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He nodded, and I handed him cash.
When he returned with a soda, I asked, “No ice cream for you?”
Playing with his straw, he said, “Ice cream in soda is disgusting.”
Hailey smiled around her straw.
“Don’t say that word at the table.”
“What word? Disgusting?” Hailey asked.
“When you’ve gone through the trouble of making dinner when you usually don’t, and the only recipient of that meal says it’s gross or disgusting, you’ll say the same thing.”
She covered her laugh with her hand. “I can see how that would be irritating.”
When she recovered, she said, “Maybe you should teach him how to cook.”
Corey shook his head. “No way.”
She smiled at him. “Then he might appreciate the hard work that goes into it.”
I moved my straw around in my soda. “I’m not qualified to teach someone else to cook. I only know the basics.”
“That’s the best place to start. Everyone should know the basics,” Hailey said.
The idea of teaching Corey something as simple and necessary as cooking made me feel good. I wasn’t the one who taught him how to ride a bike, nor did I see his first steps, so to be more involved was nice. I could imagine teaching him how to drive when he was older, taking him to get his driver’s license. I wanted to be there for all his firsts from here on out.
ChapterNine
HAILEY
Things with Corey and Ryan had veered dangerously off course with youth football games and shared fountain sodas. If there were a guidebook outlining the scope of my duties as the best friend’s sister, I’d be completely off script.
I’d obviously lost my mind. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have agreed to gather my group of friends to attend the car maintenance class. He had me agreeing to all sorts of crazy outings and gatherings. I justified it to myself because it was better than being alone with him. That was the most dangerous thing I could do at this point.
I was falling for him and Corey, which was scary. I was going to get hurt. I knew that the same way I knew this class was going to be painful.
I’d obviously hadn’t spent a lot of time in their garage because when Ryan came out in his coveralls, I felt faint. I was woefully unprepared for the sight. I didn’t know it was a thing, but he filled out those coveralls. I wanted to push them off his shoulders, trailing my hands over the hard plane of his pecs, down his abs to his happy trail. I licked my suddenly dry lips, wishing I had a gallon of water to drown out my thoughts.
Brooke leaned closer. “You know, I thought this was going to be a waste of time, but now, I’m not so sure. How many mechanics work here?”
“And do they all look like that?” Sophie asked.
Ryan stopped in front of us, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement. He must have sensed their approval. “Ladies. Glad you could make it.”
“We’re happy to help out,” I said, feeling breathless.
I shouldn’t have invited my friends. What if one of them decided he was for her? Any of them would be a better fit than me. I had no reason to feel territorial about him. Nothing had happened between us.
“I’m glad you could make it.” Ryan continued talking, but I watched the line of scruff across his tight jaw as he spoke animatedly about cars. This was his passion. It reminded me of the way Jake had talked about his plans for the garage most of his life.
Ryan explained how the garage ran with scheduling, acquiring and anticipating which parts they’d need each week, and the order for which they worked on the cars. It was interesting despite my lack of interest in the inner workings of my brother’s garage.
He opened the hood of the car that had been sitting in the bay, and I was momentarily distracted by the hard, strong lines of his forearms. “Hailey, you want to be my assistant?”
I wiped my damp hands on my jeans. I didn’t enjoy being the center of attention, but I was especially nervous because the car stuff tended to go over my head.
When I moved to stand next to Ryan, he said, “I know Jake already showed you this stuff, so bear with me, okay?”
