Page 23 of Easy Steal

“When was the last time you had this thing serviced?” he asked.

“Ugh,” she shrugged, “I don’t know. You’re supposed to do that.”

“I can’t do it if you don’t bring the car in,” Sammy chuckled, shaking his head.

“Well can you fix it?” she whined.

I shook my head, and I felt her eyes flicker to me for a quick moment.

“It’s probably just a split engine mount,” Sammy said, running his hands through his hair, “let me order the parts and I’ll let you know when they’re here.”

“What? Can’t you fix it now?”

“No,” he said slowly, “I need parts. Mini Coopers aren’t the easiest to get parts for, okay?”

She rolled her eyes at him, and I had had enough. I stormed over without thinking and laced my arm into Sam’s.

He frowned down at me, as did Larissa.

“You want me to order them for you?” I smiled up at him.

“Uh,” he said, the confusion plain on his face, “sure?”

“What are you doing here anyway?” Larissa finally snapped, her face growing red with my hands on Samuel.

“Sammy’s just so busy lately, I want to make his life easier,” I ran my hand across his lower back and pulled him close. He was reluctant, but put an arm across my shoulders anyway, giving me a squeeze as he caught on to my act.

“Thank you,” he smiled down at me, his eyes warm.

I batted my eyelashes up and him, and only heard Larissa’s grumbles as she slammed the bonnet down.

“Just let me know when you can fix it,” she said again, striding to the drivers’ side of her car and slipping inside, she looked down for a moment, before looking back up at Sam through thick lashes.

“I’d really appreciate it, Sammy,” she said, her voice sickly sweet.

He nodded once, and she reversed back out onto the street, before driving away slowly, her eyes still on us. Once we were out of her sight, I dropped my hand from his back and walked back towards the office.

“What the hell was that?” Samuel asked, following me into the small room and closing the door.

I opened my laptop again and shrugged, “she was annoying me. I can’t believe she speaks to you like that, and you are still all doey eyed for her. Is she reallythathot that she’s worth all that drama?”

“It’s not just ‘cause she’s hot, it’s more than that,” he admitted, and I raised my eyebrows.

“What is it then? Because all I’ve seen, is her treating you like a slave and a backup when she’s so obviously in love with your brother. You can see it too, right?”

“Of course I see it,” he snapped, his eyes growing dark with warning.

I looked down and he sighed, running his hands through his hair and pacing around the office.

“I know how it looks, okay,” he said with his eyes closed, “but I can’t explain it. There’s no rhyme or reason with her, it’s just.. If I could just be who she needs… If I could just show her,” he trailed off.

I shook my head, “that’s not how it’s supposed to work.”

He rolled his eyes, “you saw how she reacted when you touched me. She obviously feels something, right?”

I returned the eye roll, “she’s just worried about losing her backup. You’re a constant, you’re a guaranteed second choice. She knows you’ll always be available for her.”

“Okay,” he said, sitting down opposite me and lacing his fingers together, “what if we make her believe that I’m not?”

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