I didn’t want to know what he meant by that. “Well, tell the man the password.” I winked at her.
“I can’t.” She sighed. “I have yet to figure it out. Guess I’m not smart enough.”
“You know the password,” Topher said, nostrils flared. “Just say it.”
“I really don’t. Guess we’re not going to work today,” she said to me like, Oh darn.
I rubbed my jaw, pretending to think. “Hmm.” snapped my fingers.
“99999.” I tipped my head toward Magnolia.
“My mom still uses that for everything. Not very clever, is it?” My mom actually used very sophisticated passwords—and promptly forgot them, forcing her to make a new one every time she logged on to whatever site she was trying to enter.
Magnolia giggled.
“Wrong.” Topher huffed. “Try again.”
“I’ve got it.” I snapped again. “It’s PASSWORD. All uppercase.”
Topher deadpanned. “Nope.”
“123456?” Magnolia tried.
Topher shot her a glare. “You already know that’s wrong.”
“Qwerty,” I said.
“Qwerty?” Topher’s entire face scrunched. “That’s not even a word."
I bit back a smile. Magnolia, who was still leaning slightly against me, shook with laughter. I felt it blissfully in my chest.
“Be serious,” Topher snapped. If looks could bruise, I’d be black and blue from his glare.
I tapped my temple and shot back, “Iloveyou?”
“Definitely not,” he huffed. “At least not coming from you.”
I rubbed my temples like my brain was about to start smoking. “ABC123?”
Magnolia’s shoulders shimmied and she hummed the Jackson Five song.
“Bammmp,” Topher bellowed, buzzer style. Super annoying.
“Welcome, sunshine, admin,” I spit out, voice monotone like a robot, getting louder with each word. “Dragon, princess, baseball, starwars, hotstuff.” I kept going, spitting out every word that came to mind.
Magnolia joined in, using a female robot voice. The two of us were a duet of obnoxious cacophony, getting louder with each ‘password.’
“Pokemon.”
“Shadow.”
“7777777!”
“Michelle!”
“Hello!”
Topher’s gaze jutted around like he was trying to figure out how to turn us off.
“Lucky!”
“Starfish!”
“Moron!” That was mine.
“Imbecile!” Magnolia screamed like she’d never felt freer.
“Dingus!”
“Lunatic!”
“Ignoramus!”
Billy came into view, face red, looking like he was about to have an aneurysm. “Stop!” He stormed up to us. “What is wrong with all of you?”
Topher’s arms fell to his side, and his eyes bugged so far I half expected one to roll across the floor.
Magnolia glanced at me, fear on her face.
“Good morning, Billy,” I sang.
“That’s Dr. Adams, to you,” he clipped. “And again, what is wrong with all of you? Why are you making those ridiculous noises?”
“Oh, that?” I said. “We were just trying to get into the building. Apparently, there’s a password, and unfortunately, Magnolia and I don’t know it. If we did, we would’ve been inside five minutes ago. Noise free.”
Billy’s face twisted in fury. “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” He looked at Topher. “Did you tell them there’s a password?”
“Pshaw, no.” Topher’s red face matched his dad’s. “That’s…idiotic.”
Billy glowered at Magnolia and me like we were dumber than a box of rocks. “It is idiotic. There’s no password. Stop making crap up and get in here,” he barked. “You’re letting all the A/C out.”
Finally, Topher flattened himself against the wall and let us by.
Once we were around the corner and Topher was getting chewed out by Billy, we broke into a quiet laugh.
“Oh, my gosh,” she whispered, thrusting her fists in the air. “That felt so good.”
I had to resist the urge to wrap my arms around her waist and hug her.
I grinned. “It really did.”
But then her shoulders sagged, the fight draining right out of her. “This is going to be exhausting. Isn’t it?”
“No worries. We will break him down, little by little.”
“No! I want her,” Topher pouted like our robot shouting hadn’t fazed him at all.
Magnolia groaned. I exhaled a curse word. What was wrong with this kid?
The door shut and their footsteps moved in our direction.
On pure instinct, I shoved Magnolia behind me. In frustration, she beat her forehead against my shoulder. I wrapped my arm backwards, encircling her waist, and I didn’t let myself think about everything that having her against me was doing to my internal organs.
“I said no,” Billy seethed. “And no means no.” He sounded like he was talking to a toddler, but honestly, he probably had to speak a language Topher could understand.
“He needs to learn the bro code,” Topher whined, their voices coming closer. “I called dibs, so he has to back off.”
“You listen here,” Billy snarled. “We don’t mess with the Duprees. Do you hear me? They are off limits. If Bowen wants Hollis, Bowen gets Hollis. Am I making myself clear?”
“Why are you so afraid of them, Dad?” Topher asked, tone challenging. “Why don’t you ever stand up to that family?”
I bit back a laugh. I knew exactly why Billy was afraid of my family.
“Mind your own business,” Billy ordered.
“Well,” Topher sniffed. “I’m not sure he actually wants her. Or that they’re a couple. So…”
At those words, I snapped, not caring anymore.
I spun, caging Magnolia in, my palms slamming flat on either side of her head.
She let out a little gasp, but her hands came up, featherlight on my biceps.
Her wide eyes locked on mine, and her lips parted.
It’s just for show, I reminded myself. But my body wouldn’t listen.
When her hands slid up my arms and gripped my shoulders, nails biting through my shirt, I couldn’t stop myself.
I leaned closer, nose skimming up her cheek.
Man, I wanted her. So much. Even two years later.
This attraction, this intensity? It hadn’t faded at all. Might’ve even been stronger.
As Topher and Billy came around the corner, I stumbled back like they surprised me. But I’d purposely hooked one finger through the ties on Magnolia’s scrub pants. I yanked it free like I hadn’t meant for them to see.
Magnolia’s cheeks heated, but her gaze burned into mine with a silent thank you.
Billy swung his expression to Topher. “See.” They disappeared into the break room.
Magnolia and I collapsed. My hands caught me again, trapping her in.
We stared into each other’s eyes, neither of us saying a word.
Ask her. Ask her to come to the baby shower with you.
But Griff.
Magnolia.
Griff.
MAGNOLIA.
I was about to wrestle the invite from my tongue, when she pushed off the wall, forcing me to take a step back.
“Thanks for the help.” She gave me a small wave and hurried away, slipping through the reception area door.