Page 37 of Saving Shepperd

Not always. It would seem you bring out the best in me. See you soon. XO

These little x’s and o’s were starting to do funny things to my stomach. How could two letters in the alphabet make my body react this way?

ChapterTen

Law

The afternoon dragged on after I got in touch with my girl. Yes, I was calling her mine. I chuckled. It was so unusual for me to feel the need to claim a woman. And I could just imagine my little independent warrior’s reaction to my desire to own her. But I was confident it was something we both wanted.

I saw her reactions when I did things that showed I cared for her. She lit up from inside like there was a fire burning deep in her heart that had been neglected for so long it was almost snuffed out. When I added some fuel to it though, she absolutely glowed. And if I thought she was gorgeous before? When I stoked that flame with kindness and genuine caring she was absolutely stunning.

That settled it. My new mission in life was to watch Shepperd Farsay radiate happiness and confidence as her norm. From the little I knew about her past, I didn’t think it was actual neglect on her parents’ part, but the woman herself pushing everyone away to avoid getting betrayed. I still had a lot to learn about her though.

My car’s engine purred in neutral outside the address she sent me this afternoon. It was a nondescript office space in the middle of a complex of similar buildings. Just before I opened my text thread with her to check the address again, I saw her walking toward my car. The smile on my face was involuntary and all-consuming. I jumped out and dashed around to the passenger side to open the door for her. I also couldn’t miss the chance to greet her properly with a slow, tempting kiss.

“Hi,” she said in a voice so sultry and inviting, my own mouth instantly dried up.

After swallowing hard, I said hello back and snuck another peck before she got settled in the car.

Once I was behind the wheel, Shepperd said, “This car is amazing. What happened to the one from the gym?”

I had completely forgotten I had driven my SUV that day. “I usually drive that one when I have errands and stuff to do on the weekend. I like this one for the daily commute, though. More comfortable, and I don’t need all that cargo space.”

She just nodded and grinned. “Makes sense, I guess.”

“What do you mean, you guess?” I asked as I left the lot of her business park. “And where are we headed? My place or yours?”

“I don’t know.” She gave a quick shrug and looked out the window.

“Talk to me.”

“I don’t know,” she said again. “I just feel like a loser. The one car I have is a broken-down piece of shit, and you’re over here with a different one for every day of the week.”

“You’re not a loser. Not even close. Don’t forget, I’ve got a few years on you, for one thing. And my family has more money than they know what to do with. So their providing me with a work car isn’t about me as much as it is about a business write-off for them.”

Hearing her talk negatively about herself cut right through me. It wasn’t something I’d tolerate, either. The last thing I wanted to come between us was money, so I really hoped this wasn’t going to turn into an issue. There were some things in life you couldn’t change. Having a lot of money was just a part of the family I was born into. It wasn’t like I could really share in the claim of amassing any of it. I was just fortunate enough to now have it.

“Maybe I should get a job where you work, then. I have a bad feeling about that car of mine. I think the only place worthy of it now is the junk yard.”

“Do you have any idea what’s wrong with it? Was there a warning light or anything?” I asked while I drove toward Brentwood.

“Dude,” she said flatly.

I reached for her hand across the center console and entwined our fingers while I drove.

“There were like four different lights on the dash this morning when I left your place. I know one was gas. The tank was super low. But I have no idea what the others were. When I went to start it to come to work…”

I snuck a glance over to her.

She gave a mournful shake of her head. “Yeah, it wasn’t good. But enough about that. I can’t do anything about it. How was your day?”

“Fine. I mean, I guess it was fine. I had a hard time concentrating.” I stopped short there because I was in danger of saying something that might make her uncomfortable. But I wanted her to know how into her I was and that she was all I could think about. What was the point of hiding it? I was pretty sure we were on the same page with how we felt.

“Oh, yeah? What’s going on?” she asked, not knowing she was setting up the perfect opportunity to say what I’d been choking back.

“Well,” I started with a huge grin. While I drove, I could see from the corner of my eye how intently she was listening. “I met this girl.”

Shepperd looked panicked. She quickly masked her expression and tried to engage in the conversation.

---