They walked on for a while, passing through all of the nicer parts of the mansion before finding themselves in a short corridor that had a more subdued nature to it. The overhead windows that let in the natural light were gone, replaced by recessed fixtures.

Bre thought they were somewhere near the front of the mansion, but honestly had completely lost her bearings. There was a turn in the hallway, ahead, with two glass doors on the opposite wall. Collin followed the turn to the left, but when Bre caught a glimpse of what lay beyond the glass doors she froze in place.

Immediately beyond the doors was what looked like a little lobby. On the walls were multiple posters featuring great races and racers from decades ago. There was an old-timey feel to the lobby that Bre desperately wanted to explore.

“What is it?” Collin asked, giving her a curious look.

“What’s in there?” Bre asked, nodding at the doors.

“That’s the garage,” Collin said, glancing through the glass doors. “Logan’s got a thing for classic cars.”

“We need to go in there.” Bre said.

It wasn’t a question. She was going in with or without him.

“I didn’t realize you had a thing for cars…”

Bre pushed through the glass doors and immediately had her breath taken away when she saw the far wall. It was a huge window that looked into a garage. Even from here, she could see a number of classic cars on display.

It was heaven.

She flashed Collin a quick smile before rushing forward. She pushed her way through another set of glass doors and was greeted by the familiar, delicious scent of tire rubber and motor oil. It instantly took her back to her childhood. Distantly, she knew Collin had followed her into the garage, but he was the absolute last thing on her mind right now.

To say Logan was a classic car nut was obviously putting it lightly. He had some of the best muscle cars she’d ever seen! A ’68 Shelby, a ’69 Z28, a ’71 Hemi Cuda, and…

Bre clutched her hands to her chest when she saw what was sitting in the far corner. She could have recognized its outline from a mile away… a 1969 Chevelle COPO. It was a gorgeous baby blue with a white pinstripe down both sides.

She rushed over and began inspecting it. It was fully restored with what looked like the original COPO 427 engine. The brakes were upgraded to a modern anti-lock system, but that was pretty typical when restoring these old cars. At least that’s what Ray had always told her…

The only time she allowed herself to actually touch the car was when she lightly traced one pinstripe from front to back. This machine was absolutely perfect.

“I didn’t realize you were so into cars,” Collin said, finally breaking her peaceful reverie.

“This is my dream car,” she admitted. She’d never realized it before that moment.

He gave her a surprised look.

“That’s quite a statement for a business girl from New York.”

“From upstate,” she corrected.

“Still, I thought you were just another marketing girl like your friend. What do you know about classic cars?”

She flashed him a coy look.

“Are you trying to trick me into breaking the rules?”

The intrigued smile disappeared from Collin’s face as he instantly looked bashful.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Bre’s grin widened.

“My father was a gear head. He spent his days doing oil changes and checking fluids and his nights in the garage restoring old cars. I was glued to his side the whole time, and the worst part of the night was when he told me it was bed time and we could finish what we were doing tomorrow.”

Collin’s eyes sparkled as he listened to her. It sent a rush through her to have such a captive audience.

“So you really do know what you’re talking about with these cars…”

Her grin widened.

“The last one we worked on together was a ’69 Chevelle. But it wasn’t a COPO, like this. There were only three hundred COPOs made—there was no way we could afford that.”

“What happened to it?”

She shook her head, not really wanting to go back to that time.

“We never finished it…”

There was a brief moment of awkward silence while Collin waited for her to elaborate. He quickly got the hint that she wasn’t going to do anything of the sort.

“Your dad sounds like a special guy.”

“He’s… something.”

She knelt and distracted herself by inspecting the rotor and upgraded Brembo brakes one more time. She could feel a tear coming to her eye and she really didn’t want Collin to see it.

Another long, awkward silence followed. Bre could only imagine what kind of story he was making up with what she said.

“Did something happen between you two?”

Bre rose and gave him a flat look.

“Rule number seventy-six… No personal stuff.”

“Rule number two, actually,” he said, wincing.

Bre rolled her eyes, but let it slide. Collin gave her another nervous look before perking up again. He moved in close and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I’ve got an idea… It’s not everyday that an opportunity like this presents itself…”

He leaned forward and nipped playfully at her ear and neck. If he was trying to cheer her up, it worked. An excited rush went through her.

“And what might that be?” she asked, coyly.

“Getting fucked in the backseat of your dream car.”

She pulled back and caught his eye, giving him a dramatic, flat stare.

“Gross,” she announced. “These are classics! I’m not going to let you defile them by getting our bodily fluids everywhere.”

For the briefest of moments, Collin looked ashamed. Then he gave her another confident grin.

“You’re just fucking with me again, aren’t you? We both know you want this…”

“Ew!” she scowled. “I would never joke around about a classic car. I can’t believe you would even think that!”

She held the hard look for a moment before throwing in a playful wink. He was catching on, she had to give him that.

He grinned, understanding.

“I must have been out of my mind.”

“Yes, you must have been,” she agreed. “Let’s go… I’m done here.”

She was thankful that Collin chose to lead her out rather than offering another witty retort, and it had nothing to do with the fact that she really would have fucked him in the backseat of that Chevelle if he pushed it.