Page 25 of Suits and Spark Plugs

“I’ll be totally fine. Oak Hills is a tiny town where we all know each other. I’m safe.”

He pulled away and pressed a quick kiss on my lips, which had the whistling older men back at it. We both laughed.

“Who was on the phone?”

“My mom.”

“Oh, yeah?” he rubbed his hands up my arms. “Everything okay?”

“Of course.” The lie came easily, as all things do with practice.

“Good.” His hands grabbed mine. “Can I see you again soon?”

“Sure.”

He leaned forward and placed another quick peck on my lips before standing, gathering his beautiful wool coat, and heading for the door. I watched him go, wondering why I hadn’t just asked him to drop a salad off to my sister a few blocks away. Especially because I had no idea how I was going to make it happen.

“I’ve been thinking...” Connor plopping down on the stool that Blaine had just vacated caused me to jump, and I squealed a bit. He had a toothpick in his mouth and a to-go bag in his hands. Everything about him broadcast a carefree feeling, and I felt resentment where none was warranted.

“A first I’m sure,” I replied, taking a step back and putting my hand over my heart.

“Ignoring that. If you need a quiet place to study sometimes, you’re welcome to use the office at the shop any time after hours,” he said. I was too shocked to reply. “Just don’t use it for making out with your boyfriend. I saw enough of that tonight.”

He popped right back up without waiting for a response and headed out the door, his gait easy and confident. By the time I had a retort ready, the taillights of his truck were blinking goodbye.

“You lead an interesting life, Liv,” Kelly said as she came to stand next to me.

“It’s about to get even more interesting. I need to find a way to sneak out and deliver a salad to Sadie.”

“How much time do you need?” she asked.

I smiled over at her and resisted the urge to give her a hug. Every time I started to feel alone, Kelly appeared and reminded me that I wasn’t and never would be. She was my sister in all the ways that counted.

“Five to seven minutes.”

“I’ve been meaning to throw a fit over something. I’ll head back and distract Jake.” She got a determined look on her face and headed behind the counter just as the Cobb salad was handed through the window.

I followed her, grabbing the salad and dashing for the door with a smirk on my face as I heard her loud voice carry through the diner. “Jake, you snake, I have a bone to pick with you...”

CHAPTER EIGHT

The next week, after banging my head against the wall to get some peace and quiet at home, I decided to go ahead and study at the mechanic shop. It wasn’t because Connor had offered. It was because it was the logical solution to my problem. I wasn’t planning to clean tonight but assumed he wouldn’t mind if I used it whenever. The offer hadn’t had any caveats.

The cool air felt good on my overheated skin when I lugged my backpack out the front door half an hour after the shop closed. Before trying to study I’d been mopping floors and vacuuming at my house, attempting to repair damage done by a serious lack of care from the others living there. As luck would have it, just as I’d finished, Sadie had banged through the door with her friends and I’d known it was all for naught.

My hair still felt sweaty, and I knew my curls would be extra frizzed out. I didn’t care. I didn’t bother to cover them or calm them. It was what it was. I grabbed my coat and carried it in my arms, enjoying the blast of ice when I left the house. My car door stuck a little when I tried to get in, so I delivered a swift kick to the lower panel and was rewarded.

The roads were dark and lonely this time of night, and the shop was blessedly black when I arrived after the short drive. I turned off the car and climbed out. Goosebumps covered my arms, and my head felt cold where the air blew across the sweat that had accumulated. My backpack slapped against my thigh while I crossed the parking lot to unlock the door and let myself in.

I let my backpack fall to a chair, then turned and locked the door behind me. The lobby smelled of grease and oil, with a slightly lemony scent underneath it all, a scent that was slowly becoming familiar to me. In the office I flipped on the light, but feeling no need to hide, I left the door open. Connor would know it was me and why I was there.

I cleared a small work space on the desk and sat in the big chair. Tonight’s project was a math assignment. I detested math and the people who touted that it could be interesting. Mom insisted that I had a head for numbers, just not the heart for them. She was probably right. I understood it...when I tried to understand it. The rest of the time I just moped and moaned my way through it.

The room was cool, and the sweat my body had produced did its work, making the transition from overheated to chilled happen fairly quickly. I grabbed my coat and draped it over my shoulders. The chill was good. It would keep me awake. I lost track of the time as I labored over numbers that I had no interest in learning. Too bad that math would be an important part of nursing. I hoped that the computers would do most of the work for me. There was a chance I’d be disappointed by the truth.

The bang of a door opening startled me out of my seat. I was on my feet in an instant, my heart thumping as my eyes flew to the open office door. This was it, the thing that Blaine and Connor had both warned me about. I tried to think limp thoughts, but I was too nervous to relax all the muscles in my body.

“It’s good that you’re here.” Kelly’s red head popped around the door, but her body stayed out of sight. “Come see.”

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