He wanted—no, needed—the respect of being seen as a professional. A guy working on cars beneath a lean-to outside his two-by-four cabin wasn’t it.
He skipped lunch so that he could leave an hour early. Pulling up to the cottage at the end of the day felt like coming home. He knocked and announced himself before opening the door.
“You’re early,” she said with a grin, standing on the step stool in the kitchen. The counter was covered with boxes and spice jars. Her smile faded. “What’s wrong?”
He could have sworn he’d pasted a smile over the frown in his soul. “Peter has an offer on the garage.”
She came down, her expression filled with empathy. “Can’t he wait until we sell?”
“His wife has been bugging him to sell for years. I just found out he’s been putting her off until I could buy it.”
“That’s so sweet of him.”
“I know. But his wife isn’t going to let him lose the deal. I have two days.”
“Two days? We won’t even have it ready to list by then.” She came close and slid her arms around him, her body pressed against his. “I’m sorry.”
Her comfort nearly broke him. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had held him, soothed his pain. And that it was Mia…
He wrapped his arms around her and held on as he gathered his emotions and stuffed them down where they belonged. “It’s just a building,” he managed after a moment.
She backed away, leaving her hands on his waist. “That’s not true. It’s your building. Your refuge, I imagine. The place where you rebuilt your reputation.”
“Are you trying to make me feel better? Or worse?”
“Sorry. I just don’t want you to deny the loss. You’re heartbroken. I can tell.” She touched his face, bringing the scent of soap with it. “But there’s a silver lining, you know. Now you can pursue your performance-car business full-time. You’ve paid your debt of loyalty to Peter.” She smiled. “You’re free.”
“How did—”
“I know how much you love working on your own clients’ cars. The fact that you’ve stayed with Peter all these years instead of striking out on your own, and the kind of man you are, it wasn’t hard to figure out.”
“I never saw it as a debt, but, yeah, I did owe him for giving me my job back. I guess I am free.” Once he pulled his head out of the dark cloud, he saw that she was right. He wasn’t out of a job; he could now do what he wanted full-time. Relying on that, well, he hoped there would be enough work. There were always the regulars who’d been bringing their cars to him all these years. Then her other words registered. “What do you mean, the kind of man I am?” With a soft, earnest expression, she opened her mouth to say something he was sure would break him. “Never mind. We should get to work,” he said. “And figure out who we want to list this place with. Any preferences?”
She released a breath, and with it those unspoken words. “I don’t know any real- estate agents here. Do you?”
“I know a couple. I’ll make some calls and get someone out tomorrow.” He walked into the kitchen and began removing things from the top shelf so she wouldn’t need the step stool.
She took them from him and tossed them into one of the empty boxes. “I walked on the beach for over two hours today.”
“Good for you.”
“It gave me a lot of time to think. Good and not so good.”
He didn’t want to know what she’d been thinking about. “You’re probably worn out.”
“I took a nap when I came back. On your chaise lounge. Now I know why you like it so much. It’s soft and cushy.”
Something stirred at the thought of her lying where he had spent the night. “Is it more comfortable than the couch? We can switch tonight, if you’re sleeping on the deck again.”
“No, the couch is fine, and, yes, I think I will. I liked sleeping out in the fresh air. Under the stars.” With you. That’s what her eyes said, even if her mouth didn’t.
“I do that a lot in the fall, when it starts to cool down at night. I get the best sleep.”
“I remember your field of grass, running through it the way I’d seen in a movie once. It was liberating. Free.”
“Like skinny-dipping?”
Her cheek on the undamaged side of her face flushed. “Yeah, well. I guess I was caught up