Page 48 of Daddy's Friend’s Mate

Eric said he knew a guy. Why did I expect the guy—or, in this case, guys—to be anything less than paranormal?

Both men took my hands and said together, “The Mistress herself!”

I blushed and then beamed. “My reputation exceeds me.”

“What is the problem today, ma’am?” the fat one asked.

“Assuming there is a problem,” the skinny one said.

Eric cleared his throat, drawing their attention. They both released my hands and stood straight like soldiers lining up for a drill sergeant. Giggles burst from me as I covered my mouth. The fat one winked, causing Eric to growl.

I sighed. “Sorry, gentleman. He’s still in training.”

Eric clutched my shoulder with a firmness that told me he would plow me later if I didn’t keep my tongue in check. And that felt good. “What GG means is that I called earlier about the truck needing new spark plugs.”

Both men nodded and gave us a salute. “We’re at your service!”

“GG, this is Gill,” Eric said while pointing at the skinny one, “and Dill,” he added while pointing to the fat one. “They’re shifter brothers.”

“What kind of shifters?” I asked, then blushed harder. “I mean, I’m sorry. That’s probably not polite to ask.”

Dill winked again. “Not at all, Mistress. We’re salamanders.”

I studied them both carefully. “Do you turn the same size as salamanders?”

Gill puffed up. “Nope. We’re bigger than that.”

Dill chuckled. “Our shifts turn us to the size of a German Shepherd.”

“That’s impressive,” I said with a grin. “Does that mean you’ll be able to work on the truck faster than other people?”

Gill shrugged. “Don’t see why not.”

Dill motioned to the tow to start pulling into the available space to the left of us. “Why don’t you two get cozy in the lobby? We’ll get you situated soon as we can get under the hood.”

Eric guided me to the left of the garage, where a quaint lobby with plastic chairs, a leather couch, an old box television, and plastic floral arrangements made the space look equally clinical and home-like. A counter to the right separated the room from the garage, with an updated computer sitting on the counter. On the television was a grainy news channel. Tapes sat stacked beneath the TV along with a dusty VHS player.

I slumped onto the couch and spread my arms wide. Well, I did want an excuse to stick around. This was a good one that didn’t require lying to my bestie.

For now.

Just as I pulled my phone from my pocket, Eric sat beside me and casually rested his hand on my thigh. Nothing could have felt better at this moment. It seemed like we had all the time in the world. After sending a quick text to Kiki that we would be delayed getting back due to car troubles and snapping a picture of the lobby for her, I turned my attention to Eric.

That was all I wanted to do, anyway. “How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know. I’m here.” He squeezed my thigh twice in quick succession. “Got a question for you, darling. Don’t want you to get offended.”

“Hardly anything offends me.”

He huffed with amusement. “I was wondering why you can’t fix the car with magic.”

“Ah, I get that question a lot, actually.”

“You see a lot of hot men with car troubles?”

I cackled. “No, silly. I mean, people usually ask me that stuff while buying potions or spells.”

“Yeah, and?”

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