to have sex with her. As if just sleeping next to her was enough. She’d been pretty sure he’d sunk as far into this relationship as she had, but a sleepover with no sex almost confirmed the fact.
Then what was he going to show her? There wasn’t anything on Anchor Sid had never seen. Were they going off island? They couldn’t go far and be back in time to open the restaurant. The guessing game only heightened the headache she’d gained from the brief cry she’d allowed herself in the shower, so Sid opted to feed the cat and load the dishwasher while waiting for Lucas.
“What the hell is he up to, Drillbit?” she asked her pet, who ignored the question and continued to devour the smelly gook in her bowl. “I hope it’s good. I could use some good news today.”
It had taken a full five minutes to convince Sid to let him drive her truck. Another five to get her to wear the blindfold. A brief shower the night before meant the road ahead would be too treacherous to navigate in his car. He couldn’t blame her on either count. The truck had taken a hit the day before, though the damage was only cosmetic. But getting by Sid’s inner control freak to put the blindfold on had been the real test.
Lucas had used all of his manly wiles, which he wasn’t proud of. Nor would he ever admit to the thought of having manly wiles.
“Are we almost there? This thing is making my head itch.”
“Two more minutes,” he said, which he’d been saying since the first time she’d asked, at the end of her driveway. “Not long now.”
He turned onto the road leading to their destination and dropped the truck into four-wheel drive. They bounced from side to side and he reached out to brace Sid so she wouldn’t land on the floorboards.
“If you hurt this truck I will kick your ass,” she declared, with complete conviction in her voice. He laughed and focused on avoiding the potholes ahead.
When they reached the building, Lucas cut the engine and leaned forward to see the sign hanging on the brick wall. Just as he’d ordered. Lot would get an extra fifty dollars this week.
“Finally,” Sid said, reaching for the bandanna covering her eyes. “Get this thing off.”
“Not yet,” he argued, halting her movements. “Let me get you out first.”
“Are you kidding me?” Sid tried to smack the dash and missed, but Lucas caught her before her nose took the hit.
“Just scoot over here. There you go.” With little effort, he lifted her to the ground, turned her to face the building, then stood behind her. “You ready?”
“This better be good,” she grumbled. But when he remained silent, she surrendered. “Yes. I’m ready. I’m beyond ready.”
“Good.” With a sweep of his hand, Lucas removed the bandanna, and waited. For what he wasn’t sure. Sid wasn’t the squealing and happy dancing type, but this was a pretty big surprise.
Silence reigned. No squealing. No dancing. He leaned around to see her face. No smiling.
“What the fuck did you do?” she asked, her eyes locked on the sign that read Navarro Boat Repair & Restoration. “You need to get that down. Now.”
Not the reaction he expected. “What are you talking about? That’s only a temporary sign. We’ll get a more permanent one when the renovations are done.”
“We won’t do shit. Get the fucking thing down.” Sid turned with her hand out. “Give me the keys so I can back the truck up and tear the thing down myself.”
“But why?” he asked, refusing to hand over the keys. “I don’t understand. Why are you so mad?”
“Because it’s not mine!” she screamed. “This doesn’t belong to me. Someone else bought it. It’s not for sale anymore. The boat business isn’t going to happen.”
“Wait.” How could she know? Everything had been done in secret. “You know that someone bought this garage?”
“Yes, damn it. Will told me yesterday. Some fancy ass from out of town bought it, and he’ll probably tear it down for all I know.” She stomped over to the truck. “I can’t be here. I need to get out of here.”
“Hold on,” he said, spinning her around. “You knew that someone else was trying to buy your dream, and you didn’t tell me?”
“What difference does it make? I set out to buy it and I failed. Telling you wasn’t going to change that.”
“But you could have counteroffered. I could have helped you come up with the money to buy it.”
“No way. I’d never do that.” She swiped away a tear. “It’s over. The garage belongs to someone else now. Just please let me go home.”
His heart nearly broke watching her stand strong and proud, knowing she must have been dying on the inside since getting the news. With a gentle hand, he nudged her chin up until their eyes met, wiping away another wayward tear with his thumb.
“This garage doesn’t belong to someone else, Sid. It belongs to you. I bought it for you.”
They stared at each other as the words sunk in, a myriad of emotions running through him. Then Sid snapped.
Shoving against his chest, she screamed, “Why would you do that? Why would you take this away from me?” Sid had never been stabbed, but the feeling of a knife slicing through her heart made her long for the real thing. At least she could heal from a knife wound.
“I didn’t take anything away from you,” he argued, reaching for her but she batted his hands away. “It’s yours. I’m giving it to you.”
“I don’t want it! Not like this.” The tears flowed freely now, more from anger than the loss she’d felt moments before. “What part of doing this on my own did you not understand? I was close. I’d have had the money by Labor Day. Just a few more weeks.”
Lucas kept crowding her, trying to force her to let him in. “I didn’t buy it outright. There are still payments to be made. I only provided the down payment. This way you can use your money for the renovations. And you can make the payments on the remaining mortgage.”
“Only the down payment?” she asked, remembering what Will had told her. “You paid
Lucas jerked as if she’d slapped him. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I think it’s pretty clear.” She laughed, a hollow, empty sound. “I gave you me and you give me a garage. Something to remember you by after you’re gone.”
“That’s crossing a line and insulting to both of us. What we have is more than that.”
“Really? What do we have, Lucas? A casual fling, right? That’s all this is supposed to be.” Sid opened the truck door. “It’s clear that’s all this is because if you knew me at all, cared about me at all, you wouldn’t have done this.”
She climbed in and waited. He still held the keys so she couldn’t drive off without him. Which she sorely wanted to do. After what could have been a minute or an hour, Lucas climbed into the passenger seat and set the keys on the bench between them.
Sid drove back to her place, numb and empty. He could have the damn garage. She’d let it rot before taking his charity. When they reached her driveway, she kept the motor running.
“Get your stuff and lock the door behind you.”
Lucas didn’t move to get out. “Can we talk about this?”
Sid shook her head, too drained to say anything more. Unable to look at the man beside her. The man she loved, even now.
With a sigh, he finally opened the door. From the ground, he said, “I never meant to hurt you,” and closed the door.
The sobbing started again. She threw the truck in reverse, spewing gravel against her garage door as she backed out. Sid wasn’t sure where she was going. She just knew she had to go.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
