“I get why you’re into him,” she says, running her tongue across her bottom lip.
“Hey,” I say, shoving her shoulder. “Stop eye fucking my man.”
She sticks out her tongue and side steps me before advancing. I quickly catch up.
It doesn’t take long for Knox to notice the commotion and finally look up. “Hey, Bambi,” he says, his eyes transitioning from concentration to something I can’t figure out. And then he looks at my sister and says, “Hi, I’m Knox. You must be the sister.”
Eve looks at his greasy hand with a wrinkled-up nose. “Oh,” he says, looking down at the mess. “Sorry, let me wash up really quick. I wasn’t paying attention to the time.”
She nods, tracking his every move as he disappears into the bathroom to wash his hands. I can’t help but think I don’t mind the mess. I like that the neat freak has a messy job. It makes me—nope. Not going down that route.
Eve leans over and whispers, “Does he have any hot coworkers? I could get behind this whole sexy mechanic thing.”
An unfamiliar sound slips from my mouth. It almost sounds like a growl, but that would be way too embarrassing. “No. He’s a one-man show. He does have a—” I stop myself when I remember the image of Beau swallowing Marie’s tonsils. “I thought you were into doctors.”
She smiles back at me and excitement gleams in her eyes. “I don’t know. After feet fetish guy, maybe I need to broaden my horizons and go after something a little more…blue collar.”
I laugh and poke her in the ribs with my elbow.
“What’s so funny?” Knox asks, pulling our attention back to him. Disappointment slices through me when I see he’s taken off the coveralls and is now in his usual T-shirt and jeans combo.
“Nothing!” we both say, looking at each other with wide eyes. Now Knox is the one chuckling. The sound made mystomach lurch, but now it’s comforting, maybe even a slight turn-on I didn’t know I had. Could you be attracted to someone’s laugh?
“Right,” he says, with a knowing smirk. “And Eve, I do have some single friends if you’re interested. But I will admit that none of them are as attractive as me.”
Eve’s face turns bright red, and my obnoxious laughter fills the shop.
CHAPTER 15
KNOX
My eyes are glued to Emery as she throws her head back in a full-on laughing fit. My heart races as I watch her let loose.
“Hilarious,” her sister mumbles, staring me down. I guess I’m not scoring any brownie points on that front, but I’m nothing if not persistent.
“Sorry, Eve,” I say with my go-to charming swagger, “but now that my hands are clean, I can properly shake your hand. I’m Knox. Mechanic by day and Emery’s lover by night.”
“Knox,” Emery grunts, dropping any hint of humor still lingering on her face.
“Oh, my bad,” I say, still waiting for Eve to accept my handshake. “Emery’s boyfriend.”
The sister makes me sweat for a solid ten seconds before gripping my hand and giving it one polite shake. “Nice to meet you. I would say my sister has told me a lot about you, but I’d be lying.”
“Ouch, Bambi,” I say, turning to her. “That stings. I’ve been screaming at the top of my lungs about our love. There’s not a soul in Honey Grove that doesn’t know about Knoxery.”
Emery quirks her brow and crosses her arms. “Knoxery?”
“That’s our ship name…as the kids would say,” I explain, wiggling my brows. “You like it?”
“What’s a polite way to say it makes me want to gag?”
I let out a light chuckle. “Fine, we can workshop something else.”
Eve is quiet as she stands there and lets her eyes dart back and forth between us. I’m honestly surprised Emery didn’t tell her sister about the real nature of our relationship. I wasn’t planning on telling Henry because if he knew, he’d tell Emma, and then Emma would tell her best friend, Wren, and then the entire town would find out.
“How long are you in town for, Eve?” I ask, deviating from my banter session with Emery.
“Just till Sunday,” she answers, slowly eyeing the shop. I can tell she’s going to be a tough nut to crack. I’m sure she’s still mad at me for breaking her sister’s heart. I was still mad at me too.
