Chapter 13 Nolan
Nolan
Sally walks in, holding two coffees and a bag that smells like grilled cheese, sunshine, and everything I didn’t know I needed.
Her cheeks are pink. Her eyes are hopeful.
“Hi,” she says.
And my heart gives the stupidest lurch.
Sally approaches slowly, reading me like she always does. “I brought you a bacon-and-cheese biscuit because you work better when you don’t pass out from starvation.”
She holds it out like a peace offering.
I take it. My hand brushes hers. Her breath catches. Mine does too.
“Thanks,” I say, because I don’t know how to say you destroy me in every good way.
We sit on overturned crates near the Mustang, eating in small bites, trading glances like a couple of teenagers afraid someone’s going to catch us making out behind the gym.
Her tongue darts out to lick a crumb from her thumb, and I almost die, remembering how she wrapped those lips around my cock last night.
“So, about last night,” she says, as if reading my mind.
I tense. “Yeah.”
“It was… really special for me,” she continues fearlessly. “And I don’t regret anything.”
I swallow hard. “Neither do I.”
Her smile lifts, bright and immediate and unfair.
Then—because my fear is always one second faster than my hope—I say something I instantly regret.
“But I don’t want you to think…” I shift, wishing I could pull the words back into my mouth. “I don’t want you to think this… changes anything with the car.”
Her smile wavers. “Oh.”
“I mean, of course it changes things,” I rush to clarify. “But I don’t want you to feel like I only said yes because—”
She sits straighter, her protective walls rising. “Because I threw myself at you?”
“You didn’t—” I wince. “That’s not—”
She laughs once. Sharp. Hurt. “Well. At least you’re honest.”
“No,” I insist. “You don’t understand. I’m staying professional. For you.”
Her eyes are too bright now. “Right. Because what happened was unprofessional.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I bite the inside of my cheek. Why am I better at communicating with carburetors than humans?
She stands. “It’s fine, Nolan. Really. We’re fine.”
“Sally—”
But she’s already walking to the driver’s side of the Mustang, fussing with her camera like she can redirect all the fragile pieces inside her into angles and lighting.
I follow too quickly, heart banging on its cage. “I didn’t say I don’t want you.”
“Well, you’re sure acting like it,” she mutters.
“I want you too much,” I snap. “And that’s the problem.”
She turns slowly, eyes narrowing. “The problem?”
“I don’t want this to be temporary,” I say, the truth scraping out raw. “I don’t want you to leave once the car’s done and make me feel like I was just part of the project.”
She stops breathing.
“Oh,” she says. Just that. Quiet. Small. Wrecked.
I step closer. “I’m scared I’ll want you long after this project is done.”
Her eyes soften, confusion melting into something deeper. “Why would you think I’d just… leave?”
I laugh harshly. “Because that’s what people do when they realize I’m good for a job, not for a life.”
She frowns. “Nolan—”
“I was with someone once,” I say, the words dragging out like they’ve rusted in place. “Years. I thought we were building a future. Turns out she just liked the stability. The steady paychecks. The… safety.”
I can’t look at her while I say it. I stare at the concrete instead.
“When I got hurt on the job—”
Sally gasps. “You were injured?”
I nod, my jaw clenching. “Crushed vertebrae. Busted ribs. Collapsed lung. A jack failed while I was under a truck. Whole thing dropped on me.”
Her hands cover her mouth. “Oh, my god.”
“I was lucky. Could’ve been paralyzed. Could’ve died.” I force a breath. “The woman I was with told me she didn’t sign up for a burden. She wanted a man who could carry her through life, not one she’d ever have to carry. So she left.”
Sally’s breath hitches, horrified.
“I spent a year in rehab. Learned to walk again. Learned how people prefer me when I’m useful. Strong. Whole.”
She takes a tentative step toward me, but I turn before she can get too close.
My fingers grip the hem of my shirt. I hesitate because no matter how many times a doctor says you're fixed, you still feel broken. Still, I lift the fabric and turn my back to her.
The air shifts as Sally sucks in a quiet breath.
I know what she sees, the pale scar marring the lower length of my spine. It’s jagged in places, surgical in others. Metal bolts anchor the history beneath my skin. Titanium rods hold me together now, literally.
“I didn’t see this last night,” she whispers. “It was dark, and I… I didn’t feel—”
“You weren’t supposed to,” I say hoarsely. “I wasn’t ready for you to see it.”
She steps closer. Her fingers skim the edge of the scar, but her touch doesn’t feel like pity; it feels like respect. As if she sees the physical and emotional pain carved there and doesn’t flinch.
“You’re still healing,” she murmurs.
“Physically, I’m fine,” I say roughly. “Everything else… not so much.”
Sally presses her hand flat against my back, right over the scar. Her touch is warm and steady. It doesn’t feel like she’s trying to fix me. It feels like she’s with me.
“You’re not broken, Nolan,” she says. “And even if you were, I’d still want you.”
I exhale shakily. “I’ve never told anyone all of it before.”
She circles to face me again, her eyes shining but clear. “Thank you for trusting me.”
I swallow hard, dropping my gaze.
Silence falls, heavy and full.
Then she curls her fingers around mine.
I look up.
Sally’s eyes are fire and fury. “I’m not here because you’re safe or convenient. I’m here because you’re the man I want.”
My chest tightens. “I don’t know how to believe that yet.”
“You don’t have to believe it,” she whispers, stepping closer. “Just let me prove it. Because… how could I possibly drive away from you, Nolan West? You’re the very best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Time stops.
“What are you saying?” I force the words out.
She sucks in a shaky breath. “I’m saying this isn’t temporary for me.”
The entire shop shifts back into place. Air comes back. Gravity evens out.
I reach for her, but before I can touch her, the camera beeps.
She startles. “Oh, shit!”
My heart pounds. “It’s running? This is going out live?”
Her blue eyes are panicked. “Yes! Oh, God. I’m sorry. I was setting up… I didn’t mean to—”
Her phone pings, and her expression turns to horror as she pulls it from her jeans pocket. “Oh no.”
I stare. “What?”
She turns the screen toward me.
CrankshaftQueen: I’m crying in carburetors. That man deserves the whole damn world.
carbutt69: bravest man I’ve ever known.
GarageDaddy99: I KNEW HE WAS GONNA REARRANGE HER ENGINE
ToolTimeTina: THE TENSION!!! GET IT GIRL
ExhaustedButLoyal: Nolan West, you absolute legend. You’re not just Garage Daddy. You’re Soulmate Supreme.
FanbeltFury: Team Nolan! This man is the definition of strength with heart.
OilpanOracle: His ex lost a damn treasure. Sally better keep him. And post the wedding vid.
I know I should be angry… but I’m not.
I should care that half the internet just watched me bare my deepest scars, live and unfiltered. I should feel exposed. But instead… I feel seen.
Not just by Sally, but by all of them. Strangers who somehow understand what it took to say those words. Who didn’t turn away.
Sally watches me, bracing for my reaction, guilt written all over her face. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t want to be filmed, but it was an accident and, oh, my god, now they know—”
I press a finger gently to her lips and face the camera. “Sorry, folks. Next part’s private.” Then I flick it off.
I turn back to Sally and cup her face in both hands.
“No audience,” I murmur. “No edits. Just you and me. And the truth.”
“You’re not angry?” she asks hesitantly.
“A little embarrassed, maybe,” I admit. “But angry? No. I’ve spent too long hiding. From pain. From people. From the kind of life I didn’t think I was allowed anymore.”
I stoke my thumb over her cheek. “Then you showed up.”
I step closer until her warmth fills all the cold spaces I used to carry. “You didn’t fix me. You reminded me that I was never broken. And no one’s ever done that.”
She bites her lip, and her eyes shine with tears.
“I love your generosity. Your heart. Your fearlessness. The way you throw your whole self into everything, even when you’re terrified. I love that you see people. I love the way you saw me, even when I didn’t want to be seen.”
I wipe away the tear that slips from the corner of her eye. “I love you, Sally Hargrave. My Sally Mustang.”
She sucks in a sharp breath, and her beautiful blue eyes widen.
I glance at the Mustang, then back to the woman I can’t imagine my life without. “I’m gonna screw up sometimes. But I want to find out how this ride ends. And I want to do it with you.”
Another tear falls right before she launches herself at me. “I’ll go anywhere with you, Nolan West. I love you.”
Relief and gratitude hit me like a punch. I lean my forehead against hers and whisper, “I fucking adore you.”
She mashes her lips to mine, kissing me hard and deep.
When she pulls back, her smile is real and bright and completely lethal. “So… what’s next?”
I nod toward the side room where the cot awaits. “I think I need to check your starter motor. And your ignition.”
She laughs, her eyes sparkling with happiness. “That sounds serious. You think I’m going to need a full diagnostic?”
I brush my thumb along her cheek; my eyes locked on hers. “At least an overnight assessment.”
She pretends to consider it, lips pursed. “Well… as long as you promise to be thorough.”
I kiss her, slow and deep, then murmur against her mouth, “Always.”
At that moment, everything in me settles. I have my woman and the life I never thought I’d want again. It’s all right here.
The Mustang may not be restored yet.
But I am.