Page 48 of Reckless Liar

“Well, it looks like you have a busted radiator hose. I can tape it and add more water to get you back to the apartment, but I don’t know how long that fix will last. You’re going to need to get take it to a shop.”

I grunted in annoyance. “How much will that cost?”

Xander shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “No clue.”

Cory chimed in. “My brother-in-law works at Bayview Auto. I can call in a favor, have him take a look.”

I looked at Cory surprised. “Really? That would be really—“ I furrowed my brow, not sure what word to use. “Um. That would be great Cory, thank you.”

“Anything for a pretty woman,” he said, winking at me.

Xander frowned at the compliment, turning to me. “So, you want me to call a truck, and have it towed?”

I frowned, trying to figure out how much repairs at a shop would cost me. “I guess I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“Not really.” He said shaking his head. “It’s now or a few days from now.”

“Go ahead,” I sighed. I opened my door and sank into the driver’s seat, annoyed. Xander pulled out his phone and asked for the tow truck, giving the dispatch our exact location much better than I could. I never was good with gaging distance. The way he said ‘a mile and half southbound Fredrick Road off 407’ sounded better than the ‘halfway between the big highway and the old elementary school’ that I would’ve said.

Hanging up the phone, he shoved it back in his coat pocket, looking from me to Cory. “Why don’t you go hang out in the truck. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Cory nodded, considering Xander for a moment, “Will I still get...”

“I’ll pay you your same rate, Cory,” Xander growled. “Now go get in the damn truck.”

Cory did a little mock salute before jogging back to the truck, leaving me and Xander alone.

“That kid, I swear,” Xander mumbled under his breath before turning back to me. He stepped closer to me, placing a hand on the roof of my car.

He looked down at me in my seat as I rubbed my arms, trying to keep the cold away. All I had to keep me warm was my thin cardigan from the hospital. “So, this sucks.”

Bending down to crouch between my legs he took my arms in his hands, rubbing them up and down quickly. “A little, yeah.”

His touch warmed me, but I had a feeling it was more my reaction to him than the friction he was causing. Crouched between my legs, he caught my eyes. If I leaned forward, I knew he wouldn’t pull away. I could kiss him again. Didn’t I want to? I closed my eyes. I knew exactly how his lips would taste, the way his hand would feel against my hair. I could imagine the flush of heat from his body against mine. It’d be so easy to give in one more time.

I pulled away, as I moved my feet inside the car, where it was slightly warmer. Xander frowned as I moved. He sighed before getting up and coming around to the other side, getting into the passenger seat.

After a minute of shaky breaths, I turned to face him, resting my head back. “I’m sorry I made you come out here for this. I didn’t know who else to call.”

“Hey, I’m glad you did. I told you, I want to be here for you.” He leaned his head against the headrest, so we were at the same odd angle facing each other.

“You really don’t need to wait with me. You’ve already missed enough work and now you have to pay that guy to sit in your truck listening to the radio.”

“It’s not a big deal, Ana. I’m not going to leave you on the side of the road.”

“But...” I stammered.

He shook his head, taking my hands in his. “No. Not happening.”

Seeing I was losing the battle I nodded, squeezing his hand back. I considered pulling away, but he held them so tight I couldn’t. “How long do you think it’ll be?”

“They said twenty minutes. Hopefully it won’t take that long.” He glanced back at the truck before returning his eyes to me.

I glanced away to look back at Xander’s truck where Cory was sitting in the cab looking at his phone. “That was nice of Cory to offer to call his brother-in-law.”

Xander scoffed. “He’s trying to impress you. He obviously has a crush.”

“What? No way,” I peeked back at the truck to see Cory waving at me. I offered a little wave back.

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