Summer Love by Piper Rayne

Chapter Four

Mack pulled up in front of Sean and Zoey’s place the following morning, cringing at the sight of the ugly green monstrosity in the driveway. He had to give it to her—for as long as he’d known Zoey Hutcherson, she was never afraid to bite off more than she could chew. She had more balls than a Christmas tree, as his dad would say.

As Mack was getting out of his car, the front door to the house flew open. Zoey waved with her usual bubbly energy. Her vibrant hair was pulled back into a bouncy ponytail and a long floral skirt sat low on her hips. She also wore a cropped top edged with a fringe that danced across her belly in the most tantalising way.

Good lord, the woman knew how to rev his engine.

For years he’d done his best to swallow the desire he had for her but, with every year, instead of getting easier it got harder. Pun totally intended. The fact that he’d been best mates with her older brother, Sean, since they were kids had nothing to do with it. In fact, Sean had commented on more than one occasion that Zoey’s taste in boyfriends was questionable at best, and that he wanted to see her find a guy who’d treat her right. Mack would absolutely treat her right—in and out of the bedroom.

But that wasn’t an option.

Because Mack strove for certain things in life—steadiness, predictability, discipline, security—and Zoey was the polar opposite of all that. He’d seen what recklessness and abandon could do to a family. His sister was exactly the same, a free spirit through and through. And where had that led? To her running away and him having to pick up the pieces in order to save his parents from bankruptcy.

“Good morning,” Zoey sang as she came over to him, bringing the scent of something sweet and floral with her. “Thanks for coming.”

“Sean home?” he asked, retrieving his tablet so he could document the inspection.

She shook her head. “He’s helping Dad prune the big tree in his backyard.”

Mack raised an eyebrow. Zoey and Sean were super close, in part due to their difficult childhood. Their mother had experienced substance abuse issues for as long as anyone could remember, and their father had dealt with it the only way he knew how—by turning a blind eye and taking off for days at a time. For years, Zoey and Sean had struggled to have a relationship with either parent. Last he’d heard, their mum was living somewhere in Northern Victoria and rarely contacted them. As for their dad, he still lived in town. But according to Sean, they didn’t have much to do with one another.

“Dad’s, uh… he’s really making an effort to mend things lately,” Zoey said, as if sensing the questions bubbling away in his brain. “I encouraged Sean to spend some time with him.”

“You think he deserves another chance after ignoring you both your whole lives?” Mack couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice. There was something about Zoey that roused protective urges inside him, and he’d had to stop himself on more than one occasion from visiting Mr. Hutcherson and giving him an earful.

“Doesn’t everybody deserve a second chance?” she asked softly. “We all mess up.”

“You deserve better, Zoey. You both do.”

“What we deserve and what we get doesn’t always line up.” Something flickered across her face, but her smile was back before he had time to catch on to what she was thinking. Her silvery blue eyes held his for a moment before darting away. “Anyway, do you want a drink or anything before we get started? I can put the kettle on.”

“No thanks.”

With the way his heart was thumping a little harder looking at Zoey’s vulnerable expression and sexy outfit, he needed to get this job over with as quickly as possible. He feared the day was coming where his legendary restraint would snap like a rubber band pulled too tight, and that meant he needed to keep his distance from her as much as possible.

Because right now, he wanted nothing more than to pull her close and kiss her long and hard until every worry in her head melted away. And he knew with absolute certainty that once he kissed Zoey Hutcherson there would be no going back.

* * *

An hour later Mack had come to one simple conclusion: the food truck was a hot mess.

Whoever had owned it before Zoey had done some serious DIY—which in this case really should be called FIUY. Fuck it up yourself. Because that’s exactly what they’d done.

He’d sent Zoey inside not long after he started poking around, because her pretty scent and eager expression were distracting him. But there was no putting off the bad news—it was quite possible she’d bought herself a lemon. Of course, if she’d asked him before making the purchase instead of diving in headfirst like she always did, then he could have saved her this mistake. Apparently her father had looked over the engine, but he didn’t have the skills to check the inside of the van. And from what Mack could see, the way the wiring had been done was a fire waiting to happen and the generator looked like it was on its last legs.

Not to mention that the thing needed a deep, deep clean.

“How’s it going?” Zoey popped up outside the van.

He had the top open so he could stand up, which was how the vehicle would be used when they were serving drinks and sweet treats. There was a ledge that folded down to act as a counter. He handed his tablet to Zoey through the opening. He’d made a list of everything she’d need to get more thoroughly checked out or repaired prior to seeking insurance.

She blinked. “That’s quite a list.”

“Honestly, I’m not even sure it’s worth it.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what you paid for this piece of crap, but the work that needs to be done could easily go into five figures. Between labour, parts—”

Zoey held up her hand. “I get it.”

“Why did you come to me after you bought this thing, and not before?” He hopped down onto the driveway.

“Because you would have talked me out of it.” She was still looking at the screen.

“Exactly. Someone should have talked you out of this.”

“Why?”

“Because…” He sighed. “You have a great job working at the cafe. Your boss is a nice person, you have steady hours, and it’s secure.”

“Steady and secure,” she parroted, bobbing her head. “Those are the ingredients for a fun life, right?”

“Fun is a priority when you’re a teenager, not an adult.”

Annoyance flashed in her eyes like lightning. “That’s you projecting. You seem to think I’m still a kid when I’m very much a woman.”

Oh, he did not need to be told that. He got an unwelcome reminder every time he looked at Zoey and felt his body respond to exactly how grown up she was.

“I’m not projecting. But running a business is no small thing. You’re going to need registration for this—”

“I need a Food Act registration with the local council and separate council approval to operate in a public space. Plus, a food safety supervisor certificate which I already have from working at the cafe.” She planted both hands on her hips. “What else have you got?”

Okay, clearly she had done her research. “What if you get stranded somewhere because the truck breaks down?”

“Roadside Assistance. No different to driving my bike or a car.”

Hmm. “And you think it’s safe for you to be working on your own? What if there’s a night market?”

Her expression softened a little. “I’ll have Gwen with me. And seriously, when was the last time something bad happened around here? I was reading the local bulletin last week and the biggest news story was that Mrs. Hylander called the police on an ‘intruder’ which turned out to be a hungry possum.”

Good point.

“I… I don’t want you to make another mistake,” he added, hoping she understood that his concern came from a good place.

“Ouch. What’s one more mistake flung onto the huge pile of all the other mistakes I’ve made?” she said, handing the tablet back to him and not meeting his eye.

He felt like a dick for hurting her feelings. He needed to watch his mouth more, but years working on construction sites had whittled down his ability for nuance and finesse. Funnily enough, those things weren’t too effective with tradies.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he said.

“Yeah, you did.” She swallowed. “And that’s fine, it’s why I came to you. I know you’ll give it to me straight.”

Too straight, perhaps.

Wasn’t that what his ex-girlfriend had said to him? That his honesty was like being beaten over the head with a club? That he had a tendency to bulldoze people, even when he was trying to help? Shit. He didn’t want to do that to Zoey.

“Why don’t we head inside for a bit and I can run you through some rough costs for everything on the list, and then you can decide whether the investment is within your budget,” he suggested.

“Thank you.” She placed a hand on his arm. “I would appreciate that.”

She turned and headed towards the house, leaving him to watch the way her pretty mermaid hair tumbled down her back and the enticing way her hips swung with each step she took. Was he projecting? Or was he trying so hard to learn from the mistakes his family had made that he was piling his baggage onto her shoulders?

He’d seen the disaster brewing with his sister a mile off—the bad decisions she was making, the way she tended to act before thinking, the way she was able to convince their parents to give her anything because they loved her passion and zest for life. He didn’t want Zoey to suffer the same consequences his sister had. He didn’t want her to ruin her life the way his sister had.

She’s not your person to protect.

But it didn’t seem to matter how many times he said that to himself, the urge was still there.