Two Bar Mitzvahs (22 page)

“Yep. Mom and Dad wanted to pull into the garage and go into the house directly, protected from the weather outside and safer.”

She tilted her head, staring at me intently. “Your parents are quite intelligent. Your dad with these cars...” A smirk twisted her lips, then she pointed at my chest. “Apple” —her hand opened, her arm sweeping wide to indicate the rest of the garage—“Tree.”

I smiled, liking her comparison of me to my dad. He was a man with a few obsessive-compulsive quirks, but he was a dedicated businessman who loved his family with a fierce passion. With minor adjustments of career path choices and the whole family–business time allotment, I wanted to be just like him.

“What’s over here?” She’d turned on the barstool, then hopped off and walked toward another corner of the garage.

I stood and caught up with her, wrapping my arms around her from behind. “Those are, well, kind of hard to explain. Many years back, my parents heard about a local young veteran who returned home with an injury that made it impossible for him to drive a car. They inquired and discovered the veteran could drive, but only if custom alterations were made to his vehicle. Through their attorney, they anonymously contributed funds designated to make the needed custom alterations to the vehicle he had driven prior to his war-time injury.”

I stepped to the side and pointed to a picture up on the far left corner of the thirty-seven framed photographs. “After the first donation, they had their attorney contact the local VA Hospital and arrange for the administration staff to privately update him on any veteran who needed a customized vehicle due to sustained injuries. The pictures are of the veterans they’ve helped, men and women who kept their driving freedom with the help of my parents plan. Sometimes it was an alteration of the vet’s existing vehicle, other times it was a contribution of enough funds for a wheelchair accessible van. They created a highly specialized anonymous giving-back thing.”

Moisture sparkled in Hannah’s eyes.

My brow furrowed, and I stepped back to her. “Hey, sorry, I didn’t intend for any of that…”

She blinked and looked down, swiping a fallen tear from her cheek with her hand. “I know, just…wow. So…no words.”

“My parents don’t have a traditional ‘I Love Me Wall’ displaying college degrees or life accomplishments,” I further explained. “The first person they helped sent a picture and a letter through the attorney, thanking them. My parents started this photo collection to remind them of smiles they created. They helped give as much freedom as possible to those who put their lives on the line for all of us. My dad believes the classic man-and-machine connection allows us to enjoy life to the fullest, beyond having a car as transportation. If either of my parents get a bit down with life’s challenges, they come here. Helps the soul.”

Hannah grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Do their friends, or their mechanic, know about these and what your parents do?”

“Nope, whenever someone comes through here, if they’re asked, they simply say they are pictures of happy people. The intended vagueness usually creates a curious expression on folks, but nobody presses the question.”

“Wow. Your parents do so much for charity. The Unity Foundation for human trafficking and this. So, wait. You told me the secret about what they do.”

“Yes, yes, I did. So if we ever break up, I’m obligated to kill you.” I winked. “I need to be a thorough tour guide, don’t I?” I gestured an arm toward the far wall of the garage, while crooking and offering my other. “Shall we continue the tour?”

“Lead on my good man.” She held onto my arm.

“See any other favorites in the lineup? I know you’re drawn to the Jaguar, for good reason. I’m curious what else you like.”

“What’s this one?”

“Oh, she’s a beaut’. A 1929 Duesenberg. What attracts you to her?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Hard to say, initially the collection of lights up front, the incredible amount of polished metals, how she sits with a presence of nobility. Is that silly?” She glanced at me. “What’s her name?”

“Not silly at all. Now you understand why I appreciate the artistic lines of a vehicle, why I love your Josephine. Now you get a little more of what makes me tick.” I nodded toward the car. “They named her ‘Duesie.’ More obvious than the others, but they love the nickname.”

She smiled, leaning into me. “Thank you for sharing this special place with me.”

It was the place I escaped to while growing up to feel closer to family, my dad especially, even all those years when he wasn’t around. It meant a lot to me that Hannah felt the same, that she got it—got me.

“Wait, we’re in a garage, and we entered through the doorway from the connecting greenhouse. But where do the vehicles come in from?”

“A secret.”

Her brows arched. “A secret, huh?”

“Yep.” I pointed along the same wall that had the doorway to the greenhouse. “See that floor-to-ceiling panel with the high windows in it?” We walked back down the centerline of the garage to take a closer look.

She nodded. “Yes.”

“That’s the vehicle entrance. Notice the metal track hidden along the wall, both in the edge of the floor and in the edge of the ceiling?”

Craning her neck back as we walked, she gave an imperceptible nod. “Sure, I see it now.”

“That whole section of wall seals when closed but moves into the interior of the garage a couple of inches before sliding sideways when opened.”

She blinked, examining the tracks as we approached closer. “Wow.”

“What’s on the other side of the door is even better.”

“Really, what could be better than all this?” Her dark eyes held a curious glint.

I pointed to a red circle on the wall. “Push that button and see.”

She pushed it, then walked over to the opening wall panel as it slid sideways. She cocked her head. “That’s really quiet. I expected to hear a loud motor and gears grinding, like a garage door opener.”

“One of Dad’s inventions. Long story. He knows a guy…”

Her gaze returned to the open space, and she grinned. “You’re kidding. I thought this opened to the outside.”

“Nope. How else do you think the garage stays in neat-freak shape?”

She shook her head, then blinked. “They have their own indoor car wash area?”

“More like a big mud room for your car. Fully automated. They pull in, close the exterior door before opening this interior panel, and push that green button if they need their car washed before entering the garage. That big blower system dries the car and the undercarriage. The whole thing is ingenious.”

She chuckled as she stepped into the enclosed car wash room. “Then safe to assume that door on the other side of the car wash leads to the motor court where your Jeep is?”

“Motor court?” I asked, surprised.

She spun around and stared at me, dropping her hands on her hips, “Yes, Mr. Tour Guide, motor court. I know the name of a big-ass, paver-covered parking area when I see it.”

“Okay, okay, impressive car knowledge.”

When she stepped further into the space, I followed close behind. My patience had run out. There was nothing else to see—tour over. Time for the
private
tour to begin. “You know, one could say this tunnel is kinda like a closet.”

She spun around, eyes lighting up with challenge as those tempting petticoats beneath the skirt of her sundress rustled. “Oh? Could one?”

I stalked her as she sidestepped out of my reach and veered back toward the car wash entrance. “Oh, definitely. Plus there are several surfaces here sturdy enough to take even the most thorough pounding.”

Her eyes narrowed, her head shaking slowly from one side to the other. “Oh, no. We are heading back to the party with my dress, hair, and makeup intact.”

I cocked my head to the side. “I could work with that.”

Her eyes widened, and she backed up another step, almost into the garage space.

“No.”

I grinned, guttered thoughts flying through my mind of positions and surfaces to christen. All the innocent bonding had been something I needed for my soul after the couple of weeks of craziness. Now my body had other needs after an entire day of being a very good boy.

“Yes.” I arched a brow, stalking another step forward for every one of hers back.

“Cade Joseph Michaelson, if you take one more step toward me, I will turn on the car wash.” Her hand hovered over the green button.

It was no threat at all, because only two yards remained between us. I could easily clear that door and tackle her into the garage without a droplet of water hitting either of us. And
minimal
dress crumpling.

“Go ahead.” I took another step. “As we’ve established, I do love you soaking wet.”

The following afternoon, with windows down and radio blaring eighties rock, we sped down the highway nearing home. Hannah held Ava in her lap with a thumb looped into her collar to prevent the pup from leaning too far out of the car.

And Hannah couldn’t stop smiling. Which made me a grinning, happy-as-fuck idiot. I helped put that bright smile on her face. Yeah, being away from external stressors had taken a weight off of me too.

My hand rested on the gearshift, and she slipped her free hand under it, sliding her fingers loosely into mine. I rubbed my thumb over the soft skin on the back of her hand. Neither of us glanced at each other. We didn’t need to.

We fit perfectly. Without needing to say a word, a calm had settled between us. We’d also worked out plenty of sexual tension over the weekend, giving us enough endorphins to buzz through our bodies for days.

When we passed the outskirts of town, Hannah let out a long sigh.

“You okay?” I squeezed her hand.

“Yes. No. Just…I’m not ready for the weekend to end.”

When I glanced over at her, tears brimmed in her eyes. She took a deep breath.

“Hey.” I lifted a hand up, brushing my knuckles on her cheek. “It’s okay. The weekend isn’t over yet.”

“Sorry.” She let out a short laugh. “I’m being silly. I just had such a great time—all the family, you and me, away from everything.”

Away from Madison is what she meant. All the problems. And all the demands of both of our jobs that pulled us apart.

We turned into her driveway, and I parked in front of her garage before cutting the engine. Then I turned fully toward her. “
We
have a great time. We decide how happy we are even with real-life things happening around us that we can’t control. There will always be that. But no matter where we go or what happens, we’ll have us in the middle of it all.”

She nodded. A tear escaped and tracked down her cheek. I brushed it away with my thumb before leaning over and kissing her softly.

When I eased away, she smiled and tightened her hold on my hand. “I love the ‘us in the middle of it all’ part. Makes us sound invincible. Thank you for understanding. All the good emotions from the weekend flooded in all at once.”

I gave her another quick kiss. “I promise, Maestro. We’ll make plenty of great weekend memories.”

Below us, Ava interrupted with a yip. Then she stood on Hannah’s lap, separating us.

I laughed as I leaned back and unfastened my seatbelt. “Remember to secure Ava.” I arched a brow. “Unless you want to be tossed off your dock too.”

Hannah grinned with mischief in her eyes, as if she couldn’t decide whether or not to heed my warning. After a moment, she twisted in her seat and corralled Ava back into her crate.

I grabbed Hannah’s bag from the back, and she circled around the front of the Jeep, meeting me at the driver’s door. As we walked up her front pathway, she leaned into me. Wordlessly, we slowed our pace, our steps dragging as we neared the inevitable good-bye for tonight.

She glanced up at me. “You know, you could get me a very different kind of wet…”

I watched that sexy lip get sucked in again. “Woman, you’re insatiable.” I dropped her bag onto the landing and pulled her close, staring into her eyes. “We could get all kinds of wet. But we both know, if I follow you through your front door, there will be no sleep. We’ve got a big week ahead of us.”

And there it was, thrown out in the open—the crash back into reality. We faced our most challenging event to date, and one challenging wrench, who enjoyed throwing herself into our smooth-running gears.

Hannah nodded slowly and dropped her gaze down to a spot on my chest where her fingers dragged in a circle. “I know. The responsible part of me realizes we have a ton of work to do. But I’m still channeling my blissful, ignorant side. Can’t we be bad and good? Sex and sleep?”

I groaned, closing my eyes, wondering if I had the willpower to indulge in her body for only a few hours, knowing we won’t have the time to play for days. In the end, there really wasn’t a choice. I opened my eyes and sighed. “Go grab Ava. I’ll text Mase so he doesn’t think we crashed while driving home.”

Hannah squealed, wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me hard. “Thank you! I promise we can get to sleep by a reasonable hour.”