He looks at me over his shoulder while he crouches downand starts sliding open the garage door. “Don’t tempt me. Just because you’ve been using my car doesn't mean I haven’t thought about it. Sly did say it should be good for a few more years after the work I put into it.”
The realization that he really did drive here—over ten hours away—to work on my car in their garage because he was that worried about my safety, makes my heart flutter.
“OK then, what’s the surprise?”
The garage door reaches the top of the opening with a thud and he gestures inside. “This.”
I look inside and it takes a minute for me to see what he’s talking about. It looks like there’s a vintage delivery van or some kind of old commercial vehicle in the garage bay.
“Come on.” He grabs my hand and laces his fingers into mine before he walks me around to the passenger side. I note the subtle shade of gray with blue accents that it’s painted in, the blue reminding me of Sutton’s eyes. That’s when I see the big window cut into the side of it and the stainless steel counter that folds out. I’d recognize one of these anywhere.
I turn to find him grinning with a toothy smile that is so big it makes me chuckle. I shake my head. “You bought a food truck? Or did you steal this too?”
He rolls his eyes. “Technically, no. Someone left it here and never paid their bill so it eventually became ours. I just bought the parts and put in the work to make it nice and functional again. I always thought it would be perfect for the catering gigs I sometimes do, or maybe a pop-up at the farmer's market or one of the ski festivals at the resort. It’d be intimate—me, the chef taking orders right from the customer—just like the meals I serve at the tasting counter.”
He tilts his head toward the back doors and starts walking that way. “You haven’t even seen the best part yet.”
He walks so fast that it looks like he practically skips tothe back of the truck before he swings open the doors. I almost don’t get to appreciate just how passionate and enthusiastic he is about what he does, not to mention the vision. This is clearly something he’s thought about and has been dying to share based on how he hops in and extends a hand to pull me up into the food truck.
I look around the small kitchen and prep space, immediately noticing how clean and orderly everything is. It’s almost like a miniaturized, portable version of the kitchen at Gloria’s.
I finally turn back to him and find his eyes waiting for me while he wrings his hands anxiously. “So, what do you think?”
“I love it,” I nod. “What’s your plan for it though? You want to run a food truck, Gloria’s, and the restaurant in Seattle at the same time?”
He shakes his head. “No, that’s not what I want.”
I arch a brow, leaning against the butcher block countertop of the empty prep area. “What do you mean?”
He leans back, mimicking my pose, and folds his arms over his chest, forcing me to look at those gorgeous forearms. “I still need to figure things out with Slade, but I was thinking about what TJ said. I want to make sure I’m doing things for the right reasons. As much as I owe Slade, I think I realized that I really just want Gloria’s and this—and you.”
“Me? We’re already dating.”
“Yeah, but I was thinking I want you to do it with me.” He tips his chin toward the empty counter at my back. “I left that spot open for you. It might sound absolutely insane, but?—”
“For me?”
He nods. “Yeah, I was thinking about what we were talking about the other day. Trying to get ahead. Trying to have a stake in something. I want you to be my partner in this. I left that spot open to turn into an espresso and drink station. If you wanted to do pop-ups at the ski resort in the morning or take it wherever and set up shop when I’m not using it, we cando this together. Shoot, do catering gigs with me and make cocktails and make a killing on tips.”
I look around the space with an entirely different set of eyes now. He’s thought so much about this and he’s been making plans that involve me. Not in a weird controlling way, but in the way that says he sees a future for me that I don’t. If my heart was fluttering before, it’s full on skipping a beat now.
“Why? Why do you want this so bad? Why do you want it with me?” I regret the question as soon as I ask because the answer is obvious—laid bare by the way he looks at me.
“Because I believe in you.” He steps toward me and places a hand at my side. I look down to see those beautiful little scars covering his knuckles that reminds me he also knows something about hard work. His warmth, his scent, his presence overwhelm my senses. “I know if you have the chance, you’d thrive. I’ve watched you at the coffee shop and with Rich, and I see how you work so damn hard for the people and places you love, even when they don’t always love you back. I’m not like that though.”
“What do you mean you’re not like that?”
He tips my chin up and forces me to look into his sparkling blue eyes. “I’m not like that, because I do love you.”
It feels like the entire world around me has stopped, but I know it hasn’t because I can still feel my heart racing in my chest. I have feelings for Sutton—the same feelings he has for me. I already admitted to myself and to Monica that I love him. I’m just not ready to make myself that vulnerable, not yet. He must know that because he smiles softly and brushes a loose wisp of hair out of my eyes.
“You don’t have to say it back, now or ever. I’m not going to be shy about how I feel though. You’re special, Shadow, and not just to me. You should know that. I love how stubborn you are. I love the way you look at me with those gray eyes that I can’t escape even when I close mine. I love that you havenever once asked me for anything. You let me see all of you, and I will never stop loving that. I told you that you’re the shadow that’s always there and that hasn’t changed. So yeah, I don’t care if it’s fucking messy or complicated. I want to do everything with you. I?—”
I don’t let him finish that thought. I grab his cheeks in both of my hands and stand on my toes to kiss him. He wastes no time in matching my need for closeness. His hands find my waist and he pulls me into him. All of that heady warmth and lust unleash and his hands start to inch up my body, under my tank top to the band of my bralette and even still it feels like there’s too much clothing between us. He breaks the kiss long enough for me to look at him, and it’s like a veil has been lifted after saying how he truly feels.
All of his selfless acts aren’t just because he’s that kind of a person. This beautiful man loves me and I want to say it back. I can feel the word on the tip of my tongue, begging to slip free, because I don’t care if I deserve this man’s love—I want it. I want all of him if he will keep looking at me the way he is right now. I would fuck him right now on this counter, which is apparently going to be our thing forever, but what I want more than anything is to show him that I feel the same way.
My hands drop to the waist of his jeans and he groans when I make contact with the fly.