Slow.

Deep.

Breaths.

This is it.

After a few weeks of digging and using the best private investigation firm money could buy, I was on my Harley heading toward Olive Cooper. I had no idea what to expect or what I was going to say, but my mind was set on at least meeting her.

Riding along the open freeway at the ass-crack of dawn toward the unknown was more liberating than I had expected. The cool fall air whipped around me as the miles passed by. A calm I hadn’t known for far too long settled in deep. My bike rumbled under me as the minutes passed, an excitement consumed me—buzzed in every cell. It was different than the feeling I got before a fight, it was more like liberation. And for the first time in a very long time, my mind was peaceful.

Rounding the corner, my destination was finally in sight—Mic’s Garage. A lump formed in my throat. This was it. It was now or never.

I pulled into the gravel parking lot and sat for a few seconds as my nerves started to get the better of me.

What if this was a bad idea?

What if I do more harm than good?

What if she doesn’t want to talk to me?

I pushed all the doubt and fear of rejection to the back of my mind. I had come too far to chicken out now.

“Are you Olive?” I asked, walking into the large open workshop.

The young woman only paces away from me spun around quickly. Her emerald eyes were wide as her head tilted a little, grease and dirt covering her jeans and flannel shirt. She shoved her long, red bangs away from her face. “Yeah. Who’s asking?”

I rubbed the back of my neck, completely tongue-tied. Her brow furrowed as she started to make her way to the entry I was standing against. I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to immediately divulge all the reasons I had come up there, but I froze. She looked at me again, frustration starting to blanket her soft complexion. “Can I help you?”

“Y-Yeah,” I stuttered. “I’m Griffin, um…is there somewhere we could talk?” I shoved my shaking hands into my pockets.

Get a grip on yourself, man.

You’re acting like a crazy person.

She pointed to a closed door next to us. “All right. Come on into my office, I guess.”

I followed her and then heard a low grumble come from the back of the room.

“Oh hush, Otis.” She snickered as she took a seat at her desk.

I stood paralyzed, staring at a giant black dog with cropped ears and a mean-ass snarl.

“He’s harmless.” She waved her hand at her dog dismissively. “He’s all talk. He's never actually attacked anybody. Don’t worry, come on in.”

I took a seat, pulling my wallet out of my back pocket. Staring down at my hands, I fought for the right words. “I really don’t know where to begin.” My voice was shaky. I sounded like a fucking pansy, but I didn’t really know what to do.

I had played this scenario over and over in my head increasingly often over the years, but now there I was, actually staring at the daughter of the man who had died to save my life. I shouldn’t have known who she was—donors’ families were supposed to be anonymous—but I had figured it out. Now I kind of wished I hadn’t.

To add insult to injury, Olive was absolutely gorgeous—long auburn hair, large round emerald eyes, and a light dusting of freckles over her dimpled cheeks, not to mention she was a female mechanic. Talk about a badass. I was immediately struck by her beauty and grit; she was not my usual type, but for some reason I was completely drunk with infatuation. I usually went for the model, blonde, superficial types while she was more downhome girl with an edge and a chip on her shoulder, but today I couldn’t get enough of looking at her.

I pulled out her father’s obituary and laid it on the table between us before continuing. “Ten years ago, your father passed away, and he saved countless lives with the organs he donated, mine included.”

Her jaw hung open as she stuttered. “I-I don’t… What?”

I exhaled a long breath. “I have your dad’s heart. He saved my life when an infection destroyed my own, and it’s taken me all this time to get up the guts to come see you.” I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my chest instantly.

“I don’t know what to say.” She bit her lip as tears started to well up in her eyes. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.” I lifted up my shirt to reveal the long scar on my chest. “I was sixteen. Because of your father, I was able to follow my dreams.”

“What were they?” she asked as she gripped the laminated clipping in her tiny hands.

“My dreams?” I confirmed, nervous that they weren’t going to be good enough.

She blinked back tears as she nodded. “Yeah, what dreams did you follow?”

I swallowed hard. “I am a professional boxer and because of my success, I have been able to help a lot of charities.” I felt like I had to prove to her why I deserved to have her father’s heart beating in my chest.

Olive unbuttoned her flannel shirt, throwing the dirty garment into the corner of her office and revealing a light gray t-shirt with Ollie is my homeboy and the New York Otters’ logo.

A lightbulb went off. “Are you a hockey fan?” I questioned, raising my eyebrow.

Otis grunted next to me, so I put my hand on his head as Olive dramatically rolled her eyes, pulling the end of her shirt down to stretch out the design. “What gave it away?” she sarcastically asked.

“My brother is the captain of that team,” I blurted out. I was excited to get the focus off of our weird connection and onto something that might make her smile, because it was the most gorgeous damn smile I had ever laid eyes on.

“No shit! You're Gavin Hayes’ little brother? In the goddamned flesh…” She slumped down into her seat a little more, propping her head up with her fist. “Holy fuck. Is this real life?”

“Hey, why don’t we go to a game sometime?”

She blinked a few times. “I don’t know. This is all kind of weird, don’t ya think?”

“Fucking weird as all hell. I’m sorry. I got ahead of myself. I shouldn’t have done this.” I shoved up from the chair, ready to put my tail between my legs and leave that poor girl alone.

“Wait!” She flew up from her seat.

“Yeah?” I halted midstride.

She walked over to me, staring me dead in the eye. “Can I hear it?”

“Hear what?”

Biting her lower lip, she put her hand over her chest. “Can I hear his heartbeat?”

Without thinking, I grabbed the sides of her face and pressed her ear to my chest, right over my heart.

Soft sobs started to come from her. “It sounds the same,” she whimpered.

I rested my chin atop her head. “You can listen for as long as you want to.”

We both were weeping as we stood there in silence, her face glued to my chest. I held her tightly against me. Right then, I felt like everything I had been looking for had finally fallen into place. All the brokenness that was weighing me down was starting to come back together and heal. This was what I had been yearning for; for the better part of ten years without even knowing it. My heart was looking for its soul mate, and there she stood, locked in my arms.

That one moment changed me. That one connection stifled my longing and need to fill the empty hole. In that moment, my heart was finally filled.

Why did this have to take me so long to find?

“So, a hockey game would be nice.” She sniffled, pulling away to wipe her damp cheeks.

“Yeah?” I could barely contain my elation.

“I mean, it’s weird, but why not?” She shrugged. “I might still be in shock, I just don’t really know what to think. This is all so much to take in.”

I practically jumped for joy that Olive was agreeing to spend more time with me. “The Otters have a game this coming Thursday in New York. You can stay with me if that doesn’t bother you too much, and I’ll get my brother to get us some good seats. Maybe I can get a whole group together. We have kind of a crew—well, my brother does anyway. His wife and her best friend and his friends. Sorry, I’m rambling. I’m nervous. All I am trying to say is that it could be a lot of fun.”

“I would really like that.” She gave me a half smile and my heart started pounding in my chest. “I haven’t hung out with anyone except for Shaw in…I don’t even know how long.”

“Who’s Shaw?” I asked. Jealousy was a bitter pill that was coating the back of my throat. Of course someone as amazing as her would have someone already. How could I be so naïve to think she would be unattached?

Olive hit a button on the phone on her desk, her voice booming on an intercom. “Shaw, can you come in here really fast?”

Great, now I had to meet the guy whose girl I had every intention of stealing right out from under him.

Within seconds, a lanky kid walked through the door, covered head to toe in motor oil with sweat dripping off his brow.

“Hey Liv, what’s up?”

“Shaw, this is Griffin. My dad kind of saved his life.” Olive just threw it out into the universe as I stood in the middle of her office with a random dude staring at me with his jaw hanging open.

“You do know your father has been dead for nearly ten years, right?” Shaw sank into the seat in front of the other desk. He tried to laugh it off, but the awkwardness only thickened.

I stalked over to him and grabbed his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, and Olive is telling the truth. I have her dad’s heart.”

“No shit!” His eyes darted from me to Olive. “This is fucking insane.”

“Tell me about it,” Olive muttered.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to find you.” I glanced over at Olive before taking a seat again.

“I don’t know if I would have had the balls to do it ever.” She reached over her desk, putting her hand on my arm.

“At least I finally made it up here. To think, without him, I wouldn’t be alive. I was a sixteen-year-old punk when my heart decided to fail out on me, and this one’s been ticking pretty good for the last ten years.”

My jealousy continued to grow as the three of us sat in silence in the small office. My mind raced from question to question I didn’t have the guts to ask. Were Shaw and Olive just friends? Were they more than that? Did they just work together? For some reason I felt an overwhelming need to know exactly who the hell he was and what his intensions were. It wasn’t anything more than instinctual, but in that moment, I felt like she was mine to protect and take care of, felt I needed to be with her from that moment on, every second of every day. Even being a desk’s width away felt like too far. I knew eventually I was going to have to get back onto my bike and head home, but I needed more time.

“Will you have dinner with me tonight?” I asked abruptly. Olive and Shaw both stared blankly at me while I waited impatiently for an answer.

Finally, Olive spoke. “Sure? I guess that would be nice.”

I got up from the chair, feeling like I was about to overstay my welcome. It was a work day and I was being rude, taking up way too much of her time as it was. “Great. What time should I come by to pick you up?”

Olive’s cheeks turned the most adorable shade of pink, like strawberry syrup that I just wanted to lick and kiss off her face. “Seven?”

“Perfect. I’ll see you then.” She reached out to offer her hand to me. When I took it, the gesture felt too impersonal, so I pulled her in, tightly holding her to my chest as she sighed into me.

“I’ll see you in a few hours,” she whispered, pushing me away.

I waved goodbye to Shaw and then hopped on my bike. I had no idea what I was going to do for the rest of the day, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I was going to be with Olive again soon.