She sighed and crossed her arms, mirroring his stance. “Well, tell Luke and Atlas their test is fucking lame. I can do this with my eyes closed. Next time, give me a real challenge.”
Chuckling, he straightened then kissed the top of her head. “I think you’ll fit right in.”
It was exactly what she wanted. To fit into their group, to be one of them. Not just Fox’s girlfriend, but an actual respected member of the team.
Fox turned to the table and looked at the equipment. “Come on. Help me build it anyway. It’s a test, but we really do need one and no one else felt like doing it. I’ll tell the guys you can engineer circles around them.”
She laughed, then they set to work on the project together. It was nice, having someone to share her passions with, who understood the difference between an RF and an IF transceiver. The fact that they could understand each other’s lingo was a huge plus, but add to it the sexual chemistry, and this was like hitting the lottery.
“So, what’s the big rush for money?” he asked. “You’ve brought it up a few times, but never say why.”
Her first reaction was to shut him down. Normally she wasn’t so open
about her family problems, but . . . She trusted him enough to tell him this, and she wondered how far his empathy extended.
She hoped she wouldn’t get all emotional about it in front of him. Being pitied sucked big time. And it wasn’t what she wanted. “I’m just trying to pay for my grandma to live in the nursing home with my grandpa. He has Alzheimer’s but she can’t afford for them both to live there, and the different government systems in place only cover him. They’ve never been apart. Not since they got married at nineteen. My parents are trying to sell their house to pay but . . . It’s sad.” She shrugged, trying to ignore the thickness in her throat. “It’s their home. They’ve lived there for a long time. If I had enough money, my parents could keep their house and my grandparents could stay together.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “Fuck, I’m sorry. That’s awful.” He frowned. “Is that why you wanted to join us so bad? Why didn’t you just tell me?” When he set down what he was working on and walked back over to her, she struggled to get her emotions under control. Of all of the subjects he had to choose, why did it have to be something that would make her cry?
Way to prove you’re one of the guys, Addison. Although sleeping with him probably hadn’t helped that either.
His big arms wrapped around her and for a moment she enjoyed the feeling of safety, despite the dangerous air he always projected.
“I’m going to give you the money.” The words rumbled through his chest, under her ear. “How much do you need?”
What? Was he crazy? She pressed her lips together, fighting back the new threat of tears. Of course she knew he must be loaded, but it hadn’t occurred to her to ask him for help. She wanted to get the money on her own, not accept charity. From Fox? It felt weird.
“No, I . . . It’s generous of you, and kind, but I can’t accept your offer. Not without working for it.” Part of her regretted the words as they came out of her mouth. If it was her last chance to get her grandparents back together and save her parents’ house, was it selfish of her to stand on her principles?
“Stubborn girl.” He squeezed her, taking the bite out of his words. “I’ll loan it to you then. You can pay it off. Interest-free. Or it could be an advance on what I pay you.”
Well shit. That was a solution she might be able to reconcile herself with. But what if she could never pay him back? Would he be like a creepy loan shark turning up at her place and demanding payment . . . of one kind or another? Hell, that got dirty fast.
Walking away from his second generous offer just seemed rude.
She cocked her head to the side and peered up at him. “Really?”
The way he looked down at her, his gaze warm and hinting at deeper feelings, both thrilled her and made her uncomfortable. So they liked each other. It didn’t mean this was permanent, except maybe for the business part of things, she hoped
“Of course, really.” He kissed her, like he was using it to seal the deal.
“It’s a lot of fucking money.”
He gestured around the garage. “Does it look like I’m hard up for cash?”
“But Luke and Atlas . . .”
There was no hesitation or discomfort in his gaze. “They’re more charitable than you think. They’re always bugging me to donate money to this or that, and they like you.”
She chewed her lip. It sounded ideal, but there were too many things that could go wrong. Drawing up legal papers with a car thief seemed unlikely. “I don’t know. Will this complicate things between us? What happens if things between us go bad?”
He laughed. “Even if you go evil and turn me in to the cops, I doubt I’ll ever feel like your grandparents don’t deserve to live together.” His mouth set in a grim line. “Shit like that just shouldn’t happen to people.”
That statement hung in the air for a while, and she wondered what he was thinking. He seemed preoccupied. When he refocused on her, he squeezed her affectionately.
“Why would you do this for me?” she asked. “Honestly.”
He sat back on a stool and pulled her up onto his lap, leaning back on the workbench. “My grandma had dementia before she passed so . . . I know what it’s like. We were in the position where we could pay for the best available care, and it still didn’t feel like enough. Not after all the good she had done.”