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I’m flat on my back under a Subaru—it’s where I’ve been for the last three hours. I’m ready for a shower, a beer, and my bed—not necessarily in that order. Sliding out from under the little silver hatchback, I stand with a groan.
“Where have you been?” Jagger asks.
“What do you mean ‘where have I been?’” I gesture around the shop. “I’ve been busy running a business. You might want to try it sometime.”
He completely ignores the snarky comment and focuses on the excuse. Because that’s exactly what it was—an excuse.
“You’ve been hiding for the last few days.”
Four days, twenty hours, and a handful of minutes. Not that I’m counting.
“I’ve been busy.”
I lift my hand but pause halfway to rubbing my neck. It’s covered with grease and grime from the engine. Shifting tactics, I head for the sink and start to scrub.
“Sure you’re not avoiding Jade?”
With the mention of her name, the memory of our kiss in the bathroom slams into me full force. The little whimper she made when I dug my fingers into her hips, the sweet, chocolate taste from dessert. Gone was the flavor of strawberry lip gloss. Kissing Jade was the worst kind of addiction—one I didn’t want to recover from.
The kiss had been a surprise. I hadn’t gone into the bathroom prepared for it. And then I couldn’t get it off my mind after I returned to the ballroom where the reunion was being held. It had killed me to witness her interact with her date. He was all wrong for her. Too many times I’d had to stop myself from stalking over there and laying claim to her. She wasn’t mine.
Not yet.
But first I have to convince her to give me a second chance. Pretty hard to do given that she already has a boyfriend. The image of the two of them together is finally what drove me to make an excuse to Jagger and cut out of the celebration.
“Why would I avoid Jade?”
Did he know about the kiss?
Jagger huffs a laugh.
“Maybe because that’s what you’ve been doing for the last year.”
“I haven’t been avoiding her.”
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
What the hell was I supposed to say to her? I’m sorry I was a dick and broke your heart twelve years ago, but I want a second chance? Shehasa boyfriend and I am not that guy.
You kissed her.
She kissed me. It was a technicality. But one I am not going to repeat until I know that she is single again.
What makes you think she’ll break up with him?
The phantom prick of Jade’s nails scratches along my scalp, and a shiver works its way down my spine.
“I think they’re as clean as they’re going to get.”
“Huh?”
“Your hands. You’ve been washing them for five minutes.”
I glance down, and sure enough, the layer of grease from the day’s work is scrubbed clean. There are still some stains, but they’ve been there since high school and they’re not going anywhere no matter how much I scrub.
“Do you want to know what I heard?” he asks.
“Since when did you become the town gossip?”
