“You’re missing.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s boring with you gone. Don’t get me wrong, I still get a buzz from racing, but it’s not the same. It’s a different crowd. Before it was more fun, a chance to meet up with your friends, compare cars, and talk shit. Now, I don’t know, it’s about crazy bets.”
“What crazy bets?”
“With the likes of Zach Anderson.”
A shiver of revulsion works through me. “I don’t like him,” I confess and feel better just saying it. “There’s something about him that I don’t trust. The way he asked about my dad, that was off. And the way he looked at me.” I lie next to Max, slightly uncomfortable on the hard metal and his arms tighten around me.
“I wasn’t too happy with the way he was looking at you either,” Max grumbles.
“Max?” I rest my chin on his chest to look at him.
“Yeah?”
“Will you stay with me tonight?”
“Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, I just… I don’t know. I don’t want to stay on my own tonight.” It is totally irrational, but for the first time ever, I am scared to stay on my own. Something about tonight has worried me, but I can’t put my finger on it. I suppose I could call Beth and go and stay at her house, but I know I would feel so much safer having Max with me.
“Sure, I’ll stay with you. And I promise I’ll behave.” He treats me to one of his wicked smiles and I beam at him.
“You don’t have to go that far.” I wink and he reaches out to grab me by the waist, pulling me flush with his body. Tingles work their way through my body and accumulate in the pit of my stomach, where an ache starts. An ache that only Max can take away. As if he knows what he is doing to me, he sits up and pulls me off the hood. Capturing my mouth in a toe-curling kiss—one filled with pleasure and the promise of exactly how good he can make me feel with just his lips—he pulls me to the car.
How the hell am I going to survive Max Morgan? I’m risking my heart for him, and I just hope it pays off.
Chapter Eighteen
The next morning, we drive to the garage together and open up. After a short argument over which radio station to listen to, we finally decide on the one playing Pink.
We have already started on the truck that is being overhauled when Aaron comes in, a huge smile on his face. I guess he stayed at Beth’s last night.
“Where are you going to live when you get married?” I ask, never having given it much thought. Max stops work and grins at Aaron. “You can’t stay with Granny Betty,” I carry on, and Aaron shifts. I don’t think it has actually occurred to him where they will live.
“Lynda and Pat will want to see the back of you. I bet they’ll even downsize,” Max adds jokingly and Aaron frowns.
“We could live at your house.” Aaron nods in my direction. “With your dad.”
“And where would I go?” I frown, more than a little put out.
“You’ll be leaving when Uncle Hank is back on his feet.”
“Maybe… maybe not.” I catch Max’s eye and wink, my wide smile mirroring his. Aaron’s face is a picture as his eyes widen and his mouth drops. I give him two minutes before he’s texting Beth to tell her the latest gossip. He must notice the difference between Max and me because he’s been shooting us furtive glances all morning.
Waking up next to Max certainly has its benefits, it’s put me in a good mood. But my good mood doesn’t last much longer when I open the official-looking letter from the bank.
“What the fuck,” I shout from the office, and Max and Aaron come running.
“What is it?” Max searches my face for any clue. I am holding the letter so tightly that I have nearly crumpled it in half in my hand.
“Did you know about this?” I look at both of them. Blood is rushing in my ears so loudly that everything else is muffled.
“What? We don’t know what you’re talking about.” Max steps forward to take hold of my wrist, prying the letter out of my hand to smoothe it out on the desk so he can read it. I sit down in the chair with a bump and stare into space, trying to get my head around what is written in black and white. He reads the letter through and shakes his head as his eyes meet mine.
“What is this all about?” he asks, eyes wide.
“I don’t know.”
“Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on?” Aaron jumps in.
I open my mouth but don’t know where to start. I can’t say the words, they just won’t formulate in my brain.
“Hank tried to take a loan out against the garage but was turned down,” Max summarizes the letter into one sentence.