Beyond Broken(10)

"You seriously want to play that card now?" Caleb asked, cocking a brow.

Maddie's lips parted automatically at the picture he made. He was so unbelievably handsome that it made her chest physically ache … and yet he was so unbelievably rude.

"Stop wasting my time, princess. Get in the car so I can lock up." He turned from her, striding towards the back of the garage.

Maddie blew out a frustrated breath and assessed her options for the billionth time that night. She was sorely tempted to walk back to that gas station and beg the counter clerk to call her a taxi. He seemed nice enough.

But something told her that Caleb would catch her before she made it. The question was, would he care enough to even come after her?

Probably not, she thought. Still …

Maddie sighed and hitched her purse over her shoulder. Dejected, she made her way towards the SUV, her heels clicking loudly on the pavement. She shivered, the late night chill easily threading through her thin cardigan.

Tugging open the passenger door, she slid inside and was immediately hit with the woodsy musk of Caleb. Maddie almost sighed, but she was too busy greedily drawing in breath to be bothered.

She'd noticed his smell briefly when they were in the towing truck, but to be completely surrounded by it was something else entirely. He smelled of a warm fire crackling inside a log cabin in the middle of winter. A thoroughly comforting smell, one she wanted to wrap around herself, to bury herself in.



       
         
       
        

Maddie glanced over her shoulder. She watched as Caleb shut the garage and locked the doors before turning towards his car. Towards her.

She swiveled around quickly, assessing the interior to distract herself. It was a relatively new car, she discovered, with black leather seats and an impressive looking navigation and media system. And it was clean too. Freakishly so. Besides an empty coffee thermos in one of the cup holders, it was devoid of old fast food bags, CD cases, crumpled receipts, and sticky coins. She shuddered just thinking about her older brother's car. Thomas didn't know the meaning of clean.

Cold air chilled her again as Caleb folded himself in the driver's seat. He didn't look at her and Maddie fiddled with the straps of her purse, mentally preparing herself for a silent ride home.

Starting up the engine, he touched a few buttons on the navigation system. "Where do you live?" he asked gruffly.

Maddie watched his fingers, illuminated from the screen. They were strong and long, his fingernails were cut short, and yet there was still a smudge of grease underneath a few, something she found surprisingly alluring, masculine.

"In Concord," she said quietly.

"Type in your address," he ordered, taking his hand away from the screen. While Maddie typed in her street and apartment number with a trembling hand, Caleb turned his face away to look outside the window. He would be completely content to ignore her presence, that much was clear. Once she was done, she pulled her hand away and Caleb pulled out of the lot.

The drive was long. And silent. He didn't even turn on the radio. It was like he was deliberately trying to unnerve her. It was working. There was nothing Maddie hated more than uncomfortable silences. They tugged at her skin, made her feel like she was sitting on the edge of her seat and fidgeting.

She wouldn't give in. She didn't want to give him another chance to rudely cut her off, to hurt her by making her feel like a fool. So, she struggled through the silence as the miles ate up the freeway.

Twenty minutes later, they were nearing her apartment complex.

"You can drop me off here," she told Caleb. Her voice was startling loud after the prolonged silence. "I live just up the road."

A small lift of his shoulder, which she took for a half-hearted shrug. He smoothly pulled up next to a curb.

"Thank you," she said softly. Despite his cold treatment, she was grateful for the ride home. Still, it was hard to meet his eyes. "I really appreciate it."

Maddie didn't wait for a response. She didn't expect to get one anyway. She unbuckled her seatbelt and then pushed open the passenger door. Just when she was about to close it, she heard him.

"You can start on the bookkeeping when you pick up your car tomorrow night," he said in his gravelly voice. Her lips parted in surprise, eyes flashing to his. His obsidian gaze wasn't focused on her, however, but on the dark road in front of him. "Be there at six. But don't say I didn't warn you. It's a lot of work." 

"Thank you," she said, her voice a little breathless.

Maddie stood there, staring at the man who used to be the boy she'd cared for ten years ago. A smile spread over her lips. Maybe Caleb wasn't as heartless as he seemed. He couldn't be, if he was giving her a chance to pay off her car repairs. That kind boy who'd helped her in the cafeteria that one humiliating day was still buried deep inside this hardened man. That gave her more hope than anything.