Huh. That was weird. She’d never seen Olivia and Kingston act so strangely with each other. Now that she thought about it, she’d never seen the two of them together other than in a group—usually at church when Kingston wasn’t working or on call, or during a few softball games last season when he would show up to cheer on the team. Harper had only made the first two games of this season before dropping out to deal with her sinking sales, but Olivia had still played. Was something going on with them?
Finally Olivia nodded and followed Kingston onto the dance floor. Three couples seemed to simultaneously surround them as the DJ played the latest pop song. Soon almost everyone was dancing, and all Harper could see was the top of Kingston’s blond head bopping back and forth.
She picked up her shoes and went to sit at the bridal table again. Olivia and Kingston. Nope, that would never happen. They didn’t have anything in common, and probably the only person in this room who was more entrenched in singledom than her and Kingston was Olivia.
The moment she sat down, her phone buzzed. She glanced at the message flashing across the screen.
Hey, Harper. It’s Jack. Call me.
She froze, reading the text again. Only one person named Jack had her phone number, and she couldn’t believe she’d forgotten to block his. Not after what he’d done to heralmost three years ago. Then again, she hadn’t expected to ever hear from him again.
Harper grabbed the phone and dropped it into her purse. She’d deal with the text later—by erasing it and then blocking his number so hard the cell tower would topple over. On his head.
I wish.
She yanked back her thoughts. This wasn’t the time to stew about him. She’d let Jack ruin enough of her life back then, and she wasn’t going to let him ruin tonight.
But as she watched the reception wind down a little, fatigue suddenly hit, and she realized how exhausted she was. It had been a long day. An exciting and lovely one for her friends, and a fruitful one for her, professionally speaking. Also an unexpected one where Rusty was concerned. She thought back to their slow dance. The way his big hands had lightly rested on her waist and how broad his shoulders were as she wrapped her arms around them when he carried her out of the hall. Harper Wilson didn’t swoon—and this was Rusty, anyway, and she wouldn’t ever swoon over him. Yet those few moments in his arms had been... bliss? No, surely not that. Just a nice dance with a nice guy. Nothing special about that.
Still, she couldn’t help but smile.
Chapter3
Two months later
Honk!
Rusty moved his head from underneath the GTO’s hood and saw a red Mercedes approach his garage. He groaned as he heard the knocking sound coming from her engine. Nuts. He’d thought he’d fixed Harper’s car for good back in August. He should have known the car wouldn’t surrender so easily.
He wiped his hands on a rag, left the small, separate building next to the two garage bays where he housed the GTO, and walked over to the space where Harper had parked the Merc. The shop had closed an hour ago, and he’d decided to work on his baby for a little while before going home. Senior was coming for another visit next week, and he didn’t want to ignore his grandfather while he worked on his car. He also didn’t want Senior helping him either. This was his project, and he wanted to do all the work himself. Senior wouldn’t understand, and more than likely he’d be offended.
“Oh good, you’re still here,” Harper said as she exited the car. “I was just going to drop off my car and leave you a note if you weren’t.” As usual, she looked like a fashion model in her charcoal-gray long-sleeved shirt, matching flared pants, and, of course, black high heels. She also wore a black leather jacket and a black, gray, and white plaid scarf around her neck to ward off the October chill. “Aren’t you cold?”
He glanced down at his short-sleeved work shirt. “Naw. I like cool weather. Easier to work in.” He tapped the top of her car’s roof. “So what’s got her so wound up this time?”
Harper sighed and threw up her hands. “No idea. It’s been driving fine up until an hour ago. I left my office to go meet a client, and the engine light came on. By the time I got here, there was a banging noise coming from inside.”
“More like a knockin’ sound.”
“You could hear that?”
“Yep. Mind poppin’ the hood for me?” When she did, he lifted it. Took a look around at the engine, checked all the cables. From first glance everything appeared okay. He could tell this was going to be another mystery. “Don’t suppose you can leave her here with me again?”
“I figured I’d have to anyway.” She sighed. “My dream car is turning into a nightmare. But I’m not ready to give up on it.” She paused. “Are you?”
“Nope. I’ll stick with her as long as you need me to.”
“‘Her.’ Never thought of my car as a girl before.”
“Of course she is. Just look at her.” He ran his hand over the hood. “Refined. Classy. Sexy.”Just like her owner.
Wait. Where had that thought come from? He hadn’t seen Harper since he’d fixed her car after Anita’s wedding,but there’d been a few times shortly afterward when he thought about their dance. Not lately, though. When Harper Wilson was out of his sight, she was out of his mind.
“Hmm. I never thought of her as sexy either. I can see it now, though.” She smiled, but he could tell it was strained.
“I’ll get to her first thing in the mornin’,” he assured her, then frowned. “Just remembered that Hank borrowed my rental car for tonight. I can call him and ask him to bring it back so you can use it.”
She hesitated. “That’s okay. I can call an Uber.”
