“Just about fifteen minutes down the road into town. I think there’s a mechanic there that’s not far from my place.”

“All right. I’ll follow you in.” He picks up the jack in one hand and the tire with the other, like it weighs nothing at all, and carries them back toward my trunk. I stare after him, wondering what I should do.

“That’s not necessary.” I follow after him. “I’m sure you have things to do,” I say as I open my door and reach in to grab a twenty from my bag sitting on the passenger seat. Slamming the door, I go to where he’s bent over the trunk. As soon as he stands, I hold out the bill toward him. “Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t stop.”

His eyes drop to the bill in my hand before meeting mine once more. “I’m not taking your money.”

“Please, take it,” I push, holding it out farther in his direction.

“No.”

“Your shirt is ruined because of me. At least, let me give you this for helping me out.”

“I don’t need your money.” He moves around me and opens the driver’s door. “Get in. I’ll follow you to town.”

Holding his stare for what feels like forever, I finally give in when I see I’m not going to win. Putting a little stomp in my step for not getting my way, I watch his eyes crinkle in the corners and his lips twitch. Sliding behind the wheel, I turn the car on and look up at him when I put my hand on the door handle.

“Don’t drive over twenty.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a little bit bossy?”

“Can’t say they have.”

“Hm.” I tug the door but he doesn’t move, and when I look up at him, he’s looking at me like he’s trying to figure something out. “Um…” God, I just realized I don’t even know his name. “Sorry, what’s your name?” I ask, and his eyes meet mine.

“Sage. Sage Mayson.”

“That’s a cool name. I’m Kimberly, um… but my friends call me Kim.”

“Kimberly,” he repeats, and the way my name dances off his tongue makes my heart double beat in my chest. “Wait for me to pull out before you pull off.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” I say, and his lips tip up and he shakes his head before pushing my door closed. Watching him out my side mirror as he walks back to his car, I study the way he moves. It’s like he’s in control of every single muscle in his big body. His shoulders are back, and his stride is long. If I were walking next to him, I would have to double my steps to keep up.

Seeing him open his door, I move my eyes from my side mirror to my rearview mirror and notice his car for the first time. His isn’t a car at all; it’s a Cadillac SUV, the exact one my dad drives, only Sage’s is black. And not a shiny black. No, it’s a matte finish, so I know it’s custom. Sage doesn’t look much older than me, so the ride could be his parents’, but if it’s not, now I really wonder who the hell he is and how he can afford something like that. I know my dad paid an arm and a leg for his, because I heard my mom bitching nonstop about how much it cost when he came home in it.

Hearing a horn, I snap out of it and pull onto the road, speeding up until I hit the twenty mark on my speedometer then slow down. The normal twenty minutes it would take me to get back to town takes me over thirty, and when I pull up outside the mechanic shop, I shut the car down and watch Sage pull into the spot right next to mine.

Getting out, I grab my purse and the shopping bag from the backseat then head toward one of the open bays. Sage is talking to a guy with dark, almost black hair that is a little long and tattoos covering every inch of skin not hidden by his white shirt, which is spotted with black grease and dirt.

“Gareth, this is Kim,” Sage introduces as soon as I get close.

“Hi.” I give him a smile, and he lifts his chin a fraction of an inch in greeting.

“You got keys?” he asks.

“Yep.” I hand them over, and as soon as I do, his eyes go back to Sage.

“It’ll be done in about forty minutes.” My teeth snap together, and my hand moves to my hip.

“It’s actually my car,” I point out.

Gareth looks at me and repeats, “It’ll be done in about forty minutes.”

“Wow, aren’t you just Mr. Wonderful?” I grumble under my breath, and Sage chuckles next to me while Gareth smiles, and if I hadn’t experienced Sage Mayson’s smile this morning, Gareth’s would for sure take my breath away.

“You need to keep this one,” Gareth mumbles before walking off, and I wonder what he means by that, but I obviously don’t stop him to ask.

“How about coffee?”

My head swings Sage’s way at his question, and something strange fills my chest. I would normally say no to any kind of anything with a man who looks like him. A man who looks like he has the ability to break your heart with one smile. But there is something telling me that if I pass up his invitation, I will regret it for the rest of my life.

“Sure.”

“Good.” He smiles gently then startles me by placing his hand against my lower back, leading me over to his truck. As soon as we’re at the passenger side door, he swings it open. Taking my bags from my hand, he waits until I’m inside before handing them back and shutting the door behind me. Letting out the breath I didn’t know I was holding, I look around.

The car smells like him, and the inside is just as clean as the outside; there isn’t even a little dust on the dash. Turning to look over my shoulder, I see him open the back passenger door then watch him take off his shirt and toss it inside before reaching in and grabbing a new one, putting it on before slamming the door closed.

“Oh my,” I breathe, turning to face forward, hoping he didn’t see me checking him out.

“So you live around here?” he asks as soon as he opens his door.

“Yeah, just a few blocks over off Lowery in the Hamilton subdivision,” I say as he slides his tall, lean frame behind the wheel.

“That’s a nice area.”

It is nice, and I will never be able to afford a house in that subdivision. The only reason I can afford my one bedroom apartment there is because my landlords, Mr. and Mrs. Dennison, take a huge chunk of my rent off each month so that I can help them out with babysitting when they need a night out or just need a break from their four kids. They’re adorable but total hellions.

“Do you live with your parents?”

“No.”

“Houses in that subdivision are close to a mill.”

“I know,” I agree as he studies me like he’s trying to figure out how I can afford to live in that area.

“Where do you work?”

“Are you a cop?”

“No.”

“You should be,” I inform him, and his lips twitch. Letting out a sigh, I roll my eyes when I see he’s not going to give it up. “I rent an apartment above a garage from a doctor and his wife who live in the subdivision. I help them out with babysitting, and they give me a break on rent each month,” I rattle out quickly then pull in a breath and let it out. “Is there anything else you need to know right now?”

“I want to know everything.” He turns away from me to face the windshield. “But I’m thinking that will all come with time.”

My breath leaves on a whoosh, and my heart starts to pound against my ribcage as I watch him back out of the parking spot. I don’t know if he meant to make that statement sound like we would be spending time together or not, but it did, and the thought of getting to know this man has my stomach filling with butterflies and my palms sweating.

“You okay?”

Turning my head, I find him studying me closely. “Yeah, totally cool.” I drop my purse to the floorboard then wipe my hands down the front of my bare thighs. “So, if you’re not a cop, what do you do?”

“I work with my cousin.”

“Okay…” I wait to see if he will fill me in, but he doesn’t. “What kind of work do you do with your cousin?”

“Private security, bounty hunting, PI work, we do it all.”