Her breath misted on the red paint of his car, and a part of him hoped she left lipstick behind. She looked at him out of the side of her eye. “Well, hot damn, Posh. You do know how to get dirty, don’t you?”
If only she knew. He pulled out of her with a groan, looking around him for something to clean them up. He found a roll of paper towels and did his best with himself before handing her a sheet. She smirked at him, did her business, then sauntered around the garage, picking up her fallen clothing and pulling it on her body piece by piece.
He cleared his throat, unsure what to do now, but acutely aware she was walking around with his release in her body.
And it was making him hot all over again.
“So,” he said.
“So,” she said back. “You get what you came for then?” Her voice sounded forced, as if she was trying to keep a light tone when neither of them felt anything but light.
“That’s not . . . that wasn’t the plan, Alex. And you know it.”
She tilted her chin. “Well, that might not have been your plan, but fuck you if you think you can walk into my garage and dictate how everything will go between us.”
She had a point. “I don’t want you to think—”
“I wish you wouldn’t try to tell me what to think,” she said, her voice lowering. “I think that we have incredible chemistry and great sex. But I also think that’s all this will ever be. And I think two times is about the limit, so we’ll do our best to avoid running into each other while you’re in town again. How does that sound?”
She’d summed it up, basically. He knew this should end before feelings got involved and everything about Alex went from easy to extremely fucking complicated. But the thought of avoiding her presence didn’t sit well with him. He liked just . . . looking at her, which was maybe weird. But even being around her made him happy.
This was ridiculous. So he nodded. “Yes, that’s . . . about right.”
“Great.”
He pulled out his keys and her gaze shot to them. He held up the keychain she gave him. “I, uh, have interestingly enough gotten some questions about this in New York.”
She smiled at that. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Wanted to know if you did good work. Offered deals on oil changes. Things like that.”
She laughed. “Well, you know, I didn’t give you that as publicity or anything. More as something to . . . ”
“Remember you by,” he said softly.
“Sure.” Alex chewed her lip. “How long will you be in town, then?”
“Another week or two.”
She nodded and ducked her head. “Will you be back after that?”
“Probably not.”
She stared at her feet with her hands on her hips. “Right. Well, thanks for showing me the high life while you were in town, Posh.” She lifted her head then, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.
He smiled, remembering her words in the hotel room. “I appreciate your hospitality.”
She laughed, her blue eyes bright. “Don’t tell too many people. We like our town without outsiders, ya know?”
“It’s between you and me.”
She was backing up now, and his instincts screamed at him to tug her back, align her petite body with this. But that would just delay the inevitable. He needed to get away from here. He had a life that wasn’t in Tory, Maryland. A life that didn’t involve Alex. And he needed to remember that if he was going to get out of this town with his heart intact.
And why all of a sudden did that life not seem as appealing as it used to?
He cleared his throat and took a step back, the distance between them growing. “Right, then, I’ll be going. You take care, Sprite.”
“You too, Posh.”
She pressed the button to open the garage door, and then she was gone, closing the office door behind her. All he could do was get in his car, drive back to his hotel room, and do something, anything, to take his mind off Alex Dawn.
Chapter Seven
SPENCER LEANED AGAINST his car and crossed his arms over his chest. He gazed at the back of Payton and Sons Automotive and thanked God it was Sunday so no one could see him standing there as Penny and Nick evaluated the location for the umpteenth time that week.
Penny was frowning, which Spencer thought was a good sign, as Nick talked about where the grocery store would sit, where the parking lot would be located, how they could tear down Payton and Sons and place the gas pumps there.
Spencer resisted the urge to chain himself to the brick building to prevent an imaginary bulldozer from razing it.
Penny turned to look at Spencer, her finger tapping her lips. “What were your reasons for not recommending this location?”
“It’s in the report,” he answered gruffly.
Her lips twitched. “Humor me.”
He huffed out a breath and straightened from the car. “Because as it stands now¸ it’d sit behind this garage. Taking over property isn’t easy, so I don’t see why we’d make it difficult and try to get this land from the Paytons. A hotel would be a nuisance to the community here rather than an aid.”
“We have a lot of hotels that are in the business district,” Nick said.
“Business district?” Spencer echoed. “There’re a couple of stores on this main street but I think it’s a big stretch to call it a business district.”
“I still think this is our most visible location.”
This would be the first Royalty Suites in Maryland, and although Tory was a small town, it was a main thoroughfare for travel from Baltimore to the busy northeast cities.
Spencer had to admit, he was starting to fall for Tory. When he’d visited a couple of weeks ago, he’d spent some time at local parks and restaurants. The town had its own vibe, which was peaceful and yet full of hope. There were a lot of entrepreneurs and small businesses—like Delilah’s Drawers. Weeks ago, it had annoyed Spencer how much it reminded him of home. But when he’d been back in New York, he’d realized that wasn’t home either. Once he set foot on Tory soil again, he’d enjoyed breathing this air into his lungs. What did all that even mean?
Penny was looking at the land, her hand shading her eyes from the glare of the morning sun. She was giving nothing away. “Okay, now let’s head to the location Spencer recommends.”
He sighed and got into the car, waiting for Penny and Nick to settle into the Mercedes with him.
This was going to be a long day.
SEVERAL HOURS LATER, Spencer turned his grocery cart around the corner of the aisle in Souter’s Grocery and nearly crashed into a tiara-wearing little girl staring at the cookies on the end cap. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
The girl looked at him with big blue eyes and Spencer recognized her right away as Violet. He looked around for her mother and father and—good Lord, her aunt.
Violet smiled. “Oh! You’re the British man we met! Hello! Do you remember me?”
He didn’t know how to talk to children. He was an only child and he wasn’t sure he’d ever really been . . . a child. His father didn’t believe in coddling. Spencer cleared his throat. “ ’Course I remember you. And how are you?”
“I’m good. I just really want some cookies, but Brent said I can only have them if I also eat my vegetables.”
Spencer nodded awkwardly. “Erm, that’s a good deal, I think.”
Violet sighed and stared longingly at the cookies.
A male voice called out, “Vi? Where’d you go, Princess?”
“I’m here!” Violet called out.
A second later, Brent rounded the aisle, spotted Violet, and then lifted his gaze to Spencer. “Oh, hey man. You following us around or something?”
Spencer jerked in alarm. “Oh, uh, not at all, I—”
Brent laughed. “I’m just kidding. Small town. How’s it going?”
“It’s, um, going.”
Brent glanced at Spencer’s cart full of snacks. “You stocking up?”
Spencer shrugged. “I’m a little tired of takeaway, although I don’t have a kitchen so . . . trying to come up with some snacks and things I can put together in my hotel room.”
“You should come to our cookout!” Violet piped up.
Brent’s face brightened. “Hey, that’s a good idea. We’re having a big thing tonight with family and friends to celebrate . . . uh . . . nothing really. We just like to grill meat before the weather gets too cold. You should come by.”
He’d tried for a long time to beat the British out of him, but the instinct to never turn down an invitation, to always accept and be polite, was something he’d never been able to cure. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose . . . ”
“You can bring your friends too. What were their names? Nick and Pam?”
“Uh, Penny.”
“Right,” Brent said. “So what do you say?”
“Please?” Violet batted her big blue eyes and Spencer floundered. He had no excuse. None. It was Sunday and he’d decided to stop at the grocery store after dropping Penny and Nick off at the hotel. Tonight he’d planned to . . . well, he wasn’t sure, really. Watch TV in his big hotel bed and eat cheese and crackers.
“Well, I guess we could swing by for a bit—”
“Great!” Brent cheered loudly. “You want Cal’s address? That’s where the cookout is.”