Page 55 of Broken Bonds

I shook my head. “We don’t have tools.”

He nodded. “I know. I have to make a plan.”

We went straight into the garage after he fought open the now bent door, finally throwing it open, almost dropping me in the process. Inside the garage, there wasn’t a lot of water or damage, so we both released a breath of relief. I wasn’t sure if I could sit in here, in the midst of destruction and chaos if it’d been ruined, too.

Ace set me down on a deck chair while he looked around the garage for the tools he needed. He found a jack in the back corner of the garage and then hunted through the few cabinets, looking for a tire iron.

“There has to be one here—just one,” he muttered.

“We’re going to be stuck here, aren’t we?” I had the desolation in my voice. But I wanted to leave. I didn’t want to be here.

Ace looked up from the cabinet, his blue eyes glowing with determination. “No. I’m taking you home, Celine. I’m going to fix this and take you home just like you asked me to.”

Ten minutes passed, and still, he didn’t find what he needed. “Ace, there’s nothing here.” He rummaged around some more, still not giving up. I sighed and closed my eyes.

“Found something!” I tried to stop the excitement thrumming through my body. “I’m going to fix this, baby girl.” His southern accent intensified around the term of endearment, and my heart skipped a beat in my chest, my throat thick withso much adoration for the asshole in front of me, I could barely contain it.

Why did he have to be so damn perfectly imperfect?

It took him nearly an hour to fix the flat with a lot of grunts and groans filling the sticky air as he did so. But finally, he tossed the jack and the tire iron into the back of the jeep, turning to me with a broad smile that stole the breath right from my lungs.

“Let’s get you home, princess.” He finally stood up from the ground, the muscles in his back and shoulders flexing. He looked at me, pride in his blue eyes, a streak of black grease on his left cheek under his eye, hands dirty, clothes wet, and ultimately, very sexy. Seriously, he couldn’t have looked any better if he tried.

He lifted me effortlessly from the chair I’d been sitting in, despite the teasing about my thunder thighs, and put me down on the plush, leather passenger seat of the Wrangler. He threw our black backpack into the back and then swung himself into the driver’s seat. He slammed the door shut, his right hand turning the ignition on.

The Jeep rumbled to life, cold air blasting through the A/C onto our sticky faces. He reversed out slowly, the big tires creaking with each twig they snapped. Once we were clear of the mangled garage door, he threw the Jeep into park and hopped out, running in to close it back the best he could. Then, he slid back into the driver’s seat, snapped his seatbelt on, and guided the car down the long driveway.

“What about your bike?” I asked, seeing its red metal gleaming beneath the still partially open garage door. His bike was fine, tucked away in a corner, safe from the water and harm.

I was waiting for him to leave me for the bike.

I was waiting for him to be like Aidan.

“It can wait a few more days,” he said, his eyes focused on the road.

“But I thought?—”

He shook his head. “You’re more important than a bike, Celine.”

My heart was going to float out of my chest. “Ace, I just?—”

His nostrils flared. “I’m nothim.” His hands tightened around the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white.

I kept my mouth shut, half afraid I’d start confessing how much I liked him if I opened my mouth.

Ace wasn’t Aidan, and he continued to prove it over and over. And now… well, now, I was starting to believe it.

chapter twenty-two

CELINE

The roads were slick with rain, covered in fallen trees and forgotten cars stuck in the flooding. Sunlight reflected off the glistening road, shining into our eyes and making the drive dangerous and long. The whole city seemed to be out of power as every traffic light we came to was out. And while I knew it was supposed to be treated as a four-way stop, it was pure chaos at every single intersection.

People didn’t stop, flying through each light at an alarming rate instead, some not even looking as they just zoomed through the intersection. I held my breath when we came to the first one, where we found a big tree branch lying in the middle of the lane, which we had to navigate around, almost getting sideswiped by some asshole who didn’t know how to drive without traffic lights to guide him.

“Ace,” I whispered, fear making my voice tremble as he brought the Jeep to a stop, looking left and right twice before he nudged forward, slowly making his way through the oncoming traffic. I squeezed my eyes shut, vomit threatening to ensue when someone drove right in front of us, damn near making Ace T-Bone them.

“I need you to be quiet so I can concentrate,” he gently urged, his knuckles white around the steering wheel.

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