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The corner of his lip lifted. “Well… that’s a long story. Sort of. I hated knowing it was at Papa Tony’s. He’s such a rip off and a scam artist. My dad’s place—”
“Your dad’s luxury dealership that services everyone in Fairview,” I interrupted.
He paused, a frown replacing the sly smile from a moment ago. His entire demeanor changed when I said that. He went from casual and joyful to almost defeated.
“Um, yeah. Anyway. We get a lot of cars in the shop from Papa Tony’s shotty service. When I found out yours was there, I… kind of went to investigate. I swear, I only did it to make sure he wasn’t taking advantage of you. Especially after you said he was charging an extra hundred.” Charlie reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, now staring at his shoes instead of me. “When I got there, I saw he was keeping it for no reasonandovercharging you for a crap job.”
None of this was making any sense. First off,whywould someone like Charlie even care where my car was or what state it was in? Regardless if his father owned a dealership?
Second…howdid he get my car from Tony’s to his house without me knowing?
“So, you stole it,” I said, that being the only thing I could come up with. Why didn’t Tony tell me someone took the car from his shop? The more time I spent thinking about it, the more questions I had and the more upset I became. All I wanted were the keys so I could get out of here, find somewhere to chill, and forget this day happened.
“What?” Charlie spat out, now looking at me as ifIwere the crazy one. “No. Why would I steal it? That’s insane. Look,” he started, taking a breath, and coming to stand in front of me. “I paid Tony for the job he did. Which was literally nothing. Then I took it back to our dealership shop and fixed it. Therightway. I mean, in the way where it won’t crap out on you in three months. Tony was not only up charging you, but he didn’t even completely fix the main issue. That’s his scam.”
“And?” There had to be more, but my mind was focused on one thing.
“I washed it, waxed it, and brought it back here. To surprise you…” he drifted off, sounding a bit more defeated by his surprise than he had been a moment ago.
I couldn’t help myself. “Youpaidhim? The full amount?”
Charlie nodded, having the courtesy of looking slightly embarrassed about it. “And the extra he was trying to swindle you out of, so he would let the car go.”
I stared at him, not blinking. Then I broke out into hysterical laughter. It was cute, how he tried to do the right thing, but…
“Look, soccer boy, you’re the one who got swindled here. Nobody pays Papa Tony the full amount. Everyone knows he does crap work, but he does it for cheap. He tries to raise his prices, but no one pays for it. Yeah, we gotta keep going back for fixes, but who doesn’t?”
Charlie brows knitted, obviously confused and upset. But it was the frown on his face that made me stop laughing. He looked like a kid at a birthday party whose cake got dropped on the way over to the table.
“Well, it’s yours now,” he said softly, walking over to the door that led into the house and grabbed a set of keys. He tossed them to me and I caught them easily. “It’s safe to drive. And it’ll last. You won’t have to go back to Tony. If you have an issue… call me first. Please. Don’t go to him again.”
He didn’t come back over. He stayed in the doorframe looking at me, his face completely crestfallen.
I rounded the car to the driver’s side. We were only a few feet away from each other, but the entire mood of the afternoon had changed.
Because of me. Again. I screwed up something he was proud of. But I couldn’t leave without knowing one more thing.
“Why?” I asked as I opened the driver’s door and threw my bag in. This whole thing didn’t make any sense to me.
Charlie shrugged and leaned against the wall, his hands still in his pockets. “Because it was a nice thing to do? Because I wanted you to have your car back and for it to be safe?”
I nodded, understanding it in the only way I knew—charity. He thought helping me with my car could count as an act of charity. A rich Fairview guy taking pity on the poor Teller girl.
One last thought crossed my mind before I climbed in. “Is this because I’m your coach’s daughter?”
Charlie stepped back, as if I smacked him. Then his face fell again, looking even sadder than ever. “No. Because I thought you’d like the surprise. Just… take it.” He jutted his chin toward me, a message of finality in his tone.
I kept my gaze locked on him for another beat, watching as he hardened his features and shut me completely out.
So I did what he said. I got in, backed out, and left.
I didn’t have to look back to know he was watching. That he most likely stood in the driveway, eyes on me as I drove away.
Chapter 12
Charlie
“Bro, what areyoudoing? Why did you let him get past you?” Eric shouted, flopping backward on the couch with a sigh. “Game over, man. Thanks.”
