“What are you doing here?”

That voice. The depth of it made her ache for him.

She picked up her beer and tilted it against her lips, taking a long swallow, before she glanced toward him.

Maverick Lavin.

At one time, he’d been the town’s “bad boy.” The ultimate rebel. She was pretty sure people had been afraid of him, but then, about three years ago, it all changed. After his father died of a heart attack, Maverick had come home, and he’d been running the Lavin Mechanic shop ever since. He was the best damn car mechanic in the state, and she knew he was kept busy by people driving all the way to their small town for him to look at their car.

Also, a tiny little problem.

At one time, Maverick had been her sister’s boyfriend. This was before Hank, when she’d been going through her rebellious phase. Their parents had been out of their mind when Maverick came to pick up Adele.

Freya had been jealous. Yep, not an emotion she was used to because when it came to her sister, she was rarely jealous of anything. This time, she was. Maverick had been her secret crush for so long. When she was eighteen, Maverick and her sister were twenty-five years old.

She knew he wouldn’t even look at her then. She’d been too young. Now that she was twenty-five, and Maverick was thirty-two, that had all changed, especially three nights ago.

Celebrating with her sister, she’d not gloated, and while Adele got drunk, she and Maverick had hit it off. Freya hadn’t wanted the night to end, so when he suggested they take it to his place, she’d not argued. In fact, she’d been thrilled. Of course, she’d changed it so that they could go to her place. Maverick didn’t argue.

Actually, she’d enjoyed the whole night, apart from when he’d nearly lost it for taking her virginity.

She’d had the biggest crush on Maverick for so long that no one had been able to compare, and she could not just go ahead and sleep with random guys. She had been waiting for the right guy. He’d never come along.

Then there was Maverick, and she just couldn’t say no, and the truth was, she didn’t want to.

Looking back now, she probably should have warned him she was a virgin. Those words hadn’t been easy for her to say, so she’d kept them to herself. It had nearly ended in disaster, because when he finally entered her, he’d not been gentle about it, and yeah, that had hurt. She’d screamed, and it kind of freaked Maverick out. He hadn’t been happy. Also, she had a feeling he wasn’t happy that she’d been a virgin.

There was no point in avoiding him.

Putting the bottle back onto the counter, she turned toward him. “I’m enjoying a drink, do you have a problem with that?”

Damn, he still looked good. Her memory wasn’t playing tricks on her. Maverick was a good-looking guy, even when he had this pissed-off expression on his face.

She tilted her head to the side and watched him. “Care to join me?”

“You shouldn’t be at the bar.”

She sighed. “Why not?”

“Because, you should be home … resting.” He leaned in and whispered that last part.

Freya rolled her eyes. What more could she do? After the sex, Maverick had been so sweet. He’d insisted on her soaking in a bath with salts, and playing the part of the perfect boyfriend and gentleman, but come morning, when she woke up, he was gone. It was like it hadn’t happened.

“We had sex,” she said, not even attempting to lower her voice.

“Yeah, but you were a virgin, Freya. You should be resting.”

She glared at him. “I’m pretty sure husbands of the past were quite happy to keep it in their pants, and, you know, to allow their newly wedded wives to rest. Please, we had sex and I am fine.” She’d been sore the day after, but it had faded as the day wore on, and now she was more than fine.

If anything, she was a little pissed that he’d not called. He’d not even checked up on her, which is why she was back at the bar, having a drink. Attempting to gain his attention back.