Page 71 of Suits and Spark Plugs

The next day at the diner I begged Kelly to deliver a message to Connor for me. I wasn’t going to keep cleaning the shop, and I’d get him the rest of the money I owed, which was only about $250 at this point.

Kelly was firm. “No way am I getting in the middle of this spat of yours,” she stated. “You messed up, Liv, and you have to fix it.”

“I know I messed up,” I replied. For at least the hundredth time I felt a pinch in my chest. “But he wants no contact. He hasn’t called, or texted, or popped by the diner in two days,” I whined. “We aren’t even in a spat. We’re past that. You can’t be in a spat with someone who has ghosted you.”

“Part of ghosting suggests you’re in a spat.”

“No, ghosting is disappearing with no explanation.”

“Then you haven’t been ghosted, Liv. You know exactly why he’s avoiding you.” Kelly threw me a look as she gathered menus. Her usually laughter-filled eyes were serious and sad. It made me feel even worse.

“Well, what would you have me do? Send him a letter?” I paused in wiping down the booth that I’d just cleared, and nodded. “I could do that. A letter.”

“No. Don’t be a coward.” Kelly shook her head. “You need to go down to the shop and talk to him face to face. Maybe he’s not angry. Maybe he’s worried that you’re upset with him and he’s waiting for you to make the first move.”

“Nice try,” I mumbled. I thought it over while we finished busing a table. “But do I really need to reach out to him?” I asked as I followed her back to the kitchen with my bucket of dirty plates. “I mean, we aren’t really friends. It was more of a business thing.”

“That’s a lie, and I’m calling you on it. I understand you feeling confused and wanting to lick your wounds, but Connor has been good to you.”

The bell dinged over the door, saving me from having to admit that Connor had become my friend. It was easier to push him back into his box.

Kelly was still on her high horse fifteen minutes later at the drink station. “If it really is just a business relationship, then you need to treat it as one. He’s technically your employer. You owe him either money or labor. Go work it out.” She walked through the swinging kitchen door and I thought she was done, but nope, she came back through only a moment later with her mouth already open. “And while you’re at it, he deserves an apology.”

“For what? For trying to save him from a mad man?”

Kelly’s eyes closed briefly, and she took a deep breath before opening them again. “Look, I appreciate that you aren’t a weak little petunia who needs to be rescued. For the record, if I ever find myself being threatened by someone, I’m glad to know I can count on you to be my backup. Still, the fact is that there was no weapon other than Levi’s big mouth. You made a mistake. We’ve talked about it so much the past two days that I know every little detail, and I don’t remember hearing you tell him you were sorry.”

“Exactly what am I sorry about?”

Kelly made a face at me and walked away with her drinks, leaving me to ponder what she’d said. Did I owe him an apology? If so, what for? Had my actions hurt him somehow? Had I been so busy feeling hurt that I’d overlooked any fallout on his side?

A little while later, Kelly and I met at the dishwasher to start stacking dishes. The steam coming from the hot water I was using to rinse the dishes made my curls tight and heavy, which meant they were in my eyes. The bleachy smell of the sanitizing soap stung my nose.

I cleared my throat. “Kell, don’t yell at me again, but I’m trying to understand what I did to hurt Connor.”

“You barged into his shop, messed with his business, got the cops called down, and generally acted crazy.” Wow. She answered pretty quickly, which meant she’d been thinking about it. Either that or she’d spoken to Connor.

“Fine. Although I was right about him too.”

Kelly stacked her dirty dishes near the massive washer and turned to me with hands on hips. “How do you figure?”

I set down my own dishes and stood to face her. “I got close and I got burned.”

“By your own fire.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but there was nothing more to say. Kelly thought of Connor as a close friend these days. I understood the draw of that friendship. For the rest of the shift my mind darted over the scene at the mechanic shop and the words Kelly had said today until I started to understand the part I’d played in mine and Connor’s falling out. Who wanted to be friends with a reckless she-wolf?

“Fine. I’ll go talk to him,” I said quietly when we had a breather toward the end of our shift.

“Good. A word of advice, though?” She tilted her head. I nodded once. “Don’t go in there and get defensive, like he has something to prove to you, or that he has to earn your trust back or whatever it is you think. He’ll forgive you if you’re genuine about it.”

“I’m not sure I want to be back on good terms. Things were fine when I steered clear of him. The hurt came from getting close.”

“Contention will never win or give you closure.”

Kelly was right. I hated that she was right. I hated how much it was going to stink to go down to the shop and settle things with Connor. And that was my plan, to settle things.

After work I went home and dug out the $250 from the cash my father had given me for schooling. I’d have to find another way to pay myself back. I’d apologize to Connor, give him the money, and we could part on friendly terms, going back to how we’d always been—nothing more than two people living in the same town.

---