Page 4

CHAPTER 4

ROSALIE

The next morning, I got up before Kordell. I figured it would be best to skip out early to go to work. I had a couple of small side detailing projects I was working on, and I wanted to get lost in something else besides sitting here in bed, listening to Kordell snore while my thoughts kept wandering back to last night and wondering if all that had really happened.

I quickly pulled on my clothes and closed the bedroom door, then walked into the kitchen, grabbed a strawberry yogurt from the fridge and a small packet of granola to go on top of it. Pulled my mascara and lip gloss out of my purse and applied them both at the mirror next to the front door before I grabbed my Viper’s keys and headed out the door.

Maybe I’ll take the long way. I could use some more time to clear my head.

I turned out of my driveway to go deeper into the Hills. It was early enough that it was a pretty safe bet I could drift around some corners without trouble. So, that was exactly what I did. I spent a glorious hour right before the sun peeked over the mountains, drifting corner after corner, my music blasting as the adrenaline pumped through my veins. Smelling the tire smoke, feeling the steering wheel glide through my hands with each turn, and hearing the turbo. There was almost no better feeling than this. It was euphoric for me, drifting. When I was sliding through corners, there was nothing in the world that mattered other than that moment of precision.

But all too soon, traffic picked up, so I regretfully finished my last corner and turned to drive into Dad’s car shop, Kayden’s Customs.

I pulled up to the roll-up doors and hopped out. Popped the padlock and opened it. I pulled my car inside and parked in one of the empty mechanic bays before going back and closing the door again. We weren’t technically open for another hour, so I kept it closed to be safe since I knew I was going to be jamming out to music while I did some detailing on cars in the back.

Thirty minutes later, I was dragging my squirrel-hair brush, coated in white paint, smoothly along the side of a vintage 1974 Cadillac DeVille lowrider. Dad had found this car at a junkyard; he saw what an absolute steal it was, so he bought it and towed it home. Where he’d spent a month rebuilding the engine, hydraulics, and sound system. Now, it was just time to make it pretty and then resell it. I had already redone the entire interior and sprayed it a gorgeous red with dark burgundy and black accents. The white pinstriping was the last step before the final topcoat, and it was all coming together perfectly.

I vaguely heard the roll-up door open again, and the rest of the shop lights turned on. My focus was on not breaking my lines. I knew it must be Dad, or his other mechanic Reece, opening up the shop all the way. I finally finished the last line a couple of hours later and stretched with a little groan. As much as I loved pinstriping, the amount of bending and not moving even the smallest centimeter when doing line work really got to the muscles. I leaned left and right and wiggled my wrists to shake out all the aches I had.

“Rosalie, that looks gorgeous.”

I turned mid-stretch to watch Dad walk up next to me. He patted my back and smiled as he looked at the car. I giggled back.

“Thank you, Dad! It’s been a process. The only thing left now is the topcoat, and then she will be good to go!”

Dad did a walk around the car, nodding as he glanced at all the details on every panel. “Shoot, this will sell in a heartbeat. A Wells original. One of a kind.”

I laughed as I followed him out of the paint shop. We chatted about what he was going to be working on, but when he asked how my weekend had been, I froze.

How the heck do I tell my dad that my ex came back to town and I acted stupid, having the most intense make-out session with him instead of telling him to get lost? Oh yeah, and let’s not forget that he’s the same dad who literally paid said ex to break up with me and take off to another country for the past year.

“Oh, it was okay. Nothing major, just went out for dinner and hung out around the house mostly.”

Liar, liar, engine on fire.

I smiled extra big to make that as convincing as possible. Dad raised an eyebrow slightly, but didn’t push for details.

“Well, that’s nice. Your mom and I have been talking about taking a little trip together. There’s a pretty major car show over in Miami that I really wanna check out, and she could use the break from everything around here.”

He walked over to one of the shop bays that had a Mustang up on a lift, its engine completely removed. Dad was rebuilding it and modifying it for a client who was in the Flywheels group and wanted to have extra power the next time Dad hosted drag races.

“Oh, that sounds fun! You guys should totally go! I can handle the shop with Reece while you two take a vacation. You can count on me, Dad!”

They really deserved to take some time off—and not just for a night, but a legit vacation far away from here.

Dad glanced back over at me as he started to dig into the engine parts on a workbench. “All right, if you’re sure? Reece would still be here, handling the mechanic side of the shop, but you would be in charge of all the rest.”

“I can handle it. You won’t have to worry about anything!”

I gave him a thumbs-up and winked at him. I knew I looked silly, but seeing Dad laugh and nod in agreement was totally worth it. I waved and started to clean up the paint bay before spraying the topcoat on the Cadillac.

Now that I wasn’t focused on painting, my mind wandered back to AJ.

I literally couldn’t believe he was back. He’d said he came back for me. Which made my cheeks heat up and my heart pound in excitement, but after a moment, my brows pinched together in frustration. Being excited about what he’d said almost made me angry.

How could he? No, how dare he just walk right into my life and screw everything up again! I had finally moved on! Doing just fine without him! And now, he thought he could just kiss me and I’d change my entire life for him again? I don’t think so! He lost his chance! Just because he looks hot, smells amazing, has the prettiest eyes, and his voice… his voice felt like home… like I had been away on a long trip, but now, I was finally back.

Wait! Snap outta it, girl! Ugh! I’m just going to have to avoid him—that’s all. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

I sighed and set down the brush I had been sweeping with. “Who am I kidding? There’s no way I’ll be able to avoid him. Not when we both go to the same car meets all the time.”

“Avoid who?”

I shrieked and jumped in place before spinning on my heel to see Dad standing right outside the paint bay’s door. Obviously, he’d heard me talking to myself like a crazy person. Just great. As much as I loved my dad, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for a father-daughter pep talk yet.

“Ummm, well…” I fidgeted with the edge of my shirt and tucked my hair behind my left ear. This was going to be an awkward conversation.

“Does this have something to do with your boyfriend? He hasn’t dragged you into any more trouble, has he?” Dad asked, his tone and body language showing he was concerned.

“No, I mean… not with my current boyfriend… but AJ is back. I ran into him last night.” And there went my face. I could feel it turning red, and I knew there was no way Dad could miss it.

Dad’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he quickly hid it, walked over toward me, and pulled me into a strong hug. “Are you okay? I bet that was a real shock.”

“Y-yeah, it was… intense, seeing him again. But I’m good,” I replied as I hugged him back. Hugging Dad completely eased my nerves. I took a deep breath and pulled away. “Are you mad that he’s back?”

Dad contemplated it for a moment before he shook his head. “No. I shouldn’t have done what I did in the first place, paying him to leave. I just trust you’ll do whatever you think is best for you, hon, and I’ll be here if you ever need me.”

“Thanks, Dad. I don’t know how I really feel about it all yet. Definitely confused. Maybe a little angry.” I let out a sad little laugh.

“Do you want to talk about it? I’ve got some time before my next client. Even if you just need to get stuff off your chest, I’ll listen.”

Maybe talking to Dad would help me get through some of these feelings or help me organize my thoughts at least. I walked over to a stool in the room, where our clients saw paint samples and where I drew up liveries, and sat down. Dad followed behind me and leaned forward on the counter next to me with folded arms.

“Come on, Rosalie. Spill whatever you want to your old man. I promise I won’t do anything but listen, unless you ask me a question.”

I glanced over at him. How much do I tell you about what happened?

“Well, I was out with Kordell, and on my way to the restroom I ran into AJ. He said he was back for good and that, ummm…” I paused.

Dad held up his hand. “Hon, what really happened? You don’t have to make something up.”

As usual, Dad saw right through my attempt at a lie.

“It wasn’t a total lie. I was just leaving some details out—that’s all.” I shifted in my seat, looking up at the ceiling. “I might have… made out… with AJ,” I said in a whisper.

Closing my eyes, I braced for Dad to tell me that was such a stupid thing to do.

But he didn’t say that. He didn’t say anything at all. He just leaned off the counter and rubbed the back of his neck a bit, looking at me, waiting to see if I was going to continue.

“I’m the absolute worst! I know I am. How horrible to be at a club with my boyfriend and then go running after my ex, and to top it off, I made out with him, and it could have gone further! Heck, Dad, I don’t think I would have tried to stop it really if Kordell hadn’t interrupted us! What kind of girlfriend does that make me?”

I teared up and buried my face in my hands. I felt like absolute garbage after saying all of that.

“You’re not going to tell me how wrong that was? How stupid I acted? How I basically cheated on Kordell?” I blurted out as I looked over at him.

He glanced at me and shrugged. “Rosalie, it’s not my place to judge you for your actions. Is it the way I would have done things? No. But does that mean I don’t understand why you did what you did in the moment? Also no. Plus, I can see how much you are already beating yourself up over this, and I hate that I can’t do anything to make you feel better, except offer you a hug, hon.”

He held open his arms, and I sniffled.

“Y-you really don’t think I’m a horrible person now?” My voice broke on the last word.

Dad walked over and pulled me off the stool and gently into his arms, enveloping me in a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around his lower back, and he tucked my head against his shoulder and just stroked my hair softly.

“Rosalie, you could never be a horrible person. You have such a big heart, and I know how much you loved AJ and how much you care about Kordell too. This isn’t easy for you, sorting through all of those feelings, especially with AJ just popping up outta nowhere. Don’t you ever feel bad for following your heart, all right?”

I squeezed him tighter.

Following my heart? Was that what I was doing last night?

But that only made me more confused because while I had been with AJ, it’d felt so right in the moment, but when I heard Kordell’s voice, it felt wrong, and I’d left with Kordell.

So, does that mean my heart really wants Kordell more than AJ now?

I gave Dad one last squeeze before letting him go and wiping the last of the tears from my eyes.

“Thanks, Dad. I still feel confused, and I’m not sure what to do about it all yet. But thank you for always being here and listening to me.”

I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and Dad smiled back at me.

“Always, hon. Now, time for your old man to get back to work. Lunch on me later, all right? Steak tacos with extra steak and extra green sauce will probably help you feel even better.” He gave me a wink and walked back into the shop area of the garage.

I took a few more deep breaths to calm down and went back to work on tidying up the paint areas. Letting my fingers flip through the sample tabs as I pushed them back on their shelf, I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket. I reached back and pulled it out. I put a few magazines away and then glanced down. My breath caught in my throat as I saw the name of the sender—AJ.

“Holy moly,” I said as I slowly unlocked my phone and clicked my messages.

So, he unblocked me now? What could he want?