Like Sage and Bax, I rest my forehead against my dad’s, something we’ve done since I can remember. My chest tightens when his hand wraps around the back of my neck, and tears burn the back of my eyes. I don’t know what I would do if I lost my dad, and it’s not something I ever want to think about. After we say our goodbyes with plans to come back tomorrow, Bax and I leave the room, and I reach into my pocket for my keys then groan.

“What?” he asks as we get into the elevator.

“Mia has my keys,” I mutter then curse, because I don’t even have her cell number. “You mind giving me a ride home?”

“Who’s Mia?”

“She works at the car dealership,” I tell him, leaving out the fact that the feisty, strong, independent, stubborn-as-fuck woman is also the girl who was made for me. I’m not ready to tell anyone who she is, not until I convince her to give me a shot.

“You having second thoughts about the Jeep?” he asks as the elevator stops and the doors open.

“Something like—” My words die off when I spot Mia sitting on a bench just outside the now open doors, with her eyes on me and a book resting on her lap.

“You okay?” Bax asks, and then I catch him glance between Mia and me, and grin. “Never mind. I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m gonna head to the jobsite in the morning to make sure everything is okay before I come back to check on Dad.”

“Yeah, I’ll meet you there,” I say, and he lifts his chin at me then must wink or make a face at Mia, because she smiles at him and laughs.

As he walks away, I close the distance between us, and she stands. “Hey.”

“Hey.” I shove my hands into the front pockets of my jeans to keep myself from pulling her into my arms. “How long have you been here?”

“A while.” She shrugs, taking a step closer to me. “Is your dad okay?”

“He’s good. He got sideswiped on his bike and is pretty banged up, but he’s going to be okay.”

Her eyes search mine for a long moment, and then she steps into me and wraps her arms around my waist. “I’m glad he’s going to be all right,” she tells me, and when she doesn’t pull away, I hug her back, and my eyes close as I rest my chin on the crown of her head. Fuck, she fits perfectly in my arms. “I’ve been worried about you all day.”

“I think that means you like me.”

“You just don’t give up, do you?” she asks, tipping her head back so her smiling eyes twinkle at me.

“Never.” I shrug, letting her go when she steps out of my hold, shaking her head.

“I drove your truck here. Do you mind giving me a ride to my car? Also, I’m starving, so can we stop and get something to eat?”

Shit, how long has she been here waiting for me?

“Will me eating with you now count as our date?”

“If I say yes, will you make me starve?” She raises a brow.

“No, I’ll buy you a hamburger from the drive-thru on the way to the dealership.”

Her nose scrunches adorably, and she taps her chin. “I don’t know. I do love a good ol’ fashion cheeseburger and fries.”

“Smartass.” I grasp her hand and tug her with me toward the door.

“You do know you can’t exactly lead me when you don’t know where I parked.” She laughs when we get outside. “Come on, big guy.” She walks ahead of me across the lot, and when I see my truck, I must tighten my hand still holding hers as I cringe. “You should know I parked it three times, and that was the best I could do,” she says, motioning to my truck that is half on the curb. “I should also tell you it’s not because I can’t drive; it’s because this was the only spot available, and the car that was parked next to yours was over the line. I didn’t want some little old lady or man not to be able to get in their car, so I was left with no other option.” I look around the empty lot and then at her. “It was busy here this afternoon.”

“This afternoon?” I raise a brow as she hands me my keys.

“I told you I was here a while.”

“Babe, you should have just left my truck at the dealership. I could’ve gotten it tomorrow,” I tell her, feeling guilty she was here all damn day waiting for me.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay. Besides, I was able to get coffee and a book from the gift shop.” She holds up said book. “I don’t get to read very often, so that was nice, and the lady who works there would take over waiting for you whenever I needed to use the bathroom.”

“How would she know who I am?” I ask, opening the door for her.

She gets in, and once her ass is in the seat, she smiles down at me. “I described you to her.”

“You described me?”

“Yeah, I said just look for the guy with the biggest head around and she couldn’t miss you.”

“You’re an evil woman.” I slam the door, listening to her laughter as I head around the bed of the truck. When I open my door, I squeeze in behind the wheel, the distance between it and the seat shoving my knees in my chest and making it hard to breathe. “You’re also short.” I press the button to put my seat back in place.

“Short feels like a derogatory term. I like to think of myself as vertically challenged.”

“Sorry, babe, no matter how you try to fancy it up, you’re still short.” I fight back a smile when she huffs and put the key in the ignition. As the engine roars to life, I turn toward her. “How do you feel about pancakes?”

“Pancakes are always a win in my book.”

“Pancakes it is then,” I say, placing my hand on the headrest behind her head and backing out of the parking space. Once I leave the hospital lot, I drive us to one of the few twenty-four-hour restaurants in town. When we arrive, I park and then go around to help her out. I take her hand, because it feels good to touch her, and I’m happy as fuck that she doesn’t try to deter me.

We enter the restaurant side by side then find a quiet booth in the back. I don’t sit next to her, even though I want to, but I can’t complain that I get to sit across from her and look into her pretty golden-brown eyes.

“I’m guessing you’ve been here before?” she prompts while taking the small menu out of the holder in the middle of the table, looking it over.

“I grew up here, and even though the town has changed a lot since I was a kid, there’s not too many places me and my family haven’t been to eat at least once or twice. This is one of our favorite places to get breakfast anytime day or night,” I tell her as an older woman approaches our table with a pot of coffee in hand.

“Coffee?” she asks, looking between Mia and me, and I wait for Mia to answer first.

“I’ll just have orange juice if you have it.”

“We do. What about you, handsome?”

“I’ll have water.”

“All right, do you need time to look at the menu or are you ready to order now?”

I look at Mia. “Are you ready?”

“If you are.” She sets the menu back in the holder.

“Order away,” I say, and she rattles off some kind of cinnamon chip pancakes, and I order a double stack of chocolate chip. As the waitress walks away, Mia’s cell phone rings, and she pulls it from her bag sitting next to her.