It's Me Again, Baby Read online

  Clearly not enough. She hadn’t been used to guys paying attention to her. Then she’d come home for the summer after graduation and had met Maguire. A guy she’d crushed on hard when she’d been younger. He’d been years older than her, out of her league, and had no idea who she was back then. To be fair, she’d been in middle school and he hadn’t paid attention to her or any of her friends. Which was good, because that would have been gross if he had.

  But that summer three years ago, when he’d shown an intense interest in her, she’d been surprised and flattered.

  “Not too much info. I’m glad you told me,” he said quietly. Relief slid through her that he wasn’t holding the past against her. “Though I’m surprised you struggled with confidence. You’re smart, funny, and even more stunning now than you were then.”

  His words warmed her from the inside out because there was only truth in his voice. She knew what she looked like, but that didn’t change the fact that she hadn’t always loved her body and herself. She could admit she enjoyed that he found her attractive. More than a little, if the hunger in his gaze was any indication. She felt the same for him.

  “Are you seeing anyone right now?” he continued before she could respond.

  “No.” She’d just moved home, not that it really mattered. She hadn’t dated much recently. Okay, in a looooong time.

  She’d been consumed with work since longer than she wanted to admit. When she’d moved away on her own, her heart still broken by what she’d assumed was Maguire’s betrayal, she’d been a workaholic, determined to carve out a name for herself where she’d lived. And she had. When her dad had died it had been a wake-up call though. In more ways than one. She hadn’t been looking to settle down when she moved home, but she had wanted to slow down a little, to enjoy her life and spend time with her mom and friends.

  “Are you?” she asked, continuing. She assumed he wasn’t, after the surprising comment he’d made, but still wanted to ask. Not that he’d asked her out or anything, but still. She wanted to know.

  “No.” The way he watched her with such intense focus was unnerving—and incredibly arousing. She’d never been on the end of such single-minded attention from any man. Before she could respond, Nora Cassidy stepped up to their table, two mugs and two plated croissants on a tray. She set everything on the table, the overhead light glinting off her sparkly engagement ring.

  It was as if that band around Samantha’s chest loosened and she was suddenly able to breathe again. Just being around Maguire like this was seriously messing with her head.

  “Sorry about the wait, you guys.” Wisps of steam drifted off the latte Nora placed in front of Sam.

  Maguire grinned when Nora set his hot cocoa down—complete with a candy cane in it.

  For some reason, the fact that he’d ordered a hot cocoa made him that much more adorable to Sam. “No problem. Looks like your rush just cleared out.”

  “It did, but we’ll see another one in an hour. Let me know if you guys need anything. Well, Sam, you let me know.” She shot Maguire a semi-serious glare. “I’m only being nice to you because you’re with a paying customer.”

  “What?” He placed a hand on his chest, mock insulted.

  She shot her gaze to Sam. “Jackson got too roughed up on the rink on Saturday and I know it was him,” she said, jerking a thumb at Maguire, “who bruised his ribs.”

  Maguire snorted, which wasn’t a denial at all.

  “Roughed up?” Sam asked once Nora was out of earshot.

  He snorted again, shaking his head. “Brotherly sparring. We had a free weekend and hit the ice for a friendly game of hockey. Us, the sheriff and some guys from the fire department. Nora’s only got a sister though. I think our type of roughhousing is a shock to her.”

  “So you’re still playing hockey.” He’d been sexy on the ice. And okay, off it, but when he skated it was a thing of beauty.

  “Yeah…wait, you’ve seen me?”

  Her cheeks flushed even as she nodded, realizing her inadvertent little confession. “Yeah. Many years ago. When I was in middle school and there was no way you would have noticed me.” They were only a little over five years apart in age.

  “Maybe I’ll invite you out for our next game, then. You can tell me if I’ve improved.”

  “Or if you’ve gotten worse in your old age.”

  “Old?”

  “I’m messing with you.” Since she remembered when his birthday was, she knew that he’d just turned thirty and was well, delicious-looking.

  His grin widened, taking him from good-looking to ridiculously handsome territory. Everything about him was sexy. With the sleeves of his long-sleeved T-shirt—advertising one of his auto repair shops—shoved up, he was showing off muscular forearms and a plethora of tattoos that made her mouth water.

  Most of the tattoos he’d had when they’d been… Well, whatever they’d been. They’d had a lot of sex, shared a lot of promises to stay in touch and remain exclusive to each other, but calling him her ex-boyfriend felt too weird. Things between them had burned as bright as a shooting star—then suddenly been snuffed out. The death of what could have been between them had jarred her senses and she’d never dealt with it. No, she’d thrown herself into work. Part of her still hurt to think of what they could have had.

  Shaking off thoughts of what might have been, she tried not to stare at his tattoos or to remember what the rest of them looked like. The ones that weren’t showing right now. She could feel her cheeks heating up at that thought so she shelved it. For now. She’d return to it later.

  “You’ve been very busy since settling back in Holly.” Impressively so. He was a workaholic, something she understood well. He owned and ran two auto repair shops and recently had officially started a vehicle restoration company. Some of which she’d found out today from him, but she’d known about the auto repair shops even before moving back herself. She could admit she’d subtly, or not so subtly, asked her mom about the O’Connor family. Or one O’Connor in particular.

  “Yeah. I haven’t taken real time off in years. I’ve been spending all my weekends working on vehicle restorations.”

  “If that Mustang you’re driving is any indication of your work, I’d say it’s time well spent.”

  His smile went positively nuclear at her compliment, showing off dimples that made heat rush between her legs. “Thank you. She’s the first car I ever restored.”

  Oh yeah, his smile should be illegal. “She?”

  “Something that beautiful is definitely a woman.”

  Laughing lightly, she picked up her drink. “Maybe you’ll take me for a ride sometime.” As soon as the words were out she realized they could have a double meaning.

  A flush of color tinged his cheeks as he kept her pinned with his ice-blue gaze that somehow burned. “Anytime.”

  * * *

  Maguire didn’t bother knocking as he unlocked the side door that led to his parents’ kitchen. His childhood home. He and all his siblings had keys and his parents didn’t care when they stopped by. If his mom and dad wanted privacy, they sent out a mass text and told all of them not to come by. Not very subtle, but neither of his parents had ever claimed to be. Since he hadn’t received one from his mom, it was safe to come see her.

  “I was just thinking of you,” she said, glancing at him over her shoulder as she pulled a wine glass down from the rack under one of the cabinets.

  “And I was just thinking about how sneaky you are.” Sighing, he collapsed on one of the chairs at the kitchen table. After work he’d promised a friend he’d help install a surround sound system. In exchange, his friend had promised free beer and food. He’d gotten one out of two things, since his friend’s idea of food was days-old takeout, and Maguire was now famished.

  “So you met with Sam today?” She set the glass next to a bottle of red wine and moved to the refrigerator.

  “Samantha? Yes. She showed me some nice places.” And he’d enjoyed spending so much time w
ith her. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. If he hadn’t promised his friend to help with that installation he’d have asked her out tonight instead of waiting until tomorrow. Which seemed like an eternity away.

  His mom heaped a big scoop of her homemade lasagna on a plate and covered it before putting it into the microwave. “She’s a sharp girl. And it’s good she moved back to be closer to her mom.”

  “So how’d you know about…” He wasn’t even sure how to phrase the question. He and Sam had been hot and heavy but they’d been so wrapped up in each other. He’d barely seen his family when he’d been home on the leave he’d met her. No, he’d been with her every second he could get, but he hadn’t told his family about their relationship. It had been too new and felt too special. He hadn’t wanted his brothers giving him grief, and okay, he’d been selfish. He’d wanted her all to himself.

  “Oh, sweetheart.” His mom patted his cheek once before heading back to the counter for her wine. “When will you learn that I know everything?”

  He snorted as the microwave dinged.

  “I heated that up for you because I know you haven’t eaten,” she said as she opened the bottle.

  Grinning, he stood. “Thanks. It smells amazing.”

  “Of course it does. I made it.” She sat at the table as he grabbed utensils and his food.

  He’d come over here because he was starving and because he’d wanted to ask how she’d known he had a thing for Sam. “Why didn’t you just tell me she moved back into town?” Instead of setting up that meeting.

  She arched an eyebrow. “I believe I did.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  Instead of answering, she shrugged. “Tell me about the places you saw today.”

  And that was that. He’d learned long ago that when his mom decided a topic was closed, there was no reopening it. Once he’d finished telling her about all the places, she smiled.

  “I knew you’d like the Davidsons’ property. It’s perfect.”

  “Yeah. I’m going to bid lower than the asking price. It’s overpriced.” He could find a similar property and just have a work shed built. But it was the time waiting for it to be built he wasn’t sure he wanted to deal with. Still, he was going to offer lower.

  “I agree. I have a feeling they’ll take it too. They’re looking to downsize and have their eye on a condo downtown.”

  “How do you… Salon gossip?” She got most of her intel at Holly’s salon/florist located in the middle of downtown. And she’d been known to start a betting pool or two on various things—including how long it would take Jackson to ask out the woman who was now his fiancée.

  “Of course.”

  “Good to know.” He savored the hearty lasagna and the comfort of his childhood home as he finished his meal.

  “I think your Aunt Carly is dating Brad’s father,” his mom said after a few minutes.

  He just raised his eyebrows, but didn’t respond. Because he knew for a fact that those two were dating as of very recently. He’d been sworn to secrecy by Fallon.

  His mom’s blue eyes, the exact color of his own, narrowed. “You know something, don’t you?”

  Leaning back from the table, he linked his hands together behind his head. “I know this is the best meal I’ve had in ages. Thanks, Mom.”

  She sniffed once, but he saw the appreciation in her eyes. She loved cooking and it didn’t seem to matter that none of her kids lived at home anymore. He was always over raiding the fridge. Which was probably sad, but he could live with the shame.

  “Have you asked her out?” Her blunt question took him off guard.

  Internally he cursed himself for not being prepared. Should have known this was coming. “She’ll be showing me a few more places tomorrow.”

  Sniffing again, his mom stood, picking up her full glass as she slid the chair into place. “Just don’t wait too long to make a move. I hear that nice young man Ethan Thaxter has his eye on her.”

  “I know what you’re doing.” Picking up his dirty plate, he headed toward the sink.

  “Think whatever you want. It’s the truth. Make sure you see your father before you head out. He has a car question for you.” She was out of the room before he could blink, much less respond.

  Frowning to himself, he washed the dirty dish and utensils and set them in the drying rack next to the sink. His mom was likely just messing with him, but if she wasn’t… Well, it didn’t matter if that rich asshole had his eye on Samantha.

  Maguire wasn’t letting her get away this time.

  As soon as he had the thought his entire body jolted. What the hell was he thinking? She’d burned him before, even if it hadn’t been intentional. Rolling his shoulders once, he tried to ease the sudden tension. He certainly didn’t like the thought of her with someone else. Not one bit.

  Chapter 3

  Maguire held his phone in his hand, staring at the dark screen for a long moment. God, it was like he was in high school again. Of course, when he’d been in high school he hadn’t had a freaking cell phone and he hadn’t been nervous about girls.

  But he was nervous around Samantha. She brought out possessive feelings he’d never experienced with anyone else but her. He was protective by nature, but the possessive thing? He’d only ever had that for her. It seemed things hadn’t changed.

  Instead of texting he dialed her number and was pleased when she picked up on the second ring.

  “Hey, Maguire.”

  The sound of her saying his name had all his muscles tightening. The memory of her saying it under very different circumstances was seared into his memory. “Hey. How’s your day going?” He could hear a multitude of voices in the background, as if she was at a restaurant. Which made sense since it was almost noon.

  “Good. Busy, which is always good.” She let out a little laugh. “I found a few more places to show you this afternoon.”

  They’d already planned to see a couple but he wouldn’t mind adding more if it meant spending additional time with her. “Sounds good. I found one I’d like to see as well. I’ll text or email you the info?”

  “Either works. I’ve got my phone attached to me.”

  “We still on for tonight?”

  There was a slight pause. “Yes. If you still want?”

  “I do.” Very much so. He kept that last bit to himself, not wanting to come on too strong. He hadn’t actually said it was a date, just that he wanted to catch up.

  “Good. We can just go somewhere after the last showing if you want.”

  “How about I cook for you at my place?” Okay, that wasn’t subtle.

  She paused even longer. “I’d like that.” Her voice was slightly raspier than before and he wished he could see her face. Wondered if her cheeks would be flushed.

  “Want to meet and just ride around in one vehicle today?”

  “Yeah, I’ve got a couple showings and an appointment but I can meet you close to one thirty.”

  “Perfect. Just text me where you want me to pick you up.”

  “Okay. See you soon.”

  He figured it was probably out of the ordinary for her to ride around with clients. She probably drove everywhere or just met people, more likely. But some intrinsic part of him wanted to see her sitting in his Mustang. Okay he wanted more than that, but the thought of her in his car was beyond sexy.

  The next hour crept by as he worked on an older model Jaguar. Keeping his hands and mind busy helped hold the nightmares at bay. Which was why he worked so much, even over the weekends, adding vehicle restorations to his already slammed schedule.

  “What’s got you all twisted up?”

  He turned at the sound of his sister’s voice.

  Blinking, he looked up from the engine he’d been working on and realized that most of the guys had gone to lunch. Hell. He’d been seriously zoning out, thinking about Samantha, which wasn’t like him. Even when he was focused on a project, he kept his surroundings in check out of habit.

&
nbsp; Always. It was ingrained in him. But he’d been consumed with thoughts of Samantha to the point of stupid distraction. He should have heard his sister arrive.

  “When’d you get here?” he asked instead of answering.

  Fallon lifted a shoulder. Petite and slender, she had the same build and coloring as their mom, with her auburn hair and blue eyes. “Two minutes ago. Harper said it was okay if I came back here.”

  Harper Pratt, his assistant/accounting guru, always let his family come back into the garage part of the shop. “What’s up? Everything okay?” Fallon had on a bright pink T-shirt with the logo and name of her new food truck business, Sugar Rush, on it. He was surprised she wasn’t working right now.

  “Yeah. Already got a rush earlier for the breakfast crowd. I’m headed downtown to grab the after-lunch crowd who still want snacks. Then I’m headed to the retirement community. Thought I’d stop and see you on the way.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, eyeing her warily. “Why?”

  “A sister can’t stop by to see her big brother?”

  “What do you want?” he asked dryly.

  “Dude, nothing!” She leaned against the front of a new Toyota Highlander whose windshield they were about to replace. “Okay, I wanted to know what’s up with you and Sam Murphy. Mom said something about you two and I’m nosy.”

  “She’s my new Realtor. And get off the vehicle.” He nodded at the Highlander.

  Fallon rolled her eyes and shoved up. “I’m not hurting anything. And don’t try to change the subject. Come on, man. She’s freaking gorgeous! And so sweet. You two a thing now?”

  Oh yeah, he was not having this conversation with his younger sister. Or anyone, for that matter. His personal business was his alone. “You’re turning into Mom.”

  She snorted. “I know you’re just trying to get under my skin.”

  “Nope. Just telling the truth.”

  “You’re really not going to tell me?”

  He glanced at his watch, saw he only had about twenty minutes to clean up and head out to meet Samantha. “I’ve gotta run.”