Chapter 30

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Pauly flipped the sign on the door of the bike shop to closed. Ingrid finished cleaning out the cash register and yawned. There wasn't a minute during her eight hours being back at work that she hadn't anticipated Evan coming in the building to make her pay for telling the truth.

All she wanted to do was go home, have a warm bath, and fall into bed.

"Remember, you're to stay in here with me until one of the Notus members comes over and picks you up." Pauly pushed one of the bicycles out of the aisle. "You did really good today, despite everything going on."

She slipped the cash into the bag. Her conversation with Pauly on the phone yesterday had gone better than she'd expected. She explained how an ex-boyfriend abused her and because she was dealing with how to protect herself, she'd missed work. Pauly's concern went beyond supporting her. "The club talked to you about me, didn't they?"

From the moment she'd arrived, she could tell Pauly knew more about her situation than she'd told him. He'd watched her while she dealt with the customers. During her lunch break, he closed the shop for a half hour and gave her a sub sandwich he'd brought from home. He stayed up front with her working the floor and out of the workroom in the back all day.

Pauly grunted. "It takes a village, my girl."

"I'm not a child." She slid the bundle of money toward him.

"Never said you were." Pauly weighed the pouch in his hand. "Tourists are coming in, and the weather cooling off brought the customers in. After the downpour last night, I wasn't sure we'd have anyone stop by today."

"Can I ask you something?" She leaned against the counter, and when he nodded, she said, "Do you have any kids?"

"Two girls and a boy." Pauly stood straighter and waved his hand. "Of course, they're grown and out on their own now, doing God knows what with who. They come around on holidays and birthdays. Since they support themselves, I can't complain. Doesn't look like any of them are in any hurry to settle down and give me some grandkids anytime soon, though."

He was a father, probably a good one. She pursed her lips. He was also older which meant he'd seen his share of relationships. She knew he was divorced and she had the feeling he'd been by himself for a long time.

"You might as well spit out what you want to ask." Pauly knocked on the side of his head. "I can see the wheels turning."

"Do you think age matters when it comes to love?" She concentrated on finding the right explanation for Pauly so that he would understand. "Let's say two people have an incredible connection...off the charts hot, but it's more."

"How much more?" asked Pauly, frowning.

"Age? Um, over twenty years difference." She cleared her throat. "They're both adults."

Pauly's double chin grew to a triple. "I'm not talking about the age difference. I want to know what's more than 'off the charts hot'?"

"Hm..." She looked down at her hands. "Have you ever listened to loud music, the kind with a heavy bass, and you could feel the booms in your chest and swear the music was changing your heartbeat, and you get lightheaded? It makes you feel alive and excited. Then when the music shuts off, your heartbeat returns to normal, and it's not the same. You're left feeling empty and disappointed. It's that way when you're together with that one special person, and when you're apart from him, it leaves you feeling blah. You can't hear the music."

"Ah..." Pauly shifted and leaned his hip against the counter and crossed his arms over his rotund chest. "That's not love. It's falling in love."

"I don't understand," she said.

"Well, it's like this." He leaned toward her. "Falling in love is full of good feelings and bad feelings. Highs and lows. It's like a roller coaster ride. Some people throw up their arms and enjoy the adrenaline rush. Others, they just throw up. They're too scared to take the ride to the top and fear having to get out of the seat."

She shook her head. Pauly had a tendency to babble. His comparing falling in love to a carnival ride was right up there with him explaining how to install a chain on a bike by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

"What you need to remember is to get to love, you have to ride the ups and downs of falling in love. Not everyone makes it back to the ground where it's stable. Some people keep circling and circling, until the adrenaline leaves...or like you said, they can't hear the music." Pauly looked at her and raised his brows. "The trick is taking the ride, surviving, and when life calms down, no matter how you handled the roller coaster, you held on and rode together, and you'd be first in line to buy another ticket to ride again."

She pursed her lips and nodded. "That makes sense, I think."

"Do you know what happens after you're done falling in love?" he asked.

She shook her head.

Pauly smiled softly. "Falling in love—those ups and downs—were only a test. When you finally pass, and you know you love someone, you realize that love was there from the very beginning."

"Couldn't someone skip all the pain and scary parts if they know it's love?"

He shook his head. "You can't take two people and tell them to love each other. They both have to prove their feelings, and then there's the whole thing about showing your vulnerable side to another person. Some people aren't willing to pay the price. They won't go on the ride."

She nodded. Either she was overtired, or Pauly's analogy was starting to make sense. Her and Glen were at different points. She had her arms up on the rollercoaster, and he was throwing up.

Something about falling in love scared Glen, and it had nothing to do with their age difference.

She reached over and squeezed Pauly's wrist. "Thanks."

The bell on the door chimed. She looked up, expecting Glen and found Chuck.

"I'm your ride." Chuck glanced back through the door. "Ready?"

"Yeah." She grabbed her purse and walked across the shop.

Chuck looked over her head at Pauly. "Thanks for watching out for her."

"Not a problem," said Pauly. "I'll lock the door behind you."

"See you tomorrow, boss." Ingrid pushed against the door and Chuck grabbed her arm. "What?"

"Let me go first. You stick to my side, and we're going to walk straight across the street to my motorcycle parked outside Vavoom's." Chuck waited for her reply, and when she only nodded, he smiled. A totally fake smile.

She walked out with him and waited on the sidewalk for traffic to ease. "Bad day?"

"It could've been worse." Chuck motioned her forward.

She stepped off the curb and hurried to get across the street. At his motorcycle, she spotted Glen's bike at the curb and looked toward the bar. Unable to see through the darkened windows, she asked, "Why isn't Glen taking me home?"

"He's busy." Chuck handed her a helmet. "Put that on."

She prepared to ride and got on back of Chuck's motorcycle. The seat felt smaller than the one on Glen's bike, and she leaned to the side to find the other foot peg.

Chuck patted her leg. "Scoot up."

She looked down and found inches between her body and Chuck's. Sighing, she moved forward and held on to his sides above his belt.

Chuck looked over his shoulder. "You're going to have to hold on better than that."

She reached around him and clasped her hands, keeping her fingers off Chuck, because holding him was nothing like holding Glen. The engine rumbled to life, and the forward momentum had her forgetting about how awkward it was to ride with Glen's MC brother.

The wind dashed all her hope that she'd be able to at least see Glen for five minutes tonight, and her mind wandered to what she'd say on her nightly text to him. In Pauly's words, she was riding one of the lows of falling in love and if Glen also felt nauseous at the dip in their relationship how was she to get them in the position to ride to the top?

At the entrance of her street, flashing lights lit up the neighborhood. Pure panic tightened every muscle in her body. She screamed Chuck's name to get his attention and pointed ahead of them. There were two cop cars parked in front of her house.