Page 159 of Crash Course
"I know. And he’d want someone to love it as much as he did. I’m not sure that’s me."
Now he was talking nonsense. "Of course, it’s you. You rebuilt it. Just hearing you talk about that, I know how much you love it."
"I do. But a lot has happened. Not just with you, but with my family, and I’ve spent the last couple of weeks figuring some things out. I still have a ways to go, demons to get rid of, but the Stutz? I built it for my father. To somehow prove something. It wasn’t for me. Cilla, I’ve spent ten years obsessing over this car, trying to get it perfect, chasing my father’s dream. Chasing a ghost. When I was sitting in that jail cell, I was thinking about Zeke and how he’d rip into me and how he’d recently asked me if I’d ever finish messing with this car."
He broke eye contact, peered down at the car and blew out a hard breath. "As long as it’s in my possession, I will always find something wrong. I will always chase my father’s dream. Trying to make it perfect." He met her gaze again and held it for a few seconds. "I need to stop chasing his dream and chase my own. I’m not exactly sure what that dream is, but I want you in it. Experiencing it with me."
Cilla opened her mouth, then closed it again. It took a powerful man to admit his feelings like this. To be vulnerable.
That alone stole her breath. That he trusted her, cared for her, that much.
How she loved him.
As sure as she was standing here, about to tell him she couldn’t accept it, she knew she’d never want to be apart from him.
Ever.
She stepped closer, cupped her hands around his cheeks and kissed him softly, gently brushing her lips over his, allowing herself to take comfort in his warmth and forget about the chaos raging around them.
She eased back from the kiss and dropped her hands. "Wanting me to have it means so much to me. That you’d entrust me with something that's such a huge part of your life. Truly, I can’t imagine a better gift."
"Well," he smiled, then dropped another quick kiss on her before backing away. "Spending time in a cell offers time to reflect and I figured some things out. The first being that I love you."
She gasped. Cruz, full of surprises today. "You—"
His hand shot up. "Wait. I don’t expect you to say it back. I just . . . I wanted to be honest. So you’ll know my intentions are to take care of you. Always. And try to make you happy. I won’t screw up again." He laughed. "At least I won’t be punching people. I’ll screw up in other ways. That’s just me. But," he glanced down at the Stutz, "the best way to show you how much you mean to me is to see you cherish this car as much as my dad did. That’s what he’d want and that’s what I want. For the woman I love to be driving Dad’s dream car. It’s kinda perfect if you think about it."
Yes. It was. Heaven help her if she wrecked this car, though. The guilt would destroy her. The responsibility might be too much.
But perhaps there was a compromise.
She held up a finger. "I’ll make you a deal. I’ll keep it, but it’ll be ours. To share. You drive it when you want. I’ll drive it when I want. It might get complicated with you living three hours away, but maybe I can store it somewhere near my new office. Then it won’t be as long of a commute."
He pressed his lips together, clearly pondering the idea.
"About Asheville," he said. "I talked to my mom about the Craftsman."
"Wow. Youhavebeen busy. How’d that go?"
"It went well. She told me to do what I want. Which, you know, I shouldn’t have been surprised. She wants us happy. Even if it means leaving."
"She’s amazing. Total reverse of my father."
"That’s for sure." He waved it off. "I don’t want to talk about him anymore."
"Me neither."
"Good. So, the Craftsman. After talking to my mom, I put in an offer. Waiting to hear, but the realtor thinks it’s a go."
He’d be in Asheville. Near her office. Her pulse kicked up and she didn’t bother fighting the smile begging to be set free.
The universe worked in odd ways. Odd ways that allowed Cilla to suddenly envision a life with a man she loved and a family of her own.
"Congratulations," she said. "That’s fantastic. I’m so excited."
"Yeah? Me too. The house has that two-car garage. We can keep the Stutz there. Then when you want to drive it, you can grab it."
She bobbed her head. "I love that idea. Cruz Blackwell, you’ll probably drive me to madness, but I’d love sharingeverythingwith you. My life, my dreams, my heartaches. I know it’ll all be safe with you. And that’s way more than I ever expected."
