Page 50 of Stuck with my Mechanic Daddies

Shit.

Mason raised a brow. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” I muttered, but I doubted I sounded convincing. I took a few steps away, inhaling deeply before answering. “Hey, Daniel.”

“Aurora.” His clipped tone sent a familiar wave of anxiety through me. Ihatedthat tone, it never led to anything good. “What the hell is going on? I thought you’d be back by now. We have a meeting with Sterling and Co., remember?”

Crap. I’d forgotten. “Things have been a little hectic.”

“That's putting it lightly,” he said. “You’ve been gone a long time now, Aurora. You were supposed to wrap things up there, not settle in.”

My jaw clenched. “I’m not settling in. I just need a little more time.”

It’s not like I hadn’t been working from home—answering emails, offering suggestions—even though we had agreed on an unpaid leave for as long as I needed. Sure it's taking me longer than we both expected but…

“You don’t have more time,” he snapped. “We’re drowning without you. Carter botched the last campaign, and the clients are getting antsy. We need you back in the city.Now.”

I turned away from Mason’s curious gaze, gripping the key so tightly it bit into my palm. “I told you, I’m handling things here.”

“Well, handle them faster,” Daniel bit out. “You have a life here, and a career if you want one. You need to take this seriously.”

It was a future I had been working toward for years. But now, the idea of going back didn’t light me up the way it used to.

“I'll be back soon,” I said, though the words tasted like a lie.

Daniel sighed. “You’d better be. And I want to be kept more in the loop about things."

The call disconnected, leaving a hollow silence in its wake.

I turned back to Mason, my pulse thrumming. His gaze was steady, assessing.

“That sounded fun.”

I forced a tight smile. “My boss.”

“You in trouble?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

He tilted his head, studying me. “You don’t sound like someone who wants to go back.”

I swallowed hard. “I don’t know that either.”

And that scared me more than anything.

The afternoon sun danced over Pinewood Dog Park, stretching long shadows across the grass.

Biscuit, Lila’s overly enthusiastic corgi, was currently zooming in wild circles, tongue lolling, while Lila and I sat on a bench near the fence.

It was nice of her to invite me for a walk. I really needed some fresh air and a friend.

Someone to talk to about everything.

“So,” Lila said, stretching the word out. “I don’t know nearly enough about you, Aurora. Tell me about your life. You know, before you came here.”

I sighed, rolling my coffee cup between my hands. “There’s not much to say.”

Lila gave me a look. “Aurora.”

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