“I didn’t run.”
“Harlyn, you were off my lap and in the bathroom before I even knew what was going on.”
He may be right. Slightly. “I don’t know what happened. I was good, and then I wasn’t.”
“Did I do anything you didn’t want me to?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I like it. All of it. A lot.” A ton. I liked it a ton.
He brushed my hair off my shoulder and cupped my cheek with his hand. “Too fast?”
I held up my thumb and pinkie and squinted at him between the gap of the two. “Slightly. Although, I didn’t exactly let you know that.”
A chuckle fell from his lips. “I got the hint when you sprinted from the living room.”
“Loud and clear, huh?”
“Yup, but that’s okay.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “Let’s restart the movie.”
I nodded and bit my lip. Thank God, he didn’t think I was crazy or want to leave. “Want dessert?” As soon as the words left my lips, I knew they came out wrong. “I mean, actual food, not, well, me.” Jesus.
He grabbed my hand and tugged me out of the bathroom. “Got it, baby. You’re off the menu for right now.”
“Just for a little bit,” I mumbled. And it wasn’t even like I was completely off the menu. I was totally up for a little nibbling now and then. Did I really just think that?
“You need help getting dessert?” he asked.
“Uh, I just have ice cream. I think I can handle that.” He let go of my hand, and I shuffled into the kitchen. “Restart the movie, and I’ll be right in.” I grabbed the pint of ice cream I had picked up the last time I was at the store and two spoons from the drawer. Ice cream was a good consolation for not having sex, right? Ugh, who was I kidding. I didn’t even really get why we were having ice cream and not sex. Because Remy is different.
Humph. That was the truth. I was comfortable with him. I didn’t feel like I had to impress him. My awkwardness was on display with him.
With him, I was me.
Something I had never been able to do with anyone before. I always wanted to impress people and give them the things they expected from me. With Remy, he was just happy being in the same room as me. I didn’t want to mess that up. Although, five minutes ago, I had come pretty damn close to doing just that.
I wanted more time with Remy. I wanted it to be about more than sex.
“You coming, baby?” he called from the living room.
I slid the drawer shut and grabbed another bottle of beer from the fridge on the way to the couch. “Yup.” I plopped down on the couch next to him, and he draped his arm over my shoulders. I handed him a spoon and smiled. “Hi.”
He shook his head and smirked. “Hey.”
I sighed and pried the lid off the ice cream. “I like being here,” I said without thinking.
“On the couch?”
I elbowed him in the side. “With you.”
He dug his spoon in to the ice cream and looked down at me. “I like it too, baby.”
*
Chapter 18
Remy
“You get your check stub?”
I shook my head. “Nah. Normally Marion drops it on my bench, but it wasn’t there this morning.”
“You didn’t hear? She had the baby last night.” Frankie shoved her check stub under my nose. “You gotta go get it from the new chick.”
I could count on one hand the amount of times I had stepped foot in the offices. “I’ll grab it on my lunch break.”
Frankie shook her head. “You should probably go get it now.”
I looked up from the cylinder head I was wrenching on. “Why?”
She shrugged. “Just something you might want to see up there.”
“Way to be cryptic, Frank.” I pulled the towel from my back pocket and wiped my hands.
“Holy hell. Have you guys seen the new office chick? She is hot as hell.” Jay walked up to Frankie and me with his check stub in his hand.
“So a hot office chick is what you want me to see up front?” I asked Frankie.
She shrugged again. “Just looking out for you.”
I shook my head. “Not interested.” The only thing I was interested in was Harlyn.
Last night, after she had given me the worst case of blue balls ever, we settled in with the ice cream and watched the movie. While I wished we had been doing other things, I was good just being there with her. She had fallen asleep on my shoulder halfway through the movie and hadn’t budged until I reached for the controller to turn off the Xbox.
She sleepily walked me to the door and had let me kiss her senseless. By the time I left, Harlyn was wide awake, and while I could tell she didn’t want me to stop kissing her, I knew I had to take it slow with her.
“Just grab your check stub, man, and sneak a peek at the new girl. I guarantee, you will not be disappointed.” Jay smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. “She will be mine.”
I tossed my rag at him. “She’s all yours, brother. I got my own chick.”
I made my way to the other side of the garage and pushed open the door that separated it from the offices. Up front, Brooks and Roc had their own offices, and Marion had the front desk where she took care of paperwork and a bunch of other shit that had nothing to do with me.
My eyes landed on the back of the chick who had taken Marion’s place, and even from the back, I could tell Jay was right.
“Hey, I was told to come up and get my check stub.”
The woman jumped at the sound of my voice and whirled around. “Remy?”
I was face to face with Harlyn, and my jaw hit the floor.
Holy fuck.
*
Harlyn
“What are you doing here?” we said in unison.
I had been working on figuring out the filing system Marion had, when the shop door had opened. I had figured it was Roc coming in to grumble about something and head into his office. I was wrong. Way wrong.
Remy stood in front of me, wearing gray overalls that were half on with the arms tied around his waist with a white shirt underneath. His hands were dirty with grease, and he had a smudge of dirt on his cheek.
Crap. Remy worked for Cummings Racing.
“Harlyn?” he grunted. “What the hell is going on? What are you doing?”
I pointed lamely over my shoulder at the filing cabinet I had been searching through. “Uh, just doing a bit of filing.”
“Here?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, last I checked, this was where I work.”
A grin started to spread across his lips, then quickly turned into a frown. “Wait, you said you work for your dad.”
I nodded. “Well, technically, I work for Brooks. He is the one who signs all of the checks.”
All color drained from his face. “I’m praying your dad is anyone but Roc Krinston.”
“I sometimes wish for the same thing, but last I checked, it was his name on my birth certificate.” I could understand his shock about seeing me here, but he was acting a little too concerned about the fact we both worked for Cummings Racing. From where I stood, I liked it. Now I could just walk ten feet out into the shop and see him when the team wasn’t traveling. Although, it still was a bit of a shock. Here, I had been thinking of Remy while mindlessly going over the filing.