Thursday arrived and then left. Friday morning woke me with a sense of dread deep in my stomach. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was the end. The money was due today, and I hadn’t heard a word from Declan. He promised to be in touch and still, nothing.

Garret was waiting for me at the shop with coffee and donuts. He grimaced and ushered me into the office. The look in his eyes told me he was as upset as I was. We’d let ourselves hope. We allowed ourselves to believe Declan would come through, that he would help us. It was the first time I’d ever asked someone for help. I didn’t want to. I’d fought myself for days. And already, I’d been proven right. Asking for help was never the answer. All it did was set you up for even more disappointment.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Garret said. “He wouldn’t back out of a deal like this. You sure he hasn’t called? Have you checked your messages?”

“Of course, I have.” I took a bite of a donut and tried to keep the emotion out of my voice. “He probably changed his mind. He realized it didn’t make financial sense for his company or something.”

“But he knew all that going in,” Garret said angrily. “He shouldn’t have agreed in the first place if he wasn’t going to see it through.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I know.”

My anger was a muted version of Garret’s. I couldn’t bring myself to hate Declan. When I’d asked for his help, I knew it was a long shot. He wanted to buy the company, not lend me the money and have me work for him until it was paid off. It was a deal I prayed he’d like, and at the time, he did.

“He must have changed his mind,” I said. “I can’t explain it.”

“He’s a piece of shit,” Garret said firmly. “A complete and total piece of shit.”

“Let’s not think about him,” I said. “Today is our last day here. It’s time we face reality and embrace it. After today, we will probably never step foot inside this shop again. It’ll be gone. And I, for one, don’t want to spend my last day here dwelling on my hatred for Declan Gamble.”

Garret agreed, but I could still see the anger in his eyes. It was hard for me to feel as strongly as him because, if I was honest, I didn’t hate Declan. Not at all.

If anything, I was just hurt. I trusted Declan. I let myself believe in him, and he’d let me down.

Just as the thought entered my mind, I heard a truck pull into the parking lot. My first thought was that the bank had already come to seize the property. They were going to lock all the doors and take our keys. They were going to kick us out and never let us return. But it wasn’t the bank.

I recognized Declan’s truck immediately. He pulled into a spot and hopped out of the truck without a care in the world. There was a smile playing at the corners of his lips. Seeing him felt like a punch to the stomach. I wanted to hug him again, but my confusion took precedence. Why was he here? He’d obviously changed his mind, so why show up now?

“You’ve got to be kidding.” Garret glowered through the window as Declan walked up to the office.

He pulled open the door and stepped inside. His eyes found mine immediately. The small smile on his face spread wider. His blue eyes were bright and full of emotion. My stomach dropped, but I shook myself back to reality. Declan wasn’t here for me. If anything, he was just here to gloat and rub my nose in my failure. The smile on his face was probably just a smirk, put in place to taunt me after my failure.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I told you I’d come by to talk,” he said.

“I thought you would have been by yesterday,” I said. “Today is my last day to pay the bank.”

“I know,” he said. “Things didn’t go quite as we planned, but -”

“But what?” Garret snapped. “What did you do? Dick us over?”

“What?” Declan blinked. He frowned and looked from Garret to me. “What’s he talking about?”

“When you didn’t show up yesterday,” I said. “When I didn’t hear from you, we assumed you’d changed your mind. Backed out of the deal.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Declan said.

He looked hurt that I would even think that badly of him, but how could he blame me? My entire livelihood hinged on his willingness to help me. Without him, I would lose everything. He knew that, and still, he’d kept me waiting.

“Can we go somewhere and talk?” Declan asked.

Garret was still glaring at him. Seeing Declan seemed to light a fire in his stomach and fuel his anger into full-blown rage. I knew I should feel the same way. I’d been known to fly into a rage spiral if a customer made a tiny comment I didn’t like, but with Declan, I couldn’t seem to summon anything other than a deep sense of betrayal.

“Sure,” I said. “Let’s go to the garage.”

Declan nodded and followed me outside. We walked to the back of the garage where Garret couldn’t see us through the window.

“So,” I said before Declan could speak. “Did you change your mind? Are you backing out?”

“No,” Declan said. A ray of hope filled my chest. “Well, not exactly.”

“What does that mean?” I demanded.

“I went to the bank yesterday,” he said. “And I paid all your bills for the next year.”

His words fell on my ears and left me spinning. It took a few seconds for things to sink in. I couldn’t process what he’d said. It was like he was speaking a language I’d never heard before.

“You what?” I shook my head and stared at him in confusion. “I don’t understand. I thought you were going to give me the money, and then I would work for you?”

“I know,” Declan said. “But this way, I can help you even more.”

“How?” I demanded. I still didn’t understand anything.

“I paid your bills for the year,” Declan said again. “And I put myself on as a partial owner.”

“You did what?”

Suddenly, all the anger I hadn’t yet felt flew to the surface. I wanted to throttle Declan where he stood. I even went so far as to look around me for a wrench or something I could use to hit him with. I’d never felt a more confusing array of emotions. My heart was broken that Declan would betray me. I was furious at myself for ever trusting him.

“How could you do that to me?” I asked breathlessly.

“I’m helping you,” Declan said.

“That is not what we agreed to,” I said.

“We agreed that you would own the shop,” Declan said. “And that’s still happening, Alex. You still own it.”

“With you.”

“Yes,” Declan said. “But only so I can explain my decision to the board and my family.”

“What?” I blinked. None of this made sense.

“Look,” Declan said. “I want to help you. You should know that by now. And, if I’m a partial owner, then I can authorize and pay for renovations. We can expand your garage. We can do everything I promised. Pay for signage and advertisement. We can build this place up so much, you’ll be turning a huge profit within months.”

“You didn’t have to—”

“Yes, I did,” Declan said. “Don’t you see? If I wasn’t a partial owner, I could never convince my company to foot the bill for those changes. Now, I can.”

My anger slipped further away. It made sense, but it still sounded too good to be true. How could I believe Declan was doing all of this just to help me? It didn’t make sense.

“What’s in it for you?” I asked suspiciously. “How does this help you?”

“Obviously, we’ll share in the profits,” Declan said. “Once all the changes are made and the shop starts making money, Gamble Realty will make back our initial investment and then some.”

“And what do you want from me?” I asked, still suspicious. “In exchange for your help.”

“So, you admit that I helped you?” Declan asked, grinning at me mischievously.

I sighed and shook my head, but I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. He was right. He’d helped me more than I ever thought he would. Not only was the shop still mine, but I didn’t have to worry about bills for the next year. I had time to bring in more business, to return this place to its former glory.

Plus, as much as I hated the idea of sharing the shop with Declan, I knew I could buy it back from him one day. If I saved enough money, I could buy him out in a few years.

“Yes,” I said. “You helped me. You helped me more than I thought you would.”

“Do you mind telling Garret that?” Declan asked. “He looks ready to murder me.”

I glanced over to see Garret standing in the doorway between the office and the garage. When we’d moved out of his eyesight, he must have stepped outside to watch us. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Declan.

“You don’t have to be afraid of Garret,” I said. “I’ll talk to him.”

“I’m not afraid of him.” Declan laughed, and I knew he meant it. “So, is that a thank you?”

“Yes.” I laughed with him. “It’s a thank you, but I’m still curious about something.”

“What’s that?” Declan asked.

“Do you want me to work at Gamble Realty like I offered?” I asked. “I will, but with this new deal -”

“There are a few things I want from you,” Declan said.

My stomach flipped as a million thoughts ran through my head. It wasn’t the first time I’d thought of Declan in a sexual way, but when he said those words, I couldn’t help reading into the suggestion behind them.

“Like what?” I asked.

“I need you to let my brother come learn from you,” Declan said. “He has this fascination with bikes, and you’re the best mechanic I know.”

“Done,” I said. “That’s easy enough.”

“There’s more,” Declan said.

“Okay,” I said slowly, my nerves growing.

“Help Mila with her swing,” Declan said. “She’s been bugging me about you for days. She keeps saying you can teach her more than her coach can.”

“I don’t know about that.” I laughed. “But, I’d love to help her.”

“Great.” Declan grinned. “And, there’s one more thing.”

“Okay,” I said. “What is it?”

“You’re going to have to do things for me when I ask,” Declan said.

I knew he didn’t mean it the way I took it, but all I could think about was sex. The way Declan’s blue eyes were staring at me made my skin feel hot. My emotions were a roller coaster after thinking this was my last day in the shop and then finding out it wasn’t. Everything was moving so fast.

“Do what exactly?” I asked with narrowed eyes.

“Just help me when I need it,” Declan said. “When I ask, I’ll need you to do things for me. That’s all.”

“I already told you,” I said. “Sex is off the table.”

Declan just stared at me. I couldn’t read his thoughts at all. My head was spinning, and I wanted to say something else, anything else, but my mind was a complete blank.

“Who said anything about sex?”

He grinned at me, and I let out a small laugh. And with that, Declan Gamble became my business partner.