“Oh, thank God,” he breathes.
“Seriously?” I ask, but I’m teasing him, and I think he’s teasing me. “I drove like a ninety-year-old woman.”
“I know, and it was scary as fuck.”
“You’re so dramatic. Who hurt you?”
“My mom. She hit a house with me in the back seat when I was little. I never got over it.”
I snapped my head to the right. “What?”
“No lie. She hit a literal brick house. Smashed right through a tree on the way too. Never been so fuckin’ scared in my entire life.”
Now I understand where his fear of not having his own hands on the steering wheel comes from.
“And then, as a tow truck driver, I see every horrible wreck imaginable.”
“Maybe not the right career path.”
He lets out a nervous laugh. “Nah. I like helping people when they need it.”
“Like me.”
“Like you.”
“Am I the first woman you tackled out of the way of a speeding car?”
“Yeah, Lulu. You’re the first.”
“Well, lucky me,” I tell him. “If it were anyone else in your place, they might have let me become roadkill.” I pull into the parking spot on the lot where the car had been earlier. Oliver’s entire body immediately relaxes as if someone took a little air out of him. “We made it. No houses were injured in the test drive either.”
He shakes his head as he reaches for the handle, looking like he needs to jump out as quickly as possible. “Good job,” he says as soon as his feet are firmly planted on the cement. “I had all the faith in the world in you.”
“Uh-huh,” I mutter as I climb out, nearly havingto jump down because the SUV is so high. “I love this damn thing.”
“Then let’s go find Randall and get the hell out of here.”
I chuckle as I follow him inside, liking this uncool side of a man who always seems so together. I did that to him, and I kind of like it.
6
OLIVER
Thirty minutes ago,Lulu messaged me that there was an issue at her place, asking me if I could come over and fix it.
Now, I’m standing outside her front door, staring at the ornate door knocker that must’ve cost an arm and a leg. It is totally Lulu’s style. A little over the top and beautiful.
I knock twice, looking from side to side at the empty neighborhood. It is late, but not late enough that the area should be as deserted as it is. My fingers tighten around the bag of tools I brought in case she doesn’t have her own.
The door opens, and Lulu gives me the biggest smile while tipping up on her toes. She looks way too happy for a woman who’s having a problem. “Hey,” she says in her sugary-sweet voice that makes my blood pump a little harder. “Thanks for coming.”
“Hey. Anytime. What’s up?” I shiver as a gust of winter wind whips around me.
She pulls the door open wider and motions for me to come inside. I take a large stride, making sure to keep my dirty boots on the rug near the doorway. Her floors are dark wood and glisten from being newly polished, or maybe they’re always this clean. I wouldn’t doubt it when it comes to her.
“I came home from meeting with my last client today, and the dishwasher won’t turn on.”
Not an emergency, but I still would’ve shown up even if she’d told me what the issue was before I agreed to come. The woman could ask me to do anything, and I’d do it without asking any questions.
