“I’m expensive.” He sounded farther away.
“Don’t you dare come in on me in the shower again.” Oh, now I was bold?
“It’s seven forty-five,” he yelled.
“Crap.”
Now I actually would be late, because of that jerk.
Who had his hands on my naked body.
Twice.
What the hell just happened?
Chapter Two
Holt
I’d lost my mind.
That was the only viable explanation I’d come up with after eight hours under the hood of one car or another. What kind of asshole walked in uninvited on a woman in the shower? One that had up until a few months ago lived in an abused women’s shelter for reasons unknown.
I dropped the wrench in my hand. It fell to the concrete floor with a satisfying clatter and I rolled out from underneath the 70s model Ford truck.
“Good as new.” I sprang to my feet and wiped my hands down my coveralls.
“Um, excuse me.” A lady peered into the garage area through the doorway from the waiting lobby. Her eyes darted around. She clutched the door handle like it was her life line.
“Hi.” I smiled and strolled around the truck I’d been working on. “Can I help you?”
“My-my brakes are smoking.” She hadn’t released the door handle yet.
“You parked in the drive?” I lifted my chin in that direction. She nodded. “Let’s go take a look.”
Once we were outside, sure enough her right front brake was smoking. I squatted down by her tire and inspected it. “Any grinding?” I asked.
“No. Just this.”
“Pretty sure your calipers are locking. We replace that and she should be good as new.” I patted the tire before I straightened.
“You mean I don’t need a new set of brakes and rotors?” Now she had her purse strap in her fist. I hated how uncomfortable she seemed.
“From what I see, nope. We can replace just the one, but it would be better to take care of both.”
“How much is a caliper?”
“Rough guess? About two hundred bucks.”
Her eyes bugged out. “They were going to charge me over eight hundred down the street.”
No wonder the woman was nervous. Most people didn’t know what was what when it came to their cars, but it was wrong to take advantage of them.
“Why don’t we go inside? I’ll work up a quote and see how quickly we can get the parts.”
* * *
The bell above the door jangled when I opened it. I held it for her. She stared at me like I was the most bizarre thing she’d ever seen. She shook her head again. Weird.
I gestured for her to step in.
Ed was behind the window.
“The lady needs a caliper on a 2014 Explorer,” I said.
She lifted a brow in surprise.
I pointed toward the window. “Ed here will help you. I’m going to take a look at that other side and see if it’s okay. Locking calipers normally puts stress on the braking system but can also strain the transmission. And then things can get expensive.”
Ed was generally a grumpy man, but he had his version of a pleased expression on his face. “Get that VIN number, Dixon,” he said as I went back through the door.
* * *
“Be here by seven tomorrow,” Ed grunted once the woman left. I’d already gotten a lecture from my boss this morning, before lunch, and during my afternoon water break.
“No problem.”
“If you’re late again, we’ll have to rethink this.”
If I had my own garage, I could set my own hours.
I’d been working at his shop since I’d decided to stay in New York. He was a friend of my dad’s, but I was the best he had. Ed wasn’t rethinking anything.
“No problem,” I repeated. “See you in the morning.”
* * *
I straightened up the scattered tools around my station, the only one besides Ed left at the garage. I checked my phone. It was after seven. All I wanted to do was go home, take a long hot shower, and imagine a replay of this morning with a different ending.
But I couldn’t go home. Not with her there. I wasn’t ready to face Easy even if it made me a coward. All I could think about was her naked, wet body. Those perfect breasts. That round ass.
My dick grew painfully hard just like it had every time I’d let my mind wander today. It was a wonder I hadn’t poked somebody’s eye out with the thing.
Nope. Most definitely couldn’t go home. I’d embarrass the shit out of myself.
My finger hovered over my brother’s number. I hesitated. He had a new family. A baby. I couldn’t call him.
I scrolled to my sister. She was a single mom. Had her own child to take care of. She didn’t have time to go out drinking with me.
There was only one person left.
“Hey, Dad,” I said when he answered the phone.
“Hey, son.”
I instantly relaxed at the familiar sound of his voice. “You busy?”
“I’m warming up dinner.”
“You eat late for an old man,” I teased.
“I was about to invite you over, but I don’t believe I will.”
“Are you by yourself?”
A long sigh filled my ear. “Yeah.”
“I’ll be there in twenty.”
* * *
“You didn’t cook this?” I pointed at the steak Diane with my fork.
“Nope. Trish does it better than I do, so I picked it up from the truck.” He wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Why are you avoiding going home?”
I choked on the swallow of beer I’d just taken, though I wasn’t sure why I was so surprised. My old man knew his children better than we knew ourselves.
“I thought the new roommate was working out.” He looked at me expectantly, and I took another sip of beer.
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
“Fine, huh?”
“Fine.”
“How’s work?”
I paused mid-bite and stared at him. He’d let that line of questioning go way too easily. But I’d take it. Just because I couldn’t stop thinking about Baker didn’t mean I wanted to talk about her.
“Good. I was a little late this morning. Pissed Ed off, but I stayed late.”
Dad frowned. “That’s not like you.”
At least he wasn’t going to lecture me too. I already knew I was a reflection of him.
“It won’t happen again.” He gave a satisfied nod and returned his attention to his plate. “How’s Mrs. Quinn?” I asked.
Something resembling a snarl turned his mouth down. “I wouldn’t know.”
What? The last I’d seen them, they were happy.
“Why wouldn’t you?” I asked carefully.
“I broke it off with her.” He shoveled a piece of broccoli in his mouth a little too aggressively.
I stared at him incredulously. “You what?”
He set his fork down on his plate and leaned back in his chair. “It’s not fair to her. She shouldn’t have to accept that I don’t think I can go through a relationship again.”