was both looking forward to going back to work on Tuesday and wishing she had a few more days of holidays.
She’d done most of the talking, but he preferred that. Hell, he’d enjoyed the cute stories she was telling about the kids she taught and when, at one point, she’d apologized for her boring stories, he’d been quick to tell her they weren’t boring. They should have been boring – he liked kids and wanted a couple of his own, but stories about other people’s kids weren’t his usual thing.
But it didn’t seem to matter what Addison said or talked about. She could read the fucking dictionary to him and he’d be mesmerized by her.
That’s what love does to a person.
He squeezed Addie’s hand so hard she made a soft squeak of pain.
“Sorry,” he said.
“That’s okay.” She smiled up at him and he studied the way the sunlight turned her auburn hair a muted red.
“Your hair looks pretty,” he said a bit gruffly.
“Thank you.” Her smile widened and he couldn’t resist leaning down and pressing a kiss against her perfect mouth.
She returned his kiss, even parting her mouth when he licked at her bottom lip. He loved how responsive she was to him, even when it was obvious that she was tired and sore. He pulled back and kissed her forehead. “Sorry your legs hurt, Sunshine.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “It was worth it.”
She followed him a few more feet to his storage unit. He unlocked the padlock and slipped the lock into his pocket before lifting the heavy garage door. She watched as he pulled the slip cover off the SUV.
“You have a car?” she said.
“Yeah. Use it in the winter.”
“Oh, right. That makes sense,” she said. “You can’t ride the bike in the winter.”
He folded the slip cover as she walked around the SUV. “It’s nice. Not what I expected you would drive.”
“What did you think I would drive?” he said.
She shrugged. “A muscle car like a Dodge Charger, maybe? Definitely not a Toyota RAV. It’s very… practical.”
He laughed and tossed her the keys. She caught them neatly and he winked at her. “Let’s go, Sunshine.”
“Go where?” she said.
“Back to your place. I just took it for a drive a week or so ago, so it’ll start fine, but you’ll have to move the seat forward. My legs are a fuck of a lot longer than yours.”
“Why am I driving?”
“Might as well get used to it,” he said.
She stared at him. “What am I missing?”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. “You can use the car until we find you a new one.”
Her eyes widened. “Simon, I can’t… I mean…”
“What?” he said.
“I can’t just use your car. What if you need it?”
“I have the bike,” he said.
She chewed at her bottom lip. “This is too generous of a gift, Simon. I can buy a second-hand car and -”
“I’m not letting you drive some piece of shit car that could break down and leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere again,” he said. “We’ll go car shopping this weekend and see if we can find you something that’s reliable and in your price range. I know a guy who might have something.”
She stared at the SUV again before hugging him hard and kissing him. “Thank you, Simon. This is amazing and I so appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome, Sunshine.” He kissed her again before squeezing her ass. “C’mon, let’s get out of here. It’s too fucking hot to stand outside.”
She laughed and pinched his cheek. “If you’re a very good boy, I might just stop at the Dairy Queen on the way home and get us ice cream cones.”
“Sunshine,” he squeezed her firm ass again, “I’m always a very good boy.”
Chapter Thirty
“Man, if it gets any busier in here, we’re gonna need to hire a receptionist. I can’t keep up with the calls and the walk-ins,” Nolan said.
“Might be an idea.” Preacher pulled his phone out of his pocket, smiling when he saw the message from Addie. She was back to work today but she had texted him during her lunch hour to say hi and ask if he was coming by tonight.
Before he could text back, Nolan nudged Nix and said, “See, I told you.”
“You told him what?” Preacher looked up from his phone.
“That you must be getting laid on the regular. You’ve never been this cheerful the entire fucking time I’ve known you.”
“Fuck off, Nolan,” Preacher said.
Nolan laughed. “Even your ‘fuck off’s’ are cute right now.”
Preacher