“You can stay for as long as you want. I like the company. I also took the opportunity to buy six grocery bags of junk food and bought all the angsty eighties movies I could find at Target.”

Closing my eyes, I send up a silent prayer of thanks for friends like Piper. “I call dibs on Duckie.”

“You’ve always liked the good ones,” Piper remarks.

“While you want to walk on the wild side,” I point out. That’s the oddity of us. She wants a man who’s the opposite of the men she already knows, while I want one with a steady job and a rap sheet that isn’t a mile long. But that’s not what’s expected of either of us.

My eyes open to catch her gazing wistfully at the ceiling. “Only if I had a badass escort to keep me safe,” she sighs.

Despite knowing exactly who Piper’s talking about, I just nod sympathetically. Odd how we both want what we can’t have.

Seth

Disappointment assails me as soon as I learn that Rowan isn’t at work. She didn’t come home last night, and I’m more than a little worried about it. But she’s a grown woman who has looked after herself for a long time. And I lost the right to worry after her a long time ago.

Still, the entire situation doesn’t sit right with me.

“Does she usually take off on Saturdays? You know, to get her nails done or something?” I ask, deliberately testing Gardner’s head mechanic’s loyalty to Rowan.

Boyd crosses his arms over his chest. His bald head gleams under the light. Between being built like a brick shit house and the multiple neck tattoos he sports, Boyd is as intimidating as fuck. Always has been, always will be.

“Saturdays are optional around here, and she’ll be back in a few. Had to run an errand.”

He’s loyal to her. A good thing, unless he’s fucking her or wants to fuck her. I rub the side of my jaw. “The two of you dating?”

Boyd gives me an Are you serious? look. “Only if I want my old lady to kick my ass. Shit. If I didn’t know you, Seth O’Connor, I’d kick your ass for even thinking that shit about Little Boss.”

Little Boss, huh? “Had to ask.”

He nods. “I hear ya.”

“Do you have the keys to her office? I’m supposed to go through—”

Boyd walks away, keys jingling as he pulls them out of his pocket. I follow him. “She told me to expect you and to tell you that everything you need is on the desk.” He unlocks the door and opens it, stepping to the side. “Holler if you need anything. I’m supervising some gearheads in bay two.”

I move to sit behind Rowan’s desk, taking in how neat and organized everything is. There’s a touch of her everywhere, from pictures on the desk to the Hot Guys Who Crank Our Engines calendar hanging on the wall.

I wiggle the mouse and the computer screen blinks to life. There’s a note on the monitor with instructions as to where to go first. I crack my neck on each side, relieving the pressure, and then get started.

—

Sometime later, the sound of shoes shuffling in the hallway catches my attention, and I look up from the computer. My stomach growls, and I realize that I haven’t eaten. Glancing at the time, I confirm I’ve missed lunch.

The shuffling grows louder as it gets closer. Curious as to who it could be, I lean back in my chair and wait.

Rowan’s pretty face suddenly fills my vision. “You’re still here?” She doesn’t sound too pleased.

“Several years’ worth of bookkeeping isn’t easy reading.”

She makes a noise and hangs up her coat on a hook by the office door. “Find anything underhanded?”

“The only thing I found was that you’ve made the company money. Great job,” I say.

Clearly not expecting that, Rowan blinks at me. “ ‘Great job’?”

“No, not great. Excellent job,” I amend. “I admire what you’ve done with the Jailbirds to Jobs program, too.”

She beams at me, and my gut clenches. “It’s a great program. I had help from your grandmother when I first got the idea. It’s really hard for convicts to get jobs. So they come here to work, heavily supervised and with their parole officer’s permission. Then, near the end of their probation period, they have to start applying for other jobs. Gardner’s provides personal and work references for them. We even have a few other businesses joining in or interested in collaborating with us. Some people are a bit leery, but I can’t blame them.”

“You thought of all that by yourself?”

“Even dumb blondes like me get good ideas every now and then,” she snaps.

“I didn’t say you were dumb,” I point out, though I had most certainly implied it.

She flips her hair over her shoulder. “Thank you.” Batting her lashes, she blows me a kiss. Coming from another woman, that move would have been a calculated flirt. Coming from Rowan, it’s a sign that she’s going to cut me if I keep it up.

“Seriously.”

“Whatever.” Rowan looks away. “Everyone deserves a second chance, or at least a chance to prove that they’ve changed.”

Does she want to give me another chance? I’ve changed, and she needs to see it. I need her to see it. Hell, I just need her.

Straightening, I run a hand through my hair. “So I’m ready to learn, Little Boss.”

An annoyed expression covers her face, then it gives way to a smugness I’ve never seen before. “We’ll have to start from the ground up.”

“Not a problem.” Been there, done that in the Marines.

Her jaw turns hard. Oh, yeah, she’s pissed, and I’m digging it. “You’re just so damn cocky, aren’t you?”

I walk to her, stopping when we’re just inches apart. “Only because you’re my teacher.” I take her hands in mine. They’re strong yet delicate, like her. “I trust you to teach me everything. I want to know every last detail. What makes this place tick and what turns customers away.”

Her scent washes over me, and I’m surrounded by her, by the memories of us when we were younger.

“You and me forever,” I whisper, right before her lips touch mine.

“Forever, Seth,” Rowan agrees.

She snatches her hands away. “You can’t learn all that in less than two weeks. It took me months to get things right, and I’m always having to reassess.”

“We all have to start somewhere.”

“Just sell me the shop, Seth, and then you can go.”

I shake my head. “No. My terms, Rowan, not yours.”

Her jaw turns stubborn. “You can’t dictate how I teach you.”

I hold my arms wide open. “Teach me, master.”

She skirts around me, the side of her breast brushing against my arm. My dick gets hard, and it takes everything inside of me to not touch her again.

I can still taste that kiss of ours, and I want to taste her again. Worse than before.

“Are you coming?” she asks, pausing by the door.

And that’s a loaded question I’m not answering. Out loud anyway. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” she says.

I follow her to the garage. She grabs a broom and shoves it at me. “Here.”

“It’s a broom,” I say.

“Good job. Now, start sweeping. Then you can scrub the oil spill in bay five, followed by cleaning the men’s bathroom in the break room.” She sashays out of there like she’s just won the war.

“What did you do to piss off Little Boss?” one of the guys asks me.

“She caught me sitting behind her desk.”

“Fuck,” another one says, his eyes all wide. “Guess I won’t be getting anywhere near that.”

“Damn right you won’t!” I want to shout, but I’m not here to make enemies. “Is the men’s room bad?” I ask.

“Today it is.”

“Figures.” I start sweeping. If this is what it takes to convince Rowan I’m here to learn, then this is what I’ll do.

—

After cleaning the most disgusting bathroom I’ve ever seen—and that’s saying something considering I did missions in countries where holes in the ground were considered a luxury—I go in search of Rowan.