“Yeah,” I reply, laughing. “It took me a while, but I got the files updated and stored on the cloud. Luckily, it’s off-season now, and I can get caught up on it before we have tourists coming through.”
“I always wondered about that,” Trina says. “Does this place make any money?”
“It does,” I reply. “During the on-season, there is decent turnover, and Fern is always buying, selling, and trading items like rare books and artifacts. I’m slowly digitizing her process.”
“Good luck with that,” Trina snorts. “She thinks the devil is literally in the digital details.”
“I may have heard that,” I laugh as I turn towards the office.
“Hey, you want to have lunch?” Trina asks.
“Sure,” I say happily. “Meet you at the park?”
“I’ll be there,” Trina says, turning back to the main floor to work with the displays.
Back in the office, I dive into the books, organizing years’ worth of data into basic spreadsheets that easily show profit and loss and how to improve the performance of the museum over time. I get so absorbed by the work, I almost jump out of my seat when Trina knocks on the door.
“Hey, it’s nearly lunch. Should I grab something for you?”
“I’m on my way out,” I say, getting up. “Where are we going?”
“Steak house. I promised the boys I’d drop in with their lunch.”
“Oh,” I mutter, knowing which “boys” she’s referring to. “No worries.”
I sit awkwardly in the passenger seat in Trina’s car with Lacey in the back, and we make a stop to pick up Jane and Robyn, Trina’s best friends, before going on to pick up lunch.
Every roll of the wheels brings us closer to the “boys,” and I try to sink down in my seat like I don’t exist.
It will look weird if I avoid him. I have to do better than this.
We pull up out front of Rhys’s shop, and the girls all jump out, giggling with excitement. I follow behind, trying to look neutral if I can’t manage to be excited.
Trina goes up to the counter and flirts with Billy, a first-year mechanic. Robyn makes a big deal about personally delivering lunch and takes us all out the back. I can’t do anything except follow.
In the work area, the girls spread out, handing out sandwiches to the guys. I keep my eyes down, trying not to look too uncomfortable and hoping I won’t see Rhys.
I can’t take much more of our stilted non-conversation. It’s obvious he has nothing but contempt for me, and I can’t help but feel the same.
Then a pair of heavy boots pokes out from the bottom of the nearest car, which is hoisted up high on the racks. With a short swing and a jump, Rhys drops down, landing smoothly on his feet.
As he stands up, he brushes his thick black hair off his forehead, leaving a smudge of grease. The tight white t-shirt is gone, and he stands before me in tight, faded black jeans and nothing else. The slanted light from the big roller doors gleams on his sweat-sheened skin, and I feel my lips part as my tongue creeps to the corner of my mouth.
Oh my God… yummy.
Rhys approaches, wiping his hands on a rag. “Hey, girls. You bringing us lunch again?”
“Yeah,” Trina says. “We know you’d starve without us.”
Rhys takes a sandwich from her and backs away a little while some flirting goes on between the others. I let my eyestrail slowly over his body, getting completely lost in the moment, until I realize he’s watching me right back.
Fuck! Did he see me looking?
I clear my throat a little and move back towards the doors.
“Oh, you’re right, Sadie!” Robyn says, even though I didn’t speak. “We'd better get going so we have time to eat our own lunch. I’ll see you later, guys.”
There’s a flurry of goodbyes, and I manage to get caught in the middle of the group as we leave the shop. We drive to the nearby park and unpack our own food, and I hope to be able to think of something other than Rhys.
