He sits patiently while I explain everything that’s happened over the past day.
Damn. Has it really only been one day?
His jaw hangs open as I finish. “So let me get this straight,” he says. “You towed her car and now she’s… living with you?”
“I know, I know. It’s bizarre. But there’s something about her, Trev. She’s strong but vulnerable. She’s a great mom, and she’ll do anything for her kid. She seems so honest and down to earth, yet there’s something she’s hiding. Something she’s scared of.”
“And you got all that from spending a few hours with her?”
“Dude, she’s a complete contradiction. She drives a hundred-thousand-dollar car, yet can’t stay in a hotel that requires ID and a credit card.”
“Can’t? Or won’t?”
“I’ve been asking myself that since yesterday, man. I mean, who in this day and age pays for everything in cash? She wanted to pay me two thousand dollars for crashing in my basement. Who carries that kind of dough on them?”
“Let’s see…” He pinches his jaw in mock thought. “Tucker McQuaid, Chris Montana, Wyatt Ashford—”
I hold up a hand. “Okay, fine. You got me there. But this girl is not like them. She wears sweatshirts and jeans without designer logos. Her sneakers look like they’re a few years old.” I glance over my shoulder at her car. “Her vehicle, though? That confuses the shit out of me. It seems so out of character for her.”
He laughs. “You’ve known the woman for less than a day and you already know her character? Cruz, you’re in deep.”
I scoff. “You think?” I rub my eyes. “What the hell is wrong with me? I’m not like this.”
He smiles and clasps my shoulder. “None of us are man, until we findthe one.”
I roll my eyes. “What would you know about findingthe one?You don’t even remember the first time you saw Ava.”
“Touché. But, hey, I’ve seen it in movies. And it’s the way I feel about her now. You just got there quicker, my friend. Love at first sight is a real thing.”
“Get the fuck out. Dude, she’s gone in a week.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. If you really like this girl, that just means you don’t have much time. We need a plan.”
“Plan?”
“To get her to stay. Romantic shit. You already swept her off her feet by towing her car and giving her a place to live. Keep it going.”
I cackle. “One, I’m a mechanic with a teenage boy to raise. I don’t know the first thing about being romantic. And two… well, I don’t need a two. One was enough.”
“I’m calling bullshit. Aren’t you the very person who just last year told me to ‘do better?’ Weren’t you the guy who drove all the way out to your cabin to bring me a box of love letters from my wife? The guy who said you envied my relationship with Ava and—correct me if I’m wrong—told me, and I quote, ‘I want what you have.’ Carter, maybe this is your chance to have it.”
“This is ridiculous.” I stand and push the stool away. “We’re sitting here conspiring on how I can get this virtual stranger, who’s only here because her car is smashed up, to fall for me in a week?”
“Or maybe…” He climbs out of the front seat. “Maybe her car is smashed up because she wassupposedto meet you.”
“Oh, please.” I roll my eyes. “You think her car veering off the icy road is some sort of cosmic intervention?”
He lifts a brow. “Stranger things have happened.” He widens his arms, holding them out to either side. “Case in point.”
“Carter!” Mia yells from the back door of the shop. “Your pee break over yet? I got a call!”
I thumb to the door. “Mia’s on towing duty. I’ll see you later.”
~ ~ ~
Hours later, after working my ass off fixing the stubborn carburetor on Mr. Ridenhour’s Honda—if for no other reason than to not have to think abouther—I’m driving myself home in one of the spare shop vehicles doing nothingbutthinking of her.
Romantic shit.
