He wiped his hand on his cheek, and I noticed the smear of oil.
“Okay, kid, out from under the car.”
I slid out, and the kid crawled out beside me. I sat up and he stared, his eyes wide. “You have a boo-boo,” he said, pointing to my head.
I crossed my arms. “I’m not surprised.”
“I’m sorry I scared you. I just wanted to see.” His bottom lip began to tremble.
Dammit, I hated to see a kid cry. I ruffled his hair. “It’s okay, little man. I’m a big guy. I can take it.”
“You have lots of muscles,” he agreed, rubbing his nose, then peering under the car. “How’d you fit under there?”
Before I could respond, he added, “Is your uniform magic?”
I laughed, touching the coveralls. “Maybe.”
“Can I have one?”
“I don’t have any in your size.”
“Oh.” Again, the lip quivered. “I wanted to help you. I like cars.”
I was about to respond when Charly appeared, peeking around the car. “Aha. Found him, Gabby!” she called out.
I heard hurried footsteps, and a woman rounded the end of the car, looking upset. I froze when I saw her, my heartbeat increasing. It was her. The woman from the other day.
And her name was Gabby.
Lovely.
“Theo!” she scolded. “You scared Mommy!”
“I was looking at the car,” he protested, tapping the fender. “It’s pretty.”
The kid had that right. The car was pretty—he obviously had good taste.
“You weren’t supposed to leave the waiting room.” Her gaze drifted to me, and suddenly color saturated her cheeks as our gazes met. Two sets of dark eyes appraised and locked, both shocked, one pleased, while the other looked uncertain.
Gabby was even more beautiful than I remembered. Her hair was down, tiny corkscrew curls wild and thick hanging just above her shoulders. The lights in the garage caught strands of gold and red scattered in the dark brown, making it unique and pretty. Her face was pale aside from the slashes of crimson on her cheeks, and her lips were as full and tempting as they had been the other day. She was dressed in jeans with a loose T-shirt hanging low over her hips. She was appealing and sexy. And glaring at me.
“What are you doing here?”
I grinned and rose to my full height, towering over her. “I work here.”
“I-I didn’t know that.”
“Why do you think I gave you that card?”
“I thought it was your friend’s place.”
“Maxx is a friend, but it’s part mine as well.”
“Hmmph.”
I crossed my arms. “So, if you’d known that, you wouldn’t have come?”
“I never–I never said that. Don’t presume to know what I’m thinking.” She lifted her chin in defiance, which somehow only turned me on. I liked her spunk.
I lifted one eyebrow sardonically. “I wouldn’t dare.”
“Good,” she sniffed, attempting to sound haughty. All it did was make me want to kiss her. Taste her mouth again. I tried not to stare at her lips. I also tried not to smile when I noticed she was staring at mine.
Charly’s gaze bounced between us. “Stefano is one of our best. He’s very talented.”
“I’m sure he is,” Gabby drawled, her sarcasm evident. I wanted to remind her how talented I was, but I was a gentleman and refrained. I didn’t want to shock Charly.
A hand tugged on my pants, and I glanced down, suddenly remembering the kid. Theo.
It hit me. She had a kid. If she had a kid, she was…
Holy shit. Was she married? I had kissed a married woman?
“You did what?” Charly asked, looking around, confused. “What married woman?”
I groaned, realizing I had said that out loud. I ran a hand through my hair, grimacing as I hit the lump forming on my forehead.
Charly noticed. “Yowsers, Stefano, what did you do to your head?”
“I scared him,” Theo offered, pointing to the car. “I wanted to see what he was doing under there.”
His mother’s face became paler. “Are you all right?” she asked me. Once again, our eyes locked, a strange connection flowing between them. It felt like a physical thing; I could feel it everywhere. As if she was touching me—all over.
“Charly,” I said, not taking my eyes off the woman in front of me. “Take Theo and get him a garage shirt. I promised him one. Maybe a hat.”
“Can I work on the car with you, then?” he asked.
“I’ll show you a couple of things,” I replied.
Charly huffed, hating the fact that I was sending her on an errand. Little Miss Know-It-All wanted to stay and find out what was going on. The bottom line was, I’d tell her later anyway and she knew it, which was why she offered Theo her hand.
“Okay if I give him a shirt, Gabby?”
“Um, sure?”
Theo looked ready to burst from excitement. As soon as they disappeared around the car, I leaned close to Gabby, catching her appealing scent.
“You’re married?” I hissed. “You’re married, and you kissed me?”