“Who are you talking to?” Courtney asked.
He ignored her question. “What’s up, sis?”
“Seriously,” Courtney said, the background of her call slightly muffled. “Who is that? Is that a woman?”
“Yes, it’s a woman.” He looked to the woman in question. She blinked several times in quick succession. “Her name is Becca.”
“Do you want to call me later?” Courtney asked. She sounded excited. Then again, his hookups never spent the full night. And Courtney knew him well enough to know that he likely hadn’t been up that long.
“That’d be great. Unless you need me now?”
“Oh, no. Not at all.” Courtney sang her words again to mess with him. “Just checking in.”
“I’ll call you soon.”
“No rush. See you soon.” She disconnected the call before he could even say goodbye.
See you soon? Shit. Courtney was coming to town. And when Courtney came to visit, so did his parents.
Which meant, if history was any indication, he had about two days to get the guest rooms made up.
“Sorry about that.” He set his phone on the counter just as Becca’s phone chirped.
They were both very popular at the moment.
She glanced to her screen. “It’s my car.”
She swiped her thumb across the screen, eyes tracking back and forth over the message. As she continued to read, the lines in her forehead got more prominent. Deeper. Concerned.
This made his stomach dip.
Becca seemed to give things her full focus—something he appreciated. Something he didn’t realize most people neglected to do. Something that made his insides go weird.
“Damn.” She frowned.
“What’s up?” he asked, hoping that it wasn’t too bad. The woman slept regularly on a futon. She deserved a bit of a break. A touch of comfort. More than a night in his guest room.
She sighed and dropped the phone to the table. “They had to order a part from Colorado Springs. It’s going to be a day to get it here and another day to install.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.” Two days wasn’t two weeks.
She rubbed at her forehead. “I guess not. It’s not the worst thing. Just annoying. Expensive. Frustrating. Not a vacation-approved item.”
He craved standing, moving to her, and giving her a shoulder massage to ease the tension. He didn’t do this because it wasn’t his right to do. Yet. He’d have to settle for what he could offer without scaring her off.
“You want to borrow one of my cars? I’ve got a few in the garage that aren’t getting any use.”
“You barely know me.” She tilted her head to the side. “Why would you trust me with a car?”
“I know you well enough.” And he wanted to know her better.
“Thanks. But no.” She went back to eating, half-hearted this time. “I’ll figure something out.”
“You’re down again. We need to do something crazy.”
“It’s too early for milkshakes.”
It was never too early for cookies and cream.
