Page 2 of Here's to Tomorrow

“You can just call me Rae.” I hate when people call meMiss.

“All right, Rae. You got lucky because we just had to push another job back by a week, so we can get the work done and give you a call in about four days. Is that okay? Do you have anyone you can call to give you a ride or do you need me to take you somewhere?”

“Four days is perfect. Thank you so much. If I could use your phone—since mine conveniently died just like my car—I can call someone to come get me.”

“Sounds good, Rae. I’m Hudson, by the way. Just ask Tucker at the front desk. He’ll grab you a phone to use and push more paperwork your way.” Hudson points toward a door and looks down at his clipboard, starting to fill info in.

“Thanks, Hudson,” I say, unable to stop myself from using his name out loud. His head jerks up and our eyes collide for more than half a second for the first time, and holy hell was this worth the wait.

They’re beautiful swirls of dark and light green with a smidge of blue. The colors blend together perfectly, like the ocean on a stormy day—which sucks, because I’m terrified of the ocean. Though, if I’m being completely honest, there’s something about his eyes that doesn’t scare me but calls out to me with familiarity and protection—which is beyond strange because wejustmet.

Just like that, his eyes become my favorite part of him. Theyspeak,and I’m liking what they’re saying.

He’s interested.

I am too.

We stand there staring at one another, locked in one of those moments you read about in romance novels where only seconds have passed but it feels like a lifetime.

He’s the first to shake it off, giving me a somewhat strained smile. I attempt to smile back, but it comes out as more of a grimace and I likely look like a psycho as I move around him toward the office.

I walk through the door and spot the man I assume is Tucker. Sitting at the front desk playing on his phone, I can’t argue that he’s almost as attractive as Hudson—almost. He has beautiful, dark blond hair that’s been carefully arranged to look messy. I can’t tell what they are, but he has two full sleeves of all-black tattoos. You can tell, just from the sheer beauty of them, they clearly mean something important to him.

“Hey, um, Hudson told me I could use the phone. Apparently you can help me out with that.” I wait as he looks up and stares at me for a second. I raise my eyebrows at him.

“Sorry.” He shakes his head slightly. “I didn’t catch that. I’m on this super hard level of Mad Maxwell and I wasn’t paying any attention. What can I help you with?” He looks a little embarrassed that he’s making me repeat myself. I want to roll my eyes, but it’s kind of cute that he is so distracted by his game.

“I need to use the phone so I can get someone to come pick me up. Mine died. Do you have one I can use?”

“Oh, sure.” He hands me a cordless phone from below the counter. “Just press 9 to dial out, wait for the tone, and enter the number.”

“Thanks,” I mumble as he focuses back in on his game. I dial my sister-slash-roommate—hers is the only number I can remember—and pray she picks up.

“Hello?” Haley asks, her voice trembling with caution.

“Hales, it’s Rae. My car broke down. Again. Think you can come give me a lift?”

“Dude, again? You have crap luck, Rae. Of course I can come get you. Where are you? The caller ID just said ‘Jacked Up’. Is that the name of the shop? Because, girl, that doesn’t sound too promising to me.”

I laugh. “Yes, that’s the name of the shop. Before you get your panties in a wad, they are pretty cool so far. Some guy just told me he would even work with me on payments if I needed it. I’ve never heard of a place doing that before, so I guess I was lucky to break down where I did.”

A throat clears, grabbing my attention. Tucker quickly ducks his head, but I know he was just looking at me. Strange.

“Hmm…seems kind of odd,” Haley says in my ear. “I’ve never heard of it before and I’ve been around a lot longer than you.”

“Two years, dude. Two freakin’ years. Hurry up. I have to be at work by six.” I hang up.

Being the younger sister in our relationship, I’m used to her weird thinking. Haley is an outspoken, protective, and demanding person. She drives me crazy with her incessant questioning and assumptions, but she’s the best sister ever. She lets me live with her for next to nothing and never complains about being my personal taxi or my lack of ever doing the dishes. Just with that last one alone, I got lucky in the sister department.

I return the phone to Tucker, thanking him again, and plop down in a chair in the waiting room to start filling out the paperwork for the repairs.

I can feel eyes on me.

Lifting my head, I see Tucker staring at me like he’s unsure what to make of me.Odd.I look away then glance back, watching as he gets up and walks out of the room.

Suddenly, I see Hudson in the window of the door leading to the shop, talking with Tucker. They look a little uncomfortable, and with that look that Tucker just gave me, I can’t help but think it has something to do with me. I hope they aren’t arguing over my repairs or the cost, because that’s the last thing I need right now. I don’t think I would be able to cover much more than I already am. I’m still trying to catch up from missing work two weeks ago when I had the flu, and I don’t want to risk having this mess up everything else I have planned.

Besides, my father would probably strangle me if I came to him for money right now. We’ve been having this ongoing “conversation” about me moving to Boston with Maura, my best friend. I want to live in the city, not thirty minutes out where I currently am, all part of mygrowing up and doing things on my ownplan.

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