teeth. “About that,” he said, and I saw the tough, business man suddenly look timid.
Confused, I leaned forward. “Do you know something about my car that I don’t?”
“I don’t want this to come across as presumptuous, but I was hoping that you are okay with me securing another car for you and Addison.”
“Securing a car?” I said with a laugh.
He loosened up some. “I called in a favor that Alex owed me. Hopefully, he doesn’t fuck it up.”
“Are we back to the mob boss shit, and my car is the victim?”
“I figured you could use a new car to get around in, so I had Alex head out to the dealership today.”
“You’re kidding?”
“No.” He smiled. “I managed to discover they made a four-door rollercoaster car, as Addy calls it, since she seemed so impressed by mine yesterday. I also figured it’d help outrun that truck Derek has if he ever tweaks out on you again.”
My eyes filled with tears, and for probably the first time in my life, I felt grateful for the help instead of defensive. It wasn’t like me to accept charity, but for some reason, it didn’t feel like a handout.
I stood up and walked over and hugged him. “How can I ever repay you for this?”
He rose, and I was swallowed up by his warm, muscular chest. “Allowing me into your life again is all I’ll ever need.” He stepped back. “I have to be honest; I was terrified that you’d want to kick my ass for taking the liberty of buying the car without consulting you.”
“Quite the opposite, really.” I smiled up at his brilliant and loving eyes. “I’ve never had anyone see me going through shit and give a damn. I mean, buying me a car, yeah, that’s quite a monumental thing, but I could never be upset about you caring for my daughter and me like this. You are too good to be true. Hopefully, you didn’t drop that much on a car, though. I just need something that runs. You could have just helped me fix up Bunny again.”
“Damn it,” he said. “Do you think Addy will be okay with saying farewell to her car? That poor thing needed to pass on to its great reward.”
“Addy’s might want to kick your ass. That was her car.” I laughed at him as he bit the bottom corner of his lip. “But I did kill it.”
Jim laughed. “I could easily confirm that fact without a mechanic, I’m sure.”
“Change of subject,” I said, arms wrapped around his waist. “You smell fresh, delicious, and cleaned up. Do you mind if I take a shower?”
“Absolutely,” he said taking my hand. “If you’d like, you can wear one of my shirts…” He paused and eyed me. “Like you did when you walked into my office that night in England.”
I laughed. “Sounds fun, but I do need to get ready and run home to get fresh clothes.”
“Well, the car issue is settled. It’ll be here Monday.” He gripped my hand tighter. “To the shower, gorgeous. I also have some extra toiletries that I brought up from the guest bath for you. Toothbrush and shit like that.”
“Well, if only you could snap your hospitality fingers like that for some clean clothes, then I’d be good to go.”
“I can launder yours while you’re showering or soaking in the bath while you’re trying to determine what you’d like to do today.”
“And if they’re not done in time?”
“Then I’ll have the privilege of watching you sunbathe naked while I work on sending off some time-sensitive emails this morning.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said, then covered my mouth when we walked into his bathroom. “You’re kidding me, right?”
He hit some buttons on a digital keypad for the shower to turn on, then set the temperature to eighty degrees. “Yeah, this bathroom is a bit overwhelming, but I got over it after my first shower.” He turned back and smiled at me. “You have to be going insane wearing those jeans and that shirt by now. This heats up the water or cools it down,” he said, bringing the digital keypad to life inside the shower. “Enjoy freshening up.”
“Trust me, I will. Thanks,” I said, desperately needing to clean up in a nice hot shower.
He walked across the slate floor and over to the large vanity area where glass bowl sinks sat on the counter. No shit. Backlit and everything.
“New toothbrush, hairbrush, and whatever else you need is right here. I’ll be outside by the