was wearing sweats, thank god, but the covers were gone and that magnificent morning wood was mere inches from my face. From this angle, I was practically looking up at it. It was like standing at the base of a mountain, beholding pure majesty.
Also of note: Evan’s abs made just as good a pillow as his chest.
Before we could have a replay of the awkwardness of the motel room—please tell me I didn’t drool on him again—I sat up. The entire bed was a disaster. It looked like we’d spent the night having wild monkey sex, not sleeping fully—or in Evan’s case, mostly—dressed. He was sprawled out diagonally across the bed, with his head in one corner, his feet in the other. I’d somehow managed to wind up perpendicular to him, using his abs as a pillow.
I swiped the corner of my mouth. Dry. Thank goodness.
My eyes lingered on his torso. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, leaving his broad chest and defined abs on full display. His skin was golden brown, tight against all that hard muscle. A little trail of body hair led beneath his pants and I was so glad he wasn’t waking up yet—it gave me a chance to drink in that delicious view without making a total fool of myself.
“Morning,” he mumbled.
Never mind.
“Hi.” I brushed my hair out of my face.
“Did we do it again?” he asked, a hint of amusement in his tone.
I glanced around the disheveled bed. “We did. And apparently you make a good pillow.”
His mouth twitched in a sleepy smile and it was so cute I thought I might die right here.
I didn’t want to ruin it, so I pretended like I wasn’t melting inside. I jerked my thumb in the direction of the bathroom. “I’ll just…”
“Yeah, you go first.”
I got up and went to the bathroom. Catching sight of my reflection in the mirror, I winced. I’d slept in my makeup. Last night I’d used the restroom in a coffee shop in town before driving back out here to find a place to park so I could sleep. But I hadn’t washed my face. Now I had dark smudges beneath my eyes that made me look like I’d been doing tequila shots at a stripper’s bachelorette party.
Not a great look.
I washed my face, feeling entirely too naked without my war paint on. But my bag was in my car, which was out in the woods where I’d parked, hoping it would be a safe place to sleep for the night.
Evan was outside with Sasquatch when I came out. I wandered into the kitchen, put some coffee on, and rooted through his fridge for breakfast ingredients. It was pretty sparse. For a guy who seemed to like food a lot, he didn’t keep much around. Just basics. At least he had eggs and cheese, so I got to work whipping up a quick meal.
I felt like I had to face the music today. Better to do it on a full stomach.
Evan came back inside, dressed in a t-shirt and sweats. He got Sasquatch his food, then poured us each a cup of coffee. I plated the eggs and brought them to the table.
“Thanks,” he said.
I sat down across from him. “It’s the least I can do.”
He didn’t say anything else as we dug into our breakfast. While I ate, I thought about what I was going to say. I wasn’t exactly proud of the fact that I’d been reduced to sleeping in my car. Evan finding me out there was pretty embarrassing.
He finally broke the silence. “Are you going to tell me, or do I have to ask?”
“Why I was sleeping in my car?”
He nodded once.
I fiddled with my fork. “Where do I even start?”
“How about the beginning.”
“The beginning. Okay.” I put my fork down and tucked my hair behind my ear. “I pretty much grew up in my dad’s garage. My mom left when I was little, so I spent a lot of time there. As a kid, I didn’t know his shop was a front for criminal activity. He was part of a car-theft ring and used his garage as a chop shop.”
“Shit,” he said.
“Yeah. Then some people he’d been working with got busted. Somehow he avoided getting in trouble, but I told him he needed to stop. Actually, I begged him to stop. He was all I had; I don’t have any other family, except my mom, but that’s… complicated. Anyway, he agreed. In fact, he promised.”