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He closed the trunk—or boot, she supposed—and went around to her side again.
“I could just drive, then,” she said, eying the rusted red paint and the crack of his side, back window. “You can give me directions, or I could follow the GPS.”
Matthew raised his brow in disbelief. “And have you swerve off the road again into a pile of mud? I don’t think so.” He turned back to the car he nearly towered over and patted the hood with affection. “No, we’ll be taking Minnie here.”
Winnie looked at the car back and forth. “Are you sure it can still drive?”
He hardly looked pleased with the comment, then his previous words finally sunk in.
“Wait,” she began, “did you say Minnie, M-I-N-N-I-E, or mini, as in, M-I-N-I?”
He stared. “Minnie, as in, her name, Minnie. I-E.”
Winnie had never heard of anything so adorable. She’d known of others naming their cars, but a man naming his Minnie? She could hardly stand it.
“You think that’s funny?” he asked.
“Not at all. A car like this certainly deserves the name.”
“She does,” he defended. “She’s been in the family almost as long as Char has.”
“And likely your great-grandparents, too.”
“All right,” Matthew said, shaking his head and opening the door. “You either get in and stop making fun of her or you can take the tour of Yorkshire by yourself.”
She smiled to herself. It felt good to tease someone, to feel some semblance of normalcy after the weekend she’d had.
“Come on, then,” he said, waving her forward. “Let’s not wait for the sun to shine.”
Winnie paused. She hadn’t realized he was on the passenger side until that moment. It had been a long time since someone had opened a car door for her. Her high school date to the prom, maybe? She usually walked to her dates in New York, and…
The thought made her pause. Date? This was no date.
“I can get it myself, you know,” she said.
“Oh, I’m sure you can,” he responded. “But Minnie’s very particular about who touches her.”
Winnie gave him a look. “Seriously?”
“No. But her door handle is hanging on by a thread, and it doesn’t work unless it’s handled with finesse, so I’m going to have to do this each time.”
Winnie smiled, amused. “What is it with you guys and doors?”
With a sigh, she relented, slipping in and easing herself into the low seat with a mumbled, “Thanks.”
Matthew closed the door behind her and walked around the car as she took a look around her. It was clean, she’d give him that, even if it was the smallest car she’d ever seen.
The door handle from the inside was rusted, as was the crank-down window lever. Now his gesture of rolling down the window on her first day made sense.
She adjusted her legs in the small space she was allotted just as Matthew slid into the driver’s side.
“Ready?” he asked, buckling before hooking his phone onto the dashboard stand.
“If you’re meaning to ask me if I’m ready to ride around this car like I’m Fred Flintstone because I’m so close to the ground, then sure. I’m absolutely ready.”
He shook his head again, but the twinkle in his eyes was undeniable.
Winnie buckled up, then Matthew made to start the car, but it merely sputtered in response.
