She pushed away the thought that if she took the assistant manager position for Taryn, she’d be working a lot more.Tomorrow would be soon enough to deal with all of that.She’d think about it, but she already knew she didn’t want it to interfere with what she and Jake were starting to build.
“You’re so sweet,” she told him.“And I appreciate it.But don’t they say a change is as good as a rest?And working here is the best kind of change for me.It’s not like work at all.”
She stepped back from him with a smile.“So, what have you got lined up for me?”
He held her gaze for a moment, and she loved that he was concerned for her — but she was happier when he took hold of her hand and led her inside, saying, “First coffee.And then all I have in this afternoon is Cara’s Civic.”He shot her a rueful smile.“Which works out well, really, since you’re the expert and can supervise me.”
She laughed.“I’m not the expert, you know that.”
When they reached the break room, he came to her and rested his hand on her shoulder.“Yeah, you are.You know just as much as I do — probably more about a lot of things.”He smiled.“Maybe we’re both highly qualified; we just have different lanes of expertise.And that makes us a really good team.”
“Aww, I love that idea.”She placed her hand in the middle of her chest and went up on her toes to give him a quick kiss.“And I agree.I think we are a good team.”
He nodded.“We are.”
She could have stood there staring into his eyes all day, but it probably wasn’t the best use of their time.“Let’s get some coffee, then — and put this team to work.”
~ ~ ~
“What?”Jake asked.He couldn’t figure out the weird little smile on Savannah’s face as she watched him put the Civic up on the lift.
She let out a short laugh.“Nothing.Sorry.I’m not laughing at you.”
He cocked an eyebrow.“Are you sure?It feels like you are.I’m starting to feel self-conscious now — like you’re judging me.”
She rolled her eyes at him.“You know better than that.”
He’d only been joking, but when she said it, he realized it was true.He did know better than that.She wouldn’t judge him or laugh at him — not for real, not about anything.
He stopped the lift when the Civic was at just the right height and opened the driver’s door, looping a strap from the handle to the lift arm so it would stay open while he worked under the dash.
He thought he knew what Savannah had been laughing about and gave her a rueful smile.“You thought I was going to try and get up underneath, didn’t you?”
Her eyes were bright with mischief, and she bit back another smile.“I’ll admit, for a moment I wondered if your expertise didn’t stretch as far as little old Civics like this,” she said diplomatically.
He gave her a wry smile.“My expertise stretches far enough to know that the main relay on these things is in a really awkward spot under the dash.”
He reached in and felt around until he found the panel, checking that it was, as he’d suspected, screwed in — not just an easy pop-out.“It’s going to take me a few minutes to get in there,” he said.
He could only laugh when Savannah brought her hand out of the pocket of the overalls she was wearing—she'd brought them with her, and her wearing them was possibly the sexiest thing Jake had ever seen.She held up a small Phillips screwdriver and a flashlight and said, “I came prepared.”Handing him the screwdriver, she held up the flashlight.“I reckon I can probably squeeze in and light it up for you.”
She ducked under his arm and pointed the flashlight right where he needed it.When he stepped closer to unscrew the panel, he had to close his eyes when she leaned back against him.
“Is this okay?”
He didn’t know if she was asking about where she was shining the light or about getting so close to him.Either way, his answer was the same.“It’s perfect.”
It didn’t take long to switch out the relay and snap it back into place.It was an easy job — just in an awkward spot.“Shit,” he breathed when he dropped one of the tiny little screws.
Savannah reached for it and turned around to face him.“If we’re going to be a team, how would you feel about me taking over now?Only because it’s such a small space…” She waved a hand with a grin.“My small hands are perfect for this kind of thing.”
A shiver ran down his spine when he thought about all the other things her small hands might be perfect for.He took the flashlight from her with a smile and handed over the screwdriver.“Please — that’d be awesome.”
He held the flashlight steady for her, and she had the cover screwed back on in no time.When she was done, she turned to face him, and he curled his arm around her waist.
“Thanks,” he breathed.
She shook her head rapidly.“Thankyoufor letting me help.I feel so at home in this place.I love being able to work on cars — I didn’t realize how much I’d missed it.”
