Page 7 of Mechanic Daddy’s Girl (Daddy’s Girl #10)

CALLIE

“ N ot what you expected, huh?” Boone asks, noticing me staring down the street at the handful of buildings making up the town.

He pulls the truck into a curbside parking spot in front of a store that doesn’t have a name above it. Just green lettering on a dirty white background that says General Goods .

“Not one bit,” I say when he’s already halfway out his door.

Though Meadowview isn’t just houses, as I originally believed, the main square is a far cry from what I was expecting when he said there was more.

None of the buildings is taller than two stories, there aren’t many high-end German cars on the road, and no one’s dressed in expensive suits to try to impress anyone else.

Coming from a city and having lived there my whole life, this is crazy to me. But the longer I’m here, the more I realize how much I like it.

He wraps around the hood, stopping at my door and pulling it open. With a charming smile, he offers me a hand to get out. I take it and join him on the curb.

“Shouldn’t be here long, but thought you might like a change of scenery. That reminds me, do you need anything else while we’re out?” We start walking, but before we’ve finished a step, Boone tucks a hand on the small of my back. And it stays there long after I thought he’d remove it.

I like to think it’s his way of telling the world to back off..

That I’m his .

Maybe it’s silly to think that way so soon into whatever we’ve got going on, but it leaves my heart warm and a fluttering in my belly nonetheless. Two feelings I’d much rather have than anxious wondering about the truth of these gestures.

After some thought to his request, I shake my head.

“No, I’m good,” I say, because what I need can’t be gotten through errands. These wants can only be satisfied with him and me tucked away in the little apartment above his workshop.

We head inside and start shopping, and I’m surprised by just how accurate General Goods really is.

Food on one end of the store, electronics somewhere in the middle, and we even manage to find the parts Boone needed for the car he’s working on.

But the only stop that really catches my attention is in the pet care aisle.

Instead of reaching for a big bag of cheaper food, he opts for the ultra-deluxe, premium variation.

And something about it melts my heart.

It just reaffirms what I already knew.

The man sure knows how to treat a lady.

“That should be everything,” he says, eyeing the overflowing mess of goods stacked halfway as tall as him. “Are you sure you don’t need anyth?—”

The sound of my phone starting to ring silences him. His features instantly harden, and his jaw tenses to the point where I can almost hear his teeth grinding against one another.

“Your boss?”

I know it’s a yes before I look at my phone. Still, I scan the face, see Travis’s name, and nod. But I won’t answer him this time. We made the point as clear as we could.

I’m on vacation, and I won’t let him get in the way of it again.

“What’s the matter?” I ask, trying to lighten the mood a little. Though my voice is still a little shaky since I don’t know how he’s going to react to me making a joke right now. “Jealous I have to talk to another guy?”

“More than you could ever know.” My heart skips a beat, and my legs instinctively part at the harsh finality in Boone’s tone. But he doesn’t give me time to process what I just heard, and while his stone-cold eyes remain fixed on my cellphone, he asks, “Are you going to answer him?”

“Not planning on it.” His gaze moves up to meet mine, and I gulp at the smile crawling across his face.

“Good girl.” Boone smiles, and we start walking again.

“Shit, I forgot something,” Boone grumbles as we get to the checkout line. “I’ll run back and grab it. You okay to hold our spot?”

“I’ll be fine,” I giggle. I could get used to this feeling of being treated like a dainty princess. Doted over to the point where Boone doesn’t even want me standing in a line alone.

Before he leaves, he places a soft kiss atop my crown and then shuffles back through the store to whatever he forgot.

But it doesn’t take long for me to regret my decision when I notice the two guys in front of me staring. More like ogling. Eyes traveling up and down my body like they’re sizing me up for purchase.

“What’s a fine piece of ass like you doing in our sleepy town?” the one on the right asks. The pair are complete opposites of one another. The one on the right, buck-toothed and pot-bellied, while his friend is gaunt and balding.

To avoid unnecessary issues, I ignore his comment and pretend I didn’t hear anything. Boone can barely hold it together when it’s my boss bothering me. I can’t imagine things would go too well for someone in the same room.

“You ignoring me, girl?” he asks after an awkwardly long minute passes. “You wouldn’t wanna make me upset now, would you?”

“Look, whatever you’re trying to do, I’m not interested.” Cut this off before it has a chance to escalate. At least, that’s what I want to do, but the annoyance flickering in the guy’s eyes says that ship has sailed.

“I’m not trying nothing,” he says. “If I wanted to do something, I’d just do i?—"

“What the fuck did you just say?” Boone’s voice roars overhead. He slides a protective arm around my waist, tugging me tightly against his rock-hard, flexing abdomen.

And I’ve never felt safer than this.

Both of their heads snap up to Boone.

“He was only joking,” the smaller, skinny one says. “We’re not looking for any trouble.”

“It found you anyway.” I can feel the rough, staggered breathing rumble in Boone’s chest. His hand on my belly, shaking in rage. Partly as a sign that I belong to him, but mostly using me as a barrier to stop himself from tearing the two guys to pieces.

“Nah, fuck this,” the bigger one says. “Who do you think you’re talking to, old man?”

While he squares up to Boone, the other looks ready to piss his pants. I’d be doing the same if I were either of them.

“Think you’re hard coz you’ve got muscles? Buddy, you ain’t shit.” Taunting Boone can’t be a good idea, and this line’s his entrance fee to the lesson.

I don’t notice his hand moving away from me. I just feel the air shift around me and hear the crack of Boone’s flat palm against his cheek. The impact is so devastating that his mottled skin instantly turns red, and his face begins to swell.

The guy recoils two steps before falling flat on his ass as Boone circles me and steps over to him. Arms resting at his side, not posturing for a fight, even though one’s likely to break out. Exuding confidence and his protective side without needing to show outward aggression.

“You might want to think carefully of what you say next, Buddy .” Boone’s eyes are fixed on the guy sitting down. The other, too afraid to move from his spot, isn’t a threat.

“Christ, man. What the?—”

Boone doesn’t let him finish, leaning forward and hoisting the guy to his feet. He grabs him by the collar of his sweat-stained shirt and drags him in front of me.

“Apologize,” Boone barks.

“Wha—”

Another slap, this one softer, but still over the same swollen cheek.

“I’m sorry, man,” he yells the apology, catching everyone’s attention at the checkout. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just having some fun.”

“Apologize to her.” Boone’s dark, husky voice blends beautifully over the devastating demand.

“I’m sorry, miss,” he mumbles, terrified.

“It’s fine,” I say, gulping in awe at how easy Boone manhandles the guy.

“You got off lucky,” he says and, with my acceptance, yanks the guy back by the shirt, launching him toward his friend. Leaving their trolley full of goods, both start to run, disappearing out of the building and into the hot morning sun.

This should terrify me, but it doesn’t.

It just makes me want him … need him … so much more.

Like I already do, and always will, belong to him.