Page 105 of Isolated
I didn’t think she lacked thoughts about the betrayal,and I was convinced she was hurt by it, but she didn’t allow it to ruin our night.
After sleeping in this morning, having breakfast, and spending some time back in her bed, I left to come home while she walked next door to have lunch with Walter. We were going to spend the night at my place tonight, so I didn’t mind giving her the time to spend with the old man. The guy was lonely, and spending an hour having lunch with Iris made them both happy. In due time, perhaps once he was convinced Iris wasn’t leaving, I suspected I’d have a meal or two with him.
I finished tightening the bolt, stood, and walked behind the car to the mouth of the garage. And as I stood there while Iris got out of her car, I got it.
Whenever I would go to her house and find her waiting outside on the porch for me, I always thought it was something she did for me. No doubt, I loved it. But now I realized it wasn’t necessarily the case. Because if she experienced anything in those moments like I was now, seeing her walk toward me with a smile on her face, it was no surprise she’d want to do it every time.
Iris closed the distance between us and threw her arms over my shoulders. “I missed you.”
“It’s only been a couple of hours.”
She pulled back, cocked a brow, and countered, “Are you suggesting that it wasn’t long enough for you to miss me?”
“I would never.” My lips twitched. “I missed you terribly. Honestly, I don’t even know how I’m functioning.”
Her gaze narrowed as she playfully shoved me. “What’s all this?”
Iris had directed her attention to the vehicles behindme. Now was as good a time as any to share it with her. “These are my cars.”
“I presumed as much. Why haven’t I ever seen you drive them?”
I swung out my arm and pointed to each. “This one doesn’t currently run, and that one, I would only take out on a special occasion.”
Her head tipped to the side, and she eyed me curiously. “Tell me more.”
Until she said it, I didn’t think I’d get emotional, but there was something about Iris wanting to know more that made something heat and swell in my chest. Leading her to the car that was meant for special occasions, I swallowed down the emotions and spoke through the thickness in my throat. “This is the 1968 Corvette that my dad and I did a restoration on together.”
Her hand flew to her chest. “Oh, Landen. I had no idea.”
“Yeah, it was kind of our thing. He loved cars, always wanted to tinker with them, and he taught me all about them. And about a year after I started driving, we started this project. We didn’t rush it. Usually only worked on it on the weekends. And though it took us a while to complete it, there are a lot of good memories I have of building this thing with him.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I can’t imagine how proud you must feel to walk into your garage and see it here. I think it’s wonderful you kept the car and have such lovely memories of building it with your dad.”
With my arm around her waist, I gave her hip a squeeze. “Me, too.”
Following a beat of silence, she asked, “And what about this one?”
I sighed, urging her to the opposite side of the garage. “This one is the one we didn’t get to do together.”
“Forgive my ignorance, but what is it?”
I chuckled, feeling the heaviness in my chest lighten. “It’s a 1950 Chevy 3100. Basically, an old school pickup truck. It was the one project he always wanted to do, but he died before he could complete it.”
“I’m so sorry, Landen.” She pressed her palm to my chest. “So, what are you doing to it?”
“Well, for a long time, I didn’t do anything,” I admitted. “It sat here, untouched, for years. I don’t know. I guess I couldn’t bring myself to work on it without him. But about a year ago, I decided it was time to finish it. My dad had managed to get the interior reupholstered, so that was already done. But then I had the paint job done to the color he wanted. Everything else, all the mechanical work, I’m doing myself.”
Iris stepped out of my hold and moved to look inside the truck. She took her time, marveling at the craftsmanship and even ran her hand over the leather. “It’s stunning. And I love the color. It really is beautiful.”
I smiled, unable to express how this made me feel. Seeing her run her fingertips over the surface of it did something to me I couldn’t explain. Maybe it was that she had even taken an interest in learning about it at all that made me feel so emotional.
There was no doubt about it now. I was in love with this woman, and I was never letting her go.
Surprisingly, Iris pressed for more. “Was it purchased not running?”
I shook my head. “No. It ran. But I pulled out the engine and transmission, because my dad had wanted to swap in an engine and transmission from a Camaro.”
Her eyes rounded. “You can do that?”
