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“They are.” She twists in her seat to face me, her gaze colliding with mine. “A word of advice. If you see a cop lurking around on a street corner or alleyway, run the other way. It happened to me once and I didn’t.”
I smash my lips together, sensing a sudden heaviness in the air. “What happened?”
She dismisses me with a flick of her wrist. “If I told you, you’d turn around and kick my ass out into the dirt.”
“I would not—”
“It’s happened before. A lot, actually.”
“Okay, but I’m not as judgey as some people.”
She forces a smile. “Let’s just start out with going to lunch and see where this little lunch buddy thing leads us, okay? If we end up becoming besties, I’ll totally tell you my sob story. But only if you promise to tell me yours.”
“I don’t tell anyone my sob story,” I confess as I turn onto the road. “Not even my sisters.”
“Yeah, but telling your siblings stuff can be harder than just telling a friend.” She fiddles with the volume on the stereo. “At least, I think so.”
I nod in agreement. “I actually agree with you.”
She presses her hand to her heart. “Aw, look at us. We’re like one step away from sharing all our secrets.”
I chuckle. “Maybe.” Inside, though, I’m not laughing.
Scarlett seems cool and everything but considering I’m working for her dad and not allowed to talk about it, I doubt we’re going to be sharing all our secrets with each other.
“So where are we going?” I ask when I realize I’m driving down the road without a clue as to where I’m supposed to be heading.
“It’s just a few blocks up.” She points out the window with her free hand, using her other to pull out her phone from the pocket of her jeans. “You’re going to love this place.”
“Does it have good food?”
“That and good service.”
“Awesome.” I speed up because I’m starving and driving slow drives me mad.
A few blocks later, per Scarlett’s instructions, I make a turn down a side road lined with mostly houses. My confusion only deepens when she instructs me to turn into an old auto shop nestled beside a bar and a two-story house that looks like its seen it’s fair share of decades.
“We’re having lunch at an auto shop?” I ask as I park near the air pumps and silence the engine.
She shakes her head and points to the bar. “We’re going in there.”
“But we’re not twenty-one.”
“The owners will be cool with it.” She reaches for the door handle, glancing at me funnily. “Have you never been in a bar before?”
I snort a laugh. “My dad’s an alcoholic, so yeah, I’ve been in bars before.”
She nods in understanding. The fact that I don’t have to explain to her why my dad’s alcoholism means I’ve gone into bars says a lot about her.
She shoves open the door. “Come on; you’re going to love the food here.” She hops out. “They have the best chicken wings.”
Grabbing my keys and phone, I climb out and bump the door shut. “Do you know the owners?” I ask as we cross the gravel parking lot of the auto shop and make our way toward the bar.
She nods. “They’re probably the closest thing to parents that me and my brothers have.” She gives me a sidelong glance as we veer down an alleyway that runs between the bar and the parking lot of the auto shop then hitches her finger in the direction of the auto shop. “Blaise, Alex, and Rhyland actually work there.”
“Oh yeah, I remember Blaise mentioning he worked at an auto shop.”
“So you have talked then?”
