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Then he winked, and everything inside of me melted. The sweet look in his eye was potent and made me feel like we were the only ones in the room. It was risky because my friends were watching every move, and I knew they’d be dissecting our interactions later.
He smelled like oil and man; his strong and clearly capable hands unscrewed the oil cap. At least, I think that’s what it was. I was fairly certain he said something about dipsticks, but I couldn’t concentrate. That word always seemed silly to me anyway. Then my mind wandered to what Ryan’s dick would look like. I swallowed hard.
“Got it?”
“Uh-huh.” I panicked. I hadn’t absorbed anything he said, and he was going to ask me to demonstrate to the group.
“Before I ask you to try it yourself, I should get Corey over here so he can get a group started on the next car.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as Corey shuffled over to us.
“Now, Corey knows how to do this himself. I showed him when he was five.” Ryan turned back to the group of women, and there was a collective sigh.
Ryan showing his five-year-old boy how to change oil was the epitome of sweet. I wish he’d lived closer so I could have seen him then. A longing for a child of my own took hold and tugged at my heart strings.
I ignored the images that popped into my head of a five-year-old Corey begging his father to show him how to do things in his garage so that I could pay attention to Ryan’s second explanation.
I wondered if he’d repeated his instructions, knowing I’d tuned out. Hopefully, he didn’t know the real reason—that I was attracted to everything Ryan said and did.
There was a fleeting thought that I was just attracted to a man who did things for himself. I’d dated a string of boys who couldn’t seem to hold down a job or move from the couch when the TV was on.
Ryan finished the demonstration, splitting the group in two so that Corey could lead the other half.
Then he turned to me. “It’s your turn. I hope you were paying attention.”
“I think I’ve got it.” I ran through the steps in my head. Unscrew the yellow cap, pull out the dipstick, check the level. It seemed easy enough. I wasn’t sure why Jake used to get so frustrated with me.
I licked my lips and pointed at the cap. “It’s this one?”
Ryan shifted closer, tapping his shoulder with mine. He’d effectively blocked out the view for the rest of the group.
I didn’t want to do anything wrong, but I sensed his reaction would be different than Jake’s.
“You’ve got this.” His tone was confident.
Believing him, I poised my hand above the yellow cap. When I looked up at him, he nodded in encouragement. I unscrewed the cap, lifting the dipstick to check the level.
“Is this car in good shape?” Ryan asked me.
I cleared my throat. “It looks a little low to me.”
“She’s right. It’s a little low. I wouldn’t do a full oil change yet, but I’d keep an eye on it,” Ryan said over his shoulder to the group. Then he turned to me, touching my back briefly, and leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Good job.”
I smiled up at him, the warmth of his smile heating my entire body. A tingling started at my neck and traveled down my spine. I wished we were alone. I felt so good about myself, I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down for a kiss.
Surprised by my instincts, I stepped away. I needed some space from him. Besides, it was Brooke’s turn.
When I passed her, she gave me a look, letting me know she’d be asking me questions later, but I didn’t care. I was happy Ryan had taken the time to show me how to do it twice and that he hadn’t lost patience with me.
I watched him work with the rest of the group. He seemed to leave more space between them, and he didn’t touch the others, or whisper in anyone’s ear. Was it wrong to think I was special? That he felt something for me? Something more than just friendship?
“These days, most cars have sensors that alert you if something is wrong, but it’s always good to know how to check it yourself. Let’s go over how to check air pressure. If you don’t have a sensor, this is a tire pressure gauge.” He demonstrated how to remove the valve cap and use the gauge, mentioning acceptable limits. He told us there was a machine out front that we could use, and any one of the guys would be happy to help us if we were too nervous to do it ourselves.
Brooke raised her brows at me, and I knew she was wondering if Harbor Garage would have women dropping by, suddenly needing help with their car just to flirt with hot guys. I stifled a laugh, even as a pit formed in my stomach.
Though I didn’t have a claim on Ryan, I didn’t like the idea of women dropping by to flirt with him.
“We have a few minutes left; let me show you how to change your cabin and air filters, that way, the next time some guy at the dealership tells you that you need to replace it, you can do it yourself.”
