Page 4 of Until Ireland

“One week,” I said. “You have a week to figure out what’s wrong with the Aston Martin.”

“Fine.”

I pulled a card from my pocket and handed it to her. “Dinner. Tomorrow night. I’ll leave your name at the front desk of Flame. I think this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful partnership.” Before she could refute anything I’d said, I strode over to the rollback to pay the driver, then got into my vehicle and took off.

I needed to get out of there before I did something stupid. Like her fuck her in front of her waiting brothers.

Ireland

I stoodthere dumbfounded as Mack pulled out of the parking lot. My hand still tingled from where he touched me, and my heart continued to pound at a rapid tattoo.What have I gotten myself into?The man made my blood boil while simultaneously turning me on to the point I ached for him. He wasn’t my type either. He was all stuffy suit and pompous attitude. His cockiness bordered on conceit. Yet, I was drawn to him. He was attractive, hot in a businessman kind of way. His offer of dinner after our caustic introduction should’ve been a no-go for me, but I’d accepted. I’d never accepted a dinner invite from a stranger so quickly. I guess I’d chalk it up to being off my game today. It was the only thing that made sense.

The morning started shitty.

I woke up early, knowing I had a list of things to do when I arrived at the shop. So, I decided to head out before the two jerks, Hunter and Landon, got out of bed. When I stepped out of the house with my travel mug so I could stop by Starbucks for a triple shot of espresso, the front whitewall tires on my Mercury Custom were flat, slashed along the sidewall. Those weren’t cheap either. The tires were custom-made for my car. I ended up calling for a tow, since our truck was down for repairs.

Recently, I’d had the worst luck ever. A month ago, I went to get into my car and the whole driver side was scratched. Whatever the person had used cut a deep groove in the paint, forcing me to repaint it. Buffing it out would’ve made the mark worse. Then about three weeks ago, during a freak storm, the passenger window was blown out. The incident hadn’t been suspicious because straight-lined winds could lob objects all over the place. The tires though... I had a feeling one of Hunter’s cling-ons was pissed off again—seemed like part and parcel lately. However, in the back of my mind, I wondered if I’d been the target all along.

No, don’t think like that. Sure, Edgar liked to fuck with you before you moved, but how would he have found you?That was the million dollar question, I supposed.

Then there were the components for the ‘Cuda sitting in the first bay. They were supposed to arrive three days ago. Instead, they were delivered this morning, and one of the gaskets along with another item for the rear end had been missing. We were already behind due to the distributor dragging ass on sending the order, but this put us further behind. My brother Hunter needed at least five days to paint the car and another two or three days to grind the rust off the front end and fix the little body imperfections. We’d have to eat some of the labor costs all because the dicks at the supplier couldn’t get their heads out of their asses.

“Who was that?” Landon asked, joining me as the rollback backed up to the empty stall.

I handed him the card. “A pretentious asshole.”

He grunted. “What did he want? Wait. Mack Redman?”

I glanced at my brother. “You know him?”

“We’re not like best friends or anything, but I know of him.” Landon stepped into the bay and whistled. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a foreign beauty in here.”

Mack’s reputation preceded him. He was known for being honest and dedicated, and he always got what he wanted. He did a single interview before the opening of Flame, and I swore he flirted with every woman who had a beating heart while speaking with the interviewer. His enigmatic sex appeal dampened every woman’s panties in probably a thirty mile radius. I shouldn’t feel special about him throwing that charm my way, however, I couldn’t prevent the way my body responded to him.No. Stop it. You have work to do. This is no time to be fantasizing about Mack.I focused on the Aston. Excitement zinged through me as I tried to push all thoughts of Mack Redman out of my mind.

“I can’t wait to get my hands on her and make her purr.”

He chuckled. “You’re a nut.”

I shrugged. The interior of the car appeared pristine. Whoever owned it must have taken care of the vehicle. There weren’t even cracks in the dash. “It needs a few touch ups.”

“The paint’s faded on the roof and hood. We’ll clean her up.” Hunter joined me. “Hey, about the guy who dropped it off, you okay?”

Again, the piercing heat and irrational anger from before reared its ugly head. Mack had brought out the unsightly she-devil within me, and I didn’t understand. There were plenty of dicks in this town. Most thought I was just a seat cover—a pretty face or body to look at. Others assumed I answered the phones or made coffee runs for my brothers while the rest believed I’d been Hunter’s—yes, my older brother’s—old lady and shouldn’t be in the shop, period. It was gross. Even though we didn’t look like siblings because I had our mother’s red hair, it didn’t mean we weren’t related. The first time someone assumed I was his girlfriend, Landon had to pull me off the asshole so I didn’t beat him too bloody. I gritted my teeth. “I’m good. Promise.” I touched his arm. Between Hunter and Landon, their protectiveness was suffocating. Jackson, on the other hand, was younger than all three of us, and we took care of him.

“Chris called while you were outside. He said he’ll have those tires mounted by this evening. Luckily his distributor had a set for you.” The strain on Landon’s face made me wince. I’d been blowing off each incident as though they were all a coincidence, but a worried niggle at the back of my neck warned I should take them more seriously than I was. Edgar, my ex, made it quite clear after I left him that he could find me whenever he wanted. But here? No, I wouldn’t entertain the idea.

“I bet it’s one of your little floozies, Hunter. They probably don’t like big sis living with all three of you.” I grinned, trying to lighten the situation. “I mean, I know I’m a huge cockblock.”

Landon and Hunter flinched as though my comment hit its mark. Since our parents died, Hunter had stepped up to be head of our family. “You don’t cockblock us.”

“Sure I don’t.” I sighed. “Anyway, I need to head to the parts store. The fucking distributor missed three gaskets along with the rear end gear ratio. Can’t go anywhere without that.”

“Again?” Hunter narrowed his eyes. “So, are you telling me I won’t get my hands on the ‘Cuda yet?”

“Sorry, buddy.” I patted his shoulder. “Unless a miracle happens, I won’t have it finished until tomorrow at the earliest.”

“Fine.” He grunted. “Want me to hook the Aston Martin up to the diagnostic?”

My palms itched to get under the hood of this bad girl. However, since Hunter finished his painting for the day, I shrugged. “Sure, why not. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone though. If you need any help, grab Landon.”

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