Jim grins, revealing a row of crooked teeth. "I figured teaching them how to do something useful was better than letting 'em get hauled off to jail. My old man wasn't around a lot when I was a kid either so I know how it is. Plus, I was a little sweet on Debbie back then. Gabe's momma has always been a looker."

I clap him on the back, halting his story. "Okay, that's enough about that."

Jim nods to us both as we continue up front. One of my mechanics, Reed Harris, looks up as we enter the front of the shop. He's in the reception area making a cup of coffee. After more introductions and Reed sending me an impressed look when Sasha isn't looking, I lead her into my office. There are a few new client accounts that I need to update and I also have to check the upcoming payroll to make sure everyone’s hours look right. When I look up, Sasha is watching me.

“Sorry, I know this is boring.  That’s why I thought it was weird for Zack to invite you. Hanging out in an auto garage doesn’t seem like it would be your thing.”

“Are you kidding? I’m already thinking of all the stuff you can show me here. I saw a motorcycle in there. Can you teach me to ride? Then we could race!”

She gets excited about the strangest things. I'm willing to bet that she was a handful as a kid. I have a vision of a gorgeous little girl that has me wrapped around her finger the same way Sasha does. The clarity of the image stuns me almost as much as how badly I want that. It takes me off guard, this sudden longing for all the things I never imagined I'd want. Security. Stability. Family.

Shaken, I cover my reaction with a forced smile. “Sasha, we're not racing motorcycles.”

She sticks out her tongue and then jumps up. “Maybe Zack will do it!”

I watch in astonishment as she races out the door. By the time I catch up to her, she’s behind the front desk where Reed is picking up the keys for the next vehicle he’s going to work on.

He grins down at her. “Did you lose something, boss?”

"I hope not."

She gives me a cheeky grin. "Don't let me distract you. I know you need to get some paperwork done. I don't mind waiting."

My first instinct is to protest but I know I won’t be able to focus if she's in my office. "Okay, I only need fifteen minutes and then we can go."

I hate to leave her with nothing to do but I really do need to get stuff done. Besides, how much trouble can she get into in fifteen minutes? 

With a nod of thanks to Reed, I walk back to my office. As soon as the door closes I hear, "Okay, now we can get to the fun stuff. You can show me how to hotwire a car!"

And I can't keep the smile off my face.

Chapter twelve

SASHA

Monday morning, I move back and survey the table that I've just assembled. After the initial suggestions Gabe had given me about reducing my budget, I'd been confident enough to start ordering furniture. Keeping costs under control is really important but I couldn't resist splurging on a few things. The scarred wood tables invoke the look of an old school speakeasy. They look so good that I dance a little jig.

"Performing already?"

At the sound of the amused voice behind me, I halt mid-booty shake. Busted, I turn around slowly to see Gabe standing in the doorway behind me holding a large brown paper bag.

"I totally knew you were there."

He snorts. "Right. I brought you lunch but please don't let me interrupt you. I was enjoying the view."

Coyly, I give a little shimmy and dance my way over to him seductively. Gratified at the slack-jawed expression on his face, I snatch the bag from his hand.

"I'm starving!"

He growls and then grabs me from behind. "You can have the food but I need my daily dose of Sasha." Then he buries his face in my neck and plants a soft kiss behind my ear.

Just like that, I melt. Oh the things this man does to me!

Suddenly breathless, I clutch the bag tighter. "Thank you for bringing me lunch. You didn't have to do that."

He circles one of the tables. "I wanted to see you. And I wanted to see your new stuff. It looks good."

"Yeah, it does, doesn't it? Sit down, try it out."

He obediently takes a seat, stretching his long legs beneath the table. Excitement bursts through me again. Somehow having someone else here makes it all seem real.

Gabe unpacks the food, which turns out to be sub sandwiches and little containers of potato salad. While we're eating, he listens to my ideas for decorating the club once all the furniture has been delivered.

"I wish I had a magical team of genies to build the stage." There's an intense satisfaction in doing things on my own but after the time and effort it took to unpack today's delivery, I’m starting to think it's going to take a miracle for me to pull this off. It's not just the money, it's the sheer physical effort required to put everything into place. I thought I was in decent shape but I'm already exhausted!

Gabe gives me a measured look. "If you want, I could probably do it. I'm pretty handy."

"I bet you could. Is there anything you can't do? No, don't answer that."

He grins and finishes off the last bite of his sandwich. As he wipes his hands on a napkin, I suppress a little pang of sadness that our lunch date is almost over. After this, it'll be back to assembling the rest of the tables on my own. The one thing I hadn't counted on was how lonely it can be doing all of this by myself.