Haunted Hope by Inés Saint (12)

Hope gestured to the door, “The guest bedroom is the first door down the hall.”

Matt nodded and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be out of your hair most of the day. I took off work so I could go shopping for clothes.”

“Shopping?” Paige repeated, her eyes bright.

“Do you need a whole new wardrobe?” Gracie asked, looking him up and down as if she was already choosing outfits.

“I guess…”

Gracie clapped her hands to her chest, looking like a hopeful angel. “Can we take you?” she asked. “We each took the day off already anyway, and Paige’s ex-in-laws were thrilled to be asked to pick the kids up after school, except now it looks like she and I are not wanted here after we made all those arrangements.”

Matt looked from Gracie to Paige and back again. “I guess…”

Paige clapped too. “It’ll be fun, we promise. Only Hope thinks shopping with us is torture. But we need to get moving. It’s nine o’clock already, and we’ll need all day.”

“Can I put my stuff down first?” he asked.

“Yes. But hurry,” Gracie said, glancing at Hope.

“Take your time,” Hope said to Matt before folding her arms across her chest and turning to her grandmother and sisters. “Did you think you were going to get away from me that easily?”

Grandma Sherry stood to her full height and tossed her a fearless look. “I wasn’t trying to get away. I was planning on staying right here and facing you. There’s no way I’m going with them to watch that poor, unsuspecting man suffer through shopping with these two.”

Paige mimicked Hope’s defiant pose. “And don’t give me that wronged look. Let’s not forget you sat on me while forcing Gracie to delete my Facebook account, even as I was screaming and yelling at you not to do it. That was invasion of privacy and trespassing on web property. This was arranging temporary shelter for a homeless man and his dog, both of whom almost died.”

“We know you’re upset that we made the arrangement before talking to you,” Gracie chimed in. “But after everything Matt and Zeus went through last night, they ended up staying with Marty in that tiny room behind the Tavern he calls a studio, on one of the cots he calls beds, and he was about to sign a months-long lease with Carrie Lewis, who was eyeing him as if he were a slab of tasty beefcake.”

Carrie Lewis was about their age, and single, and beautiful. The thought of Matt staying with her gave Hope an uncomfortable twinge. “Exactly.” Grandma Sherry eyed her, as if she knew what Hope was thinking. “We fully intended to talk to you about it all before Matt arrived, but you took longer than usual to wake up.”

“It still doesn’t mean you had the right to make arrangements that involved me before talking to me,” she insisted.

“You’re right,” Gracie agreed. “But don’t act like you don’t have a long history of butting into our lives, too. You’ve threatened both Alex and Josh, as if we couldn’t take care of ourselves—”

“Yes—you actually kneed Alex in the groin so hard he fell to the ground and couldn’t speak for five minutes!” Paige exclaimed. “And then you tried to act like you did it for the kids, to make them laugh. Well, at least we’re not violent, and at least we take responsibility for our actions.”

“You’re right,” Hope said, her voice breaking. “I am violent! Maybe I did set fire to his house.” She threw herself onto the sofa and covered her face while her sisters and grandmother rushed over to assure her she hadn’t.

“Wait,” Paige said, getting up, after catching a glimpse of Hope’s face through her hands. “I see that smug smile.” She turned to Gracie. “She’s playing us!”

Matt walked out then, and just in time. Hope didn’t know how she was going to get out of her present pickle. Using the fire to distract her sisters was a new low for her, and there was no way to defend it, but they were making it difficult for her to get through to them. “No I’m not. Just leave.”

Through her splayed fingers, she watched as Paige, Gracie, and even Matt ignored her and left. When they were gone, she put her hands on her lap and looked at her grandmother. “Don’t even try to make me feel guilty. I learned from you. Doesn’t speak English indeed…” She rolled her eyes.

“Oh. That reminds me. I need to apologize.” She got up. “But don’t you worry. I’ll be right back.”

The moment she was gone, Hope scooped Zeus up, propped him on her chest, and looked into his eyes. “I love you, little guy, and I’m so sorry,” she said, petting him. He gazed back at her, his brown eyes understanding, and the tight ball of tension in her chest began to loosen. “You’re giving me an oxytocin boost, aren’t you?” she asked. He sighed and stretched out over her chest, never losing eye contact, and she sighed, too. “Why are you so easy to love?” she whispered to him. “It’s not like we hold conversations.” A deep sense of contentment spread through her. “Or maybe we do. Maybe we all need to look into each other’s eyes sometimes, be quiet, and just feel. Maybe that’s the best conversation anyone can have.”

After enjoying a moment of peace with Zeus, she called Alex and Josh and asked them to meet her for dinner at her place. They were likely to have valuable insight on what the investigative process would be for the fire, and Hope wanted to understand it.

Matt, Paige, and Gracie didn’t get back until half past seven, and they were carrying so many bags, they had to make three trips to the car. Alex and Josh had joined Hope for Chinese takeout at her place, and none of them were surprised by the late hour or the piles of clothes. “Wow. That was fun!” Matt said when he finally sat down and joined them. But that declaration was surprising. Three pairs of eyes widened and stared.

“I mean it,” Matt insisted, when he encountered their disbelieving looks. “I learned things I never knew. Like that I’m an Autumn and I look better in earthy colors, and that my eyes are my best feature, and that my body is an inverted tringle, which just so happens to be the ideal man’s shape.”

Josh lifted an eyebrow at Gracie. “You two told him all that?”

Gracie bit back a smile. “Just the Autumn and earthy colors part. The sales teams at different stores told him the rest.”

“But he was the ideal male shopping companion!” Paige exclaimed.

Gracie nodded enthusiastically. “He listens, he doesn’t mind trying things on and modeling them, and he helped us pick things out, too.”

Alex clamped a hand on Matt’s shoulder. “I think you’re my new best friend.”

“Did you let them talk you into a colorful scarf?” Josh asked.

Matt shrugged. “If you call deep salmon, light jade green, and pumpkin colorful.”

“I do,” Josh said, before turning to Gracie. “And did you get your color fix for the month?”

“I did.”

Josh turned back to Matt and smiled. “Then you’re my new best friend, too.”

“You should’ve come with us, Hope,” Matt said. “We had a blast.”

“No!” Paige said. “Hope shops like a missile. She targets black dresses, pants and skirts, and white shirts. She then accessories with matching jewel-toned bags and shoes, and it works for her, she looks great and stylish, but she’s done in under an hour, and then she’s impatient to leave. Shopping with her is no fun.”

Hope smiled, pleased with their assessment. “It’s true.”

Matt looked at her with an assessing eye. “It works for you because you’re a Winter.”

“She is!” Gracie said to him, looking proud.

They all laughed, and the joking continued for a while, until someone brought up the fire again, and Matt’s insurance coverage, which led Josh to talk about a case he was going to try that involved arson, which led Alex to talk about a case he’d once had that involved carbon monoxide poisoning, which led Matt to tell them about a community project he’d once led that involved checking people’s houses to make sure they had working detectors. And then Paige and Gracie became interested in Dayton Create and decided to join, too.

Hope sat back, listened, and participated, at ease with the conversation, and yet uneasy with the feelings that were whirling inside her. So much was going on underneath the surface. Memories of a time when she and her sisters had been sitting around another table with Paige’s and Hope’s ex-husbands, and Gracie’s ex-boyfriend, who had deeply betrayed her. How uncomfortable that one occasion had been! It had gone so badly, they’d never repeated it. Each sister had left thinking the other two had made a bad choice. Well, turned out they had all made bad choices.

But now, Paige, Gracie, Alex, Josh, Grandma Sherry, the kids, Hope, and even Glenn, were a family. It was as simple as that. And anyone else sitting there that evening might have felt left out, but Matt fit right in. It made her feel both hopeful and pained, with the pain trying to chase the hope away, but not quite succeeding.

She’d fit in with Matt’s family, too. It had also felt good and painful. She tried to imagine them all together, along with Grandma Sherry and Alex’s great-aunt and grandmother. It made her smile. But then she thought of Josh’s parents, who still didn’t accept Gracie. And Paige’s ex-husband still often tried to get his kids to turn on Alex.

Maybe life was always full of pain and hope. Maybe it was about learning to let the hope chase the pain away, instead of the other way around.

After a while, Alex sighed. “I hate to break this up, but it’s late, and I’ve got to get an early start tomorrow.”

Josh got up next. “Me, too. I have to be in court by seven.”

Gracie and Paige got up, too, and they said their goodbyes.

Hope shut the door behind them and turned to look at Matt. “Well,” she said, faking a small stretch.

Matt laughed and shook his head. “Good night, Hope.”

“You don’t have to go to sleep, too. You can watch TV if you want. It won’t bother me.”

“Are you kidding? Shopping with your sisters is like running a 10K. It feels good and gets those endorphins going, but then you need two days of rest. I’m exhausted.”

She smiled and asked, “What’s in the cards for you tomorrow?”

“I’ll be out of your hair till at least eight thirty p.m. I’m going to work, but then I’m going to the Dayton Car Show. We’re one of the sponsors, and I’m going to look around and pick out my new wheels.”

“You’re buying a new car?” she asked. And then it hit her. “Oh no! Was the Chevy Vega destroyed in the fire, too?” His beloved car was gone!

“No, no—don’t worry, it’s fine. It’s parked in the garage out back. But I was cited for noise pollution, and I’ve been getting the finger everywhere I go. I’ve decided to buy a new car, but keep working on the Vega. I’m sure someone will eventually figure out what’s wrong with it.” She breathed a sigh of relief, and he chuckled. “I thought you’d be among those who would be happy to see it go up in flames.”

She shrugged. “I love cars in general, so I can understand someone becoming attached to theirs.”

“If you love cars, you’ll enjoy the show. Do you want to tag along tomorrow? I can meet you here after work.”

Hope wanted to say yes. It sounded like fun, and not just because she liked cars. Being with Matt so far was always fun, she admitted to herself. From the very first day, when he’d walked in with dog pee on his pants. But the outing wouldn’t be work-related, and she’d be seeing enough of him as it was for the foreseeable future. The smart answer was no. “Yes,” she answered, and flinched.

He gave her a strange look. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. It has nothing to do with our public-relations campaign and Friendly Clicks.”

“I know. It’s just I wish I could say no, because I have so much work to catch up on, but I can’t say no, because I love sitting in new cars.”

He smiled. “All right then. I’ll meet you here at five thirty.”

“Five thirty,” she repeated, nodding once. They looked at each other for a long moment and her heart started to speed up. She cleared her throat. There was something that needed to be said. “I know you don’t think I started the fire, and I’m honestly having a very hard time believing I could do something like that, too, but there’s a possibility I did, Matt. And you seem so calm.”

He looked down at the floor a moment before meeting her eyes again. “I know it sounds crazy, but I’m not sorry the house is gone. It never felt like home, and I was already planning on selling it. I am sorry it went down the way it did, though. The last thing I’d want is to put anyone’s life in danger. But I’m not going to rebuild. I’m going to sell the lot and use the insurance money to buy another house here.”

They were quiet a moment, and it didn’t feel comfortable. “Do you need anything? Like blankets, towels, toothpaste or soap?” she asked.

“No. Your sisters thought of everything, and then some. I’ve never had such soft sheets. Or soap that cleans, moisturizes, and exfoliates. I swear I’m never stepping foot into a store again unless one of them is by my side.”

Hope’s lips quirked at that. Her sisters would be thrilled. “You never went shopping with your mom?”

“Money was tight. We didn’t look at the fancy stuff.”

She nodded. “I didn’t look at the fancy stuff until after Justin and I made the deal with Unlimited Sparks, and then it took me a while to figure out the difference between overpriced hype and quality goods that are made to last.”

He smiled, too. “I know the feeling. But, hey, look at us now.”

“I know—buying soap that cleans, moisturizes, and exfoliates.”

“Exactly.” He laughed. “Mom’s gonna be so proud.”

She looked into his laughing eyes again and felt the warm tingle of real friendship. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to feel it for him. Not when she was attracted to him physically, too. “Good night, Matt,” she finally said.

“Good night.”

Without turning around, she added, “If I sleepwalk, just talk softly to me and guide me back to my bed or the sofa, and promise me that you’ll tell me everything I do and say in the morning.”

“I promise. But what if you don’t allow me to guide you back to your bed or the sofa?”

“I always allow people I trust to guide me.” The words were out of her mouth before she’d realized what she was going to say. She turned her head a little. “What I mean is—in the past I have always allowed people who I recognize to lead me, and because I allowed you to walk me home once, I think we’ll be okay.” She padded to her room and shut the door, but she lay in bed staring at the ceiling for a long time, unable to think of the myriad things she needed to think about because Matt’s presence kept taking over her senses. It was easy enough to keep him out of her thoughts, but she felt his presence with every fiber of her being. It was disconcerting, but at least she didn’t feel the sinking dread she had felt the night before. The tight ball of tension was gone. What she felt now was a fast-beating heart and wonder. And the stress it caused was different. Not painful, but anticipatory. And she didn’t like it. Not one bit.

* * *

Matt took Zeus out on his leash and waited as the dog danced and twirled around, looking for the most perfect place to do his business. It was below freezing and Matt shifted from foot to foot, wishing he’d bought a parka instead of just the long wool coat for work. At first, when his neck tingled, he thought it was the cold air, but when his eyes were drawn to the bridge half a mile down the road, over and over again, he realized what he felt was the sensation of being watched.

When Zeus was finished, Matt backed into the house, his eyes still on the bridge, until the sensation left and rational thought took over. There were dozens of cars traveling across the river, and it wasn’t close enough for anyone to be able to see him.

But he couldn’t quite manage to get to sleep. The fact that his house had burned to the ground hadn’t quite sunk in. There hadn’t been time. Now the idea that it could have been his fault niggled at him. The house had been recently rehabilitated—by him. It had passed all inspections, but still. A mistake could have been made and missed. And Zeus might have died…

He turned once again, to try to find relief from his thoughts through sleep, when he heard the floor creek once, then twice. He forced his eyes open and saw Hope walking past the room he was staying in. He was up in a flash, but he hesitated a moment before going after her, wondering if she was sleepwalking or simply thirsty or hungry, and thinking about how he could make his presence known without startling her. “Hope?” he called softly just as she was stepping out of the small hallway.

She turned and stared. “What are you doing here?”

“We have an agreement, remember?” he asked, to test if she was awake.

“Yes. You’re supposed to fix up the house. But what are you doing here in your pajamas? And why aren’t you wearing a shirt?” She folded her arms across her chest.

He ran a hand through his hair. This was going to be harder than he’d thought. He should’ve just watched her for a bit. Maybe all she would have done is walk around and not leave. “I’m… keeping the house safe.”

“The house?”

“Yes.”

“This house?” She looked around, her brow furrowed, as if she didn’t recognize her surroundings.

“Yes. Sherry asked me to.”

“Grandma Sherry asked you to keep the house safe.”

“Yes.”

“Safe,” she said again. “Yes. I—I remember.”

“You do?”

She nodded. “We were cold.”

“Right. And it’s still cold. You should cover up. I’ll walk you back to your bed and immediately leave your room, okay?” he said, walking cautiously toward her. She nodded, met him halfway, and allowed him to lead her back. When he got to her room and saw the sandbox surrounding her bed, his heart went out to her, because he guessed it was there so she could check for footprints in the morning. What she was going through would be hard for anyone, but especially for someone who was otherwise cool, collected, and in control.

He tried to help her over the sand, but she brushed him off, which made him smile. She then climbed onto the bed, rolled to her side and patted the empty space beside her. “Come,” she said. “Keep us safe and warm.”

Uh-oh. “I…I’m honored that you trust me to keep you safe and warm, but you don’t need me or anyone to do that, because you’re one of the most capable women I know.”

“I am,” she solemnly agreed, and it again made him want to smile. “But you don’t understand. The heart needs to feel warm and safe, too, and you can’t warm your own heart. You can keep it safe, but you can’t warm it. Family does that. Friends do that.”

Matt thought quickly. “How—How about I call one of your sisters? I’m sure they can warm your heart.”

“But you warmed it last night. I remember.” A tear rolled down her face. “Please.”

With an aching heart, Matt decided to climb in next to her, not touch her, and simply wait for her to fall asleep before leaving. The moment he put one knee up, though, she said, “Careful,” and put a hand out in front of her belly. He understood then what she had meant by “we” and “us.” She was talking about her and the baby. The baby she always referenced, but never spoke about. What had happened to the baby? He shook his head. He knew better than to want to know things that were none of his business.

When he was lying on his side in front of her, she scooted closer to him, but they didn’t touch. “I feel your warmth,” she said.

“I feel yours, too.” They looked into each other’s eyes and smiled sad smiles.

“Do you know what it’s like to be in pain?” she asked.

“I do.”

“I mean in here.” She put her hand to his heart. He nodded. “Did a woman hurt you?” she asked.

“No. A man did. He hurt me by hurting my mom,” he answered, caught up in the feel of her hand warming his heart. It was more than he’d ever told anybody, ever.

“I’m sorry.” Another tear rolled down her cheek.

“I know.” He wiped her tear away and they looked into each other’s eyes a long time, feeling the warmth flowing between them, neither speaking again.

* * *

The sound of the song she woke up to every morning, “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles, and the smell of coffee brewing forced Hope to open her eyes. They widened when she saw Matt was lying next to her, groaning as if he wasn’t ready to get up. Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest, but she forced herself to stay still, even as her mind raced, trying to determine what had happened.

Matt turned and smiled a sleepy smile that had her smiling a little, too, because she was suddenly sure nothing had happened. He wouldn’t do that—take advantage of her, or anyone. The same warm sensations she’d felt the day before washed through her again, calming her thoughts. But when bits and pieces of conversation began to float around in her head, she froze, as she tried to determine if they were real or part of a dream.

Hope’s thoughts began to race once more. Had Matt told her a man had hurt him by hurting his mom? What else had he said? What had she said? She tried to remember more, but the mere effort made the memories slip further away until they were lost to her. Maybe it had all been part of a dream.

Matt’s eyes slowly widened and he shot up out of bed, shouting, “Nothing happened! I swear!” He was clear across the room before she’d even had a chance to blink.

Hope sat up and tried hard not to laugh. It wasn’t a laughing matter. “I know. I mean, something happened. I obviously sleepwalked, and you brought me back to bed and stayed with me—but I know nothing happened.”

“Good.” He breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his neck. Hope took a good look at him for the first time and her throat went instantly dry. He was shirtless and the deep olive color of his skin beautifully showcased a nice twelve-pack. “I meant to leave before you woke up, so I wouldn’t startle you, but I planned on telling you everything later, like you’d asked me to.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I told you this wasn’t a good idea. Nobody who stays with me gets a good night’s sleep.”

He smiled and lifted one shoulder. “You’re wrong there. I actually feel rested. I didn’t think I’d sleep at all, not after what happened the night before. Your bed is really comfortable, though.” It wasn’t said in a suggestive way, but his warm, golden eyes, tussled hair, and hard body had her thoughts racing again, and entirely in the wrong direction.

When mental images of her hand on his naked torso began leaving her breathless, she jumped out of bed and said, “Let’s talk about it over coffee.”

“Coffee,” he repeated reverently as he sniffed the air. “Sounds good. I’ll take Zeus out first and then meet you in the kitchen.”

She frowned. “That’s right, Zeus. Why don’t I hear him?”

“Come to my room and you’ll hear him all right. He snores like a horse.” He made a motion for her to follow him, and she heard him the moment they opened the door to her room and stepped out into the hallway.

“Wow,” she said. “How do you ever get any sleep?”

“The sound is pretty consistent. There’s a pattern to it. After a while, it helps me sleep.”

She listened. One small snore, one long snore, one small snore, one long snore… “Have you asked the vet about it? Maybe he has sleep apnea or something.”

Matt shrugged one shoulder. “She says he’s fine. He snores because he sleeps on his back.”

Hope frowned. “On his back?” She tiptoed to the guest room and had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing when she saw a snoring Zeus lying on his back, all four short legs sticking straight out into the air.

Matt put a hand on her shoulder and whispered, “They look like such angels when they’re asleep.” She clamped down on her mouth and turned her head to smile at him, but that was a mistake. He was so close. And the new soap that cleansed, moisturized, and exfoliated smelled so good, especially when mixed with his own particular scent. The little hairs on her neck stood on end, and her breathing grew so shallow, she had to remind herself to take a breath. And thinking of breaths reminded her that she hadn’t yet brushed her teeth.

“Wake up, Zeus! Time to get ready for doggie day care!” She clapped. Zeus was on his feet and barking in an instant. “See you in the kitchen,” she said to Matt.

Five minutes later, she was cradling her beloved coffee in her hands, feeling ready to tackle the day. “Okay, tell me what happened last night.”

Matt told her the story, and as embarrassed as she felt over the things she’d said, she also felt a small glimmer of hope when she realized the conversation he related matched up with the bits and pieces that had been echoing in her mind earlier. Everything except for her memory of Matt telling her that a man had hurt him matched up. He didn’t mention that part, and Hope wondered if her imagination had tacked that on, or if he was simply keeping that part of the conversation to himself.

Half an hour later, Matt left to take Zeus to doggie day care, and Hope was right behind him. She flinched when he started up his car and the loud popping noises started. No wonder he was getting the finger everywhere he went.

* * *

Matt’s goals for the day were to get caught up with paperwork before noon, spend lunch dealing with his insurance agent, who happened to be a good friend, and then use the afternoon to catch up on business calls and emails. By the time five fifteen rolled around, he was ready to unwind. And by the time he’d gotten yelled at for his car’s ruckus by a lady who had picked up her cat and covered its ears, he was ready for a new car.

Two hours later, he’d made up his mind.

“I thought you said you wanted a sexy mid-size sedan for under thirty-five grand,” Hope said.

“I did.”

“And I thought you said you narrowed your choices down to three.”

“I did.”

“Then why are we sitting in the forty-thousand-dollar minivan?” she asked.

“It’s an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick Plus.”

“So were the Accord, the Mazda 6, and the Maxima.”

“But they didn’t have a third-row seat and sliding doors,” he explained.

“That’s true. They did not. They were sedans.”

“Exactly, and I’ve been thinking…”

“Yes?” she prompted.

“I’m very attached to my old car, for sentimental reasons, and I’ll probably become equally attached to the next one, which means there’s a good chance that I’ll be driving my new car for twenty years, at least. That means that if I have a child sometime in the next four years, like I hope to, that child is going to be carted around in my next vehicle until they’re at least sixteen.”

“I see. And how many kids do you want to have?”

“Just one.”

“Then why do you need third-row seating?”

“The child’s friends, plus Zeus and Metis.”

“And who’s Metis?”

“Well, in mythology, she’s another one of Zeus’s wives. In reality… Well, I guess she’s going to be Zeus’s wife. He and I just need to find her.”

“I thought Zeus was neutered.”

“He is, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t get randy with Themis, his pillow. I think he needs a real wife. And with two dogs, a pillow, a child, plus the child’s friends…”

“Okay. I think I understand. You’re sold on the minivan.”

“I kind of am.” He looked at her. “It’s not sexy, though, is it?”

“No, it’s not,” she agreed. “But the picture you paint is kind of cute. You might actually score a few dates by driving two dogs around in your minivan. Women will think it means you have a strong paternal instinct. And that will lead to the child.”

He thought about that. “I do have strong paternal instincts. I’m a nurturer. It’s why I do what I do for a living. I nurture businesses so they can in turn create jobs that nurture the community.”

“Then why do you only want one child?”

“I want to take them to school and pick them up every day, I want to go to every concert and not just go to every game, but actually coach every team. I feel like more than one child might create scheduling conflicts.”

“You’ve got it all figured it out.”

“Nobody ever has it all figured out. Look at the house. That was a disaster. But I’m trying.” He looked over at her and smiled, but she was staring straight ahead, and her eyes had a faraway look.

“I once wanted just one child, too, for the same exact reasons.” The words were spoken so quietly, he almost didn’t catch them. He stayed very still, sensing that she’d needed to say the words aloud, but that she didn’t need or want a response from him. She hadn’t said much, hadn’t even admitted to anything, but for a moment a wall had come down, and he’d gotten a glimpse into loss and sadness.

There they were, sitting in a minivan in the middle of a crowded car show, and he was feeling her pain. He pressed her hand a little, and she pressed back, and he felt as close to her at that moment as he’d felt to anyone in a very long time. He realized then that Hope was right. Being close was about more than knowing a person was good to you and for you. It was about understanding them, too, and that came with glimpses into the past.

They were quiet for a while, until someone knocked on the driver-side window. It was a woman and there were three little kids and a man beside her. Matt buzzed the window down.

“Hi there,” he greeted them.

“Hi! I’m sorry to bother you, but we’ve been waiting out here for a while. Do you mind if we take a turn in it?”

“Oh! No. Of course not.” Matt opened the door and got out. “It’s all yours.” He smiled. “And I apologize you had to wait so long. I was projecting into the future and got lost in the daydream.”

The woman looked at Hope, who had just come around the other side, and said, “Oh, he’s adorable.”

The woman’s husband said, “We’re all adorable when we’re merely projecting.” The woman elbowed him, and Hope and Matt laughed and said goodbye.

“So, do you want to check out all the other minivans?” Hope asked as they waked away. She was back to being friendly, distant, and polite.

“Nope. This is the only one that’s a top safety pick plus, and they’ve got zero percent financing available. I want to go to the dealer next. Do you mind dropping me off?”

She stopped dead in her tracks. “You want me to just drop you off at the dealer and leave?”

“I’ve heard purchasing a vehicle can take a while. I don’t want you to get bored.”

“Bored? But I love negotiating!” Polite Hope was gone. He was relieved.

“So do I.”

“But I’m really good at it.”

“So am I.”

“Fine, then, leave me out of the most fun part. I’ll drop you off and see you later at home.” She sulked.

Matt laughed. “How about this: I negotiate the price, and you try and score me that sweet emergency kit and interior protection package?”

She blew out a little breath, as if she was settling for far less than she’d wanted. “All right. It’s a deal. But just so you know, I could totally score you the towing package, too, but I want the salesman to get a fair commission, so I won’t.”

He smiled and shook his head. The girl, er, woman, had just scored another piece of his heart. “Maybe we should stop for dinner first?” he asked. “I never negotiate on an empty stomach, and there’s this great new gourmet burger startup—quality goods, no hype.”

Her eyes went wide. “I’m always up for a quality burger.” And there went another piece of his heart. “Especially if it means supporting a fellow entrepreneur. Are you allowed to tell me his business plan?” And there went another.

Later that night, he followed her home in a brand-new, fully loaded Chrysler Pacifica. When they reached the mansion-turned-apartment building, they both got out to circle his new wheels. “I don’t know why people don’t think of minivans as sexy. Velvet Red Pearl sounds plenty sexy to me.”

“It does sort of roll off the tongue, doesn’t it?” Hope agreed.

“And the interior smells sexy as hell.”

“Leather usually does.”

“How about we catch a movie?”

Hope turned to him and frowned. “At the movie theater? Or do you mean you want to rent one?”

“I mean in the Pacifica. I want to try out the rear entertainment system.”

Hope gave him a look. “You’re joking, right? It’s freezing.”

He bumped his shoulder with hers. “Come on, where’s your sense of adventure?”

“Not in the back seat of a minivan.”

“Think of it as the back seat of an adorable, but modest guy’s ride.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

She laughed. “In that case, the answer is a definite no.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun. We’ll grab two sleeping bags and a few quilts, park it in the garage, and watch a movie of your choice.”

“What about the battery?”

“It’s brand new. It’ll survive.”

“All right then, I’m game.” Hope shrugged. “I’m always up for a new experience.”

A little over two hours later, Hope was asleep on his shoulder and the credits to Frozen were rolling down the screen. “Hey. Wake up. The movie’s over.” He nudged her.

Hope rustled and stretched. “I can’t believe I fell asleep. It was a good movie. What happened at the end?”

“Kristoff saved the day.”

“What?” She sat up straight.

“Just kidding. Elsa saves the day.”

“That’s more like it.” She threw her covers off, and they both began wiggling out of their sleeping bags before she stopped. “My hair is caught in the zipper.”

He peeled off the rest of his sleeping bag before reaching up and flipping the light on. As soon as she was able to see, Hope began pulling her hair out of the zipper. He stilled her hand.

“Patience.” He got close and began gently untangling her hair from the pull tab. When he was done, they looked into each other’s eyes. Hers looked incandescent as they searched his under the narrow light. There was confusion there, and wonder. He only felt wonder. “Thank you,” she said, before leaning in to touch her lips to his cheek. The feather light touch made him warm all over, even when it was cold without the covers and sleeping bags.

Hope drew back to look at Matt, to gauge his reaction to her chaste kiss. He smoothed her hair behind her ear, leaned in slowly, and began leaving small, moist kisses over her neck and behind her ear. When he nibbled her ear, her breath hitched, and he kissed his way to her mouth, teasing her lips open, and sweeping in, his tongue hungry and hot, while his hands warmed her skin, sending sparks and spasms everywhere. Her heart felt as if it was about to jump out of her chest, and the idea that it would jump into his sent a shot of fear straight through it, paralyzing it, just as a whirring noise shook her out of her daze, making her blink and look back as the garage door opened. A voice shouted, “Come out with your hands up!”