Page 35 of The Relationship Mechanic

“For tonight. For this weekend.”For everything.She kept that last part quiet. It didn’t seem the type of thing to say to someone you were only casually seeing.

Jessica shrugged. “Of course. You deserved to celebrate your birthday. Everyone does.”

“I know,” Vini conceded, feeling ridiculous for giving voice to the thoughts that had been swirling around in her head. She was clearly making a big deal out of nothing. Jessica was only being nice. She probably would have done the same thing for any of her friends, and here Vini was acting like it was some grand emotional gesture. Jessica was outspoken about a lot of things. Vini doubted she would keep it quiet if she did have those types of feelings.

“I know,” Vini said again. She kissed Jessica’s palm before shaking off her thoughts. She needed to get back the momentum that they’d had when they first fell into bed together. “And I am so going to reward you for it.”

Jessica chuckled before drawing Vini’s lips back down to hers.

Nineteen

The chill in the air matched the chill in Jessica’s skin. She pulled the blanket around her shoulders to ward against the cold. It had been two days since they returned from Atlanta, and the weather had decided that it was time to get serious about it being winter. It wasn’t that Jessica had never lived somewhere with an actual winter, but it had been a while. She and her parents tended to flee toward warmth, and Jason lived in SoCal. Winter wasn’t a thing any of them did on a whim. Cold weather was something they planned out, so this abrupt dip into below-fifty-degree weather was enough to have Jessica’s teeth chattering. It made her wish for warm kisses under even-warmer sheets.

“What are you doing sitting out here by yourself?”

Jessica looked up when Grace came out onto the porch. She was decked out in a thin jacket, but that was it. It made Jessica colder just looking at her and the lack of covering. “Aren’t you cold? Shouldn’t you have more on than just that jacket?”

Grace shrugged and gave her a lopsided smile. “It’ll be back in the sixties by the afternoon. Trust me. We’re still early in winter for it to stay cold for long.”

“This weather doesn’t make any fucking sense.”

“That’s Georgia for you.” Grace gestured to her car. “I’m headed to work. You sure you’re going to be okay being in the house all day?”

Jessica smiled. “Aw, you worried about little old me?”

“Always,” Grace replied with a shake of her head. “I’m sorry I couldn’t take yesterday or today off. Testing days are usually a no-go unless your arm falls off or you vomit up your spleen or something. Robert would blow a brain cell if I called out.”

Jessica waved off her excuse. She was fine. She didn’t need a babysitter to get through the day. “Go and mold young minds, Obi-Wan. I can entertain myself well enough.” Grace chuckled but nodded. When she got to the bottom step, she paused and turned back to Jessica.

“Maybe you should go visit Vini.”

That had Jessica raising an eyebrow. This was certainly a change compared to the last few conversations that had to do with the mini mechanic. “Whoa. What is this? You’re encouraging me to fraternize with the enemy?”

Grace rolled her eyes. “Vini isn’t the enemy. I just figured since we had a good weekend with no drama, maybe things are fine.”

“It’s about time you saw it my way,” Jessica snarked. She smiled when Grace rolled her eyes again. “Somehow, I’m enjoying this whole freezing-for-the-Southern-morning aesthetic. I’m going to sit out here for a little while longer.”

Grace nodded. She gave Jessica one final wave before getting into her car and making her way down the driveway. Jessica watched until her car was out of sight before leaning back against the back of the couch she was lounging in. She wasn’t lying about enjoying the aesthetic. The sun was slowly lifting over the tree line, gradually lighting the sky. Over the past five weeks, Jessica had come to enjoy the slow passage of time that was moving from morning to afternoon. It was weird to think that when she’d first got to Peach Blossom, she had been so worried that she wouldn’t find enough to do here. Now that her visit was winding down, she almost didn’t want to leave. She knew that was mostly due to one person.

“Fuck,” she groaned, leaning her head back. It wasn’t that she had never thought about Vini before, but now it was like she was all Jessica thought about. Her hands. Her voice. Her laugh.

Her smile.

Jessica stood up, barely managing to catch the blanket before it fell to her feet. She had planned on spending more time relaxing, but that seemed to be the worst plan now. She only had so many days left, and being alone for them seemed to be the worst plan by far. She wanted to spend it with Vini, and there was nothing wrong with that. Hell, Grace had just practically given her blessing. Jessica would be a fool to let that go to waste.

Now that Jessica had made her mind up about what she was going to do, nerves she hadn’t known existed set in. She went through the motions of showering and deciding what to wear. In front of the mirror, she put one outfit in front of her before switching to the next, a frown marring her features.It shouldn’t be this difficult, she thought to herself. It’s just Vini. They had been hanging out for the past five weeks, so why was she making it weird now? With a moan she threw the skirt and shirt in her hands onto the bed before digging back in her suitcase for a comfortable pair of jeans and a sweater. She didn’t doubt that Grace was right that it would be warm by the time the afternoon hit, so she put a camisole underneath. That way, if it got too warm, she could pull the sweater off and tie it around her waist. She pulled her hair back away from her face, turning her head before letting it drop back down over her shoulders.

“Oh my God, this is ridiculous,” she hissed at herself. Vini never seemed to care what Jessica was wearing. In fact, the only thing she seemed to really care about was how quickly she could get Jessica out of her clothes. It was that thought that finally brought a smile to her face, and Jessica quickly braided her hair, securing it with a band before grabbing her purse and heading out the door.

It had been a couple hours since Grace left, but the temperature had already risen a few degrees. Jessica rolled her sleeves up before getting into the car. She hadn’t mentioned to Vini about coming by the shop, but she figured the morning was probably not too busy. Just in case, she decided to stop at the diner in town and grab a couple of breakfasts to go, if only to bribe Aiden into making himself scarce for an hour or so if they weren’t too busy.

Driving through town put a smile on Jessica’s face like it always did. Peach Blossom really was an amazingly quaint town that, for its small population, still offered a fair bit. She had enjoyed wandering the aisles of Blank Pages Bookshop and sitting outside with a cup of coffee as she watched people go about their daily lives. It was almost more enjoyable than people-watching when she visited Jason in Los Angeles. There, people seemed to hustle and bustle from one place to the next, but here in Peach Blossom, people meandered as if just enjoying the fresh air and the lack of traffic. She could understand why some people wanted to make this place their home.

She parked her car, not bothering to lock it as she walked toward the diner. It was relatively empty, though that was to be expected for a Tuesday morning after the prework breakfast rush. Jessica decided to grab her own bite to eat and was quickly shown to a small table.

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen you in here.”

Jessica smiled up at Thomas, the owner of the diner. The first time she had come in, he had been her waiter, and when she’d mentioned being from out of town, they had gotten to talking. He wasn’t the type to be overly chatty, but all the same Jessica appreciated the few conversations they’d had over the weeks, especially since he was also not originally from Peach Blossom.

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