It was nothing short of miraculous that in forty-five minutes, I got Linc and myself out the door, but some how I managed to do it. "Why didn't you take the wrecker back last night?" Linc asked as we headed down the porch steps.
Because I needed to haul ass home to talk to your aunt about this hot, arrogant rocker guy asking me out. "I knew I needed to get back home to make sure you finished your project," I replied. Inwardly, I patted myself on the back for coming up with a quick, clever reply.
Linc grumbled something under his breath as he hoisted himself up into the cab of the wrecker. We made a quick trip down Main Street and over to Hart and Daughter. When I pulled around back, I wasn't too surprised to see my father's pickup already in the lot.
Two years ago, he'd been in a serious car accident which caused him to suffered a traumatic brain injury as well as a shattered pelvis. He spent months in rehab relearning basic skills, as well as how to walk again. Since he would never be one hundred percent again, he had turned the entirety of Hart and Daughter Wreckers over to me. Nowadays, he came to the shop to lend his expertise, but mostly it was to hang out and shoot the shit with some of the other retired men. He also considered it an important part of his continued rehabilitation to walk Lincoln to school every day.
I grabbed my purse and then headed in the back door while Linc stayed outside. Most of the guys arrived somewhere between seven and eight, even though we didn't officially open until nine. Scanning the group for my dad, I finally spotted him in front of a BMW that needed a new front fender.
Leaning in, I gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek. "Morning, Daddy."
"Morning, sweetheart. I went ahead and put on a pot of coffee for you."
"My hero," I teased as I crossed the room for more caffeine.
"Linc outside?"
Taking one of the plastic cups, I poured myself some joe. "Yep, ready and waiting. I'm sure he's out there giving Demo some love."
"Speaking of waiting, there's a man here to see you. I went ahead and told him to have a seat in your office."
Furrowing my brows, I blew rivulets into the steaming coffee. "Don't tell me it's Flannigan's trying to sell us used parts again."
Dad shook his head. "His name is Gabe."
The cup slipped through my fingers and sloshed onto the floor. "D-Did you say Gabe?"
With his brows disappearing into his forehead, Dad asked, "Are you okay, sweetheart?"
"I'm fine."
"You look like you've seen a ghost."
I couldn't exactly explain to my father that while Gabe wasn't a ghost, he certainly haunted my sex dreams. After taking a few seconds to get ahold of myself, I grabbed a wad of napkins and started mopping up the coffee. When I glanced up from cleaning, Dad was staring quizzically at me. "He's just an old acquaintance I'm not looking forward to seeing," I lied.
"Need me to come in with you for backup?"
Smiling, I gave Dad a pat on the back. "I think I can handle it. Besides, you need to get Linc to school."
"If you're sure."
"I am."
"Hey Abe, can you come over here and give me your opinion on this sealant?" one of the men called.
Dad glanced at his watch before replying, "Yeah, but you better make it quick. I gotta get Linc to school by 8:15." He smiled at me. "Don't worry, I'll get him there on time."
"I wasn't doubting you."
After watching Dad hustle across the room, I drew in a deep breath and threw my shoulders back before flinging open my office door. Sitting in one of my ratty office chairs that I always meant to replace was Gabe.
"What in the hell are you doing here?" I demanded.
He flashed his sexy-as-hell grin. "And good morning to you, too."
"Forget the bullshit pleasantries and cut to the chase."
"Won't you sit down?" he asked.
"In case you missed it, this is my office, and I'll sit down when I damn well please."
"Man, who pissed in your Cheerios this morning?"
"Excuse me?"
"I just meant it seems as though you woke up on the wrong side of the bed."
"I woke up just fine, thank you very much. It's my present company that's pissing me off."
Gabe held up his hands. "Look, I'm truly sorry if I offended you yesterday."
"I'm thinking you're sorry I bruised your inflated ego, not that you offended me," I countered.
"I really need to talk to you. Can you please give me just five minutes?"
"Unless there's something else wrong with your Jeep, we have nothing to talk about."
"My Jeep is fine."
I jerked my thumb at the door. "Then have a lovely day."
"Are you always this infuriating, or is the universe just really fucking with me?"
"If anyone is infuriating, it's you. I'm pretty sure I made myself abundantly clear last night when I told you I didn't want to sleep with you."
"I'm not here to ask you to sleep with me again."
"You're not?" I asked. I hoped my surprise masked the slight disappointment I felt that he wasn't there to ask me out again.
Shaking his head, Gabe said, "I have a different proposition for you."
"Why do I not like the sound of this?"
Gabe huffed out a frustrated breath. "Would you please just sit down for a minute?"
"Fine." Slowly, I walked around the side of my desk before plopping down in my chair.
After sitting for a few seconds in stony silence, Gabe said, "Your dad's a cool guy."
"Yes, he is."
"He was kind enough to keep me company when I first got here, not to mention hospitable. He told me all the places where I could eat in town."
"That's my dad, always kind to the stranger-and the undeserving."
A smirk curved his lips. "Talk about not looking the type."
"What does that mean?"
"I would have never pegged you for being a football player."
Inwardly, I groaned at the thought of Gabe seeing Dad's pride wall in the far corner of the shop. There were pictures of all the accomplishments of his daughters, as well as Linc. There were also framed prints of the newspaper articles about when I joined the football team. "Your dad told me all about how you went from playing soccer to being the kicker. I don't think I've ever met a female football player."
"I'm sure you would prefer the thoughts of me in a cheerleader skirt, right?"
"Actually your arena football uniform was far racier than a cheerleading one," he replied with a wink.
Ugh. Like I really wanted to be reminded of the days I'd played in the league by someone like Gabe. In my defense, it was a good way to stay in shape, and the extra money helped out. That said, I seriously needed to take those pictures down and burn them. If it wasn't Gabe leering at them, it was one of the other men in town. Raising my brows, I said, "Why don't you nix the bullshit and get to the point?"
"Fine. Do you remember yesterday when I told you about how I've been having so much trouble songwriting?"
"Yeah."
"Well, last night, I was able to write not one, but three songs."
"While I applaud you, I'm not sure what this has to do with me."
"It has everything to with you. You inspired them."
The conviction of his tone had me sitting up straighter in my chair. I blinked at him in disbelief as I tried processing the enormity of what he had just said to me. "Let me get this straight: you believe I helped inspire the songs you wrote?"
"Without a doubt in my mind."
The only reply I could manage was, "Wow."
I'm sure you've heard artists use the term muse before."
"I have."
"After the hell I've been through with writer's block the last few months, there's not a doubt in my mind that you are my muse, Rae."
Holy shit. A rich and handsome musician was sitting before me professing that I was his creative muse. Things like that just didn't happen-at least they never had for me. My ex had never called me his muse or told me I was inspiring. The only thing I'd inspired in him was the ability to blow out of town and never look back.
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't totally flattered by what you're saying."
Gabe leaned forward in his chair. "I didn't come here to flatter you. I came to here to ask you to continue feeding my muse."
"Just exactly how would I do that?"
"By spending time with me."
I widened my eyes at him. "You can't be serious."
"Trust me, I wouldn't be throwing myself on the mercy of a woman who rejected me if I wasn't."
Sitting back in my chair, I surveyed Gabe. Gone was the cocky and arrogant man who had hit on me the day before. In his place seemed to sit a much more sincere and down-to-earth person. I wondered if his truer self was more like my first impression, and now he was merely putting on an act to get in my good graces. After all, he knew full well what I thought of the previous day's man.