Chapter 7

Seven

Jake

S itting at the computer in my office, I couldn’t stop thinking about how Lily’s voice wavered when she’d called me. How relieved she’d looked when I arrived. I hated that she was so far away from me, and I wanted to get to her as fast as I could.

I wanted to fix Berta so this wouldn’t happen again. I didn’t want Lily stranded on the side of a highway if I could help it. The decision to help her was an easy one. She loved Berta, and I could make her new again. Why wouldn’t I step in and offer my services and expertise?

I wanted to be the one to help Lily and restore Berta.

I wanted to make Lily smile, even if being around her was reckless. I could so easily fall for her. Her sweet outlook on life, her optimism. But someone like her wasn’t for me.

She’d probably grown up in the ideal family. Two point five siblings, a dog, and the white picket fence. I’d expect no less than the perfect family unit from someone with her outlook on life.

My past would shock her, or worse, it would make her pity me. I hated the idea of that even more.

Ryan leaned a shoulder on the door frame of my office. “What’s Berta doing back?”

“The engine overheated last night. Stranded Lily on 95.”

His eyes widened. “Fuck. She okay?”

“She was a little scared. Probably ran it too long so that she could pull off onto the exit ramp, but I can’t fault her. Her safety is more important than the engine.”

“I’m sorry. What, now?” Ryan pushed off the frame and walked into the office. “Did you just say a woman was more important than an engine?”

I held up a hand to stop his teasing. “I said her safety is more important.”

Ryan sat in the chair opposite me, his gaze fixed on me. “I never thought I’d see the day when you said something like that. This woman mean something to you?”

I shook my head. “I’m just helping her out like you suggested. It will be good for business.”

“You agree to help her before or after Berta broke down?”

I rocked back on the chair, interlacing my fingers behind my head. “I was leaning in that direction before it happened. It just solidified my decision.”

“You can’t resist restoring that tin can,” Ryan said with a smirk.

I let the chair rock until it rested on all four legs. “It will be satisfying to bring her back to life.”

Ryan nodded. “She’ll be a beauty. We shouldering the repair cost?”

I scrubbed hand over my chin. “I have a feeling Lily will want to help out or try to pay us back.”

“She seems like a good woman. Honest and hardworking. She won’t want to take advantage of us.”

“Hmm.” I didn’t want her to pay for anything when this was our idea. But I wasn’t sure how to get around it.

“The problem is, when are you going to have time to work on her? Business has picked up lately.”

“I’d like to make it a priority. I know we’re doing this for free, but—”

“The idea is to bring in business with it. I agree. I’ll pull some clients from you.”

“How are you going to handle more work?” I asked him.

Ryan raised a brow. “Want to talk about hiring another mechanic?”

He knew how much I hated talking about spending money or expanding the business. Despite opening the garage, I was fairly risk averse. “Not really. We could give Corey more responsibility.”

“He’s an apprentice at best. He can’t handle cars on his own.”

My jaw tightened. “Do you think we need to hire someone? Couldn’t we just extend our hours?”

Ryan shook his head. “Jake. I want to spend my evenings with my family—Hailey and Corey. I finally found the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, and I’m able to be a father to my son.”

“You know I don’t need to hear about how much you love my sister.” Just saying it out loud had me cringing.

“As much as I love the business, I need balance.”

“I don’t have the same issues, so keep the cases, and I’ll work more hours,” I said, not wanting to think about how lonely my life had become since Ryan hooked up with Hailey. He was rarely available to get a beer at the bar, and I hadn’t bonded with anyone else.

Ryan considered me before he said, “We’re your family.”

“It’s not the same, and you know it. You don’t want me hanging around every night.”

“It’s different, for sure, but we’re still your family. You’re not alone.”

I decided to lighten the mood. “I don’t need to see your ugly mug every night across the dinner table.”

Ryan smiled. “Couldn’t agree more.”

“Let me give it a try for a few weeks. If it’s too much, I’ll let you know.”

Ryan tipped his head to the side, giving me an assessing look. “I’ll let you do it your way for now.”

“Sometimes, I question the intelligence of going into business with a friend.”

Ryan shook his head slowly. “You wouldn’t have done this on your own. You would have backed out before you started.”

“You might be right about that.” The idea of putting down roots and buying this property was overwhelming. If Ryan hadn’t been there every step of the way, I probably would have backed out. I would have continued to work for someone else, even though I hated it. Job security was important to me.

The business world was tenuous. You could be flying high one week and come crashing down the next. It wasn’t for the fainthearted. Not that I thought of myself like that, but the stress got to me—eating me from the inside out.

I kept most of it from Ryan. He didn’t need to know my internal struggles. Especially when they wouldn’t become an issue. “I got this.”

Ryan smiled as he stood and walked toward the door. “I hope you do. I’m eager to see what you do with her.”

“She’ll look the same. Only better,” I said as he walked out.

While Berta was on my mind, I pulled up the original estimate I’d sent Lily that didn’t include everything. I’d kept it to necessities only. Now that she was my pet project, I was pulling out all the stops.

But maybe I wouldn’t add everything to the estimate. I didn’t want her to worry that it was too expensive. I wanted her to sit back and enjoy the ride.

I shook my head to clear the image of her riding my dick out of my brain. I was starting a business relationship with her, not a personal one.

I’d need to confer with her, make sure she was okay with any changes. She’d need to stop by the garage more often, and I’d need to keep her apprised of the work. Instead of feeling hesitant, I was looking forward to seeing her.

When I was around Lily, I felt lighter. As if the darkness from my past could disappear if I was around her long enough. I was positive that was an illusion, but I liked it just the same.

Before I could think better of it, I sent Lily a text.

Jake: Want to meet up tonight to discuss Berta?

When she called me last night, I’d saved her to my contacts list.

Lily: I can do that.

Then I remembered how she didn’t have a spare vehicle to drive around.

Jake: We have a loaner here you can use.

Ryan was going to kill me because the loaner was reserved for paying clients, and we only used it sparingly.

Lily: I don’t know.

Jake: One more thing we can discuss tonight.

Lily: I can be there at six.

I barely resisted pumping my fist in the air. I wasn’t even asking her out on a date, but I felt as if I had, and she’d said yes.

Jake: See you then.

With the increased workload, I’d be working late most nights and weekends. But it would be worth it to see Lily happy. To not get a call about her being broken down on the side of the road at night.

I got lost in work, grabbing the sandwich I’d packed for myself sometime in the afternoon. I barely paused when Ryan left shortly after five.

Few clients came in the evenings, so it was a large chunk of uninterrupted time to work.

“Jake?” I heard her voice before the soft click of her heels on the concrete.

“Here,” I said, pushing out from under the vehicle I’d been working on. Pushing to stand, I wiped my hands on the cloth we kept around for that purpose. “I lost track of time.”

Lily stood at the entrance to the bay garage in a long, flowy dress, her hair braided over her shoulder, looking uncertain. “Do you want to meet another night?”

“Tonight’s perfect. We need to get started on Berta right away if we want to get her back on the road.”

Lily’s face flushed with pleasure. “I’d like that.”

My stomach rumbled loudly.

Lily stifled a giggle. “Did you miss dinner?”

“Apparently,” I said wryly.

“Do you want to eat?”

“I’ll need to order something. Are you hungry too?” I asked as I picked up the phone I left on the counter earlier. There were several missed calls. Probably clients forwarded from the main number. I’d get to it later tonight after Lily went home.

I looked up to find Lily fingering the strap of the bag she’d hung across her body, drawing my attention to her breasts. Finally, she said, “I could eat.”

“What do you feel like? Chinese, pizza, sushi?”

She smiled wide and stepped farther inside the garage. “You eat sushi?”

“You think I don’t? You must have some kind of impression of me.”

She laughed, the sound pleasant. “You don’t strike me as a man who’d like sushi.”

“Well, clearly, you don’t know me at all. Sushi it is,” I said, pulling the menu out from the stack we always kept on the countertop. I tossed it to her. “Tell me what you’d like, and I’ll order it.”

Lily shook her head as she looked down at the options. “I still can’t picture you and Ryan eating sushi.”

“Corey loves it too.”

I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge we kept under the counter.

“Ryan wants to hire another mechanic, but I think we’ll be fine,” I said, more to myself than her.

Lily moved closer, her floral scent permeating my space. The difference between her and the other women I’d dated is that the scent was natural since she worked with flowers all day. I liked it more than I should.

“Is it too much to add Berta into the mix right now? We can do it later if it’s better for you. I don’t want to cause more work for you.”

The thought of her alone on a highway again tore at my insides. “Getting Berta operational is a priority. You need her for your business. Heck, she’s your sole source of transportation.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, that’s right. You were hoping that fixing up Berta would be good for business. It makes sense you’d want to get started right away.”

Her thinking I was doing this just for business didn’t sit right with me. “It’s not just about the publicity for me. When Ryan first brought it up, I resisted.”

I didn’t bother mentioning that I resisted every new idea Ryan or Hailey came up with.

Lily tipped her head to the side, studying me. “Why?”

The muscles along my jaw tightened. I didn’t want to reveal anything about me, but it might help in this circumstance to give her a glimpse. “I don’t like change. New things. It takes me a while to adjust.”

The smile spread over her face slowly. “That makes sense with what I know about you.”

“What do you think you know about me?” Unfortunately, my question came out without any forethought. If I’d taken a second, I wouldn’t have risen to the bait. I shouldn’t care what this woman thinks of me. She was just a client.

But the flash of her vulnerable expression when I arrived last night popped into my head. I didn’t want her to feel scared or uncertain. I wanted to reassure her that I’d take care of her.

She handed me the menu and sat on the cracked leather couch that we’d moved from the waiting room to the side of the garage when we’d renovated. The idea is that we’d use it for a break, but it was rare for any of us to take one.

Before I could warn her about possible dust and grease, she crossed her legs, arranging her long skirt over them so nothing more than a sliver of her ankle showed.

The smile on her face was knowing. “Just that you’re grouchy when you’re interrupted or thrown off course.”

“Grouchy?” I wasn’t sure I liked that characterization.

“Yes, grouchy. That first time I met you, you were barking orders at us. Telling me what I should do and what I should care about. I got the impression we’d interrupted something.”

“Mmm.” Her assessment was right on. I was working on a difficult engine, and her call had pulled me away from that. It was Ryan’s Saturday off.

“The truth hurts sometimes.” But Lily smiled, softening the effect of her words.

“I should order the sushi,” I said to avoid her scrutiny. She was seeing too much.

I picked up my phone so I had something to distract me from the sight of Lily in my garage. The warm spring breeze drifted in through the open bay windows. The sun was already setting as I dialed, hitting speaker when the phone rang.

I ordered my usual and then moved closer to Lily. “What did you want?”

She pointed out a few rolls on the menu in front of me, and I relayed her choices. I gave my cell phone number, and they said they’d be there within thirty minutes.

Lily tipped her head slightly. “I didn’t know that place delivered.”

I clicked off the phone. “They don’t.”

Lily leaned so her elbows were on her thighs. “So, you’re saying you managed to charm someone?”

I smiled, catching on to her teasing tone. “Are you saying I’m not capable of charm?”

She cleared her throat. “I think I need to see it in person.”

“We can arrange that.” My voice lowered, and Lily’s eyes widened at the promise in my words.

I should take a few steps back, literally and figuratively. Lily in my space was overwhelming my senses. She was all soft edges and sweet words in this garage that should have made her out of place, but she was anything but.

I liked having company in the evenings. The thought was a shock to my senses and had me finally moving away from her and toward Berta. “Want to discuss your girl?”

When had I ever enjoyed anything other than my solitude? Growing up, I’d helped Nana around the house and protected Hailey. I never felt like the usual teenager who ran around with his friends. I felt the weight of responsibility as soon as my mom left us.

I unfolded the original estimate I’d given to Lily. “Are you on board with these changes?”

“Honestly? I don’t understand most of it.”

“The pressing issue is the overheated engine. You must have driven on it for a long time because it’s damaged beyond repair.”

She could drive it, but it would never run the same.

She cringed. “I didn’t know.”

“You did the right thing. Your safety is more important than an engine. Replacing it won’t be difficult, and it will run like a new vehicle.”

“Still. I don’t want to create more expenses.” She took the estimate from my hands, perusing it before adding, “More than we already have.”

“Maisy’s good at getting deals on parts. Let’s go over the first phase. If you have any suggestions or changes, let me know.”

“I probably don’t know enough to help.”

“It’s still important that you understand what we’re doing to your van. She’s your baby, and your opinion matters. If you don’t understand something, I’ll go over it until you do.”

She touched my forearm. “I didn’t think you were any other way. You’ve explained things from the beginning.”

She stood close. Too close. Her scent invaded every pore of my body, making my muscles tense at the anticipation of her moving even closer, pressing her body against mine. But that couldn’t happen. She was a client. A business associate. Nothing more.