Free Mz Mechanic by Ambrielle Kirk Page B

anger.
    He shook his head. “Who said I was using you?”
    “I heard the conversation you had in your office. About how you lure all your woman clients. Persuade them to fuck you and then push your products on them,” she demanded, trying her best to keep her voice down.
    “I apologize that you happened to overhear something like that, but no, that is not the way I run my business.”
    She glared at him. “Then why would you bet on earning my business?”
    “That was not my intention. I made a bet, but it was strictly business. It had nothing to do with me helping you.” He cupped her elbow with his palm. “The things he implied were not true. I wish he had never said them, but you know how men are.”
    “No, I don’t,” she said, curtly, trying to pull away from him.
    “Don’t…” He tightened his grip on her arm and moved in closer. “What have you done to me?”
    “What do you mean?”
    He held her gaze. His own stare was filled with passion and urgency. “I missed the hell out of you.”
    Could missing him have been the feeling of emptiness she felt over the weeks? It wasn’t something she wanted to admit. “Well, you managed this far without me.”
    “Why hide? Why not give me a chance to explain myself?”
    She swallowed and turned away.
    “What are you afraid of?” he asked again.
    He was persistent with questions she didn’t know how to answer.
    “I don’t know,” she whispered.
    “I’ll do anything…anything to convince you of this need to have you in my life.”
    “I know too much about you and your ways.”
    He curled his lips down in a frown. “You would discredit me for the things I have done in my past. Those don’t define me now.”
    “I got a taste of what it would feel like if you were to toss me aside after using me like all the others.”
    “Rumors, Alexia. Really? You believe the rumors from over a decade ago.” He pulled back just a bit, searching her face for answers.
    “I don’t want to take any chances.” She managed to move free of his hold.
    “Alexia…”
    “Shawn, let this thing go. We had a fling. That was all.”
    His lips parted in surprise. “A fling.” He shook his head. “No way. Not to me.”
    Alexia backed away toward the direction they came. “I’m not going to do long term again, Shawn. You have no idea what it feels like to have someone and love someone so much…and then lose them.”
    “Your parents? Is this what this is all about?”
    She turned around without answering and half-ran, half-walked away from him.

Chapter Ten
    Alexia bit at her nails for the tenth time. Her nerves were a wreck. Only an insane person would do this. She glanced out of the window again at the two story brick house that belonged to Shawn Morgan. It was too late to back out of his driveway now. Her emotions were what ultimate drove her to come here. They were a mix of loneliness, longing, and some other feeling that she could not pinpoint.
    She opened the car door and got it. As she took the walkway through the front door, she cursed herself at how desperate she felt. She’d denied herself the only thing that had brought her joy in a time commanded by intense business deadlines.
    After a deep breath, she rang the doorbell and waited.
    Shawn opened the door and his lips immediately turned up in a grin. He had a beer in one hand and the other hand on the doorknob. Her heart tempo increased at the sight of him. He must have been lounging around, as he was shirtless and was only wearing a pair of running pants.
    “I um…” She cleared the lumps from her throat. Suddenly, she’d forgotten what it is she planned to say.
    “Shawn, I came to apologize.”
    He took her by the waist and pulled her inside. “No need to apologize. You did nothing wrong.”
    “I was selfish.”
    “No…you were cautious. I understand.”
    “I…” She paused, contemplating her words. “I realize how much I miss you, too. I’m so afraid of losing someone, that I never really let