We stared at each other with the sound of the heater vents blowing and the snow striking against the windshield. After a long moment, she nodded. “Okay.”

  Then I surprised myself. “You just have to explain to me why the hell you're up here trying to hide out right before Christmas.”

  Thea pressed her lips together in a line. I knew what that meant. She was feeling stubborn. Fuck it. I might as well get the scoop on her life. Until now, she'd been this distant high school memory that I didn't let myself think about all that much. But I’d never stopped missing her. I'd always wondered if she'd ever come back to town. After what happened with her family, I knew she came to town now and then, but we’d never crossed paths.

  “Okay,” she finally said. “It'll be good to catch up.”

  I chuckled. “All right. Let's get your car to the garage.”

  We drove through downtown Haven’s Bay, past where my dad's old garage was. Thea gestured toward it. “Aren't we stopping there?”

  “Nope. That’s only one location. We've expanded.”

  “Really?”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  “Like how much?”

  “We have two garages here and locations in eight nearby communities.”

  “You're a chain?”

  I chuckled. “Yep. We're a chain, and I live right down the road from your old house.”

  Her laugh was dry. “Wow.” After a pause, she added, “It's good to see you, Joe.”

  “You too.”

  “Really?”

  My blinker was loud in the small space when I slowed to turn into the new garage. “Really,” I said firmly.

  “Wow.” When I glanced over, she was looking around the large parking area.

  “It’s much bigger than the original garage.”

  “If you own all these garages, how come you're doing night duty?”

  “Because I always cover it during the holidays. That's how my staff stay loyal,” I offered with a shrug.

  A few moments later, I’d pulled into one of the large garage bays. After I got her car situated, I took her on a little tour, ending at my office. “Here's my office.” I gestured her through the door.

  “Oh, you have an office?” she teased.

  I rolled my eyes, flicking the lights on as she looked around. When she stopped to look at me, it suddenly felt as if a slingshot sped me back in time. Her tousled brown hair and big blue eyes were emblazoned in my memories.

  This girl. I'd had the worst crush on her. So bad. It was kind of embarrassing to think about it now.

  She blinked up at me before she whispered, “I'm sorry.”

  “For what, sweetheart?”

  She took a shuddery breath. Her lips curled down on one side. “Because my dad was an asshole, and I didn't have enough confidence to tell him to fuck off.”

  “We were sixteen. I get it.”

  I couldn't resist lifting a hand and brushing her damp, messy locks off her cheek.

  “I know, but still. You always were that guy to me.”

  I arched a brow in question. “What do you mean?”

  “I never really loved anybody the way I loved you. I could blame it on being young, but you were really good to me, Joe.”

  “I tried to be.”

  My voice was husky and had a ragged edge. I wanted to hide that, but I'd never been good at hiding much around Thea. We were standing in my office, for god’s sake, and everything fell away. The mask slipped off.

  I didn't remember where we were or any of my old resentment. All I wanted was to kiss her.

  She was just a girl standing in front of a boy, a boy who really, really liked her and probably still loved her. Maybe that was faded and old, and maybe I was jaded, but none of that mattered right now. The air around us felt electrified as we stared at each other.

  “Tell me something,” I murmured, forcing myself to ask a question I didn't really want to know the answer to.

  “What?” she whispered.

  “Are you seeing someone?”

  Her answer was instant. “No. Are you?”

  I shook my head slowly. I expected her to be the sensible one, but she wasn't. She placed her palm on my chest where my jacket hung open. My heart kicked toward her palm, almost as if it were trying to break through my ribs. Just like the rest of me, my heart knew Thea.

  I dipped my head just when she arched up toward me. Our lips collided, and it felt as if sparks leaped between us. My hand slid through her damp locks to palm her cheek. The second my lips met hers, I needed more.

  Her tongue darted out to glide against mine, and our kiss went from a subtle taste to hot, openmouthed, and messy. By the time I broke away for air, my heartbeat was thundering, and my cock was thick and swollen, my arousal impatient.

  Thea’s eyes opened as she dragged in a breath. Her eyes were hazed with passion. We stared at each other.

  “Oh,” she finally said.

  “Oh, is right.”

  Suddenly, there was a pounding on the front door down the hallway.

  “Fuck, I forgot to turn off the alarm.”

  I spun away, striding quickly down the hallway to the front to see Howard Walker, the police chief, grinning through the windows.

  “Forget the alarm?” he asked through the glass.

  “I did,” I called, relieved Thea hadn't followed me out here. “Sorry about that. Need to come in?”

  “Nah, I was right down the road. Don't worry about it. Catch you later.” He waved and jogged back toward his cruiser.

  Thea was waiting inside my office, her hand curled on the edge of the doorframe. “Was that the police?”

  “Oh, yeah. It was Howard Walker. He’s the police chief now. I'm sure you remember the name.”

  Her cheeks flushed as she nodded. “Of course, I do. Sorry I distracted you.”

  “I guess we're even.” I chuckled. “Come on, let's go.”

  Without thinking, I reached for her hand. As soon as we touched, I expected her to pull away, but she didn’t. She laced her fingers through mine, and it felt exactly right.

  I had been the forbidden boy for her in high school, but that wasn't why I’d asked her out back then. I’d really liked her. She'd helped me out in math class. Of course, teenage me also thought she was totally hot. We had that rare kind of chemistry. It flared hot, but it was also easy. She was comfortable to be around.

  Once we were back in the tow truck, she commented, “If this is weird now—” She gestured vaguely in the direction of the garage. “Now that we have kissed, I can find a place to stay.”

  “It's not weird. I’ll crash on the couch. Plus, I picked up a pizza before I got the call to pick you up. Let's go back and eat, and we can catch up. We've got twelve years to cover.”

  Thea’s throaty laughter filled the small truck cab. We smiled at each other while the garage door rolled up.

  “Do you park this at home?”

  “I always keep one tow truck there, even when I'm not covering emergency calls. That way, if something happens, I don't have to race downtown. It's just a backup.” As I turned onto the road that would lead us back through town and to my place, I jumped in with my questions. “I know you're not with anybody, but were you married, divorced? What's the scoop?”

  “I had one bad engagement, and then I swore off men. I haven't really dated since then. I finally decided to give it a shot again.” She let out a gusty sigh. “He turned out to be a real jerk, and I just found out.”

  “Found out what?”

  A deeper sigh followed. “He never stopped seeing other people, and I feel like such an idiot.”

  “You're better off learning that now, right?”

  My heart twisted a little. I didn't like how cynical and resigned she sounded.

  “What about you?”

  “Not married, not engaged. But I have a little boy.”

  “You're a father? Oh, wow. And you're not with—?”

  I shook my head quickly. “Definitely not.”

  “Are things okay? Is he home with you tonight?”

  “Nope. We have shared custody, but he’s with his mom this week.”

  “What happened? I mean, you're definitely a loyal guy, so I’m trying to figure out why you’re not married since you have a son.”

  “It was never even serious. All it takes is one night to make a baby.”

  Chapter Three

  Thea

  “How old is your son?” I heard myself asking, my mind trying to wrap itself around this detail.

  “Six,” Joe replied.

  “What's his name?”

  He slid his gaze to mine. “Joe.”

  I laughed softly.

  “We call him Joey.”

  “That's what you used to go by.”

  “I know.” He grinned as he looked back at the road. “I'm older now.”

  “Are you wiser?” I teased lightly.

  His lips kicked up on one side, and my belly did a little flip. I tore my eyes away, looking around downtown Haven’s Bay again. “It's just as pretty as I remembered.”

  “Do you miss Maine?”

  Another rush of emotion hit me, and I had to clear my throat before I could answer. “I do. I come up a few times a year now.”

  “I think I saw you at the grocery store once.”

  “You did? How come you didn't say hi?” I looked back toward him.

  His shoulder fell from a shrug. “I don't know. You were with Audrey. I think I had Joey with me. It didn't seem like good timing.”

  My heart twisted sharply in my chest. Because that hurt. “It's good to see you, Joe. I would have loved to have seen you sooner.”

  “Well, you're seeing me now. Audrey's married to Dallas, I heard. I've seen him a few times around town and ran into both of them at Emile’s once. I hear Sasha and Noah got married too.”

  “They did. They got married last summer.”

  “I know. The reception was a big deal in town.”

  “Do you have all the gossip on my family?” I teased, trying to keep my tone light.

  Joe chuckled as he turned onto the road that would lead us past my family's house. I was about to find out where he lived now. “Haven’s Bay is still a small town, Thea. It's not like I have to fish for the information.”

  “I know, I know. Sorry, that was weird.”

  “It wasn't weird. I always wondered how you were doing. What do you do?”

  “For work, you mean?”

  “Yes.”

  “I'm a lawyer.”

  “That's what you wanted to do. Good for you.” His tone was warm, but I felt strange inside.

  “I actually achieved one thing I set out to do,” I said, my tone feeling scratchy in my throat.

  “I’m sorry about your mom.” His words were soft.

  “Thanks.” My chest got tight again, and I took a quick breath.

  “She always liked you.”

  Joe nodded. “How are things for you and your brothers with everything that went down with your dad?”

  “Ah, that ugly story. We're good actually. No love lost there. My dad was an asshole,” I said flatly.

  “Well, I knew that.” His tone was dry and resigned. “It was kind of a shock to realize he was a criminal too.”

  I took a breath. “Yeah.”

  “Do you stay in touch with him?”

  “He’s in jail, Joe.”

  “I know, but there are phones and letters.”

  I shrugged. “Not much. None of us were close to him before he got charged. It was kind of a turning point for our family and brought me closer to my brothers. The only thing we kept was the house. Ian and Dallas paid off everybody that dad owed money to. Ugh, did he owe your garage any money?”

  Joe’s dry laugh rustled in his throat. “No, he didn't use our garage, Thea.”

  I didn't realize what I was doing until it happened, but I reached over and curled my hand over his where it rested on the gearshift. “I'm sorry.”

  His gaze slid sideways to mine. I wasn't quite sure how to read it in the dim light. “It's okay. Like I said, we were young. Your dad was an asshole. That's the story.”

  Of all the people I expected to run into tonight, Joe hadn’t even crossed my mind. Now, he was a father. I felt like I should have known that somehow.

  When we drove past my family's house, I glanced sideways. The lights were glowing in the snowy darkness. The snow had eased up slightly, but the roads were still slick.

  “So, I saw Jane and Ian, by the way.”

  “You did?”

  “Yup. She also bent her tire rim, and I towed her car.”

  “Seriously?”

  Joe flashed me a grin. “Sure did. I thought they had a thing going.”

  “I was hoping so. That’s why I didn’t want to show up unannounced at the house. She just moved to Boston. I let her know she could stay at the house for a few weeks, and apparently, Ian's there too.”

  “Aside from not wanting to interrupt them, why don’t you want to stay there?”

  I let out a sigh as he turned on his blinker. “Oh wow, you're just down the road.”

  “Yep. This lot was mostly wooded. It still is, but I built a house here.”

  “That’s awesome, Joe. I know you love the ocean. You must be doing well for yourself because this property could not have been cheap.”

  He shrugged. “I never wanted to be rich, but I'm comfortable, and I love Haven's Bay. It was nice to be able to build this place.”

  “And it's just you here?”

  “Me, and Joey when he stays with me.”

  The driveway was long, like most of those on this stretch of road. In another moment, we passed through a cluster of trees. When they opened up, lights were blazing through the darkness and snow. Joe slowed to turn around a circular driveway, pulling up to a garage and tapping a small button clipped on the visor in his truck.

  By the time Joe had parked and led me into his house, my nerves felt stripped raw. This entire situation was strange and unexpected. And that crazy kiss had set my body spiraling. I felt like a pinball machine with a muddle of emotion, desire, and surprise bouncing around.

  His dog, Dexter, greeted us when we entered from the garage. “Do you recognize him?” Joe teased as he scratched behind Dexter’s ears.

  “I don't know. All I saw was a dog-shaped shadow running across the road.” I smiled down at his dog.

  Dexter was white with two large brown splotches on his body. Half of his face was brown and the other white. He was very friendly, wiggling and wagging and circling me with excitement.

  “Easy, buddy, she just walked in.”

  Joe had my bag in his hand and set it by the door. “You can hang up your jacket and leave your boots here.”

  We walked into a small entryway between the garage and kitchen. After I took care of my jacket and boots, Joe took me on a quick house tour with Dexter following along.

  “This is a really nice place, Joe.”

  His home was a low-slung ranch-style—not too big but not too small. There was a beautiful open living room with a vaulted ceiling. The view tonight was of the darkness and blowing snow, but I knew the ocean would be visible during the daylight. His home had a modern, clean feel to it.

  “Is gray your favorite color?” I teased.

  Joe caught my eyes, rolling his in return. “My sister picked out all the colors and decided to keep it simple.”

  “It’s nice.” There were a few splashes of color with a deep maroon rug on the hardwood floor.

  An archway from the living room led into a kitchen with modern, stainless-steel appliances and a cute breakfast nook by the windows. Down the hallway were three bedrooms and a bath. His son's bedroom was cheerfully decorated.

  “I love the bed,” I offered with a smile, gesturing to the car-shaped bed.

  He shrugged. “Also, my sister.”

  “How is Stacy?” I asked as we walked across the hallway to the master bedroom.

  “She's good. She lives in Brunswick now. She does all the accounting for us, so it works out really well.”

  “Is she married? Does she have kids?”

  “No, and no. She babysits when I need it.”

  “Nice bedroom.” I looked around the master bedroom.

  Simply being near a bed with Joe had butterflies twirling in my belly again. Much of my dating relationship with Joe involved making out in cars. It had been maybe a full year that we pulled off all that sneaking around with my father getting grumpier and grumpier. He finally called a halt to it when we got caught making out in the parking lot behind Joe’s garage.

  My eyes took in the king-sized bed. It was low to the floor and built into the wall. There was a doorway to the side, which I presumed was a master bath.

  My guess was confirmed when he said, “I even have my own bathroom. I don't really need it. Although I only have Joey half of the time, he makes a mess in the bathroom, so it is kind of nice. Now let's eat because I'm freaking starving. My pizza’s probably cold, so I'm gonna throw it in the oven if you don't mind.”

  “Of course, I don’t mind,” I replied as I followed him into the kitchen. “You don't have to feed me.”

  His gaze slid sideways to mine. “I’m not so rude that I’d sit here and eat in front of you. Are you hungry?”

  As if in answer, my belly rumbled, and he chuckled. He needed to stop smiling. His slow smiles were making my body go wild, and I still hadn't completely cooled down from that kiss back at the garage.

  “Have a seat.” He gestured toward the nook by the windows.

  I slipped into the bench seat and looked around. “This is really cute, Joe,” I called over.

  He turned on the oven and pulled the pizza out of the box to place it onto a large baking sheet. “I like it,” he replied after he closed the oven. “It's comfortable. That nook is a great place to have coffee in the morning.”

  “I bet.” Snow swirled in the darkness beyond the windows, and the wind came in rolling gusts off the ocean.

  “You'll get to see it tomorrow. Let's hope the snow lightens up before then.”

  All I could think about was the fact that I was spending the night alone in a house with Joe. I would have paid money for this in high school. While we ate, we chatted and caught up on life. All the while, an onslaught of memories rolled through me.