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“You should know how to take care of yourself so you don’t have to rely on anyone else. Look where that got you this time.”
Her mouth flattened. “Can you please fix my lights without adding your opinions on my personal life?”
Nostrils flaring, she looked at me like I was just some random mechanic here to service her. I wasn’t a fan.
Had I met this version of her a year ago, I wouldn’t have looked twice, and I certainly wouldn’t have gone back to that bar, again and again, to spend the night in her sheets, devouring her from her pretty head to her soft, baby-pink-polished toes.
I gave her my bland customer service smile and tipped my chin. “That I can do, ma’am.”
Turning my back to her, I went to work on the lights, Nellie my captive audience. Her mom might’ve been a snob, but it hadn’t worn off on Nellie yet. She was sweet as could be and friendlier to a man she didn’t know than she should’ve been. She was my kid; I’d be wary about how open she was with a stranger.
Not that I was a danger.
I liked kids well enough, and this kid was cooler than most.
Once I got the lights unplugged, I let Nellie use my screwdriver. For a small thing, she was pretty dexterous, getting the hang of unscrewing a bolt right away.
“All right, little miss. You’re a natural.” I held up my hand, and she slapped it eagerly.
Behind us, her mom huffed. “I appreciate you showing her the basics, but her granddad can give her lessons on the weekends if she wants to learn.”
I glanced back at Uptight CeeCee. “Is this you telling me to work faster?”
She tucked her shiny hair behind one ear. “No. Well…not exactly. I’m telling you you don’t have to worry about teaching her. You can just do the light and—”
“I hear you. You want outta here.”
She didn’t correct me or say I was wrong, and the fact of the matter was I wanted out of this situation too. Awkwardness wasn’t my jam, and we were up to our ears in it.
Still, I’d promised Nellie I’d teach her how to change a bulb, so I narrated what I was doing. She sat on her knees, watching every step, nodding along like she understood.
It was cute as hell. I hoped her mom appreciated what a bright little girl she had.
Once I got through replacing both lights, I wiped my hands on the back of my coveralls and scooped Nellie out of the trunk.
I patted her head. “Nice to meet you, Miss Nellie.”
“Yeah! I’m going to have noodles now.”
Despite the thick air around us, I chuckled. “All right. Enjoy your dinner.”
CeeCee stepped between us, taking Nellie by the hand. Her eyes flashed to mine, something resembling panic swirling through the deep brown of her irises.
“Thank you so much for helping us.” She grazed her forehead with the tips of her fingers. “I just realized I only paid for the lights and not your labor. What do I owe you?”
My jaw went rigid, and I took a beat to inhale. “Don’t insult me with a question like that.” I tapped the roof of her vehicle. “Get your girl home. She wants her noodles.”
Without sticking around for her reply, I strode back to my shop, where things made sense.
There was a saying about never meeting your heroes—they should have also said never meet your fantasy in real life. Disappointment weighed on my shoulders. How could a woman who burned so hot be so cold outside the bedroom?
If I’d had more time on my hands, I might have tried to find out who’d done her so wrong she’d grown that thick, icy facade.
That wasn’t me, though.
I did not do complicated.
Chapter Six
