Chapter Seven

Nate

Wow, is the only word I can think of when I wake the next morning and find Sam still wrapped up in my arms.

I hadn’t meant to get carried away like that, but the second she grabbed my hand and let me touch her, it was all over. Our sexual chemistry was off the charts, to the point where I wondered if this woman could truly be my soulmate.

How else could either of us explain this crazy compatibility?

But thinking too deeply about it is making me fall down a rabbit hole—the kind where I question whether or not I actually want to fix her car. If I don’t, maybe she’ll stay here as long as possible.

Falling for a woman I just met sounds crazy, and the Nate from two days ago would’ve thought the same thing. But now that I’m here and in it I’m starting to realize that crazier things have happened.

Obviously, Sam’s come into my life for a reason and I want to believe it’s for us to see that our lives before weren’t all they were cracked up to be.

The only worry I have is Sam’s fiancé, or rather from what it sounds like, soon-to-be-ex-fiancé. What if when she does finally talk to him, she’s swayed back into his arms? The thought of her going home to another man has me both angry and sad at the same time.

Ultimately it’s up to her to decide which road she wants to go down. I only hope that what she finds at the end of it isn’t some slimeball crypto guy.

She’s peaceful as she sleeps, only letting out a small grunt when I slide from under her and tuck her back into bed. She’s truly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on—a real life angel, as it were.

A part of me is desperate to shake her awake to see where she’s at in her head. But another is terrified of the answer. If she really does want to go back to her fiancé, then I’ll have no choice but to let her. Though, in the meantime, I can at least show her that staying here with me is worth more than him.

Nodding to myself, I get in a quick shower before dressing and heading out. I guess it would be pretty selfish of me to sabotage Sam into staying just because I’m refusing to fix her car. If I really want this to work, then I need to give her the choice to do so.

The full choice.

Even if it’ll kill me.

I call up the parts shop and wait for AJ to answer. Even though it’s an ungodly hour in the morning, I know that the owner’s there, two coffees deep.

“Howdy, there. Surprised to see you up so early.” His tone is friendly and warm.

“Not too early for me to come in and snag a few parts for a client’s car?”

“Door’s open. Though I’m surprised you’re willing to work on it this early.”

“Yeah, it’s uh… she’s kind of a special client.”

“Oh?” The friendliness turns to instant teasing. “What’s this ‘client’ of yours like?”

“None of your damn business.”

He laughs. “Okay, that’s how I know she’s pretty. When you get here you can tell me all about it.”

“Only for a discount.”

He whistles into the phone. “You drive a hard bargain, Casanova. But fine, I’ll bite. I’m too curious not to.”

“Atta boy.”

***

By the time AJ and I stop blabbing, it’s time for him to open up his shop and my cue to get the fuck out of there and back to my girl waiting at mine.

My girl. Probably presumptuous of me to even think that in the first place, but how can I not?

She’s imprinted herself into my heart like a brand that I’d willingly ask for over and over again. Funny how something can come into your life so unexpectedly and flip it upside down in the best way.

I smile to myself the entire way back, with most of the parts I’ll need to finish fixing Sam’s car sitting in my passenger seat. She’ll need a few others, like the motor for her back passenger window, but those can be ordered and shipped in a couple days.

It’ll take a few days for me to get it all set, but for now it’s at least drivable, so if she wants to head into town for something while I’m dealing with another client, then she has the freedom to.

Not that I want her to leave my loft, but I also don’t want to trap her there either.

Pulling into my shop, I kill the engine on my truck and hop out. Since it’s still pretty early, I decide to see if Sam’s awake and if she’s up for grabbing breakfast with me. I wouldn’t mind at all if she keeps my company downstairs while I work on her car. Normally I don’t like people crowding up in my space like that, but her presence is something that I can’t get enough of.

Grabbing the parts, I bring them into the shop and set them down on the bench. As I turn, I’m expecting to see her red beater still sitting where I left it the night before, but all that’s left is the empty air.

My stomach sinks.

No… she wouldn’t…

I take the steps up to my loft two at a time, my heart in my throat.

“Sam?” I call out, my voice ringing in the horrible silence.

I stop just outside of the guest room. The bed’s messy, sheets strewn about from our activities last night. The bags of clothes I bought her are still on the floor in a pile, along with the towel that Sam had dropped.

I swing around and head for the bedroom, the wish of her car simply being stolen entering my mind like a damn prayer. But of course, the truth is always much simpler than that.

“Sam?”

Nothing. Not even a note left behind to explain her leaving.

She doesn’t have to, of course—she barely knows me. But it still hurts, still creates a horrible ache in my heart that I’ve never felt before.

Dejected, I head back to the guest room and fish my phone out of my pocket while slumping down onto the bed. My thumb hovers over the new contact I added yesterday during lunch, Sam’s name taunting me.

I could be an asshole and call her up and demand an explanation. But wouldn’t that just be putting me in the same vein as her fiancé?

I should’ve waited until she woke up. Waking up in the empty bed probably freaked her out and put too many things into perspective—things I could’ve soothed if I had been here.

But no, I just had to go and be proactive about the damn car repairs..

Fuck me…

Just as I’m about to toss my phone across the room, a text comes in. With none other than Sam’s name attached to it.

With my heart pounding, I open it.

All that’s there is an attachment that, when I tap on it, is a pinned location about an hour away. What the hell? Is this her way of telling me that she’s home?

But then another text comes in from her, scaring the absolutely shit out of me.

Sam Lorraine: SOS