Page 1

Chapter 1

Aiden knew he shouldn’t stare. Despite what some people might imply, he wasn’t a total heathen. He had been raised as a good Southern boy, and while his manners occasionally dipped out for an hour or two, he always went back to his roots. That was how he knew he was being rude. It was just that, maybe, he couldn’t help it.

Anyone would be hard-pressed not to look up when someone like Janae Gunner walked by. With her rich brown skin, kind eyes, and soft smile, he’d had difficulty looking away from her from the first time he saw her in the hallway. Even her name was enough to have him taking a second glance.

It wasn’t like he timed his days around Janae just to say “good morning” as he passed her in the hall. Most times she was gone before he even had the energy to roll over and slam a hand down on his alarm. Peach Blossom was a small town, so of course he would catch a glimpse of her on the regular. If he actually tried to run into her every now and then, like this morning, that was his own business. It was just nice to get a hello and a smile from someone who was pretty to look at when most of his time was spent staring at car engines that had seen better days.

“Janae, hi,” Aiden called out as he closed the door to his apartment. It was earlier than his normal routine, but he knew the auto shop was getting a delivery that morning and wanted to make sure they had the space to organize everything. “Good morning.”

Janae looked up, her dark brown eyes still half-lidded with sleep. Aiden had to swallow hard at how damn cute she looked. “Good morning, Aiden.” Her voice was soft as it wrapped around him. “You’re up early.”

His cheeks warmed at the thought that she might have paid attention to him before. The idea that he’d made it as a blip on her radar made his palms sweat. He rubbed them on his jeans. Being nervous around an attractive woman wasn’t abnormal for him, but he usually knew how to at least attempt to flirt.

“Oh, yeah. Gearing up for a long day, so I thought I’d get out a little earlier this morning.” Shut up. Shut up. You’re rambling, he thought to himself. Now that he had Janae’s attention, he wasn’t exactly sure what he should do with it. It wasn’t that he had no dating experience. He was a twenty-six-year-old man. He had dated before. Not . . . extensively, but he knew his way around the scene when it came to both men and women. He could handle one conversation with a crush. “You?”

Janae shrugged her shoulders, gesturing to the container in her hands. “Restocking some supplies for my closet at school. The kids have an art project coming up soon, so I needed to grab a few extra things to make sure they’re set.”

Aiden nodded, a smile on his face before he shook himself, realizing he had an opening. He took a few steps forward. “I could help you carry those downstairs if you like?” Being helpful was a good way to show interest, right? It was subtle, sure, but it would give him more time to think about what else to say.

He didn’t often get to talk with Janae, given his opposite schedule. He tended to not leave home until late in the morning, preferring to go into the shop when he was a little more awake. It meant he was usually the one closing up and getting home late in the evening. He didn’t mind, considering all he had to come home to was an empty apartment and the silence of being alone. Occasionally, he had dinner at Thomas’s diner or with Vini and her family, but mostly it was him on the couch with whatever quick meal he decided to whip up. If he wanted to get really crazy, he might chat with the small succulent that sat on his coffee table. It wouldn’t talk back, but he swore the more he chatted, the greener and healthier it got.

Janae cocked her head to the side, and he swallowed hard, hoping he wasn’t overstepping by trying to help. With how little they had actually ever talked, he hoped it didn’t seem weird to even suggest she wasn’t capable of handling a few boxes herself. When she smiled, he breathed out a soft sigh of relief.

“That would be great,” she replied, lifting up the boxes in her hands. “I have a couple others I need to grab too and that saves me time going back and forth to my car. If you’re sure you don’t mind?”

Aiden nodded quickly. “Very sure. It’s just me and the shelves this morning and they can wait.” He gave himself a mental high-five when she giggled at his words, and he happily took the containers before waiting in the hallway as Janae stepped back into her apartment. He caught a glimpse of the inside of her place before he turned his head away. He didn’t want to come across as creepy, but the colorful interior he could make out just beyond the door was in sharp contrast to the muted grays of his own apartment.

When they descended the staircase and stepped away from the shade of the building, Aiden felt something in him lighten. It was a gorgeous early October day; the type that people often came looking for when they drove through small towns in the fall. The trees had just begun to turn, green leaves giving rise to pops of orange and yellow. The air was abnormally crisp for this time of year but marked the coming change of the season. He could almost taste fall on the back of his tongue carrying the faint traces of apple cinnamon and pumpkin spice.

Aiden loved fall, especially in Georgia. The weather was much more pleasant as the humidity and temperature moved to more comfortable levels and some of his favorite foods were ripe for the picking. He even liked the cold mornings, especially when he had time to laze around in bed huddled under his blankets.

Janae didn’t speak as she led them to her car and unlocked it. Aiden didn’t feel any need to fill the silence, enjoying the simple pleasure of standing with her, something new in their interactions. Soon enough though, the boxes were in, and he found himself right back in the same predicament of not knowing what to say to prolong the moment. Janae smiled, her teeth sparkling white in the growing light of the morning. Aiden was struck again by how pretty she was with her umber skin that seemed to absorb the warmth of the day. She was casually dressed, her jeans loose and her sweater a dark maroon color that looked soft and touchable against her skin. Aiden felt almost grubby in her presence in his standard outfit of a button-up long-sleeved shirt and black work pants. At least he’d taken the time to do his hair that morning, making sure each curl was exactly where it should be.

“Thanks again for your help. You saved me an extra trip this morning. It is a bit colder out here than normal. I even had to turn my heat on last night.”

Aiden shook himself from his thoughts and grinned. “No problem at all. If you ever need any other help getting things in or out of your car, I’m your man.” He internally winced at how awkward that sounded, but when Janae’s smile didn’t wane, he figured no harm, no foul. “Good luck with the art projects.”

“You too. I mean, good luck with the inventory and things,” Janae said quickly. She walked over to the driver’s side and Aiden stepped back on the curb, waving as Janae backed out and drove away. When he could no longer hear the sound of rubber on concrete, he turned and walked to his own truck. He could probably grab his jacket, but he had a feeling it would be too warm for it by midafternoon.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad,” he said to himself as he thought back to the entire interaction. He knew he would spend the next few hours dissecting every word and look they’d exchanged, but for now, he wanted to soak up the fact that they’d had a real conversation and he hadn’t botched it. Maybe he was evolving.

When he got to the shop twenty minutes later, he forced himself to think about the supplies and not Janae. When the parts were delivered, he was able to focus for a while, wanting to have things in some semblance of organization before Vini showed up. She had been nervous about leaving for a much longer trip than usual, and Aiden was doing his best to smooth her worries and prove he could handle things without her there.

“Wow. Looks like you got a decent start on things.”

Vini’s voice startled him, and Aiden accidentally dropped his clipboard, sending it clattering to the ground. The sound made him wince and he scowled when Vini chuckled. “Could you at least try to make some noise when you come in, boss?” He grabbed the board off the floor before turning to glare at her. She was standing in the doorway, a smirk pasted on her lips as she watched him.

“Nah, scaring the shit out of you is too much fun. Besides, it’s payback for you barging into my office yesterday when you knew I was on a call with Jessica.”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “I just wanted to know when my favorite curly-haired hurricane was coming back to town. I haven’t seen her in months.” It hadn’t been that long since Jessica visited Peach Blossom, but whenever she did, she always made it a point to stop in with lunch and a good story. “It’s not fair that you hog all the speaking time with her.”

Vini narrowed her eyes. “She’s my girlfriend, you clingy fucker. Go find your own.”

“I’m trying,” Aiden whined, flopping over onto a pile of tires that needed to be moved. “You’ll be proud of me. I had a full-on conversation with Janae this morning. I helped her take stuff to her car and everything.”

Vini nodded, but her eyes were still narrowed. It always amused Aiden how possessive she got over Jessica. Then again, he could understand it in a way. If he had someone as awesome to call his own, he would probably be slightly possessive too. Vini and Jessica had finally made it official last year. They were so damn cute, it was almost annoying. Scratch that. They were annoying, but only because he was jealous. He was happy for Vini, but damn if he didn’t wish he knew the feeling.

“Did you ask her out?”