that someone trashed your shop and the cops couldn’t find my dad, and that could mean I was putting you in danger by being here. I thought maybe the right thing to do would be to go to Iowa until… I don’t know, until they found my dad or until we could figure out a way to make sure we could be safely together. But…”
Her eyes shone with unshed tears and she glanced down.
“But what?” I asked gently.
“When I called her, she said no. They don’t have room and it would have been too disruptive to her other kids. And it’s fine, because I shouldn’t have called her anyway. But, still.”
“Oh my god, Fiona.” I pulled her close and cradled her against my chest. After everything she’d been through, her own mother had rejected her. What the fuck was wrong with her parents? She was the most wonderful, incredible woman I’d ever known. How did they not see that? How did they not see her?
But that was the truth, wasn’t it? They didn’t see her. They never had.
I kissed her forehead. “I see you. I see how amazing you are. My family does too. And I love you. I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner, but I’m so fucking in love with you.”
She pressed her face into my chest, muffling her voice. “I love you too.”
I took a slow, deep breath. It didn’t matter what happened, Fiona would always be mine.
44
Fiona
The arena was packed. People wandered up and down the rows of cars on display, the light glinting off shiny paint and chrome. There was everything from muscle cars to Model T Fords to contemporary customs. A guy from Idaho was getting a lot of attention for his superhero-themed roadster, and there was a custom vintage fire engine that Evan’s brothers would love.
But one of the biggest draws at today’s show was the 1970 Pontiac GTO convertible. The Judge.
Evan had absolutely outdone himself. He’d gone for full authenticity, using the original blue paint with red pin striping and blue interior. Every detail was period-accurate and perfect.
It was a fucking badass car.
Luke was here too, with his ’69 Mustang Boss. And, okay, it looked amazing. It was a super-hot car and he’d done a great job restoring it.
Whatever. It wasn’t nearly as amazing as the Judge.
After Felix Orman’s crappy goons had smashed up Evan’s shop and damaged the car in an attempt to get to my dad by coming after me, he’d needed to work extra-long hours to finish it in time. I’d been there to help with anything I could, in the shop and otherwise. But he’d pulled it off.
No, he hadn’t just pulled it off. He’d rocked it. It was the talk of the show.
I walked back with my iced coffee and found Evan standing casually next to the car while a horde of onlookers gaped at her. His arms were crossed, his stance relaxed, and anyone who didn’t know him might think he was arrogantly aloof.
But I did know him. Behind that almost neutral expression was pride. He felt good about what he’d done and he was basking in the glory of his work.
He felt awesome today. I could see it in his eyes.
I was about to rejoin him—I’d just needed a little caffeine to get through the rest of the day—when a well-dressed man and woman approached the car. We’d seen them walking around earlier—the curators from America’s Car Museum.
My eyes widened and I stopped in my tracks.
They did a slow circuit around the car, clearly appreciative—and how could they not be? The Judge was badass muscle-car perfection. Then they stopped to talk to Evan.
I was too far away, and the hum of noise around me too loud, so I couldn’t hear what they said. But I could read the conversation in Evan’s expression. They loved the car. In fact, with the way his eyes widened with disbelief, they might have more than loved it.
It was hard to hold back from running over there, but if I did, I’d probably just spew a bunch of verbal vomit about how great he was and how they had to choose his car for their museum.
Because they did have to. It was so perfect and he was so great and I could barely contain myself so I hoped they’d be done talking to him soon before I exploded on the spot.
Finally, he shook hands with each of them. His eyes met mine as they walked away and he didn’t have