“Thanks for locking up. You’re the best.” He dashed out of the kitchen, obviously in a hurry.
She stood alone, surrounded by the scents of grease and bleach. The green monster had appeared in her heart again, no matter how many times she told it to go away. But really, what right did she have being jealous? Tanner could do what he wanted. Date whom he wanted. Maybe Heather was a nice girl. So what if she wore too much makeup and left too little to the imagination? If she was what Tanner wanted, then Anita had no choice but to accept that.
She searched her purse for the spare diner key she always carried with her. As she shut off the lights, she shut down her last hope for romance with Tanner. Even if he and Heather didn’t work out, Anita wasn’t anywhere close to his type, now that she knew what his type was. She didn’t wear makeup, she loved her pixie haircut, and when she did dress up it was usually in pastel, feminine colors. There wasnothing flashy about her, and she wasn’t going to change for him or anyone else.
But she could change for herself.
As soon as she locked up the diner, she fished her phone out of her purse and called Harper.
Her friend answered on the first ring. “Hey, Anita.”
She drew in a deep breath.Now or never.“I need you to do something for me.”
“Sure, anything.”
“Help me open up a coffee shop.”
Chapter4
This is what I get for being a nice guy.
Tanner ran his hand through his hair and grimaced. He smelled like a grease pit, and all he wanted to do was get home and take a shower. Instead he was helping Heather fix her Jeep. But the more he looked at her engine, the more he suspected she didn’t have a problem at all—at least not with her vehicle.
He kept his gaze on the machinery in front of him. If he weren’t so irritated, he would take his time and appreciate all the features of her brand-new, top-of-the-line vehicle. He could only dream of a car like this. He had bought his own Jeep secondhand, a ten-year-old vehicle that had a decent exterior and ran almost like it was brand new thanks to his and the previous owner’s meticulous care. He was happy with his car, but it was nothing compared to the latest the Chrysler company had rolled out this year.
“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?” Heather movednext to him, leaning so far over that if he even glanced to the right, he would get an eyeful for the second time that day.
He stared at the shiny radiator cap. “Nope. Nothing that I can tell. But I’m not a mechanic.”
“I swear it was making a funny noise earlier tonight. The other night you said you had a Jeep—
“I did?”
“In one of your texts. Anyway, I thought you could figure out the problem.” She moved closer to him, touching his shoulder. “I also remember how good you used to be with your hands.”
Cringe. She hadn’t changed much over the years, except for wearing more makeup and fewer clothes—and both distracted from her attractiveness. She didn’t have to try so hard or be so insecure. That insecurity was one of the reasons he’d stopped dating her.
“You should take this back to the dealer and let them take a look.” He closed the hood of the Jeep, regretting he hadn’t texted her last night like he’d told Anita he would.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” she purred, slinking even closer to him. “I was worried there was something really wrong with it.”
Sure you were.
He couldn’t believe she had driven all the way from Arkadelphia to ask him to look at her Jeep, and he’d agreed to do so only so she would leave the diner and stop showing him her selfies on her phone. They’d met as Rusty’s Garage, and even though it was closed, the bright parking-lot lights were perfect for looking at the engine. It was also a neutral location. He’d half expected her not to show up and wasdisappointed when she did. Where had she been the last five hours while he finished his shift? He was starting to wonder if Heather was a little off her nut.
“Why don’t you and I go get a drink and celebrate?” she asked, pursing her red-lipped mouth.
He backed away. “Uh, celebrate what?”
“That my car is all right.” She patted the hood. “I really love this baby.”
She loved it so much that when he’d checked the oil it was almost two quarts low. “Make sure the dealer puts some oil in the engine.”
“I will, promise.” She made anXwith her fingers across her chest, right where he shouldn’t be looking. He had to admit she had nice... assets. Always had. But a toned body didn’t make up for incompatibility. “Now, about that drink—”
“I’ve got an early shift tomorrow,” he lied, hurrying to his car.
She quickly followed him, her high heels tapping against the concrete. “Tomorrow night, then?”
