Page 1 of Suits and Spark Plugs

CHAPTER ONE

Scientifically speaking, the human mind is a beautiful and mysterious machine. Take, for example, its ability to multitask. It came in very handy on days like today, when my body needed to work but my brain wanted to obsess over much more interesting facts. Jake’s Diner—my home away from home—was in full swing with dishes clanking, silverware tinkling across plates, orders being called out, and conversations happening all around me. I darted around refilling drinks, taking orders, clearing plates, and cheerfully conversing with customers. But the entire time my mind was chugging happily over the unexpected twist my life had taken. I, Liv Phelps, was dating someone.

His name was Blaine. Blaine Harris. Even his name oozed class. My love life had always been like a car on cinder blocks, and I’d preferred it that way. My neighbors and friends saw it as an eyesore, but I had zero plans to fix it up. However, Blaine had walked into Jake’s Diner a few weeks ago, and for the first time I’d decided to put the key in the ignition and see if the old junk pile had a chance of running.

I’d been wiping down the bar countertop when he bypassed the hostess station and came straight to sit on a stool directly in front of me. My head had popped up in surprise, my hazel eyes had met his ice-baby blues, and something inside me had taken notice. It would have been hard not to. I’d lived my entire twenty-four years in the small mountain town of Oak Hills, and I knew all the guys there were to know. This guy was definitely not from around here.

“What do you recommend?” he’d asked. His voice was smooth and somehow cultured, as though he’d been specifically taught how to speak correctly. It set him worlds apart from the usual stool sitters.

“Meatloaf,” I’d finally stammered right as one of my troublesome black curls fell from my forehead and across my line of sight.

His eyebrows had dropped, and his head had tilted to the side. “Your recommendation is meatloaf?”

I’d blinked a few times, flicked the curl back into place, and slid over a step to start wiping the bar top again, my eyes fixated on imaginary crumbs as I pulled my thoughts back into order. Just because he was the first guy I’d noticed in a while didn’t mean I was prepared to have a conversation. I didn’t know the first thing about being flirty or graceful. “Uh, no, not really. Not unless you enjoy taking chances.”

“Not usually, no. However, today might be a good day to be daring.”

I could hear the smile in his voice, and when I’d looked up I had felt that smile tickle my stomach. “How about a club sandwich?”

He had ordered the club, with a side of my phone number, and I had happily served up both.

Blaine lived thirty minutes down the mountain in the bustling city of Springfield, known for its fast-paced and cut-throat corporate life. To be honest, I hadn’t really expected to hear from him. He wasn’t the first guy to make a pass at one of the waitresses of Jake’s Diner. But he’d called, and even scarier, I’d said yes.

After a slightly awkward first date—okay, three incredibly awkward dates—he’d continued to call. Blaine was the first person to actively pursue me. I was equal parts terrified and excited as I tried to understand the intricacies of a dating relationship when I’d never had a chance to experience it before. Sure, I’d watched my best friend, Kelly, date around, so I knew a few things about pick-up lines and over-the-top reactions, but I’d never wanted that type of drama in my life.

Blaine’s cool confidence and assertive air drew me to him. Everything about him screamed dependable and decisive. I lived with a teenager sister who was an emotional wrecking ball, and a mother who seemed to have checked out of life. So to me, he was a breath of much needed fresh air. His habit of wearing pressed suits in varying shades of blue added to his mystique. I’d never encountered a man like him and felt like I was constantly playing catchup, but I was enjoying the game, a lot.

I knew very little about his personal life in Springfield, but I got the impression I was as far out of left field for him, as he was for me. I often wondered what it was about me that he’d found interesting enough to ask out and then keep asking out. I was driven and independent, yes, but I wasn’t nearly as polished as he was. In fact, if we’d written a list of our attributes down on paper, we’d have been a mismatch for sure. Yet here we were, starting into our second month of sporadic dates and still plugging along. We were too new to have spent any of the holidays together, but he’d surprised me by calling from his party on New Year’s Eve and celebrating the ball drop with me over the phone.

Today was January first, and the memories of the previous night were making it hard to concentrate. This, of course, was a detail my fellow waitress and previously mentioned lifelong best friend, Kelly, had noticed.

“Did he call you, or did he throw you down a flight of stairs?” Kelly asked as she brushed past me on her way to the kitchen. The scent of lavender trailed after her, bringing me back to reality.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I responded, following her to pick up an order of my own.

She flashed her blue eyes in my direction, letting me know that she knew that I knew exactly what she was trying to say. “I swear every customer in this place has been asking me if you’re okay. Your neighbor, Mr. Matthews, used to be a doctor and says you’re showing warning signs of a stroke.”

I looked out to the dining area to see that all eyes did seem to be trained on me. I dropped my eyes quickly and mumbled, “They’re only looking because you talk so loud.”

Kelly pierced me with a look as she picked up the heavy tray and slid past me. “I’m not that bad.”

She tossed her long, curly, bright red ponytail behind her, barely missing whipping me across the face as she walked away with it swinging behind her. I looked to the kitchen window to see the owner, Jake, and two of the cooks looking at me also. I threw my hands up.

“What?” I asked.

“Didn’t think I’d ever hear about you dating somebody. You finally changed your mind?”

Neither of us said anything while he lazily moved a toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other, as though it was easier to speak that way. Then he wiggled his nose while he sniffed. It was very mafia, although that little toothpick move was the only thing even remotely cool about the fifty-six-year-old, gray-haired, heavyset, and frumpy-dressing man I called my boss. “Yes, but you didn’t need to add thefinallypart,” I replied tight-lipped.

“Good for you. Your order’s up.” He slid three plates heaped with food toward me and turned away.

Kelly was back before I was done loading my tray, and she gave me yet another look as she zigged past me. “I swear I said nothing to Jake about you dating.”

“Stop reading my face,” I retorted, annoyed for the zillionth time with her ability to always know what was on my mind. She called it the Best Buddies Broadcasting System, BBBS for short. I called it irritating and refused to use that ridiculous acronym.

“Then stop broadcasting your thoughts,” she replied, also for the zillionth time.

I lifted my tray onto my arm. “Remember last month when you were dating that Tyler kid?”

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