Chapter 3
Missy
Jesus H., the way this man was talking about going to bed had me so worked up I could cry. It wasn’t my eyes that were wet, though. It was bad enough he saw my little performance in the driveway.
Hat backward. Shoulders wide. Biceps shoving the sleeves of his shirt up and out of the way. Do sexy mechanic calendars exist? If not, they really should. He had me rattled, and I struggled to come up with a response to his loaded statement. I was saved from replying by the arrival of Sam.
“Sorry, Missy, we have to make a trip to Kamloops. AJ’s condo is up for sale, and we have to sort a few things out in person before the baby comes.”
I nodded, and my stomach tensed. Of course. These people have lives, businesses, a baby on the way. They didn’t have time to cater to my problems. AJ came out the front door with Sophia in her arms and handed her to me.
“I’m sorry,” AJ said. “We have to go, but if you can’t get your car fixed today, or if it’s too late to make the drive, just stay here. The guest room is made up, and we have a crib set up for when our little one arrives that Sophia can sleep in.”
She handed me a house key, and I took it dumbly.
They were offering their house? I thought of my mother, who wouldn’t talk to me unless I agreed to marry Stephen, and Stephen, who wouldn’t take time off work to come to his daughter’s medical appointment.
I fought back tears. Was this what having a supportive friend felt like?
AJ turned her attention to Blair. “I trust you won’t let her drive anywhere until this thing is one-hundred-percent road worthy.” It wasn’t a question, and it certainly didn’t invite any argument. I swallowed hard, the tears really trying to escape now.
He gave AJ a nod and flashed me a suspiciously bright smile. “I’ll take good care of her.”
Whether the her he was referring to was me or my car, I had no idea. I had a strong preference, though. And just like that, they were gone and it was only me, Sophia, and the flirt with a toolbox in his hand.
******
I woke with a start and tried to blink away the fog of sleep.
Having a baby who hadn’t started sleeping through the night meant I was used to falling asleep all over the house and stumbling around in a daze.
I glanced around, trying to get my bearings.
I was curled up on my side, on a couch that wasn’t mine, with a soft crocheted blanket draped over my legs.
Normally, I would wake to the sound of Sophia howling for a bottle or a diaper change, but all I could hear was the soft murmur of a very deep male voice.
“Orange. This is an orange. Can you say orange?”
A feeling of panic started to rise in my chest, and I bolted upright.
“Hey, sleeping beauty.”
Blair was sitting on the floor of the living room, back against a chair, long legs stretched out in front of him. Sophia was sitting next to him on a blanket, a sock in one hand and one of her books spread out before her.
“What’s going on?” My eyes swept over my daughter. Her eyes connected with mine and she shoved the end of the sock in her mouth.
Blair pushed himself up to stand. “Well, I came inside to talk to you about your car and found you snoring and drooling on the couch.”
I resisted the urge to swipe a hand across my chin in case he wasn’t teasing.
“Little Sophia here was starting to fuss, so I figured I could keep her company until you woke up.”
For the second—or was it third—time today, I felt a twinge in my chest at what it must be like for someone to have your back.
My shoulders relaxed. “You didn’t have to do that.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “I had fun hanging out with her, and besides, you look really cute when you sleep.”
My mother’s insistence that I always had to look my best ran through my mind.
I’m sure my hair was a mess and my dress all wrinkled.
Her advice hadn’t exactly worked out for me with Stephen, so I pushed all thoughts of her aside.
Blair didn’t seem to care, and besides, I stopped in Hope for help with my car, not a date.
Stephen and I had been broken up for three months now, at least officially.
It was clear even when I was still pregnant that things weren’t going to last. He needed a prop, and I wanted a partner.
“So you have news about the car?” I asked.
He cleared his throat and nodded. “Yeah, you need new spark plugs. Really not a big deal. It only takes a few minutes to do. The problem is that the auto parts store is already closed for the day. I’ll have to get them for you tomorrow.
The store is open at eight; it’s about a twenty-minute drive or so, on the other side of town. ”
I chewed my lip as I digested this information.
I should have taken the stupid thing in a few months ago to keep it on its maintenance schedule.
I hadn’t had the time, the energy, or, frankly, the money to do it.
Stephen wanted to keep up appearances, but once I wasn’t on his arm, I was on my own when it came to expenses.
The urge to panic was strong, but so much had changed in my life since Sophia came along that it quickly faded.
AJ had offered, insisted even, that I stay here while they were gone.
I’d planned to be here a few days anyway, so I had bags packed.
So long as I could reschedule Sophia’s pre-surgery consult, then it should be okay.
I had a place to stay, and I had a good-looking man offering to fix my car.
“I guess I am staying in Hope then.”