Chapter 46

I met his gaze. "Us?" Technically, there was no us, but I really liked the sounds of that.

He leaned a fraction closer. "Before I showed up last night, do you know how ticked I was, knowing I had to stay away?"

His words sent a thrill up my spine. And yet, they didn't quite make sense. "Sorry, I'm not following. Why would you need to stay away?"

"Because I didn't want them anywhere near you, that's why." His jaw tightened. "They fucking ruin everything." He glanced away. "Sorry."

I almost wanted to smile. "That's alright."

"Nah," he said, "it's not. It's just one of those things, you know? They make me crazy, the whole lot of them." His voice softened. "And then, there's you."

My hand was resting on the center console. He reached out and closed his hand over mine. Soon, our fingers were intertwined, and I felt some of the tension slip away. I said, "There's me? What about me?"

"You're so sweet, it makes me forget."

"Forget what?"

He gave a rueful laugh. "Everything." And then, as if shaking off a lingering gloom, he said, "The good news is, they're gone. And they're not coming back."

"How do you know?"

Joel smiled. "Because I bribed them."

"With what?"

"What else? Their own stuff."

At this, I had to laugh. "You mean the Camaro? And those, um, collector's items?"

"Yeah. Those too."

"Wow, so you actually returned them? Why?"

"Because I didn't want anyone showing up on your doorstep."

My heart gave a wonderful little flutter. "So you did it because of me?"

"And, for me. Because I didn't wanna leave town."

"What do you mean?"

"You ever wonder why I was staying in a tent?"

"Well, yeah. At first. But then I figured you just liked camping."

"Nothing wrong with camping," he said. "But I was straight with you that first night. It wasn't just a vacation. I was lying low, looking to avoid their bull."

I couldn’t resist teasing him at least a little. "So you were living off the grid, huh?"

"More like off their radar. I wanted some time alone. But then, something changed."

"What?"

His gaze warmed. "I met you."

Through the passenger's side window, I glimpsed the glimmer of a campfire though the trees. But it couldn’t compare to the glimmer in Joel's eyes when I whispered, "And I met you."

He leaned toward me, and I met him halfway. Our lips met in a kiss so sweet, it felt like coming home.

Now, more than anything, I wanted to pretend that our fight never happened. But I couldn’t, because he was already packed and ready to go.

I pulled back and asked the question that I'd been dreading. "Are you still leaving?"

"That depends." His mouth twitched at the corners. "You still want me to?"

I gave an embarrassed laugh. "I didn't really want you to go."

He smiled. "Yeah? Could've fooled me."

I looked toward his empty campsite. "So, what now? If you're not hiding out anymore, what are your plans?"

"That depends."

"On what?" I asked.

"You."

I smiled, even as heat rushed to my face. "Can I confess something?"

"Sure, what?"

"I kept your duffle bag."

He gave a small laugh. "If you like it, it's yours."

I pretended to consider it. "Well, it is pretty nice. And I hear it might even include a cell phone." I met Joel's gaze. "But that's not why I kept it."

"Yeah? So why did you?"

"Well, I guess, if I'm being honest, maybe I was hoping for an excuse to invite you over, and see if we could smooth things out."

His gaze softened. "Baby, you don't need an excuse."

His words soothed my soul. And yet, I wasn't quite sure I deserved them. I gave his empty campsite a worried glance. "But I ruined your vacation. Want me to help you set everything up again?"

"Nah," he said. "I've got the campsite for another week, and the tent takes like five minutes to set up. If I had to, I could do it blindfolded." 

I bit my lip. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." He flashed me a grin. "And besides, we had a deal. Remember?"

Like I could forget. Before his brother showed up, we'd been planning to swap secrets – me about the estate, and him about the fights.

I smiled. "I remember."

"Good," he said, "because I plan to collect."

"Speaking of collecting things…" I cleared my throat. "There's something I've got to say."

"Yeah? What?"

"Thanks, seriously. For everything, especially for getting my car back. Last night, I should've looked, and I feel awful that I ruined the surprise."

He gave me a boyish grin. "So you were surprised, huh?"

I laughed. "You have no idea. And just so you know, I'll pay you back."

"For what?"

"The towing, the repair, whatever." I paused. "Which brings me to a question. Who was the tattooed guy who picked up the car? Was that your brother, Jake?"

"Unfortunately."

My fingers tensed. Things were going so well, and I hated to the rock the boat. But this sibling animosity couldn’t be healthy. I said, "I've seen some of his videos. Pretty crazy stuff."

Joel made a scoffing sound. "If you think he's crazy in those, you should see him in real life. The guy's a total tool."

The bitterness in his voice hurt to hear. No matter how messed up everything was, Joel was luckier than he realized.

I gave him a sympathetic look. "I know you keep saying that, but it was really nice of him to help."

"Nice?" Joel made a sound of derision. "He wasn't being nice. He was being a prick."

A tool. A prick. What next?

"Oh come on," I said. "That can't be true."

"Wanna bet? Last night, we're all at the storage place, and I turn my back for five minutes, and what does he do? He swipes the cap I ordered–"

"Wait. What cap?"

"The distributor cap. For your car."

"You had one? Like on you?"

"Yeah. Sitting on some boxes." At my perplexed look, he added, "It just came in. I ordered it last Saturday."

I was so touched, I almost didn't know what to say. "Really? You did?"

"Yeah, except Jake grabs the thing and drives off. I could've killed him."

I gave a confused shake of my head. "I don't get it. Why would you be mad?"

"Because I didn't know what he was doing. Just all of a sudden, he's gone. With Luna, the sap who agreed to marry him."

"What, you don't like her?"

"I like her just fine. It's him that's the problem. But last night, they both take off. And just when I'm about to go looking for them, they come back. With your car."

"But how?"

"The usual way," Joel said. "He breaks in, pops the hood, replaces the cap, and off he goes."

I stared at him. "And that's the usual way? You guys do this a lot?"

Joel hesitated. "I wouldn't say a lot."

I was almost afraid to ask. "About the garage, did Jake break anything? Like a window or door?"

"Nah. He told me he left it just like he found it."

If I weren't so concerned, I might've smiled. Apparently, there was some brotherly trust after all. "And you believed him?"

"Hell no," Joel said. "I drove out and checked, also made sure that Jake paid the guy."

Well, so much for the trust thing.

Pushing that thought aside, I said, "I need to pay him back."

"No. You don't. I already paid him."

"Oh. Okay. So I'll pay you back."

"That's what you think. It was a surprise, like a gift. You can't pay for that."

"But–"

"But nothing," he said. "I'm just pissed it was Jake, and not me, that found the place first."

"Oh, so you were gonna break into the garage?"

"That was the idea." He glanced away. "Which I should've kept to myself."

I had to laugh. "You're all crazy. You know that, right?"

"Hell yeah," Joel said. "Which is why I wanted them gone."

I saw his logic. But it still hurt to hear, for his sake, not mine. Tentatively, I said, "There's something I don't get."

"What's that?"

"Well, Jake retrieved my car, and saved you the trouble. Why would that make him–"

"A prick? Because he is."

"Yeah, but maybe this time, he was being nice."

"Nice? Jake?" Joel made a scoffing sound. "Dream on. He wasn't being nice. He was in a hurry to get his Camaro."

"But what did that have to do with anything?"

"I told him he'd get his car after I got yours."

"But why would you tell him that?"

"Because I figured as long as they were here, they could help me find the place, and maybe watch my back while I did it."

"But instead, he went out and got it himself?"

"Pretty much."

"Well, maybe it was some kind of peace-offering. Or maybe he wanted to keep you out of trouble."

Joel was frowning now. "What, you're sticking up for him?"

This reminded me of our last fight, back when I'd thought his brother was some poor slob, driving a beater. I no longer thought that, but this wasn't even about Jake. It was about Joel.

I squeezed his hand. "Hey, I'm on your side, totally. I just hate that you're fighting, that's all." In a quieter voice, I added, "I would've killed for a brother."

"Yeah? If you wanna trade, let me know."

"Except I can't," I said, "because I don't have one. That's my whole point. I'm just saying, maybe you're luckier than you realize." I summoned up a smile. "He's older right? So maybe he was looking out for his little brother."

Joel's eyebrows lifted, and I saw a hint of humor return. "Little, huh?"

I let my gaze drift over the length of him. He was tall and muscular, with large hands and long legs. Obviously, there was nothing little about him. At the sudden image that popped into my brain, heat flooded my cheeks and – to my total embarrassment – other places, too.

I cleared my throat. "You know what? Forget I said that." Suddenly desperate to change the subject, I said, "Hey, about the Camaro. Is that the car from that movie?"

"Flashbang? Yeah, that's the one." 

"But why didn't you tell me?"

Joel gave me a wicked grin. "Because I didn't want you to know."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, well that's nice."

"Hey, I wasn't looking to advertise it," he said. "And you've gotta remember, we'd just met."

He was right. At the time, we had just met, and we weren't exactly hitting it off. "But if the car was some kind of secret," I said, "why'd you take it out that night?"

"Because my own car was blocked in, and there was no way in hell I was gonna let you walk home in the dark." His mouth tightened. "Alone."

I had to smile. "So you pulled out a movie prop?"

"Hey, I'd have stolen a car if that's what it took."

I laughed. "Oh, stop it. You wouldn’t."

"Wanna try me?"

"No," I said. "Definitely not."

Joel smiled. "Probably, I should've stolen a car. That Camaro? It was how my brothers found me."

"Because you drove me home that night?"

"Nah," Joel said, "because someone spotted the car outside the storage place, and then jumped on the internet to brag about it."

I cringed. "Oh."

"What?"

"I'm pretty sure that was April." I went on to explain how April had spotted the Camaro on her way out of town, and had called me afterward to tell me about it. I finished by saying, "So in a way, it's my fault you were found."

"Why your fault?"

"If only I'd put two and two together, I would've asked her not to say anything."

"Hey," Joel said, "you've got nothing to be sorry for." He gave my hand a tender squeeze. "And I like April. She looks out for you."

Yes, she definitely did, even if it meant warning guys that I wasn't a sack-jumper. But there was no way I'd be bringing that up.  

Still, I had to smile. "Yeah, I like her, too."

"Speaking of cars," Joel said, "how about that ride?"

I gave a happy nod, and then drove him across the street to get his car. Five minutes later, I was driving back to my place, with Joel following in his own vehicle.

With him a few car lengths behind, I turned into my driveway, only to hit the brakes when I spotted them – my aunt and uncle, scurrying like rats, along the side of my house.

I sighed. Not again.