“I’m talking to my girlfriend. Go away.”
Chris scowls. “She was my sister first, so I have dibs. Riley, tell him.”
“Uh…”
“Boyfriends have more dibs than brothers. Riles, let him know.” Nat juts his chin at Chris.
I roll my eyes. Pushing out of Nat’s hold, I grumble, “I remember why I stopped hanging out with you two.”
“If I remember correctly,we’rethe ones who stopped hanging out withyou,” Chris reminds me in a cocky tone. “Butlook at that. You weaseled your way into our bromance in the end. You were playing the long game, Riles.”
I stiffen and shoot Chris a searching look. I can’t tell if he means that because he knows of my childhood feelings for Nat or not.
“Riley,” a sultry voice says.
The tall, striking woman from last night rounds the table. She’s wearing a blouse buttoned to her neck and grey slacks.
“Hi, I’m Renea. Nat’s agent.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” I give her hand a firm shake. “I’m Riley Carter.”
When I pictured Renea over the phone, I didn’t imagine this beautiful, trim, Office Barbie. The few strands of grey in her hair give her a distinguished air and I can tell she’s a serious, sensible woman.
I remember how gentle she was with Nat over the phone and, seeing her in person, it makes sense that she would be drawn to him.
Nat’s playful, sincere, and guileless personality is only one facet of who he is. He also has a mature, protective and possessive side—which he showed off last night when Chris was freaking out about us.
Someone like him would appeal to both older and younger woman.
“Renea pretty much saved my life after the accident,” Nat says, drawing closer to me and smiling at his agent. “She refused to give up on me when everyone else did.”
“I think you’re the one who should receive that credit.” Renea’s gaze shifts to me briefly before returning to him. “Nathan made it clear that he would be playing hockey until the day hechoseto retire. He didn’t care what the doctors or the physical therapists said. He beat the odds and worked harder than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Renea’s eyes are shining with admiration.
I wait for the jealousy to ball in my stomach and, for some reason, it doesn’t. All I feel in this moment is pride that I gave my heart to such an incredible, determined and inspiring man.
Nat ducks his head. “Alright, alright. Enough about me. Renea, if you want to seerealhard work, you should ask Riley about her training as an airplane repair technician.” Nat places his hands on my shoulders and says in a proud voice, “She went to the most prestigious AMT training school and was one of the youngest female technicians in the country.”
“That’s in the past. I don’t work on planes anymore. I’m a car mechanic now,” I tell Renea.
“Still very impressive,” she says, her smile genuine.
And in that moment, I realize why I’m not jealous or upset at Renea’s presence. She’s clearly got a soft spot for Nat—which I can one hundred percent relate to, but the classy way she speaks and carries herself tells me that she has no intentions of ever sharing her feelings.
I can relate to that as well.
“Not many women are in trades like car and plane repair. You’re one of a kind,” Renea says.
“It’s not a big deal.” I shrug. “There are three other female mechanics in Lucky Falls. More women are entering the trades every day.”
Nat shakes his head. “Don’t let her downplay her accomplishments, Renea. Riley took over a struggling mechanic shop and business is booming. Every time I visit her garage, there are more cars in the bay than before.”
“Dude, un-puff your chest.She’sthe mechanic, not you,” Chris grumbles.
Nat meets my eyes and says loud enough for Chris to hear, “He’s just jealous because he’s never dated a female mechanic.”
“My girlfriend’s a lawyer.”
