Chapter 2
Lynn ran her fingers through her hair for the hundredth time. She didn’t even have long hair, she was just that nervous.
“Don’t act stupid.”
Her reflection didn’t answer, as she knew that it wouldn’t, so she sighed.
This is dumb.
Messaging Jessica’s hot brother while she was wine drunk on Pinot was probably the most dangerous thing she’d done lately. Lynn knew it. Even sober, she understood what she’d done.
It wasn’t some stranger she was going to meet, it was Jessica’s family. Someone she would inevitably spend time with again at some point or another, and no matter how much sugar Jessica coated the situation with, Lynn knew the gravity of her actions.
What if I like him?
What if I don’t?
She knew this wasn’t some casual ‘blind date.’ Well, it wasn’t even a date, but…same concept.
It felt like a date, a very uncomfortable one-sided date that Lynn had voluntarily placed herself in. It wasn’t like she had to go…she could make up some kind of excuse to get out of it.
Like, going to another garage.
Or, deleting their thread of messages out of her phone and acting like she hadn’t messaged him at eight that very morning to see when would be a good time to stop by.
“Whenever you want to do it, let me know. I’ll be at the shop until around five or so.”
Such a simple response, and even still, Lynn’s anxiety was through the roof. Lifting her phone to her face, she read their messages again. There was nothing flirtatious about them whatsoever, a clear indication that he more than likely wasn’t interested, and even still, that flutter was back in her chest. Some tiny voice in the back of her head was whispering, this is different.
It wasn’t like Jessica had only just suggested Lynn meet her brother, either. It’d been months of buildup, of curiosity, of one giant question mark that floated around in her head from time to time.
“He’s just a man. Probably like all the rest of ‘em, too. You can handle this.”
I can handle anything, right?
Yet, Lynn knew that he wouldn’t be like the rest. After what she’d gone through with Jake, Jessica would never lead her astray. She wouldn’t ever suggest something to her that could hurt her in any way.
Hell, Aidan had no idea why she was there bothering him anyways. This was routine for him, she was sure. She couldn’t imagine how many people messaged him calling in a favor to have their car worked on. She wasn’t even getting her car worked on so she could get a free favor out of it anyways.
She’d pay full price for whatever he said needed fixing.
This is a new low for me, paying a man for his damn time.
Feeling utterly desperate but in the weirdest kind of way, Lynn applied some lipstick and turned the light off in her bathroom. There would be no turning back once she got into her car, she knew that. She’d go through with it.
Am I sure this is what I want?
Ignoring the voice in the back of her head that practically screamed yes, she started her engine and let it idle for a second.
“Here we go,” She whispered to the empty car.
Rubbing a hand across her chest to try and appease the ache behind her palm, she shifted her car into reverse.
∞∞∞
Lynn wasn’t stupid. She kept reminding herself of that over and over, as well as the fact that she could show up at the garage and absolutely hate Jessica’s brother.
It didn’t matter that she liked what she’d heard about him; that he was loyal, faithful, and kind. She’d heard more about his personal life from his sister than she probably should have, but none of it was heard with the intention of dating him. She’d heard about the cheating ex-girlfriend, the not-so-nice flings, the utter devastation of sharing his life with other people only for him to have it thrown right back into his hands like none of it mattered.
Lynn knew that feeling. She knew it all too well, and the fact that their pasts were so similar, only served to further push her in his direction.
Not to mention the fact that he was absolutely gorgeous. Jessica had told her everything she could about her brother and then some, only painting a pleasing masterpiece as far as his character went. Apparently, the man was a veritable saint. The idea had her rolling her eyes as she parked at an empty gas pump facing the garage bays. No man could possibly be that perfect, right?
Lynn paused for only a second before she stepped out of her car and welcomed the breeze at her back. It was only now starting to get chilly in Michigan, the September air growing crisper as October approached.
With a green cardigan wrapped around her narrow shoulders, Lynn turned to face the garage. The bay doors were wide open, revealing an empty space. There weren’t many other customers around, which made her more nervous than she’d ever admit out loud, but that didn’t matter anyways. She was ready to get back into her car, the butterflies in her belly were so big. Nearly the size of birds, if she were being honest.
As she spotted movement from the other side of the garage, she paused.
I can run right now, just jump in my car and leave-
“Whoa,” She whispered to herself.
Tucking her hands down at her sides, she watched Aiden emerge from the darker side of the garage. His stride was easy as he came to a stop at the mouth of the bay. She took a second to study him.
His dark hair was short, tucked against his ears. His eyes, from what she could tell, were an even mix of green and blue that intrigued her. Thick brows framed high cheeks and a mouth she knew she wanted to taste. All of that accompanied the scruff on his chin, a chin that had a tantalizing dimple Lynn thought was adorable.
It took a second for him to look up, enough so that Lynn could make out the rest of him, and she was far from disappointed. Wide shoulders, lean hips, and the way he kept looking at the ground told her he had absolutely no clue how attractive he was.
Everything around them seemed to slow down as they stared at one another from across the parking lot. A lock of dark hair fell into his cerulean eyes as the wind blew again. Lynn’s gaze drank him in like a tonic for her tired soul. She was sure it only lasted a moment, but it felt like it stretched on forever. He was wearing a dark long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up around his tanned forearms, and his blue slacks met the tops of his black work boots that looked like they’d seen better days.
It only made him more appealing.
His mouth suddenly lifted into a smile that both confused and surprised Lynn immensely. She’d seen that smile a hundred times in a hundred different photos, but it’d never been aimed in her direction, and she wasn’t entirely prepared for the impact it had on her.
Oh no.
Oh, no, no, no-
“Hey, you.”
Two words.
That was all it took for that stupid voice in the back of her mind to start singing a damn choir chorus that she couldn’t really hear because she was too busy staring into Aiden’s eyes like she’d only just discovered the opposite sex existed.
You’re being ridiculous.
“Hey,” She said softly.
He was still smiling, but he ducked his head again and kicked at the ground for a second, his hands buried in his pockets. She got the notion that he was shy, but he had no reason to be.
She was there for him and him alone. He would probably never know, and she didn’t think it would make a difference, but Lynn knew the second their eyes met.
He was different, just like she’d thought.
“You need an oil change and your tires rotated, huh?”
Lynn nodded, “Yeah, thinking about taking a vacation. Want to make sure I take care of all that stuff before I go.”
“Good idea.”
She held out her keys.
“You think you can pull it into the garage for me?”
He nodded, taking her keys from her hand. The second their palms touched, Lynn felt it- that rush- that she’d heard about a million and one times. It took her breath away, and for a second she was scared that he’d seen it.
He would think I’m an idiot, and wouldn’t that be great?
“Do you mind if I come inside with you? I don’t want to stand out here by myself.”
He nodded his dark head, “Yeah, sure, come on.”
Lynn followed behind as he pulled her car into the garage, immediately noting the scent.
“Smells amazing in here,” She whispered to herself.
Aiden glanced at her.
“What?”
“Nothing, I just love the smell,” She said gesturing to the garage.
He didn’t say anything for a second.
“I hear you’re a writer.”
Lynn smiled, nodding.
“Yeah, I am. Have a few books published.”
From there their conversation took off into a natural flow that had her smiling, laughing even. It’d been so long since she felt so at ease in her own skin, and even though she doubted he was interested, she liked it.
A lot.
She watched him carefully.
Every move he made, every time his lips quirked at something she said.
He thinks I’m funny…
She couldn’t imagine why, because Jake had never found her funny. Even the guy she’d recently had a meaningless fling with hadn’t laughed at her jokes, and wasn’t that sad?
She found her head canting to the side in confusion and curiosity all over again as she listened to the deep timbre of his voice. He was bent over, checking the pressure of her tires, and suddenly all she could wonder about were his hands.
They were rough, calloused too. Would they hurt her? Would they feel good against her skin?
Any normal woman wouldn’t be wondering about whether or not they would hurt her or love her, but Lynn did.
He directed a smile in her direction, slightly crooked and the slightest bit cautious. She understood the gesture, accepted it. It felt like a dangerous game that they were playing, and it wasn’t even a situation that any normal person would question.
They weren’t doing anything even remotely interesting, but Lynn felt more in their moments together so far than she had for years. It was crazy to try to comprehend for a realist like her, because didn’t want to get her hopes up. She wanted to believe that there were still good things out there, that Aiden could very well end up being exactly who he was portrayed to be.
Their conversation moved from one topic to another, and before either one of them knew it, her car was finished. Yet, they still kept talking.
“Dating in this generation is hard. Everyone wants it easy, ya know? No one wants to put in the work,” She said softly.
Aiden was leaning against a white brick wall, his feet kicked out in front of him.
“I agree. That’s why I’ve been single for so long. I don’t want to waste my time, but that seems to be what everyone else in the world wants to do. Women aren’t that much nicer when it comes to playing games.”
“I know just what you mean. I myself happen to be a woman, and I have okayed my fair share of games in my life. But, heartbreak has a funny way of putting you in your place,” She said wisely. He watched her silently for a moment, the sun making his perfect eyes glow. She knew she had to go, but, she didn’t feel ready to leave.
As she paid for the work done on her car, she felt a tug in her gut. Aiden paused for a second. It looked like he wanted to say something more, so she fought the urge to panic and held her cool.
You’ve been hurt too many times.
If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is- remember that.
Yet, when she turned back to get into her car, he was there. His easy grin was back in place and she smiled in return because she couldn’t help herself. He was so close and he smelled like oil and nicotine and for some reason it made her heart falter in her chest. She’d just promised herself she wouldn’t ever give herself over to her feelings so easily ever again. Here she was, staring into Aiden’s eyes like they held all the secrets of the universe, and no matter how many times she tried to open her mouth to say goodbye, something different came out.
She kept expecting his gaze to drop to her body, for him to say or do something stupid that would stop the inevitable train that they were both riding.
He didn’t. Their gazes didn’t waver, neither of them looked away for over an hour.
Her fingers itched to see if his hands felt as rough as they looked, to clean the grease from his cheek, to see if his lips were as soft as they appeared to be. In a matter of minutes, she’d gone from a well-rounded woman who knew what she wanted, to a simpering female who couldn’t see anything beyond his wide shoulders and intense eyes.
This is nuts.
Say goodbye, and let it be.
You’re not ready for this.
Lynn told herself she wasn’t ready, but every fiber of her being told her that he was it. He was what she’d been looking for, yearning for, even. Like something she’d lost a long time ago was suddenly right there within reach, and all she had to do was hold her hand out and ask for it.
For some reason, she couldn’t stop telling him things she hadn’t intended to. She was being too honest as she spoke to him, she was dipping far beneath the surface of her armor for the information she was sharing. But, she was doing more than that, wasn’t she? She was testing him.
She was showing him some of her broken pieces, and he wasn’t running away. He was keeping up with her, through every subject change, every gritty secret.
Aiden took it a step farther and apologized on behalf of all men as they spoke about their past failed relationships, and that was when Lynn caught a glimpse of what Jessica had been talking about. The kindness. The loyalty. The selflessness.
It hit her all at once as she listened to him raptly.
His words were like a balm to her burned soul, and what the hell did that even mean? What was happening? Lynn didn’t lose control of herself like that, she never had.
She could tune anyone and anything out with the flick of an internal switch, and she never felt bad about it.
Why would she?
No one had ever cared about hurting her, so why would she show mercy when it wasn’t necessary? Why would Lynn back down, open up, and give someone a target, a piece of herself to annihilate?
Why would she, careful-to-a-fault-Lynn, give a stranger any ammunition that he could use against her?
Because he doesn’t feel like a stranger.
Her mind and her shattered, traitorous little heart, practically rejoiced at the sight of Aiden as he stepped closer to her. Like a magnet, like two frightened moths to a flame, they grew closer and closer until she could smell the mint on his breath.
His hair was tucked back into a hat he had on backwards, and all she could think about was taking it off so she could see if his hair was as smooth as it looked. His mouth was moving, and she was trying her hardest to hear anything and everything he was saying, but when he moved even closer to her, she couldn’t concentrate.
He spoke of his own past transgressions, of how badly he’d been hurt, and Lynn couldn’t imagine it.
It was insane, she couldn’t explain it. She could never imagine taking something so beautiful for granted in any capacity. Her brows drew together in confusion again as he spoke. As she tried to understand how someone could hurt him, just like someone had hurt her.
He doesn’t know what you’ve been through, Lynn.
He doesn’t know that you understand.
She had to remind herself to respond so he wouldn’t think she was ignoring him, because the last thing she wanted to do was come off uninterested.
She was definitely interested.
It felt like her limbs were vibrating by the time he asked if he could hug her.
She lifted onto her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. As she inhaled his scent, she stifled the feeling of utter contentment that washed over her.
He’s not your home, Lynn.
No, but every time their eyes met, Lynn could have sworn she’d only just arrived at her own doorstep.