Page 12 of Suits and Spark Plugs

“Is it the money?” he whispered.

“No,” I lied.

I tugged my hand free at the sound of the kitchen bell signaling an order up. Hopefully he’d pick up his check and go.

When I finished delivering three more plates of food I glanced to where Blaine had been sitting. He was still there, but now he was holding a piece of paper and waving it at me. I sighed and went to see what it was.

“Here’s the information for the mechanic I was telling you about. It’s quite close. Promise me you’ll at least drop by and talk to him.”

I shook my head. “Blaine, I’m not worried about my car. I’ll handle it when it’s time.”

“I’m happy to help cover the repairs.”

“No way,” I stated flatly.

His jaw tensed and I knew his teeth were pressed tightly together. Our eyes locked in stalemate. It was obvious that he wanted to look after me, yet my instinct was to fight for independence. It wasn’t necessarily on principle, and it wasn’t against Blaine personally. I wasn’t against a man caring for his woman any more than I was against a woman caring for her man. In fact, some days I’d have given anything to have someone care for me the way Blaine wanted to. Yet we’d only known each other for two months, and there were still boundaries up and conversations we hadn’t had. We should still be in the sending flowers and chocolates phase, not discussing car repair and money issues.

“You two okay?” Kelly asked as she came to stand next to me. “You’re going to scare customers away with those glares.”

“Her car is going to explode the next time she tries to drive it anywhere. I’m trying to get her in to see a mechanic,” Blaine replied.

“My car is fine.” I turned to Kelly, still stone faced.

Her pretty blue eyes lit up with amusement. “You know Connor would take a look at that for you.”

“Connor, yes. That’s the name of the man I was just telling her about.” Blaine’s expression cleared into one of hope. “Over at Mainstreet Mechanic?”

“I know who Connor is, and he doesn’t need to be bothered,” I replied. “He’s running a business, not a charity organization.”

Kelly patted my back and looked around. “I just saw him here. Let me see...” I nearly jumped out of my skin when Kelly hollered out and waved to a man I hadn’t noticed before, sitting in the back corner booth. “Yep, I knew it. He’s coming over.”

“Probably thinks the place is burning down, the way you screamed for him,” I said.

Connor Hunt, magic mechanic and town bad boy, arrived in front of us before I had time to decide how I was going to get this to stop. I trusted him completely with my car. I just didn’t trust him with anything else. At all. And maybe I was an eensy-weensy bit jealous over finding out there was another person out there that Kelly really clicked with.

For a brief moment, when he came to stand next to the counter, I was struck by how rough he looked standing next to Blaine’s scissor-like polish. Blaine was all cool blues in his pressed suit, while Connor was all warm honey brown in a T-shirt and jeans, with a leather jacket draped over his arm. The contrast was fascinating to my art-obsessed soul. Auburn hair clashed against pale blond. It was...well, it was nothing, really.

Connor raised his eyebrows toward Kelly, asking without words what she needed. Oh great, now they could communicate without words. If he got in on the BBBS (Best Buds Broadcasting System) I’d be ticked. I still didn’t understand what they saw in each other, despite Kelly’s attempts to explain.

“Liv is having car trouble, and her boyfriend wants her to get it checked out. She’s being stubborn. I said you’d take a look.” Kelly pared it all down while Connor silently listened, giving away nothing. I admired his poker face.

His amber eyes turned to meet mine for the first time I could recall, which made me unaccountably jittery. I folded my arms defensively across my chest. “I’m not looking for charity and I can’t afford to pay for repairs right now, so there’s no point in having this discussion.” At the end of my speech, a curl fell into my face, and rather than reach up to fix it, I blew it back into place.

Blaine acted like I’d said nothing and turned his glacier-blue eyes in Connor’s direction. “The car needs to be looked at. Perhaps it’s a smaller repair that won’t cost much.”

I shook my head and opened my mouth to argue back, but Connor, who’d never broken eye contact with me, beat me to it. “I don’t mind taking a look. What time do you get off?” he asked.

I swallowed hard on a lump of mortification. How many times did I have to say it out loud? “I can’t pay you.”

“Diagnosis is free,” Connor replied easily, finally turning his gaze from me as he slid his arms into his jacket.

“Great. She’s off at two.” Kelly gave Connor a big smile.

He nodded and left before I had a chance to say anything else, or at least before I could think up anything else to say.

Blaine, happily the winner of that exchange, smiled and leaned over the counter to press a quick kiss to my cheek while I remained frozen in place. “Have a good shift, babe. I’ll call you later.”

Kelly and I watched both men get into their cars—Connor’s a shiny, full-size truck, and Blaine’s a sleek black BMW sedan, slung low to the ground—and drive away.

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