AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Darcy leaned closer to him and peeked at his phone screen. She pulled in his familiar scent—teakwood, soap, and something else that was uniquely him. Then she tried to shake off the flutter in her belly.
He stopped at a photo, and a wistful expression overtook his handsome face. He angled the phone toward Darcy. “This was when the Road Runner was actually running.”
Her mouth dropped open as she studied the picture of a stunning orange car parked on the side of the road. With the car stood a teenage Carter and an elderly man. Young Carter was gorgeous, with a shaggy haircut, worn-out jeans, and a faded concert t-shirt. Although his angular jaw didn’t seem quite as pronounced, those dark-brown eyes were just as mesmerizing as they were now. He slouched against the car and grinned while giving a thumbs-up.
“How old were you in this photo?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Seventeen or eighteen. We were probably going to a car show that day. We went to a lot of them together.”
She pointed to the elderly man in the photo. He was slightly shorter than Carter but shared the same muscular build and bright smile. “Is that your grandfather?”
“Yeah.” He held the phone out to Dad, who put on his reading glasses. “This car was my grandfather’s pride and joy. I promised to take care of it for him.”
“I told you orange was the best color for those cars,” she said.
The softness in Carter’s eyes sent a tremor through her. “You’re right. It is the best color, and you definitely know your cars.”
Dad’s salt-and-pepper eyebrows lifted. “That is one beautiful vehicle. Is it a 1970?”
“It is.” Carter’s smile diminished a little. “But I need to get the engine rebuilt. I’ve spoken to Zac out at Quality Auto Machine in Monroe.”
“They do good work.” Dad slipped his glasses into his pocket.
“Right. We send quite a few customers there,” he said, putting away his phone. “I’ve had to put the project on the back burner. You know how life gets in the way sometimes.”
Dad nodded. “I sure do. What does it have in it?”
“A four-forty.”
Darcy rested her hands on her hips while Carter and her father discussed the engine in more detail. She smiled, enjoying how much Carter and Dad had in common. Once again, she imagined bringing Carter to her parents’ house for suppers and barbecues. Maybe he would want to spend time with her as much as she wanted to spend time with him.
“Oh, there’s Sam Malloy,” Dad said, gesturing to a man standing by a deep purple Nova one row down. “Haven’t seen him in ages. We’ll catch up later, you two.” He met Darcy’s gaze and winked.
Darcy blanched, hoping Carter hadn’t seen the wink. “So,” she began, turning toward him, “did you want to walk around and look at the cars together?”
“I’ll follow you.”
She fell into step beside him, and they stopped to look at several well-kept cars along the line—a few Mustangs as well as a couple of Camaros and Firebirds—all beautifully restored and painted.
“Check out this Mustang,” she cooed, pointing to a vintage muscle car painted candy-apple red. “It’s gorgeous.”
He nodded toward a robin’s egg–blue Ford. “I like the Galaxie too. Someone did a nice job with that one.”
The mid-May evening air was warm but comfortable, and having Carter at her side felt right.
“Check out that Volkswagen.” Carter pointed to a classic white Beetle painted like Herbie in The Love Bug.
“That’s cool.”
He bent at his waist to peer inside. “Nice restoration work.”
She studied his profile and longed to read his mind. Did he feel the same way about her, or was she imagining it? He had quickly responded to her text and seemed eager to join her tonight. When he turned and met her gaze, she realized she’d been staring and felt her face flush.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, of course.”
They continued through the parking lot together, pointing out the cars they liked the best.
