He left, and I went to get a cup of coffee, sipping the strong brew.
Maxx appeared, plucking the list from my hand. He whistled as he looked it over. “SUV’s not worth it.”
I sighed and rubbed my face. “That’s not the worst of it. I looked under it. The rust is bad. Really bad.”
He crossed his arms over his massive chest and looked thoughtful. “If we gave it a good tune-up and replaced the belts and battery, it would run smoother. Give her a little more time.”
“I hate the thought of her driving it. I’m not even sure she should.”
“What if we found her a better one?”
I met his eyes. “I have the feeling she’s living check to check, Maxx. Any sort of new vehicle isn’t in the budget. I was going to fix this up and only charge her for a few cables and cover it myself.”
“You care for this girl.”
I thought of last night. Her indignation when she saw me. The way we constantly sparred. Her unexpected reaction to Lara’s flirting.
How she fell apart in my arms. The feel of her on my fingers. The scent of her in my nose. The taste of her in my mouth. How badly I’d wanted to take her home and keep her with me all night.
“There’s something about her,” I muttered.
Charly waddled in, seemingly larger than she was the day before. She looked tired, but she was grinning. “About whom? Who are we gossiping about? Holy moly, is it Gabby?”
Maxx chuckled, shaking his head. He bent, kissing Charly’s forehead, and settled her into the chair. “Relax, Red. If you get too excited, you’ll go into labor. Stefano and I are talking about a car.”
“Gabby’s SUV. I saw it. Chase told me you were at the bar last night and she’s a waitress. He said you stayed behind to talk to her and you towed her car here this morning.” She leaned forward, eager. “What’s going on?”
I had to groan. Chase told Charly everything. Every. Damn. Thing. There were no secrets here. He adored her, and they were close—she was like a mother to him. Of course he would rat me out.
Maxx picked up his coffee cup. “I’ll just leave you to it. I’ll reread the list and do a ballpark figure.”
“Bastard,” I muttered as he strode from the office. His laughter floated back, but he never stopped.
Charly waited, expectant.
I ran a hand through my hair and decided to keep it short and simple. “Yes, we went to the bar she worked at—a total coincidence. Her car wouldn’t start. I drove her home and brought the SUV here. It’s in bad shape. Really bad.”
“But she can’t afford many repairs,” Charly finished for me.
“And she’s proud. Stubborn. She won’t accept charity. Especially from me,” I added.
“And you like her. Really like her.”
“Are we in grade eight?”
She grinned, not put off by my words. “Just getting the facts.” Charly seemed lost in thought for a moment. “What if it’s not charity?”
“I’m listening.”
“I need to talk to Maxx, but I have an idea.”
“Okay.”
She held out her hands. “I need help up.”
I gently pulled her from the chair, then bent and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Charly.”
She smiled, her eyes dancing. “So much more fun than ordering spark plugs.”
She headed toward Maxx, and I returned to the SUV, thinking. I had a feeling Gabby was going to be upset when I gave her the news. Very upset. I contemplated lying—simply fixing everything, telling her it was done and not explaining how bad it was. Paying for it myself. Except I hated lying. And she would, somehow, find out, and I had a feeling part of her mistrust with people was that she’d been lied to before. And the bottom line was, the vehicle shouldn’t be driven anymore.
Charly appeared by my elbow, smiling. “Maxx agrees with you. The vehicle is in bad shape. When you get Gabby, bring her to see me.”
“What do you have in mind?”
She shook her head. “I’ll talk to Gabby first.”
I trusted Charly completely. “Okay. I’m going to get her soon.”
“Great.”
She padded away, almost dancing in her excitement. Maxx leaned on the workbench, watching her, his adoration evident in his stare, a small smile playing on his mouth. I half expected him to follow her and shut the office door before he kissed her senseless the way she liked. When she disappeared from view, his smile dropped, and I had to hold in my laughter as he did exactly what I expected. He could barely stand to have her out of his sight. I heard her giggle before the door shut, and I knew Charly was having a good morning.
I realized the time and grabbed the set of car keys for the garage van. I didn’t want to be late picking up Gabriella—she was dealing with enough stress, and I didn’t want to add to it.