Page 37 of Keeping What He Wants

“I’m not telling you.” He sat her hand on his thigh as he turned into Mike’s parking lot. “Don’t ask me again or I won’t take you.”

She huffed a breath and undid her seatbelt. “You’re no fun.”

“Baby, I’m all kinds of fun. Just wait.” He winked at her and got out of the van. Ella was going to drive herself crazy trying to figure out what he had planned. He might as well have fun with it now before she forced it out of him later.

****

Her car was dead. It needed a new everything, and it would actually end up costing more to fix than it would be worth. She pursed her lips as she walked out on the car lot with Ryker leading the way. She didn’t want a new car. Another bill added to her decreasing pile didn’t feel right.

“Which one do you like?” Ryker asked.

“I don’t know.” She frowned. “Maybe we should look at the used car lot. I don’t want a payment.”

“I’ll pay for it. Tell me what you want.”

She arched an eyebrow. “You have sixty thousand dollars in your pocket?”

He grinned. “I don’t have pockets, hence me holding my keys, phone, and wallet. But yeah. I can afford to buy you a car. No payment. What do you want?”

“You’re not buying me a car.” She shook her head. “I had enough trouble with you buying me a purse, and I ended up paying for half of that myself.”

“You’re being weird. We’re together. A couple. We have an apartment together. Why is it strange that we’d buy a car together?”

“I don’t know. We don’t talk much about finances. I do my thing, you do yours.”

She glanced around. He had to be crazy to want to buy her a car. She didn’t like the idea—not only because she didn’t want him supporting her, but she didn’t want to rely on him for anything. If they broke up, he’d get the car and she’d be up shit creek without a paddle.

“Fine. I’ll buy a car for me and let you drive it.” He stared at her. “Is that plausible?”

“No.”

He rolled his eyes. “Then what do you suggest?”

“I think we need to go to the used car lot. Maybe we can find something there.”

Frustrated, he breathed a sigh. “I should have stopped at the damn Porsche lot.”

“You’re not getting a Porsche.”

“You’re right. I’d have cops all over me, and neither of us wants that.” He reached for her purse. “Go sit in some of them. We don’t have to buy it if you touch it. Just get a feel for what you like.”

She reluctantly went to try out a few different cars. Feeling like Goldilocks picking the right one, she worked her way through a few vehicles before Ryker finally convinced her to take a test drive. The salesman went on and on about the car while she drove down the busy streets of Atlanta with Ryker in the backseat holding her purse. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she giggled to herself at the picture he painted. His big body was scrunched in the back of the Mercedes E-class coupe, and he looked less than thrilled to be in the back seat of the two-door vehicle.

Overall, Ella liked the car way more than she wanted to. She pulled back into the lot and parked it out front. The dark gray metallic was so pretty and the gray-and-black leather interior was probably more of a luxury than necessity. She didn’t like the price tag on the car, but it was nice. Far better than her old car.

“I really think a cheaper car would be fine.”

Ryker handed her the purse. “What kind of car do you want?”

“We have a special on these cars, right now,” the salesman informed them.

“Do you like it?”

She scrunched her nose and nodded. “It costs too much though.”

“All cars are expensive, Ella. Some are shitty and fall apart right after you drive off the lot and some are good and reliable for years to come. Cheaper is not always better. If you want it, we’ll sign the papers right now.”

She thought about how much she had in the bank. “I don’t want a car payment.”

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