Page 34 of Truck Off

“I’m not taking it back. It’s a gift.”

“No one gives gifts like this unless they have an ulterior motive.”

“There you go again with that damn ulterior motive.” He growls, and it sends a shiver down my spine. He sounds so sexy when he’s angry. I scold myself for having such thoughts because I am supposed to be mad at him, not turned on.

“You know what, fuck it!” he says, causing me to straighten in my seat. “You’re right. I do have an ulterior motive.”

“I knew it!” I yell.

“Be quiet and let me speak.” His command booms through my phone. His voice is so demanding and authoritative, I have no choice but to obey. It’s hot and sexy and I’m surprised by how much I like it.

“My ulterior motive was to make you smile—to wipe out the negative thing that happened to you. Someone stole your belongings, and I wanted to fix it.”

“It wasn’t your problem to fix,” I interject.

“Lina,” he says my name in a low growl. A growl that says I am not to interrupt him again. “This is what people who care about you do. They help you fix problems when they arise. I had the means to fix this, so I did. If that pisses you off, well, get over it. I’m not sorry I did it.”

“But it’s too much. I can’t afford to pay you back for this.”

“I don’t expect or want you to pay me back. It’s a gift.”

“This is hardly a one date gift. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. I know. But I don’t give a shit.” We’re silent for a few beats before he asks me another question. “Would you have been pissed if I sent you an embarrassingly large bouquet of flowers?”

I open my mouth to say yes but stop myself. Would I? I would’ve thought it was too much, but my gut tells me it would have made me happy.

“I don’t think so,” I answer honestly.

“Flowers aren’t cheap. The bouquet I would’ve sent you cost almost as much as those inks cost. I opted for practical because it’s what you needed. That’s not to say I won’t ever send you flowers, but I wanted to do this for you instead. Be pissed all you want, but I don’t regret doing it.”

I blink, focusing on driving for a moment. I’ve been on autopilot ever since I took the highway exit, and I’m not paying any attention to where I’m going. I’m already past the halfway mark to home.

“I’m not used to people doing nice things for me unless they want something from me. And it’s usually something I don’t want to give.”

His sigh is so heavy I feel it in my bones. “I do want something from you.”

“Oh yeah?” I say with a little too much anger. “And what’s that?”

“I want another date, Lina. And a kiss. I’d definitely love another one of those kisses. I also want to make you smile. If that’s not something you want, then I guess we’re through before we even really begin.”

He sounds so sincere and dejected. It makes my chest ache. Whatever anger and frustration I carried toward him a moment ago are gone. I can’t deny him what he wants because I want it to.

I answer him with a single word. “Okay.”

“Okay what?”

“Okay, I want that too. I want to go out on another date, and I’d really, really like for you to kiss me again. I liked that very much.”

“Thank fuck.” He sighs in relief.

“Just promise me no more gifts like this. I don’t need you to take care of me.”

He lets out a deep, playful laugh that does not sound anything like something that would come from Christian Mutter.

“I cannot and will never make that promise.”

“Christian!” I scold. “You can’t do—”

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