Page 181 of Fighting the Forbidden

I snort, then burst out laughing. “You must really dislike him to come up with something so specific.”

He stops in front of me and rests his hands on my hips. “I’ve had time to think on it since he never shuts the fuck up. Always a bad date story. One of these days I’m going to point out that the common denominator is him.” He glances over his shoulder again. “But he’s a friend of Jerry’s…”

“So, you keep your opinion to yourself.”

“Pretty much.”

My gaze slides to Griff’s arms, barely contained by the short sleeves of his button-up shirt with the Jerry’s Garage logo on the left side. I wrap my fingers around his biceps. It’s like squeezing granite. “Maybe he’s intimidated since you’re younger and manlier, so he’s trying to impress you.”

He lifts one eyebrow. “Manlier, huh?”

“You know what I mean.” My cheeks heat, and I pull my hand away.

“Get back here.” He gathers me in his arms, hugging me tight, and buries his face against my neck. “Been looking forward to seeing you all day.”

“Me too.”

“How was work?” He kisses my cheek and loosens his hold on me.

“Long. Boring. I’m very excited to spend the rest of the night with you.” I lower my voice, hoping he’ll take the hint that I mean spend the night.

“So am I.” He presses a kiss to my forehead. “Would you rather go get dinner instead of working on the car?”

“No, I came to work,” I answer quickly. Griff’s already done so much of the restoration himself.

“All right.”

“Unless you’re tired?”

“Nope. Got my second wind as soon as I saw you.”

We work steadily, finding the fasteners and removing them from the door panel. Griff uses a special tool to pry the panel loose.

“The mirrors don’t have power functions, so that’ll be easier,” Griff murmurs. “Hold this for me.”

He hands over a gasket and oval-shaped bracket, then grabs one of the mirrors.

“Place the bracket right here.” He taps his finger against two perfectly drilled holes along the top of the door. I hold the bracket and mirror while he fastens them tight.

“It’s nice having an extra set of hands.” He tickles his fingers against the back of my leg once the mirror is secure.

“Yeah? I’m not slowing you down?”

“No.” His lips tilt into a smoldering mile. “Distracting me? Yes.”

“Distracting how?”

“You’re hot in coveralls.”

“I’m hot all right.” I wipe a bead of sweat from my forehead.

He chuckles and lifts one of the panels, clipping it back into place on the door. I help him reinstall the other fasteners. Then we install the second mirror.

“I think the car is close to being finished.” Griff walks around it, slowly studying every inch. “Just need Vapor to work his magic with the paint.”

I stare at it and try to visualize what he’s seeing. The inside’s been transformed, for sure. But it’s still missing door handles, and some other essential elements.

“It’s hard to see it now,” Griff says.

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