by Marie Harte
Ava’s eyes widened. “You did not. That was you?”
“Yep.” She told her cousin how it had happened, and Ava grew incensed on her behalf. Yeah, Sadie thought. You gotta love family.
“Gear saw you do this?”
Sadie nodded.
Ava smiled. “I bet he loved that.”
“He did. But for the record, there were no witnesses. You get me?”
Ava twisted an invisible key over her lips. “Right.” She paused. “So you’re bringing him to dinner Saturday night?”
“Maybe.”
“Hmm. I’ll try to be there. You know Uncle Tony wants another look at Landon. Maybe if we’re there, he won’t give Gear such a hard time.”
“Oh, hey. That’s nice. No wonder you’re my favorite cousin.”
“You mean your only cousin.”
“Yep. What I said.”
Ava left a short time later, and Theo cornered Sadie before she could join her brother in the back once more.
“Look, if they’re on you guys about a surprise party, I don’t want to be a bother.”
“What bother? Landon wants to pay us. I mean, he would if we were having a party. Which we’re not.” Talk about loose lips. She could have smacked herself.
“Okay, then I’ll give you a list of what to make.” Theo didn’t pause before adding, “Elliot’s tiny corn dogs and mini quiches need to be there. The shrimp ones, not your cheesy things.”
“What?”
“No offense, but his are better.”
“You little punk.” She narrowed her eyes on him, but he looked over her shoulder and smiled, ignoring her.
What else is new?
“Hey, Gear. What’s up?”
Her heart raced at mention of the man’s name. And you love him, Ava had said. Sadie was doomed. She’d fallen in love with Gear Blackstone. God. How lame could she be to fall for a guy because he liked her? She turned around with a big smile on her face and forced herself to feel it.
“Harrison.” She had to laugh at his sour expression.
Theo frowned. “Harrison?”
“Inside joke.” Gear walked around the counter and dragged her by the arm into the back.
Chapter 12
Sadie snarled to cover the sheer pleasure of being with her lover again. “Hey, get off.”
“Call me Harrison again and I’ll make it impossible for you to sit for a month.”
“Now that’s what I call a man’s man,” Elliot said, his eyes gleaming with mirth as he worked on dough for his homemade baguettes. “I too have dated a man’s man and found it difficult to sit for a month. Only the most dedicated of lovers can—”
“Shut up,” she and Gear said at the same time.
Next to Elliot, Rose laughed. “You’re right, Elliot. They are cute together.” She waved at Gear and left for the front of the shop.
Elliot smirked. “Sorry, but you two are so easy.” He shoved his dough into the proofing oven, then went to wash his hands.
Gear let go of Sadie’s arm, only to grab her hand. He squeezed.
She looked at him, saw him seeming not quite right, and squeezed back. “You okay? Elliot was just teasing.”
“Yeah, I’m good.” He kissed her, totally disregarding Elliot’s presence.
“Oh wow. I’m out. Enjoy your privacy, but promise not to be naughty on my prep table. I haven’t cleaned all the flour off it yet.”
“Elliot,” Sadie said when she could breathe again.
But her brother had already gone.
She watched Gear, saw his worry, and stroked his shoulders. “What’s wrong?”
He sighed, pulled himself away, and started pacing.
“Gear?”
“I ran into Sahara and Brian today downtown near the ferry. Oh, and their camera crew,” he growled. “What a couple of fucknuts.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know they had the audacity to replace me with Finn O’Hara?”
“Um, who is Finn O’Hara?”
“The most dishonest, thieving asshole on the face of the planet. He steals ideas, can’t fix shit, and is a general dickhead twenty-four seven. Just because.”
“You’re a dickhead too.”
“Yeah, but I’m good at it,” he snarled and kept pacing.
She wanted to laugh, but she could see he’d been hurt by his replacement. “Gear, you’re off the show.”
“I know that.”
“And you know they can never replace you. You were too good at what you did.” That seemed to mollify him.
“Well, that’s true.”
“So really, it’s a good thing they brought in a loser. He’ll just make you look that much better by comparison, right?”
Gear sighed and stopped pacing. “I guess. It’s just… Sadie, I worked so hard to make Madnezz the place to be when it comes to building bikes. He’s going to ruin everything I busted my ass to create.”
She crossed to him and gave him the hug he needed.
“I’m sorry.” No platitudes, no trying to convince him he was better off away from the show. That he could rebuild, better, somewhere else. He hurt, and he needed to own that hurt.
They stood together for a few moments, then he did that thing that totally ruined her, the thing that made her realize her feelings for the big doofus were so full of love she was like a fat red valentine waiting to be popped by Cupid’s arrow. He kissed the top of her head and sighed her name.
“You make me feel good, you know that?”
She warmed. “I’m good at sex. I know this.”
He pulled back, his expression sober. “No. I’m serious. When I’m with you, I feel good. Great. Like I’m doing what I should be doing, no matter what that is.”
She blushed. “Um, good. That’s nice.”
He frowned for a moment before his lips quirked in a smile. “You’re so cute when you turn pink.”
“Shut up.”
“Yeah, so damn pretty with your hair up in a frizzy ponytail and flour on your nose.” He kissed said nose, then kissed her lips.
Before the flames of desire built too high, he doused her ardor by mentioning, of all things, her father. “Elliot told me I have to go to dinner this weekend to get scoped out by your dad. Any hint of what to expect?”
“Elliot’s a dick.”
Gear chuckled. “Will your dad like me as much as my parents love you?”
Sadie stared at him. “What?”
“My dad wants to adopt you. He said you’re a better man than I’ll ever be. And no, that’s not an affront to you being in any way manly. He also said you’re fine as shit. Mom agreed.”
“What?”
“My dad calling you a better man than me is his way of saying he approves of you. Don’t ask; it makes no sense. It just is.”
“Ah, good. I think.”
“Mom liked the way I looked at you.”
She saw the intense way he watched her right now. “Like you are now?”
“Huh?”
“You’re looking at me funny right now. I can’t tell if you want to beat me or fuck me.”
“Sadie.” He let out a loud sigh. “That mouth. Your brother and sister could walk in at any minute.”
“So no on beating or no on fucking?”
“You got a closet?”
She laughed. “Kidding.”
“I wasn’t.”
She grinned, feeling lighter than she had a right to. “Dinner’s on Saturday. My dad’s a pill. But he’ll love you. You’re a man’s man, like Elliot said.”
“Great. I have no idea what that means.”
“It just means that as long as you’re nice to me, he’ll like you.”
He snorted. “Like you’d let me be anything but nice. I have a feeling if I tried b
eing a real shit, you’d deck me.”
“Maybe.”
“I’ve seen you move.” He cradled her fist in his giant hand. “I’m afraid.”
“Good.” She smiled, then looked at him with wariness. “Are you okay?”
“I am when I’m with you.” He smiled. Before she could ask what that meant exactly, he kissed her breathless, then swatted her ass and stepped back. “I’m going to be busy with work for the next few days, so I might not see you. But I’ll be at the gym Friday night. And definitely at dinner with you for Saturday, okay? I’ll pick you up at five.”
She knew they needed distance. But still, she didn’t like not spending time with him. “Sounds good. We’re not tied at the hip, you know,” she said, more for herself than him. “You don’t have to check in with me if you have stuff to do.”
“Yeah.” He just smiled at her frown. “Later, Xena.”
“Satan,” she said to be snippy.
His laughter followed him out of the room. And she already missed him.
* * *
Gear spent Thursday at home, running numbers with Thor—between Thor’s classes—on starting his own garage. Though he’d had the past two months to really think about making it happen, Gear had spent his time at the Madnezz garage as usual, putting off the inevitable.
Thor had tried to nudge his older brother in the right direction, but like Otis, Gear could be unmovable. Irrational. A giant moron.
But Gear could no longer afford to wait. Thor knew his brother. Gear did his best when fully occupied. Give the guy too much time, and he’d get into trouble. With his fists, a girl, a bad business decision…
How Gear couldn’t see his own patterns, Thor didn’t know. But talking with the gearhead—no pun intended—never helped. Orchid understood and had agreed with Thor when he’d discussed it with her. But Gear could be so stubborn.
With his brother’s shares in the business now sold, a tidy profit sat in the bank, waiting to be tapped. No time like the present…if big brother would stop acting so damn scattered.
“With the right location and the right expectations,” Thor was saying to the man pacing like a tiger in a zoo, “you won’t have a problem making this work. So have you figured out what you’re going to wear to the Halloween party? Please tell me you’ll finally wear the Spartacus costume. You have no idea how I’m dying to say Spartac-ass again.” He loved that line. Couldn’t wait to use it in public, but Gear wasn’t helping.
No, Gear was staring into space as he paced, and Thor imagined his brother breaking into a sweat at the thought of starting all over. Not that Gear would be doing that, but he didn’t see his business as a lateral move. No, he only saw that he’d failed.
Thor really wished Gear would get it in gear. He laughed. I’m the king of bad puns today.
His brother finally stopped pacing. “What are you laughing at?”
“Never mind. So, the party. Is Sadie coming?”
“I guess. Otis invited her.”
“I know.” Thor knew he wore that I know something you don’t smile he’d used as a child, the one that normally preceded Gear getting his ass handed to him by their father.
“I’ll bite. What do you know?”
“First, tell me what you plan to do about the business.”
“I don’t know. Now what did Otis say?”
“Gear, focus.” Thor narrowed his eyes, aggravated by his brother’s deliberate avoidance. “Do you or don’t you want your own garage?”
“I do. But—”
“You’re afraid you’ll fail again.”
“Fuck you.” Once more, Gear paced—a terrible tell that anyone who knew him would understand. He was afraid. As much as Thor sympathized, Gear didn’t do well with gentle compassion. No, his dipshit brother needed a swift kick in the ass.
“You failed. We all know it,” Thor said, rubbing it in. “But that’s good. Failure means you tried. Something didn’t work—”
“Yeah, my relationship with Sahara. My friendship with Brian.”
“And you learned from it. From failure comes the inspiration for new ideas, new challenges. So what’s next?”
Gear threw up his hands. “I don’t know. All I really care about is Sadie, and I’m pretty sure she’s still up in the air about us.”
Ah, the heart of the matter. Sadie Liberato. Thor had liked her when he’d met her. He’d liked her even more after hearing how she’d decked Sahara. And according to his mother, the woman had unknowingly wrapped Gear around her not-so-little finger.
“I thought we were talking about work?”
“I mean, she’s sexy. She’s annoying. Funny.” Gear ran his hands through his hair. Fascinating. He’d never acted so messed up about Sahara. “It’s like we’re the same. She doesn’t care what I do or did. She just likes me.” He turned to Thor, looking out of control. “So how the fuck do I get her to see that I’m serious about her? She’s not just an easy lay.” Gear barked a laugh. “Nothing easy about her, that pain in my ass.”
Thor bit back a smile. “What did she say when you talked to her about starting your own business?”
“She mouthed off at lunch with Mom and Dad about how I should be my own boss. Other than that, I didn’t talk to her about it, really. Just how I’m pissed they’re using O’Hara, that putz, to ruin the business I made.” Gear swore for a while, then tapered off. “You think she’d have some good ideas about work?”
“She’s smart, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Focused?”
Gear frowned. “I don’t know. She’s happy in her job.”
“So she has a unique perspective for you. She’s satisfied with work. That’s what you want to be. How you used to be.” If it took Sadie to get Gear’s head out of his ass, Thor would use her. “Go talk to her. See if she agrees with the rest of us. That you need to stop wishing for what was and start your own future today.”
“Hmm. Maybe you’re right. But I can’t see her until Friday night. I think she wants some space, but she’s too weirded out by us to tell me.” Gear looked like he wanted to say something else, but he stopped himself.
“What?”
“Nothing.” Gear kicked at his shoe. “You ever think of having kids?”
Whoa. Talk about totally out of left field. “Um, maybe.”
“I want some. Kids, I mean.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. I always thought I’d have ’em. I mean, I’m not pining to be a dad or anything. But I always saw myself with a wife and kids. I’m thirty-three. Not that young anymore.”
“But not old, either.”
“I never wanted them with Sahara.” He met Thor’s gaze, his intense with an emotion Thor couldn’t place. “She was gorgeous and driven, and frankly, too far above me. At least, she thought so. I just wanted to build bikes, to make something I could be proud of. Like how Dad built the fair and had us working it growing up.”
“I thought you hated that.”
“I did, but part of me didn’t. It was all of us, our fucked-up family, making it work.” Gear laughed. “Otis is a jackass, but he’s good at putting shit together.”
“You’re a lot like him.”
“Thanks.”
Realizing how that sounded, Thor tried to explain, but Gear waved away his apology. “No, you’re right. Thing is, Otis knows why it all works. Why he and Orchid, who couldn’t be more different, are so right together.”
“Magic.”
Gear nodded. “It makes no sense, but it’s right. I didn’t have that with Sahara. Never even thought about it.”
Thor understood. “But you’re thinking about it now. With Sadie. A woman you really just met.”
Gear sighed. “It’s stupid. I’ve been trying to convince myself that it’s just that I’ve finally found a nice chick. The sex is off
the charts. Must be chemistry making me nuts about her.”
“Well, that and she swears like a sailor and bakes killer cookies,” Thor offered.
Gear gave him a weak grin.
Oh my God. He’s in love.
“I think about her a lot. Like, all the time. And it matters to me if she likes my ideas or not.”
“So ask her what she thinks about your future, but don’t make decisions based on that,” Thor said quickly. What if Sadie Liberato turned out to be worse than Sahara? A far-fetched likelihood, but possible nonetheless. “Trust your gut, Gear. Not your dick, your brain, or your heart. Your gut.”
“Not very scientific, professor.”
Thor grimaced. “No, but it’s a known fact you have instincts like Dad. Do what feels right.”
“Yeah?” Before Thor knew it, Gear had him in a headlock. “Because this feels right to me, Thorvald.”
“I hate you,” he choked out while Gear laughed and ruffled his hair.
“I love you too. How about we split a pizza and talk about something else?”
“Pizza again?”
“Fine. Burgers it is.”
Thor made a face. “I’ll have a salad…as soon as you let go of my neck.”
Gear laughed, and Thor knew the idiot would call on Sadie soon enough.
Which reminded him. Time to call her sexy brother back and check on the catering for the university party. It wouldn’t hurt to feel Elliot out…so to speak.
* * *
Friday afternoon, Gear stood in the Motorcycle Madnezz garage, feeling down but not out. He hadn’t been to the garage in a month. The office had been cleared of all his crap save the box he now carried. He’d forgotten about it until Smoke called and reminded him about that last bit of odds and ends.
The open bay had several stations, each belonging to a member of the team. He saw eight in all and realized they’d hired some new guys he didn’t recognize. Too many people for the scope of what they’d been doing. Or what Gear had been doing.
The tools looked a little too organized. How the hell could a guy work when he had to dig through three drawers to find a torque wrench? The sexy posters had also been taken down. No more Sports Illustrated models to look at. Now they had framed motivational posters and pics of big bikes. Oh hell. Had they accepted that Honda sponsorship he’d been against? Not that he hated Honda, but the point of the shop was to build Motorcycle Madnezz bikes. Not Hondas or BMWs or Harleys.