At the end of the drive, the Zippy driver is waiting for me, and I hurry over. Settled up inside, I pull out my phone and shoot Gray a quick message.
ME: Heading out early. See you when I get back.
He’s still sleeping, no doubt. After last night, we didn’t say much more to each other except ‘goodnight’ and then went our separate ways. It was pretty clear that we both had things to think about. With a sigh, my head hits the back seat with a soft thunk. There’s enough time between now and Tyler’s garage to relive every single spoken second of our conversation, which is twice as frustrating as it was a few hours ago.
He’s so annoying. I pout.
There was so much more to his life that I wanted to know about, especially the parts about Francesca. The timing didn’t feel right, though, and he didn’t appear to be in the best mindset for prying. It wouldn’t have been right to flay his emotions wide open like that, not in public, and certainly not after learning his ex-boyfriend is back in town. Besides, Francesca felt special. Gray had this look in his eye, however small the mention, that leaned toward something more than friendship. She meant something to him in a way that I didn’t understand.
Did Dante have something to do with her death?I wonder. The answer to that should be obvious.
Soon enough, the car starts to slow, and I realize we’ve reached our destination. Morning light streams through the large glass windows of a sleek garage. There are cars on lifts and some pulled in with their hoods half-open. As we pull closer, I instruct my driver to drop me off by the doors of the shop. There are a few people waiting inside, and I wave to the girl behind the desk. Normally, I would go in to chat, but I’m itching to get behind the wheel of my own car for once.
As I stroll up to the open garage, I spot Tyler bent over an older car with one of his guys.
“Tyler!” I shout above the music blaring from a nearby stereo. A few of the guys look over, which draws Tyler’s attention, too.
“Amelia!” Tyler’s curly blonde head pops up from the engine. A wide, dimpled smile breaks out across his face. He’s so cute that it still makes my stomach double-flip.
When I first brought my car in, I was somewhat shocked. It had been years since we had seen each other face-to-face. If it wasn’t for the black-rimmed glasses and the vintage ‘Star Wars’ tee peeking out of his coveralls, I would have thought he was someone else entirely. Tyler used to be the nerdiest guy, and despite the addition of tattoos over the years, it was nice to see that he never did ditch the vibe completely.
“Millie,” I correct him. I hate my given name. It’s the same as my mom’s, and outside of being the worst parent ever, she’s also a narcissist. Gran called me Millie once I moved in with her, and it stuck ever since.
Tyler grins as he grabs a rag to wipe off his greasy hands. “Sorry about that. I do it every time you come in, don’t I?”
“You do.” I nod. “It’s okay. I keep forgetting my name tag.”
He laughs at that and then runs a hand through his blonde curls, messing them up entirely. In truth, I don’t mind when it comes to him. Not only did I take his virginity, but he’s known me the longest, which means he knows about my mom. In fact, he witnessed her bullshit firsthand. She once tried to pull me out of school one time to borrow my car after getting dumped by her fourth boyfriend in eight weeks. Tyler walked me out to meet her so I could give her the keys, and then drove me home later to my Gran’s. I was a sobbing mess.
“Come on,” he says, jabbing a thumb toward the full lot. “I parked you over here.”
“So, how did she do?” I ask as he leads me over to my car.
“I won’t lie, she gave me some trouble in the first half. Could barely get the top off her to check her engine at first.”
I snort.At least my car is conservative.
“Keys are tucked up in the visor,” he says as I open the door and slide into the front seat. When I start the engine, a sigh of relief follows. Its low, steady hum tells me that he’s solved every single problem. Before, it would click and wheeze like it needed an aspirator and not a new transmission.
“She sounds so much better.” I relax against the seat, then look back up at him. “I don’t know what you did, but you worked magic.”
He grins from ear to ear and gives a shy shrug. “There are a lot of logistics, but yeah, we’ll stick with magic.”
“Good, because I wouldn’t understand a word of it,” I say, then climb back out. “So, should I expect you tonight at the club then?”
“Hell yeah!” he perks.
“Great! First round is on me.” I wink. “And don’t forget to bring your buddies.”
A glance back at the garage reveals that a few of them are watching us. I give a little wave and then we say our goodbyes for now. Tyler is already back to work when I’m driving away. It’s such an easy, normal interaction that I could almost forget about last night entirely.
At the start of my shift, I felt incredible. The outfit I chose tonight features a sexy little thong with a high-rise hip and a balconette bra that always makes my big chest look less like a uni-boob and more like two perfectly cupped pearls. I pulled it all together with a sheer body-con that stops just below the swell of my ass. Everything but the thong and heels would be gone by the end of the night, but that didn’t stop me from feeling hot.
I felt a little more vigilant than usual, too, but that was okay. At least, I told myself it was okay. I tried to hang onto the high I had this afternoon for as long as I could, which lasted right until ten o’clock. Tyler and his guys showed up, as expected, but they took the VIP room that I’d been in the night before. The one Dante used to ambush me with his crew of vampires. To say I was a little shaken up before going in was an understatement.
“You want me to go in with you?” Allie, one of the girls working tonight, stops by me at the bar. “That’s a big group.”
It is. Tyler brought ten guys with him. It was already shaping up to be a busy night, and that group alone would be a lot bymyself. But that isn’t why I’m taking so long at the bar. What I’m trying to do is steady my breathing and keep my hands from shaking the tray I loaded down with liquor all over the floor.
