Touch of Amber: Hot Rods, Book 7 (10 page)

“Better not let Ms. Brown hear you talking like that,” Roman reminded his little brother.

“I’ll just tell her I heard it from you guys.” He grinned and no one had the heart to scold him, since it was definitely true.

He was going to be a heartbreaker someday, Gavyn would bet.

Although he never would have expected it, he couldn’t imagine a better outcome from his trip. He’d come to make amends and had ended up with gifts more bountiful than he should receive. Determined, he would earn them.

“So that’s okay? I don’t mind being on cleanup duty. Anything for you guys, seriously.” He cleared his throat. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”

“In that case…” Kaige raised his brows. “You can be on diaper-changing duty too when we bust out of here tomorrow.”

“Nova!” Nola smacked her husband on the shoulder. “You are not foisting your daughter off on company.”

“Nope, just her poop.” He grinned.

“You better get out of here while you still can.” Roman nudged Gavyn. “Otherwise they’ll have you cleaning toilets next.”

“That might be where I draw the line.” He hoped they knew it wasn’t true. He’d do whatever he could to pitch in. He owed them that much.

“See you tomorrow, then.” Carver waved and the rest of the Hot Rods followed suit.

“Tomorrow,” he confirmed.

As he walked out to his motorcycle, he couldn’t believe how much more promise the future held than even a couple hours before. He was on the right track and committed to staying there.

With the help of his friends.

Chapter Twelve

“There you are.” Amber smiled as she finally caught up with Quinn in the break room of the Hot Rods garage. She’d popped through the side entrance to keep out of the way of the restorations taking place in the main bays and Sabra’s filming of the action for their reality TV show. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I thought you’d be in your room or maybe at the kitchen table like usual.”

The teenager shrugged without glancing up from his notes and the open textbook in front of him, which sat beside his laptop. He must be really worried about this test. Buster McHightops was curled up in a doggie bed made out of a tire stuffed with blankets in the corner, fast asleep despite the racket. “Nah. Tom and your mom like to watch
Judge Judy
at four. Figured it would be quieter in here.”

The whir of pneumatic tools almost drowned him out.

“What I meant was… There won’t be sounds that are tough to concentrate over. The talking on the TV makes it hard for me to read,” he covered quickly.

“I’m sure they’d record their shows for after you’re done studying,” she suggested. Her mother would never make it harder for Quinn to do well in school, not now that he’d only begun to excel.

“It’s fine.” Quinn shook his head. “Don’t want to bug them. This is cool.”

“All right.” She took a seat next to him and peeked over his shoulder, making a mental note to mention it discreetly to her mom later. “I’m glad you texted me to come over. What are you working on that you thought I could help with?”

He nudged the laptop so that she could see what was on the screen.

“Spreadsheets!” She clapped. “Mmm. My favorite.”

Quinn rolled his eyes then said, “You’re a total nerd. I knew it.”

“Damn straight! Tell me we get to color code stuff too and I’ll love you forever.” She knocked her shoulder into his as they laughed together. “So what are we organizing here?”

“It’s a module on managing finances and budgeting,” he explained, then handed her the book with the problems.

“That seems like a super smart skill to teach in high school.” She hummed her appreciation.

“Yeah, if I could actually learn it. So far I keep getting errors on my formulas and it’s a pain in the ass to line stuff up in these dumb boxes,” he grumbled.

“You’ll be a pro in time for this test,” she promised him.

With her help, they were able to knock out several of the sample sheets in a half hour and she’d even started to teach him some more advanced tricks he could use both for extra credit and in real life. Despite his initial reluctance, he seemed to pick up what she showed him really quickly. Maybe he simply caught on easier from demonstration than reading. She’d have to share that with Tom and her mom for other assignments. Or maybe show Quinn how to check out how-to videos on YouTube if it would suit his learning style better.

While he was typing up a formula, she let her mind wander. That was when she heard voices nearby, growing louder as a couple of guys seemed to be heading this way. She hoped they didn’t distract Quinn from his studies.

Roman was talking in his usual soft voice, too low for her to make out his words. A response came from someone whose tone rang deeper.

The sound instantly had her entire body flashing hot then cold.

“Yeah, it’s been a shit-ton easier this time around,” Gavyn declared, his voice almost regular speaking volume as he neared the break room. “I went to the counselor you recommended at rehab. Plus, anytime I have a hint of a craving, I think about how bad I fucked up and I skip wanting to drink and go straight to feeling sick instead.”

Amber bolted to her feet, knocking over her chair in the process. There was nowhere to run in the interior space. No windows. No way to escape. She considered ducking beneath the table and hiding. There simply wasn’t time.

Gavyn and Roman came through the door in the next instant.

Amber stood rooted to the floor.

He could not have just walked in here!
It was not possible that he could be here and no one warned her. They wouldn’t do that to her. Unless he’d showed up unannounced?

“Amber!” Gavyn didn’t only slam to an immediate stop at seeing her, he also stumbled back a few steps. His face drained of color and the wry smile he’d worn withered into a grimace.

She didn’t respond, instead snatching her purse from the table and clutching it to her. If she didn’t have to brush by him to leave, she would have darted from the room.

“Shit. I’m sorry. I swear I had no idea you were going to be here. Barracuda promised me you had no plans to visit.”

Roman held up his hands. “Don’t blame me. She doesn’t clear her schedule with Hot Rods. Nola said she wasn’t expecting her sister. That’s the best I can do.”

Gavyn began to retreat from the room. “I didn’t mean to bother you.”

“Stop!” Quinn stood up as he barked the order, making Buster McHightops pop awake, leap to his feet and growl at nothing in particular. When the dog blinked, stretched then trotted over to Roman and Gavyn with his tail wagging, Quinn continued addressing the guys who’d frozen at his outburst. “
I
asked her to come over. To help me with my homework. I told her you all were busy with a big project.”

“You
knew
Gavyn would be here when you texted me?” She whirled toward Quinn, that sneaky little probably-well-meaning runt, and squeaked when she got to Gav’s name. It was hard to say. Rusty, since she hadn’t uttered it in months.

The kid nodded.

“Shit.” Gavyn groaned. “Why would you do that to her?”

Amber’s heart slammed inside her chest and her whole body trembled. Seeing him again tore her up. On one hand, he looked so freaking amazing. Cut muscles—visible since he was walking around shirtless—shone with light perspiration exactly like after he’d fucked her senseless. She could guarantee she’d be breaking out her vibrator when she got home. And on the other, every single glance at him tore the scabs off her not-quite-healed heart.

Roman looked at Quinn and frowned. “I know you were trying to do something nice, but this wasn’t the right way to go about it.”

“He likes her. A lot. I could tell yesterday at the hospital. Couldn’t you?” Quinn asked his older brother.

“Yes.”

“And
she
misses
him
.” Quinn pointed at Amber then back to Gavyn. “She’s been sad since the weddings. I hear her crying buckets when she comes to talk to Ms. Brown and I’m in my room. I act like I don’t so she doesn’t get embarrassed, but—”

“I know.” Barracuda thankfully cut him off before he could share any other sensitive information. Still, he didn’t try to pretend that Quinn didn’t have the truth of it, and neither did she. Great.

The only way this could get more mortifying was if someone busted her on the number of times she’d gotten herself off to memories of that night—sometimes even coming in her sleep as she dreamed about it—or how often she’d pored over the single email Gavyn had sent her since their disastrous fling had been cut short.

Quinn crossed his arms and stared at the adults like they’d betrayed him. Especially his brother. “You told me that it’s okay to fight. But just because you don’t like someone’s actions doesn’t mean you stop loving the person.”

“I did say that.” Roman nodded.

“So were you lying then or are you lying now?” Quinn’s face got red and his hands curled into fists. It wasn’t fair to upset him like this when he still worried from time to time about his place in the gang and the stability of the world around him. His abusive past made it hard for him to believe his haven, Hot Rods, could be real and lasting. Easy for him to get confused. Scared. “Gav’s not like our mom. He screwed up. Once. He doesn’t hate Amber or hurt her all the time or think it’s funny—”

Amber had let this go on too long, get too out of hand. It wasn’t only her or Gavyn she was impairing now either. “Quinn, please, stop.”

She opened her arms and welcomed the teenager into them. He flew against her, wrapping his deceptively strong arms around her in return. A rare thing for him to let anyone touch him or to admit he needed security or reassurance. It only made her feel more like shit.

“I’m sorry, Amber,” he muttered against her neck. “I love you like a sister. I want you to be happy.”

“I know.” She squeezed him tight then held him at arm’s length. “And I respect you for doing what you thought was right. I’ve been silly, letting my hurt feelings stand in the way of making better decisions on how to handle the situation. I’m sorry I set a bad example for you.”

“You are?” Gavyn, Roman and Quinn said in unison.

“Yes.” She ruffled Quinn’s hair. “In the future, how about you come talk to me first and explain how you feel before you do something like this?”

“Okay.” Quinn nodded, biting his lip. “So, you’re not mad?”

“I’m upset, but I forgive you. And I still love you.” She kissed his forehead.

“I’m gonna go…” Gavyn spun around and took one step before she stopped him.

“Don’t move,” she commanded, and he froze long enough for her to turn back to Quinn. “Now, would it be okay if I talk to him alone for a while since you went to all this trouble?”

“I guess.” He smiled somewhat devilishly, packed up his school stuff, then called to his dog. “Come on, Buster. Let’s go play fetch.”

“Not so fast. I think you and I should have a discussion of our own first.” Roman snagged Quinn’s collar and steered him toward the door. “You’re lucky Amber’s so damn nice.”

“Uh-oh,” Mustang Sally singsonged as the brothers passed her painting booth. “What’d the kid do now?” When she popped her head out and saw Amber and Gavyn about to face off, she gasped. “Holy shit.”

“Ugh.” Amber groaned. “Close the door, would you?”

Gavyn obliged. “Are you sure you’re comfortable being alone with me? Seriously, I’ll hit the road. The last thing I wanted was to bother you more. Roman is helping me plan stuff for my bike shop.”

“Oh. That’s…terrific.” She hated the veil of pleasantries between them. Going deeper would hurt. She was scared to dredge up her disappointment and fear. The doubt over what she could have done differently. What might have happened if he’d never wandered from her side that night. “I’m glad to hear you’re still doing that.”

“Amber.” His tone turned pleading, soft and sensual and so damn attractive she hated herself for wanting him even now. “If we’re going to do this, can we at least be honest with each other?”

Her head snapped toward him. “I don’t think I’ve ever been anything but with you.”

“That’s better.” He nodded. “It’s fine to show me how angry you are. How hurt. I understand. And I’d take it from you if I could.”

Amber gave up ground with each baby step he took forward, unsure of her ability to control the fractions of her that wished she could shove him onto the break room table and take things to a place where they fit together so well that none of this pain seemed possible.

Eventually, though, her shoulders bumped into the cinderblock wall. He kept advancing, slow and steady, as if aware of how frightened she was of him and his ability to wound her. When he was a few paces away, he stopped, giving her room to bolt past him if she needed.

She wanted to.

Yet she didn’t.

“I’m
so
fucking sorry—” he began.

Amber spoke at the same time, interrupting, figuring she could save them a whole lot of time. “I know. I got your email.”

“Oh.” He winced. “I sort of hoped I had the wrong address or it went to spam or something, since you never wrote back.”

“Nope.” She shrugged. “I just…didn’t know what to say. Or maybe I wasn’t strong enough to type out how I really felt like you did.”

“That could either be promising or really horrible.” Gavyn’s shoulders drew in tight as he tensed, waiting for her to clue him in.

Amber cleared her throat a few times. No sound would come out.

“You’re shaking.” He put out one hand to cup her upper arm, steadying her and lending her his strength. It was a simple touch. Enough to race through her entire body as if he’d licked her from her head to her curling toes.

When she didn’t object, he came even closer, bringing his other hand up to do the same on her other side.

Amber whimpered.

“Are you afraid of me?” he asked, tortured.

“Kind of. Though not how you’re imagining.” She rested her head on the wall and looked up into his anguished eyes.

“What are you scared of?” he wondered.

“That if I let you walk out of here today…”

“Yeah?” He seemed as horrified by the thought as she was, leaning in to rest his forehead on hers.

“I’m never going to find another man who makes me feel as much as you do.” She whimpered, hating the tears bubbling up inside her.

“Amber.” He slid his hands behind her, enveloping her in his warm, strong arms. “I’ve missed you so much. I know I don’t deserve another chance with you. But I’m asking for one anyway.”

Amber had never wanted to grant someone’s wish as much as she did right then. What kind of fool would that make her?

“Tell me you don’t sense this connection between us?” He tilted his face down and whispered against her lips, making her melt inside.

Despite every bit of sanity screaming at her to put her hands on his chest and shove—hard, so that she could take a breath not filled with the sandalwood scent of him—she didn’t.

Instead, she went onto her toes the barest bit so that their mouths collided.

Neither one of them waited a moment more. They groaned in unison as their lips locked and their tongues began a fierce and desperate dueling match where both of them were, ultimately, winners. Again and again they sipped from each other. For the first time, she had some inkling of what it had to have been like for Gavyn, when he’d stolen that first droplet of champagne on Nola’s wedding night.

Because she found herself in the same predicament. Addicted to the rush of passion and pleasure he brought her in the moment, completely disregarding the consequences of this indulgence even after he’d proved how devastating they could be.

For that very reason…she should quit him.