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“Whatever, I guess it’s sweaty everywhere. But that’s within your power, Mr. Landlord Man. Fix it.” I turn on my heel, but before I can take a step, Luke’s gloved hand is grasped around my elbow, stopping my progress. “What?” I shake him off as hewalks around to face me again.
“Hold on.” Luke’s normally harsh brows crease with concern. “It’s not safe for you to walk in here.”
“I walked all the way from there,” I use my finger to draw a path in the air from the garage door to my feet, “over to here, my guy. I assure you, it’s fine.”
Luke follows my gesture and stares at my feet for a moment before he reaches down and picks up a rusty nail that’s an inch away from my tan checkered slip-on Vans. He holds it out in his palm for my inspection as he stands up. “It’s a wonder you didn’t step on anything. You could have gotten seriously hurt.”
I scan his shop. Its footprint is a mirror image of mine, with the front being a bit narrower than the back. This is the first time I’ve been over here since Luke took over. The carpet has all been ripped up, the brick walls are exposed again, although some are covered with paint, and there are piles of broken-down construction trash against the far wall where Devon’s desk was supposed to go.
With the furniture from the gift shop gone, there’s nothing obstructing the view ofTurbine. He’s got a direct view from the front door to Brian reading the paper in his rust-colored leather chair, to the plants hanging in front of the far window above the self-service station that needs napkins restocked, to Hector, watching us with rapt attention at the bar, all the way down the entire length of my white quartz counter.Lovely.
Putting my hands on my hips, I tip my chin up at him. “Well, I didn’t. Now, why the fuck don’t you have the A/C turned on?”
He tosses the nail into a trash can a few feet away. “It broke this morning. There’s someone coming in a couple hours to fix it.”
“A couple hours?” I throw my hands up in frustration. “It’ll be a hundred degrees over there by then.” Lookingthrough the window shows me Hector watching with rapt attention at the bar.Great.“You should have told me.”
“I should have. I’m sorry about that.” His tone is patient and calm, and he doesn’t even argue back.Doesn’t anything upset this man?
“Fine.” I try to take a step toward the back door, and he blocks me with his sweaty muscular frame.
“You can’t walk out in those shoes.”
That nail did look nasty, but how the hell else am I getting out of here? “I will be very careful and watch every step,” I say placatingly as I try to leave again. Instead of moving out of my way, he steps in closer.
“It’s not safe for you to walk.” His voice is low, intended as a demand.Too bad.
“Cool. I’ll just learn how to fly real quick.” I jump in place and flap my arms in an approximation of flying before I try to step past him again.
Luke smirks. “You’re very stubborn.” Before I can respond, he’s ducked down low, but instead of picking up more sharp things from the ground to clear my path, he wraps his arms behind my knees and throws me over his shoulder.
“What the fuck?” I shriek as he makes his way toward the garage door in the back of his shop. I try to squirm out of his hold, but he has my thighs pressed too firmly against his chest to get anywhere. His shoulders lift up and down against my stomach. “Are youlaughingat me right now?”
His body moves with the rumble of his laughter, and I feel it in every inch where he’s pressing our bodies together. “It’s hard not to. You’re being ridiculous.”
“I’mbeing ridiculous? Put me down!”I will never forgive him for this.
“Next time, be more careful.” We’ve reached the parkinglot, and he plops me down on the asphalt, holding his hands out to help me find my balance. I ignore them.Like hell, I’m letting him touch me again.I’d rather fall over.
“I am covered in your sweat now.” His shirt was soaked from working in the sun without an A/C reprieve, and now I can smell him on me. It’s not awful.What? No.I refuse to believe that his sweat smells good. I definitely don’t like it.Nope, not at all.It’s not surprisingly pleasant. Or comforting. Or warm and strong.I hate it.
He eyes me skeptically. “A little sweat is better than a tetanus shot and bloody feet.”
I blow out an exasperated breath, trying to remember if I have a spare shirt in my car. “You’re intolerable.”
“Thanks for stopping by, sweetheart.” He chuckles lightly and turns around, moving back into his shop. I’m staring after him in frustration when I catch the sight of Betty out of the corner of my eye. She’s lying on the cool concrete floor in Luke’s office next to her bed, directly in front of a fan. She doesn’t get up to greet me, only lifts her head and sniffs the air. “Yeah, I’m sure I smell like him. Don’t rub it in.” She wags her tail. “I do not understand how you live that with that man.”
Chapter 4
Luke
“You learn more about people when they think no one’s watching than you do in most conversations.”-Grandad Ernie, explaining to nine-year-old Luke the benefit of patrons sometimes treating bartenders like they’re invisible.
Betty and I get to Station 19 well before the sun comes up. It’s warmer inside than usual when I unlock the door.Is the A/C broken again already?Allie’s going to be pissed. But the lights don’t flicker on when I flip the switch, either.Well, shit.I check a few other switches and confirm the power is out on my side, but the red lights on the espresso machine next door and the safety light in the back hallway by her office shine in the dark, so Allie should be fine.
The breaker box on the wall by the dumpster in the back parking lot reveals a few of mine must have flipped in the night. Maybe there was a power surge.Easy fix.
It’s too early for overhead fluorescence, so I only turn on the dim light by the back door and move to the leather couch by thewindowed wall to get some work done on my laptop. It would be a hell of a lot easier with some coffee in my system, but Allie won’t be unlocking her doors for another half hour.
