Page 24 of All I Feel

Phoenix nodded, his eyes on the damage. “Yep. Anyway, since they’re here for a while, he didn’t want to leave the truck like this. He did some research, found us, and called. Faye’s dealing with his insurance company now, but once that gets worked out, I told him we’d get right on it.”

I shook my head. “What a nightmare to deal with on vacation.”

“Tell me about it. Anyway, until we work out everything with the insurance for this, we’ve got plenty to keep us busy.”

“It’d probably be less than all that’s in this shop if you’d leave Faye alone long enough to do her job while you do yours.”

My best friend rolled his eyes again. “Oh, shut up.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tease you about it any longer today. I’ve got work to get done.”

“Why? Are you in a rush to get out of here?”

I shook my head. “No rush.”

“No plans tonight?”

“What do you think I’ve got up my sleeve, Phoenix?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure there isn’t someone?”

I didn’t want to lie to him.

But I couldn’t tell him the truth.

“Fine. I’m having dinner with someone tonight.”

His brows shot up in surprise. “Are you serious? That’s awesome. Who is she? Anyone I know?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, man. We’re just hanging out as friends tonight. It’s nothing serious.”

“Are you saying you don’t want it to be?”

I didn’t respond.

Phoenix took my silence as his answer. “You want it to be serious. So, tell me about her.”

I inhaled deeply before letting out a big breath. “If it goes from friendship to something serious, I promise I’ll tell you about her.”

“Ah, whatever. I’ve got to get to work.”

Needing to do precisely the same, I kept quiet and turned in the opposite direction to head over to the project I’d been working on earlier.

Then I did my best to stay focused so I could get out of here on time in order to see Tessa.

If only Phoenix knew where I was going to be spending my evening…

SEVEN

TESSA

Aceand I were sitting among a plethora of half-empty Chinese food containers, and it was the happiest I’d felt in days. There was something about being here with him, doing something so normal, that allowed some peace to settle inside me.

Just as he’d promised, Ace arrived right around six with dinner, a game, and a handsome smile. It had been hours since I last ate, so I didn’t waste any time the moment he spread everything out on the table. Fortunately, Ace appeared to be just as famished, so he dove right in, and the two of us ate in comfortable silence for a while.

After some time had passed and those hunger pangs had eased, Ace asked about how the rest of my day had gone. “Great,” I said. “No unwanted visitors,andI had a couple of walk-ins who were interested in scheduling nail appointments. I was able to get one scheduled for next Mondaymorning, and the other for Wednesday afternoon. They were both new clients.”

“That’s great,” he replied. “Keeping busy while growing your business is never a bad thing.”