“Thanks.”
Not that I really cared about the money, but I was glad he was taking this seriously and wasn’t trying to haggle me on prices. Avery could absolutely afford whatever number I threw at him, even if I went out of my way to name it something ridiculous. I simply appreciated that he had enough integrity not to make the process a drag and fight me for an itemized list.
Fixing cars like this was half labor costs and half having the knowledge on how to diagnose and implement whatever needed to be done. A lot of people that came through my shop neglected to take that into consideration whenever the bill came around.
“I brought you something,” he said, finally stepping back to give me space to breathe.
When I turned back around, he was already lifting the plastic bag off of the ground and fishing through it to pull something out. What was in his hands was a plastic lunch container with the sections separated, jam packed with food.
“I figured you hadn’t eaten yet,” he explained, offering it to me. “Hazel made it with love.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that. “You didn’t need to bring me anything.”
“I wanted to.”
Theafter last nightwas an obvious unspoken end to that sentence.
Taking the container from him, I noted it was hot to the touch, with slight condensation underneath the clear top. Iwashungry now that food was being placed in front of me. With my head so preoccupied, I’d neglected to grab leftovers from my fridge and bring them with me this morning. I figured I could live off of the snacks I’d had stashed in my office, but this was way more appetizing.
I traced my thumb along the sharp edge of the top, letting it pinch at my skin to try and draw me out of my already spiraling thoughts.
What did any of this mean?
Where did we go from here?
“Avery... last night?—”
“Don’t,” he said, shutting me up instantly. “Whatever it is... don’t overthink it. Please.”
I clutched the container tight in my hands when he crowded me against the car once again. An unsteady hand was raised toward my face, faintly moving along my cheek while his expression twisted into something that looked close to pain.
“Please,” he repeated.
“What...” I wasn’t even sure how to ask, orwhat.
How could I go about encompassing a decade’s worth of confusion surrounding my attraction to him that was now seemingly being crashed into by Avery’s own unexpected brand of surprise?
I swallowed again. I needed to know. “Did you hate it?”
His eyes widened briefly and then narrowed. “No. Did you?”
Fucking hell.
My heart stumbled over the quickness of his words.“No.”
He blew out a breath. “Good... good.”
Relieved?
Exasperated?
I couldn’t tell.
Needing the subject change, I said, “Tell me why you’re in a suit.”
He glanced down at himself and then said, “I have a meeting with my lawyer. And with that woman who’s contesting the will. I was supposed to go over there earlier this morning but I got a little sidetracked.”
I wondered with what. Though judging by how fresh this food was, I was going to wager a guess that when he’d approached Hazel about making this for me, she’d forced him an apron on him, too. That was usually how she worked when asked for favors. A ‘you want it done, you’re helping’, type deal.
