Page 44 of Suits and Spark Plugs

Connor finished cleaning the wound and looked directly at me again. “All done.” He must have noticed the tears, which wasn’t really surprising as one had started rolling down my non-injured cheek. I caught it with my thumb. “Did it hurt that bad?”

I shook my head. “I’m okay.”

“I’m not a big fan of crying,” he mumbled as he turned to get some gauze.

“Rule number six?” I asked. “No crying.”

One side of his mouth lifted as he nodded. He avoided eye contact with me as he applied the gauze and tape. His hands were warm and sure, callused against the soft planes of my face. They didn’t shake at all, proof that he wasn’t feeling those same strange zings I had. Proof that I needed to get away and breathe some cold air and call Blaine.

When he was done he stood and reached a hand down for me. I didn’t want to take it, so I pretended I hadn’t seen it and used the arms of the chair to push up to stand. I grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulder while Connor wordlessly led the way back out. This time he insisted on me holding his arm while we crossed the parking lot to my car. Thankfully we made it without further incident.

I got in and started the car, waiting a moment for the defroster to clear the windshield before backing out. Connor had gone back inside. No more words had been spoken. I was fine with that. I wasn’t sure I could have spoken anyhow.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Within a couple of short days, life had slid back into its normal pattern. The snow slowed down, the power came back on, my face healed, and I took my mid-term exams. It was easy to push the dinner with Connor and Ken into the back of my mind as one of those strange and unexplained moments in time that would never happen again.

The first week of March had arrived, and with it came a pleasant surprise at work. Jake had called the staff back into the kitchen after closing and told us he was closing early Friday night to throw a staff dinner. We were all instructed to bring a date and dress fancy. It was being catered. Everyone seemed frozen in shock until Jake had yelled at us to get back to work.

“It’s a girl,” Kelly said as we carried our boxes of clean glasses to stack at the drink station. “No way would he be closed on a Friday night if it wasn’t for some lady.”

“Agreed. Weekends are always hopping around here. He’ll lose the profits,” I replied. “On top of all of that, can you believe he’s having it catered? Do I actually know Jake anymore?”

She nodded. “I assume you’re going to bring Blaine?”

“Yeah. I doubt this is what he had in mind for our weekend, knowing him, but it is nice to have someone to ask for a change.”

I was extra happy about the dinner because Blaine and I had been missing each other quite a bit lately. We hadn’t managed to see each other for a solid week, and I was worried about it. Was it a bad sign if we weren’t able to make more time to be together? Was he backing off to see if I’d take some initiative?

“I have no idea who I’ll ask,” Kelly stated as she stacked the last cup in place. “I’ve got three days to find a date.” We turned back to the kitchen to get enough for two more stacks.

We each picked up a stack of cups, and this time she held the door for me. “You know, the more I’ve seen you and Connor together, the more I think you two would be a good couple, actually,” I dared to say.

Her head cocked to the side, but she kept her eyes on her glass tower. “I guess I can see why you say that, because I kind of feel like he’s the first guy I’ve been truly comfortable with. Have you noticed how he just gets my jokes and stuff? And he’s easy in his own skin? I think he’s been a good influence on me, helping me settle down and see things more clearly. But, no, we aren’t meant to be a couple.”

I dropped it and finished putting my stack in place. One of the other waitresses turned on the house music and changed the channel to something upbeat. Before long we were all laughing and having a great time as we gossiped about what this employee dinner was really about. However, in the back of my mind I kept wondering what Connor had changed in Kelly, and whyhewas the one to finally help her see things clearly.

Three days later we found out that not only did Jake have a woman, but he hadn’t been joking about dressing fancy. Jake was in a full tux. His date was none other than the bombshell Connor had turned down a couple of weeks ago. I almost laughed out loud but covered it with a cough into my elbow. I couldn’t imagine how on earth that had come to be, but it was a fun shock and I hoped he’d found happiness. A person could do worse than Jake.

Blaine was in his element as suit and tie was his bread and butter. This time it was a sort of gray-blue that made his eyes really pop. His brown shoes were polished to a shine. I’d managed to find a red dress at a thrift shop with a sweetheart neckline, capped sleeves, and a skirt that billowed out from the waist down. I felt like a princess.

When we arrived, classical music played through the overhead speakers—a first—and candles were set up at every table. If it weren’t for the fact that we were eating off the plates and silverware that I’d cleaned recently, the place would have been completely transformed.

I dragged Blaine straight back to a corner booth where Kelly was already seated with a handsome man I didn’t recognize. I could not wait to hear this story.

“Liv, you made my eyes bug out when you walked in,” Kelly greeted as I slid in across from her.

“Thanks. You’re looking pretty nice yourself.” I smiled at her. Her bright hair was pulled up in a mass of curls on top of her head, and she was wearing a deep purple dress that set off her beautiful coloring. Kelly was one of those girls who really knew how to dress up.

She turned to her date. “This is my date, Scott.” Kelly leaned in closer and whispered across the table to me, “I met him this afternoon at the market. He showed me how to choose the best oranges, so I thought I’d keep him.” I chuckled when Kelly leaned back and planted a kiss on Scott’s cheek. Scott flushed.

“Funny how such a small choice to swing by the market today is turning into one heck of an adventure,” he replied. He seemed a little bemused to find himself at a dress up dinner with spitfire Kelly, which made sense as they’d just met that day. He was older than us, probably mid-thirties, with brown hair and smiling brown eyes.

“What do you do, Scott?” Blaine asked after our food was served.

“I’m a fruit and vegetable wholesaler,” Scott replied.

“Ah, thus the knowledge of oranges,” Blaine said.

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