Magnetic Shift (9 page)

Colton pulled off his ball cap and hung it on the back of his chair, letting his damp hair fall around his eyes. I brought my attention back to the plate of food in front of me. Lorna dug through her purse hanging by the door and pulled out a set of keys. “She’ll get your name right eventually.” She threw the keys on the table in front of Colton. “Now, you take care of my SUV. One scratch and it’s coming out of your paycheck.” Colton bit into a slice of toast and nodded. “And Lexi, we’re going to need
your driver’s license info to add you to our vehicles’ insurance coverage.”

“No need,” I said, picking up my last strip of bacon. “I don’t have one.”

Lorna’s eyes widened and Colton hurried to swallow his mouthful of food. “You don’t know how to drive?”

I flashed him an annoyed look. “I know how to drive—I grew up in a salvage yard, remember? Roy just never let me get my driver’s license.”

“You’re kidding,” Lorna said with disgust. “We’ll have to rectify that. I’ll make an appointment for you to get your learner’s permit next week. We’ll have to establish your residency here first, but that shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Good luck getting Roy to sign off on that,” I said.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Dean made sure Roy signed over temporary guardianship of you as part of the deal. So, legally, he has no say in the matter.”

I sat up straight. “Really? You mean I can finally—”

“Yep.” Lorna took away my empty plate and reached for Colton’s as he scooped up the last bite. “You two better hurry. You’ve got a lot of shopping to do. I want you two back here in time for dinner to watch Annabelle.”

“Oh, we will, Lorna. Don’t you worry.” Colton raked his hair back, slipped his ball cap in place, and grabbed the keys off the table. He looked at me. “You coming?”

I stood from the table, still in shock about being able to get my learner’s permit. “Thanks for the breakfast. It was delicious.”

“You’re welcome. Now go have fun.”

Once outside, Colton gave me a once-over.

“What?”

“I don’t suppose you have another t-shirt that you could wear?” he asked.

I pulled at the hem of my 129 Colton Tayler swag wear. “Not exactly. Why?”

“Although most people in town already know who I am, it’s probably not a good idea for me to be seen with my very own walking billboard.”

I bit my bottom lip and dipped my eyes to the large Guardian Auto Insurance car printed across my chest.

“Come on.” He tugged at my wrist. “I’ll lend you one of mine.”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t.” I couldn’t fathom the thought of wearing his clothes.

“You can and you will. Come on.” He cautiously led me up the staircase with the same death grip on the railing I’d seen him use the night before, and ushered me inside. The room opened into an open apartment, roughly the same size as my attic room, only with a kitchenette and a bathroom at the far end. The air smelled of soap and Axe body spray, no doubt from taking his shower before heading down for breakfast. As if I needed confirmation, my eyes fixated on a damp-looking towel draped over the dumbbell of his home gym set next to his bed.

“It’s small, but I like it,” he said, stepping past me toward his dresser. He rummaged through one of the drawers and tossed me a black T-shirt. “Here, this should fit you. It’s a little snug on me.”

I pointed at the bathroom, and he nodded in approval. I went inside and pulled off my shirt. As I slipped his on, the fruity smell of his fabric softener and fresh cotton invaded my nostrils. Once on, I couldn’t resist pulling the neckline to
my nose to give it another whiff. I caught my reflection in the mirror, dropped the neckline back in place, and watched my cheeks grow a candy shade of pink. Ugh. What was I doing? I blinked away the embarrassment and raked my fingers through my hair to shake the sides loose from behind my ears before walking out.

“That’s better,” he said. “Just leave your other shirt on the dresser. We’ll come back for it later.”

We headed out to the SUV and made our way to town.

“Don’t you have your own car?” I asked.

“I have a ’69 Mustang back home, but it would be too expensive to drive it out here.”

“So, do you always have to drive Dean’s truck or Lorna’s SUV when you want to go out?”

“I have a Kawasaki Ninja in the garage, but it isn’t really ideal for shopping trips.” His lips curled at the corners.

“I guess not, but why a motorcycle? Why not just buy a car?”

“When you drive one for a living, it’s kind of nice to have something different, you know?”

I rolled my eyes. “Boys and their toys.”

“Don’t mock the Ninja.” He laughed. “I’ll take you out for a ride sometime.”

I winced at the thought. I’d never been on a motorcycle and I did not intend to change that fact.

Colton pulled into a large parking lot surrounded by a variety of shops and stores. “Lorna thought you should start at the dress shop.”

“Where will you be?” I asked.

“Oh, you’re stuck with me—I’m going with you. You need a man’s opinion.”

My face grew warm at the thought of parading in front of him in clothes I wasn’t used to wearing, but I shook away my unease with a retort. “Then why isn’t Dean here?”

“Ha, ha. You’re funny.”

Inside the store, tall racks lined the walls with a variety of different colored gowns and cocktail dresses.

“Holy … Where do I start?”

Colton laughed.

“Can I help you with anything?”

I turned to the sales lady approaching, then looked back at Colton.

“Yes ma’am,” he said. “She needs three new dresses. Fancy ones.”

“Well, I can certainly help you with that.” She looked me over. “Let’s get you set up in one of our fitting rooms and we’ll start by taking your measurements.”

Measurements? Ugh … What had I gotten myself into?

She showed Colton to the seating area near the mirrors and led me into a large room off to the side before whipping out a measuring tape from the pocket of her perfectly tailored pantsuit. She measured my hips, waist and bust, frowning at the latter. “You’re not very well supported,” she said. “Have you ever been properly fitted?” I looked at her as if a different language had tumbled off her tongue. “A bra, have you ever been properly fitted for one?”

I shook my head. As if Roy would have ever brought me out to shop for one. This cheap sports bra I’d found in one of my hand-me-down bags was the closest thing to a bra I’d ever owned.

“Well then, we should do that first. Remove your top, please.”

Embarrassment twisted my insides, but I didn’t bother arguing with her. My mother hadn’t been around to teach me these things. Better late than never.

I did what she asked of me, feeling awkward as she prodded at my current sporty undergarment.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, leaving me alone and shirtless. She came back a few minutes later with a bra and a few dresses. “This one should fit you nicely, and I brought a few dresses for you to try on. I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thank you.”

I held up the new garment, all lacy and dainty. Ah, geez, really? I’d sworn I’d never be caught dead in one of these Victoria’s Secret looking things. I gave my temple a quick rub and surrendered my morals.

I finally walked out of the fitting room wearing a black, knee-length cocktail dress that hugged my waistline a little more tightly than I was comfortable with. It had laced frills at the bottom and a V-neck collar that dipped lower than anything I’d ever worn. The new bra didn’t help matters much either, jacking my girls up to new heights, so to speak.

Colton stood, his expression hard to read. His eyes roamed high and low—mostly high.

“That bad?” I asked.

“It’s perfect on you.”

“You need to have your eyes checked.”

“No, Lexi, I … I’m telling you, you look … wow, you look great.”

“Whatever.” I turned to look in the tall mirror behind me and found a stranger staring back at me, her reflection beautiful. It couldn’t be me, no way. This girl had curves and legs and …
boobs! Where had those come from?

My eyes traveled from my toes up until they landed on Colton’s reflection standing right behind me.

“What?”

“Nothing.” His hands fell to my hips and turned me around. He stood close, his Axe body spray and natural sweet smell filling the air around us. His eyes were filled with a hint of something, but I didn’t quite know what. My insides vibrated, and my curse pulsed in my temples again.

Focus, Lexi
.

“I never thought I could look like this,” I said, looking down at the dress, trying hard to suppress my impulses.

Colton placed a finger under my chin and raised my gaze back to his.

I swallowed.
Please, don’t
. The tips of my fingers tingled. My control weakened. I tried to look away, to step away, but I couldn’t. My body had frozen in place, my gaze glued to his mismatched eyes sparkling down at me. His finger swept up my jaw line and tucked my hair behind my ear before grazing my cheek.
Oh, God.

I closed my eyes as the racks of clothing started to rattle. Fitting room doors shook on their hinges and picture frames crashed to the floor. Glass shattered everywhere. Colton stepped away, startled and confused.

“What’s happening?” the sales lady screamed from behind the counter.

Free from Colton’s grasp, I snapped out of my frozen state and did the only thing I could. I covered my ears, ran back into the fitting room, and cowered into the corner on the floor, rocking myself back and forth. What had I done? Had he seen
my eyes before I shut them? Did he realize this was my doing?

Colton burst into the room. I squeezed my eyes shut again before he dropped down and wrapped his arms around me. “It’s gonna be okay. Maybe it’s just a small earthquake or something.” He rocked with me, his lips near my ear, murmuring words of reassurance. His warm breath caressed my neck, not helping matters at all. I stopped fighting the uncontrollable force inside me. What was the point? With Colton so close, I’d never be able to control it.

Instantly the noise stopped, and silence fell around us. I didn’t dare move or open my eyes until I was certain my senses had calmed completely.

“Look at me,” Colton whispered.

I shook my head.

“Lexi, look at me. It’s over.” Again, he placed his finger to my chin and turned my head to face him. “Open your eyes.”

I did. He smiled as our eyes met, but it faded as his lowered. Shit. Were my eyes still red? Something trickled down to my upper lip. Something wet.

“Lexi, you’re bleeding.”

I wiped a finger under my nose. Bright red blood stained the skin of my index finger.

The sales lady ran into the room. “Is everyone … Oh, my God, you’re bleeding. I’ll go call an ambulance.”

“No, really, I’m fine. Don’t do that.”

“But … but you’re—”

“It’s just a nosebleed, I get them all the time. Nothing a few tissues won’t fix.”

“Sure, anything you need.” She rushed back to her counter and fetched a box of Kleenex. Colton took it from her and
handed me a few tissues.

“I am going to have to ask you to leave, though. This place is a mess, and I have to close the store immediately to clean up all this glass and these racks that have fallen over.” She looked back over her shoulder. “I hope none of the dresses were damaged.”

Colton eyed the dress I still wore. “But what about the—”

“I’ll knock it down to half price along with those two other dresses if you leave the store so I can lock up.” Colton nodded and grabbed the dresses, which had fallen to the floor in the fitting room, and then left to wait for me at the register while I changed back into my clothes.

When he was out of earshot, I called the sales lady over. “Can you add another one of these bras to the bill, and I’ll just wear this one out?”

“Can do,” she said with a knowing smile.

I changed, paid, and left the store with Colton.

On our way to the SUV, Colton glanced around at the different stores, looking puzzled. “That’s funny. It doesn’t look like any of the other stores were affected by the quake—or whatever that was.”

“Maybe they just haven’t locked their doors yet,” I said, trying my best to deflect his curiosity. “Is there anywhere else we can go to finish our shopping?”

“There’s a mall on the other side of town, but if that really was an earthquake—”

“Maybe it wasn’t an earthquake—maybe something hit the building out back? A truck or something. Or a gas explosion.”

Colton shrugged. “I guess we can go check out the mall and see.”

My nerves relaxed once we got back on the road and away
from the store. The good news—I’d gotten three new dresses and two new bras at half-price thanks to my little episode. The bad news—being around Colton had caused the episode to happen in the first place. To survive the next nine months, I’d have to stay away from him. I couldn’t let him get close to me like that again … ever.

chapter eight

I snapped the tag off the neck of my new black cotton work shirt, shimmied it over my head, and pulled the hem down over the waist of my cargo pants. I had to hurry, or I’d be late for my first day.

Boots, boots. Where did I put those boots?

I scrambled around my room, rummaging through the stuff I’d bought and still hadn’t unpacked. I spotted the corner of a shoebox under a pile of clothes on the dresser.

“Ah, there they are.” I flipped the lid too fast and sent all of my purchases to the floor. Shit. I didn’t have time for this. Leaving the pile there, I snatched the brand new pair of steel-toed boots and ran down to meet Dean as I gnawed at the plastic tags attached to them.

“Lexi!” Lorna called from the kitchen.

“I know, I’m sorry. I’m late. Is Dean already outside?” I stopped at the door, shoved the tags in my pocket, and fumbled with the laces. Mornings and I didn’t get along, and it totally pained me to think that I was going to have to reset my alarm
clock for an earlier rise thanks to the long commute.

Lorna poked her head out into the hallway. “Dean’s already gone.”

My gut jumped into my throat, and I gave up my one-foot balancing act, trying to tie my other boot. “What?”