“It’s overheating which it’s been doing a bit lately.” I had a Suzuki Swift hatchback and I loved it but the problem was that it was just getting to that age where things were starting to go wrong with it. I figured my savings account was going to take a hit soon.

“Who are you calling about it? RACQ?”

“Yeah, I’ll see if they can tow me home and then I’ll call a mechanic.”

He frowned again and pulled his phone out. Looking at me, he said, “I’ve got a friend who can tow it and then I’ll take a look at it.”

“I can handle this, Nash. You don’t have to do that.” I couldn’t figure out why he was making the offer after the last encounter we’d had.

“Babe, I think you know by now that I don’t do anything I don’t want to do.”

Before I could say anything else, he was on the phone to his friend organising the towing. When he hung up, he said, “He can’t get here for another hour or more but he’s going to do it and then take your car to my house so I can work on it. In the meantime, I can take you wherever you were going; there’s no need for you to wait here. He’ll call me when he’s on his way and I’ll meet him here with the keys.”

“So you’ve just organised all of that without asking me first?”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“I would’ve liked to have been consulted.”

“Shit, Velvet, I’m trying to do you a favour here.”

“I realise that, but it’s the principal of the thing, Nash.”

“What fuckin’ principal?”

“A woman likes to be involved in decisions that concern her. That principal.”

“I’ll remember that the next time I try to help you out but for this time can we just work with what’s been organised?” He blew out a frustrated breath.

Shit, a man who listened to me; call me stunned. “Thank you.”

Surprise crossed his face and he slowly nodded. “Yeah.”

We were silent for a moment, just taking each other in. I broke the silence. “You got a helmet for me?”

“Just one other thing before I get you the helmet.”

I tilted my head to the side. “What’s that?”

“I’ve gotta make a stop on the way but it’ll just be a quick one.”

“Sure,” I agreed.

He gave me a tight smile and then walked back to his bike, grabbed his helmet and passed it to me. “Where were you headed?”

“Grocery shopping.”

“I can drop you there and then get one of the prospects to pick you up when you’re finished,” he offered.

God, he was being so much nicer to me than the last time I saw him. “Thanks, that would be great.”

“No problem,” he said as he mounted his bike and waited for me to get on. A moment later, I settled in behind him and put my hands on his hips. Being this close to him was sending my senses into overdrive. When he grabbed my hands and pulled them around him, it affected me to the point where I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stand without assistance when I got off his bike.

He started the bike and we took off. The vibrations as we rode only served to thrill me more. My imagination went wild and I pictured how hot it would be to have sex on a bike; I’d never done it but I bet Nash had. I squeezed my legs against him while I thought about it and leaned closer, hugging him tighter. God damn it, I finally admitted it to myself; I wanted to sleep with him again.

We didn’t travel very far, just down Brunswick Street towards the river. He turned into a side street and then pulled into a driveway before switching off his bike. A woman came out of the house we’d pulled up at and smiled broadly at us. She had the same features as Nash, and I decided that she must be his mother. Or at least be related to him somehow.

I followed him off the bike and waited for him to introduce us, but the woman wasn’t as patient. “Hello!” she directed at me, excitement coating her words, “I’m Nash’s mum, Linda.”

I smiled at her. She was so warm; the kind of woman everyone gravitates to, and I couldn’t stop myself if I tried. Her arms were outstretched and I moved towards her and into her embrace. “Hi, I’m Velvet,” I said. Usually, I’d find it strange that someone I just met wanted to hug me, but this didn’t feel weird; it felt like the most natural thing to do.

She continued to hug me. “It’s lovely to meet you, Velvet.”

When she let me go, I stepped backwards and ran into Nash who’d come up behind me. His hand slid around my waist to steady me. “Careful, sweet thing,” he whispered in my ear, his warm breath tickling me. A shiver ran through me, and my nipples came to life. Christ, my whole body came to life when Nash was near me.

Linda’s eyes zeroed in on Nash’s arm around my waist, and her smile grew if that was even possible. She looked back up at us, and motioned towards the house. “Come in, I’ll put the kettle on.”

Nash moved his hand around to settle in the small of my back as we followed her. “Mum, we can’t stay long. I just dropped in to change those light bulbs that you and Carla can’t reach. She mentioned them to me last night.”

Linda kept walking down the hall and threw over her shoulder, “It won’t take me long to make a cuppa while you change the lights. Then you can quickly drink it before you leave.”

I heard Nash groan behind me, and had to stifle a laugh. His mother had him around her little finger, that was clear from even this small interaction. We hit the kitchen and she turned around and clapped her hands together. “Okay, you go and do the lights, Nash. Velvet can stay here and help me.”