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Despite my love for my job, nothing compares to the relief I feel at the end of my shift. Sawyer, the security guard stationed outside, walks me to my car as he has done many times before.
“Let me get that door for you, Ivy,” he says, and I click the button on my key fob. Sawyer has been working here for a little over a year, and I’m sure he’s just as ready to go home as I am.
“Thanks! Have a good night,” I say as I slide into my car and toss my purse onto the passenger seat. Sawyer nods and closes the door behind me. I turn the key in the ignition, and my car won’t start. I crank it again, and then a third time, with no luck.
“Damn it.” Okay, stay calm. It’s an old car.
After taking a deep breath, I turn the key one more time. Glancing around to see if Sawyer is still nearby, I see he’s already gone. “Come on, baby girl, don’t do this to me. Just get me home, and we’ll take you to the mechanic for a spa day. I promise.”
A knock sounds on the window, and I jump, letting out a scream that echoes inside my car. I look up to see Stone’s smiling face and his hand motioning me to roll down the window.
Instead, I push open the door and stare up at him. “If I could roll down the window, I’d be halfway home already.”
His brows arch in surprise. “I can look under the hood if you want. Probably just the battery.”
I laugh. “You know about cars now?”
“Well, the funny thing is, I worked at a car shop in California.”
I laugh. “Look at you, Mr. Mechanic.”
He chuckles. “Oh, don’t give me too much credit. I only know enough to impress you.”
“Well, color me impressed then.”
He leans forward, arms spread wide, one on the door and the other on top of the car. “What’ll be? A peek under the hood or a ride home?”
I ignore the shivers that run down my overheated spine, chalking it up to the cool night air and not the words peek under the hood. I’m just tired, that’s all. I swallow and nod. “A ride home would be great, thanks.”
“Come on.” He smiles as he opens the door, nodding for me to follow him. “Got somethin’ to show ya.”
I laugh. “I’ve heard that line before.”
Stone’s laugh cuts through the air, a clear sign he’s up to something. “Bet you have, Ivy,” he shoots back, a teasing sparkle in his eye that’s gone as quickly as it appeared. Makes me wonder if it was just my imagination running wild after a long day.
“Why’d you park in the boonies?” I ask, throwing a glance at the usual parking lot.
“You’ll see,” Stone says, a mischievous grin spreading across his face as he beats me around the corner. With his broad shoulders blocking the view, I’m left trailing in his wake until he steps aside, grandly gesturing toward the revelation. “Check out this beauty.”
Blinking away the disbelief, I’m staring at a Harley that’s all kinds of shiny, sparkly, and downright stunning. And oddly familiar. “Wow. That’s a beast. Yours?”
Stone’s laugh is contagious, and he pulls me in for a closer look, his enthusiasm magnetic. “Believe it or not, it’s the old one. Dad and the guys gave it a facelift. Cool, huh?”
I step closer, memories flooding in as I run a finger along the sleek fuel tank. “We had some epic rides on this beast, didn't we? Even when he was more beast than beauty.”
“She, Ivy. Always she,” he corrects me with a playful wag of his finger.
I smile at the bike, now seeing it through a lens of fondness and respect. “Got a name for her?”
“I call her Baby,” Stone declares with a pride that’s both endearing and slightly amusing.
“This is incredible, Stone. Really.”
“Yeah, almost shed a tear when they unveiled her.”
“Tears?” I tease, nudging him lightly. “For real?”
He raises an eyebrow, his grin betraying his tough exterior. “Nah, bikers don’t cry. It’s the dust, always the dust.”
