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COLIN
A knock on the office door pulled my attention from the profile glitch Shandie had emailed me about. I glanced toward the open door, assuming Carlisle would answer the outer door. Had he stepped out of the office for a minute? I’d been so lost in thought, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Knock-knock-knock. I stood, pushing myself from the desk and pulling down my long sleeves that I’d pushed to just below my elbows earlier as I’d gotten into my work.
The outer office was empty as I’d suspected. Arching an eyebrow at the locked door and the notecard taped above the handle, I grinned.
Locked so you don’t get kidnapped while deep in thought. 😉
Shaking my head, I turned the lock and opened the door with an expectant smile on my face.
A man with a bright blue courier jacket on returned my smile. “Colin Davies?” He glanced at a clipboard in his hand and raised his gaze to my face. “Of ClickandWed.com?”
“That’s me.” I stepped forward, swinging the door open more fully and pushing my sleeves back up to my elbows. I’d have to remember why I didn’t like long-sleeve shirts the next time I opted to wear one.
The delivery man held out a small, shiny black box about the size of a deck of cards. “This is for you. Sign here.” He held out a tablet and I created my signature with my forefinger on the touchscreen.
“Thank you. Who is it-" I glanced up from the box and blinked as the man was already half-way down the stairs.
Back inside, I closed the door and made my way to my desk, studying the box in my fingers. Who could it be from? Maybe one of the couples I’d matched had sent a small thank-you.
The sound of a large truck backing up outside beeped through the slightly open windows. I was celebrating the warmth of spring. Everything was possible when the sun was shining and I was making matches on the website.
Sitting in my chair, I pushed myself side to side with the toe of my heeled-boot. The box wasn’t taped shut or anything. I slid the top off and furrowed my eyebrows at the presence of a small key – no more than an inch to an inch-and-a-half in length. The part you held onto with your forefinger and thumb was roughly the size of a nickel.
Palming the key, I stared at it a moment longer before searching the box for any clues. A small business card with Jaxon’s business information on it lay on the bottom of the box.
Turning the card over, I pursed my lips in confusion at the note.
Look outside. Congratulations on moving forward.
I turned the card over again and then held onto it in my empty hand. I pivoted on the chair, turning to seek what he could be talking about.
What I saw made me gasp and reach up to cover my mouth. Half-standing, I reached forward and braced myself on the thick glass-window as I gaped. There was no other word for what I was doing – gaping.
A 1965 Chevy Nova in pristine condition with sky blue paint sat on the side of the road directly beneath ClickandWed’s office. The two-door coupe was boxy while being sleek with the chrome accents polished to a shine.
I gripped the key so hard, the teeth bit into my palm. Bystanders walking up and down the sidewalk cast appraising glances at the car, some looking more than once to take in the clean angles of the classic car.
Jaxon had sent me a car. Not just any car, a collector’s item.
My chest tightened. He’d listened to what I’d said about something that was my favorite and it was just a passing comment. He, too, liked Chevys and had said so, but he hadn’t gone any further.
Why did he do things like that? Sweet and unassuming? Then he would turn around and push me. I hesitated at being too excited for the gift. First, I couldn’t accept a car from a man I barely knew.
My internal devilish side had to speak up right then. Why not? You’re definitely attracted to a man you barely know. My impromptu smile from the car’s presence faded. I wasn’t attracted to him. Okay, I was, but that was purely physical. There was nothing wrong with being attracted to him. If I wanted to be nice to myself, I would admit there was nothing wrong with liking him either.
I had Carlisle for a friend. I could certainly be friends with Jaxon. It didn’t matter that a part of me wanted more from him. He didn’t mean that much to me. As soon as I accepted that, the sooner I could get over the slight skip in my pulse when I thought of him or the way I looked for his emails or glanced at the office across from mine as I looked for him – even though I knew he wasn’t there.
Keep him at arm’s length, Colin. You won’t survive losing another one.
I stepped back from the window. Meeting the gaze of my reflection in the glass, I sighed. That’s what I was afraid of. I was afraid of the pain of losing someone I cared about. Losing Mathias had about killed me and I didn’t want to go through it again. But... Jaxon wasn’t the type to back off and I was glad.
His constant persistence had pushed me into considering him, over and over and over.
Was there a chance he had been scared off enough that he wouldn’t consider trying more? I wasn’t sure where things could go or even how far I was interested in pursuing things, but I knew I wanted Jaxon in my life as more than just a business partner.
Maybe even more than a friend.
Remorse mingled with shame at how I’d treated him. Hopefully, I’d get the chance to make it up to him.
Spinning, I claimed my chair and leaned forward, starting up the laptop. Bringing up my email, I created a new email with the subject line:
What did you do?
I smirked and it shifted to a grin. The subject was just inflammatory enough Jaxon would open it out of curiosity, especially if he had given up on me ever being interested. He probably would think I was going to yell at him for buying me a car.
He broke the silence between us, shattered my determination to keep him away and it had nothing to do with the car and everything to do with his thoughtfulness. He forced me to reach out after taking a long hard look at myself and my motivations.
Jaxon,
I can’t believe you sent me the Nova! All you had to do was email me and say it was done. This is too much!
You really do think I’m only after your money.
I’m not. I promise.
Colin
I hit send without adding everything else I wanted to say. None of it would make sense, but I understood what was happening and before I bore my soul to him, I needed some more time to figure out just how I was going to define things.
I needed time to get straight in my head and my heart just what the change in my position with Jaxon in my future meant to my past with Mathias.