I stared, happiness exploding across my heart. “I thought you left me.”
“And I told you I’d never give up on you.”
Tears threatened, and I crossed my arms, refusing to turn into a complete puddle at his feet.
“How did you know I’d be making my escape this morning?
“Rita texted me her plan last night. She didn’t tell you?”
“She failed to mention it.” My cheeks warmed. “I guess she wanted it to be a surprise.”
He smiled one of his rare smiles. “I hope it was a good one.”
“The best.” I tore my gaze from him and looked at the pickup truck behind him. “Where’s your motorcycle?”
“I traded it. I didn’t like the idea of driving from here to Manhattan with you on the back. If you had a seizure—”
“I’m not having seizures, Jimmy,” I said.
He shrugged. “I’m not taking any chances. Besides, if you were behind me the entire time, I wouldn’t be able to…”
“To what?” I asked, moving closer. “See me?”
“Talk to you.”
His words sank into my heart, better than any compliment. The ultimate compliment from Jim Whelan.
“God, this is so much better than my Greyhound bus plan,” I said. “But I can’t ask you to—”
“You don’t need to ask. I’m here.”
My eyes stung at his quiet humility. I didn’t know how to thank him for everything he’d done for me. I knew I’d burst into tears if I even tried. I glanced around, blinking hard, struggling to find something to say.
“You sold your motorcycle for me?”
“Yesterday.”
“Right after you were fired?”
He nodded.
“You lost your job because of me, so you traded your beloved motorcycle for this truck?”
The truck was old with a dented fender and scratches in the paint, which meant Jim took a loss on his bike, probably in order to sell it fast.
“I was fired because I broke the rules,” he said. “But yes to everything else.”
I threw my arms around him. He held me close, my feet dangling off the ground, and my body reacted instantly. Every part of me wanted every part of him.
He’s it. He’s what I want. In every way.
“Thank you,” I whispered against his neck, which was wet with my tears. “I should say it a hundred times…”
“Don’t,” he said into my hair. “You don’t have to.”
I slid down the length of his body until my feet touched the ground but left my hands around his neck. I brought one to his cheek, my thumb brushing the corner of his mouth.
“Jimmy…”
He stiffened in my arms.
“What’s wrong?” I sniffed a laugh. “You don’t want to kiss me anymore? Granted, I’m a little snotty right now, but that’s your fault.”
“I… That’s not what this trip is about. You don’t owe me anything.”
“Owe you? I—”
“Hold up.”
His glance darted over my head, eyes widening at the road leading up to Blue Ridge. As I turned to where he was looking, I heard the slow crunch of tires on gravel.
I looked at Jimmy. “Oh shit.”
He stared back. “Oh shit is right.” He yanked the passenger door open for me. “Get in. Get down.”
I crouched on the floor of the cab as he raced to the other side of the truck and jumped in. A pleasant panic bloomed in my gut, like the feeling you get right before a roller coaster drops. My stomach sent flutters up to my heart, adding to the adrenaline rush that was already coursing through my veins.
Jim scooted down below window-level and we listened, our breaths held, as the security car slowly rolled past. When it grew fainter, he ventured a peek and then I watched him follow the vehicle down the road.
“Gone,” he said. “I don’t think they know you’ve escaped yet, or we’d be screwed.” He laughed at me, curled on the floor of the cab. “You ready?”
I gave him a thumbs-up. “Born ready.”
I buckled myself into the passenger seat while Jim stripped out of his jacket and tossed it in the small space behind our seats, then fired the ignition. He filled the truck with the scent of denim and his clean, unfussy cologne. I leaned back in my seat and just drank him in.
Jimmy’s large hands gripped the wheel as he drove. His forearms were perfection, and my fingers itched to run them along the striations of his muscles under that tanned skin. My eyes blazed a path up to his bicep that strained the short sleeve of his black T-shirt. Up, up, to the corded muscles of his neck, to his strong jaw brushed with