“We take Valentine’s Day very seriously in Cupid’s Cove, obviously. There’s a parade and festival, and it’s a busy time for Ruby and me at the shop.”Not to mention I get to walk around dressed as a cherub while matchmaking.
But I leave that part out.
“Ah, right. That makes sense. Well, you’re welcome to wait in the lobby until your ride gets here.”
I rub my hand over my beard. “Right, thanks. Do you happen to know any ride shares who will take me that far?”
“You don’t have anyone you can call to come pick you up?” There’s a hint of concern in her voice, and it makes me want to melt.
“My buddy Slater’s swamped with parade prep, and Ruby’s running the shop. Everyone else is busy setting up for the festivities, so a ride share is pretty much my only option.”
Mikey rolls her lips inward, glancing back at the shop door. “Give me a second?”
Confused, I nod. She scurries back into the shop.
I pull up a ride share app, and when I see the one and only available ride, my eyes nearly bug out of my head at the amount. I don’t want to pay for thatandpay to fix my van. I could get a hotel for the night and have someone come get me tomorrow for less than that…
I might have to skip being Cupid this year.
8
February
This is a stupid, somewhat reckless idea.
Not to mention, probably unprofessional.
But that’s not going to stop me, apparently. Something in the back of my mind is telling me to help him beyond fixing his van. Maybe it’s Kelly’s insistence that I have a crush on him and to give him a chance.
And if he’s a serial killer playing the long game who will bury me in the mountains where no one will find my body? That’s a consequence I’ll have to live—well, die, I guess—with.
If he were a serial killer, he would have already broken into your apartment and murdered you in your sleep.
I don’t get serial killer vibes from him, anyway.
I knock on Merv's office door, and when he grunts, I walk in. “Whaddaya need, Mikey? Don’t tell me Rob’s already fucked off for the day.”
“No, well, yes, but that’s not why I’m here. Saint’s back and?—”
“Baker man, eh? Lucky I didn’t make ya place a bet because you’da lost.” His lips twitch into a smug smirk. He’s been teasing me relentlessly about Saint since November. He’s convinced Saint’s driving all the way down here to seeme.
I think it’s outlandish. What’s he doing? Breaking his van on purpose so he has an excuse to bring it to the shop?
As if.
“Yes. Baker man. His van needs a fuel pump, but it’s coming from Spokane, so it won’t be here until next week. He needs to be back in Cupid’s Cove tonight and can’t find a ride?—”
“Tell Rob to take him home,” Merv says, a glimmer of mischief in his pale green eyes.
“Uh, no… I don’t thinkthat’sthe best idea,” I mumble.
Merv steeples his hands in front of him and leans back in his chair like some sort of cartoon villain. “Youwant to drive him back?”
“That’s what I was going to suggest, yes. I’ll be back before my shift tomorrow.”
He leans forward and clicks something on his phone before sighing. “I don’t like that you’re leaving me with Rob, but I think this is good for ya. I’ll be sad to lose ya, Mikey. You’re a damn good mechanic.”
I roll my eyes at his dramatics. “I’m going to be gone forone day, old man. I’m not quitting or anything.”
