Page 55 of Love in the Wild

Gage: You free today?

Hadley: Already on my way.

That was easy. It was a good thing they thought on the same wavelength. Gage had easily avoided relationships his entire life, but spending time with Hadley only made him want more.

Hearing about her faith in him last night had his insides playing a tug-of-war. As much as he wanted to lean into her hopes that he could turn things around, the truth was a black, greasy mess.

No one had ever seen as much good in him as Hadley, and the realization was both empowering and terrifying.

Beau walked up to the industrial sink as Gage was finishing scrubbing the grease off his hands.

“Olivia is bringing lasagna for lunch,” Beau said.

“Hadley’s coming, but I don’t know if she’s bringing food.”

“Tell her she can eat with us. How are things going with her?”

“Pretty good.” More like really good, but Gage didn’t want to get too excited about it. Every good thing in his life could fall apart at the drop of a hat.

Female laughter rang down the hallway just as Olivia and her friend Anna rounded the corner. Olivia spent a lot of time hanging out at her brother’s garage, and sometimes Anna tagged along. Gage made a point to avoid both of them as much as possible. Not because he didn’t like them, but he had no desire to make friends with women.

The two girls were as different as night and day, but from what Gage had heard, they’d been friends for years. Olivia had dark hair and was always taking care of her brother and his friends, while Anna had blonde hair and smiled her way through life without a care in the world.

The women disappeared into the break room as two men entered the hallway. Olivia’s fiancé, Dawson, held two large pans of what was probably lasagna, and the frat guy wearing a white polo shirt and khaki slacks carried two bags.

As the men reached the break room, Anna bounced up to the doorway in front of the man Gage didn’t know. She looked up at the guy with a wide smile as she rested her hands on his chest. “Hey, babe, I left my phone in the car. Would you get it for me? I’m helping Liv get lunch ready.”

The guy let out a weak sigh and looked back down the hallway. “Really?”

Geez. This guy was acting like she’d just asked him to put on a party hat and dance to the “Macarena.” The parking lot was maybe thirty feet away.

Anna’s shoulders sank. “It’s fine. I’ll get it.” She stepped around him and headed back down the hallway.

“I don’t know much about relationships, but that guy needs a 101 course,” Beau said.

“Who’s gonna tell her he’s a loser?” Gage asked.

Beau shook his head and took his turn at the sink. “Not it.”

Gage jerked his head toward the parking lot. “I’ll be outside if you need me.”

Hadley was pulling up in her purple car as Gage reached his truck. Trying to hide his excitement at the mere sight of her, he met her at her door and took the bags from her hands. She grabbed the drinks and followed him to the tailgate. When he turned around, she was wearing the cap he’d left in her car last night.

Good grief, it should be a crime to look as good as she did.

She put the drinks down and handed him the hat. He took it and placed it back on her head. “What’s in the cup?”

“Sweet tea,” she said with a smile.

Gage adjusted the hat on her head and brushed her hair behind her ear. “And sunshine.”

She lifted onto her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Have you had a good day?”

He’d never categorized his days as either good or bad before. Days he was incarcerated would probably be considered bad days. Other than that, days were just days. There wasn’t necessarily anything good about them.

Now, any day he got to see Hadley was a good day.

“Yep. What about you?”

---