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My entire body tenses. Time ceases to exist. The one person I never expected to see is standing in my shop. And she looks the same as she did all those years ago.
“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to say hi?”
I crash down to Earth with a heavy thud. There’s extra sass in her voice. One I’m all too familiar with.
“What are you doing here, Stevie?” My voice is stern. I shouldn’t be surprised to see her here, yet I’m surprised to see her here.
“Really? After all these years, this is how you’re going to greet me?” She sashays toward me. Her knee-high black boots clack against the cement. She holds her arms out toward me. Before we’re toe to toe, I sidestep her. “I guess it is going to be like that.” She crosses her arms over her chest and pops her hip.
“I’m not going to ask again, Stevie. Why are you here?” I cross my arms over my chest, mimicking her pose.
“I wanted to see you.” She softens her voice, but I’m not buying it.
“Are you fucking kidding me? I haven’t seen you in five years and even then, it was more of a passing nod. Then you just show up at my shop, expecting a welcome home party?” I grit through my teeth.
“You know what? Clearly, I’m not wanted here, so I’ll go.” She spins around and stomps toward the open overhead garage door.
I lift my face toward the ceiling. If I knew what was good for me, I’d let her walk out of here, but I can’t. For Archie. I blow out an exasperated huff. “Wait.” Stevie stops in her tracks, almost as if she was waiting for me to say something.
Slowly, she twists around to face me. The slight crinkle in her eye gives her away. Son of a bitch. She played me.
“Be straight with me. Why are you here?”
She saunters the few steps until she’s standing in front of me. “I need to be somewhere that feels like home.”
“So why didn’t you go see your dad?”
“Because I wanted to see you.” She takes a step closer and drags a finger down the front of my shirt.
I clasp her wrist, stopping her progress. “Not happening.” Her bottom lip juts out. I drop her wrist and her arm falls to her side. “I’m going to call Archie. Let him know where you are.”
“No need. I called him before I got here. It will be a few days before he’s back. Who knew he’d send out a search party for me?” She shrugs.
My blood boils from her nonchalance. I take a step closer to her, my face inches from her, and I spit out, “Do you think of anyone besides yourself?”
She bats her eyelashes. “I thought about you. That’s why I’m here.”
All I can do is snarl my lip and shake my head. “I’m calling Archie and letting him know myself. Don’t move.” Without waiting for any response, I stomp to the other side of the garage. Jay and another mechanic, Mike, are staring at me as I pass. I glare at them, and they scurry to busy themselves as if they weren’t watching the shit show that just went down.
When I reach my office, I kick my door shut and pull out my phone. Quickly, I dial Archie and, sure enough, he confirms Stevie talked to him and he’ll come pick her up in a few days. Then he asked me to watch over her until he returns. Of course, I told him I would. But she’s a grown woman. She shouldn’t need babysitting.
After I hang up with Archie, I make my way to the garage. Stevie’s still standing where I left her, swirling a strand of her sleek, midnight black locks around her finger as she pouts her lips. It’s the same look she would flash me all those years ago that would have me ravishing her body in seconds. Now…nothing.
“Archie confirmed your story.”
“Did you think I was lying?”
I narrow my eyes at her.
“Okay. Okay. That’s all in the past.” She prowls toward me. “So, am I staying at your place while I wait for my dad?”
Fuck. She’s going to need a place to stay. I don’t trust her at my house, but I need her close to keep an eye on her.
“You can stay in the garage.”
She glances around the shop and her lip curls. “Really? The garage? Am I some sort of dog or something?”
