Page 2 of To Belong Together
She circled the hood to the passenger’s side. “Not from around here?”
“New to the area.”
“Why movehere?”
“Work.” He slid behind the wheel. If Erin didn’t know what he did for a living, he was in no rush to add the complication.
As the engine came to life, Gannon’s voice streamed into the cabin. John’s stereo, which was synced to play from his phone, was out to sabotage him. John had listened to the unfinished track on the way here, working out ideas for revisions and drums. He punched the stereo display to silence it.
Erin buckled in, seemingly oblivious.
“Which way?” he asked.
“Any of the residential streets. That direction.” She nodded toward the south. “Freezes and thaws do a number on asphalt, and the city isn’t great about keeping up. I can’t believe you moved here in winter. You must be cursing that job.”
Never. Drumming for Awestruck—or his brother-like friendship with lead singer Gannon Vaughn, anyway—had gotten him through much worse than cold weather, which wasn’t as bad as people made it out to be. Some of his fondest childhood memories were of escaping all the noise of his sisters and going winter camping with his stepdad. But he’d rather hear about Erin than drone on about himself. “You don’t like winter?”
“Because up here, it lasts into May. Some years, ice hunks float in the bay until June. So, no.” She flipped the invoice, then lifted her gaze to the street as he pulled out of Hirsh Auto’s lot. “I had plans to live anywhere else, but my parents are getting older, and duty calls. Just don’t let anyone tell you working for family’s easy.”
“Hirsh is your old man?” He obeyed a four-way stop and peered at the options to judge which street might show off the squeak.
“Technically, yes, we’re Hirshes too, but my dad’s brother, Nick, owns the place.” Her tone conveyed that the uncle made an exponentially worse boss than her dad would’ve. “Try a right here.” She pointed with her left hand. “This street’s my go-to for squeaks and rattles.”
No sign of a ring, and if she still went by her maiden name, chances were, she wasn’t married.
Not that he was after a date.
But … well, maybe.
There was more to life than the band.
Or at least, he wanted more.
Unfortunately, that had become a complicated quest. He’d explained away the early hints that his last girlfriend was lying to him about her finances. Because he’d been too trusting, it’d taken him the better part of last year to realize she didn’t care about him nearly as much as she cared about his bank account.
He’d broken it off, but the memory lingered, leading him to question people’s motives.
Instead of letting it jade him, he’d have to find a way to benefit from his relationship with Nicole. He could keep his eyes open, use his head, and try again. Especially with someone like Erin, who couldn’t be motivated by his income when she didn’t seem to know about it.
Yet.
She seemed friendly, smart, funny, and committed to family.
Plus, that ready smile was a showstopper.
Not an easy combination to beat.
A block down the street she’d chosen, he understood why she used the road for test drives. Packed snow and ice hadn’t filled the potholes. They’d added more. The squeak started up. Erin leaned forward, moving to pinpoint the sound as the tires thrummed over the terrain.
After reviewing the invoice one last time, she relaxed into her seat. “I can take it from here.”
John turned the wheel to return to the shop, only too aware that their conversation had died. If he wanted more than a test drive and a fixed car, he should’ve shared about himself, but he’d suffered even worse experiences with talking than with dating.
Can You give me a sign if this is worth the risk, God?
The cross necklace was promising. The symbol’s importance to her could tell him whether to pursue this.
He took a breath, fighting the long-held habit of keeping his mouth shut. “I like nature. And animals—I have two dogs. Moving here made sense. Got a place surrounded by woods, and my family’s a couple of hours away instead of two thousand miles. You get it.”
