Chapter Four
Seth
I straightened my spine and walked in; my hands shoved into the pockets of my jeans. “Good morning!” I exclaimed.
Troy looked up. “Good morning.”
“I brought you something new,” I added.
Troy’s eyes lit up as a grin tugged at his lips. He tilted his head and peered past me, a low whistle coming from between his teeth. “Is that—no, it can’t be.”
I grinned. “Oh, it can be. A Vincent Black Lightning. Want a look?”
“I’m assuming you brought it here to have work done?”
I nodded. “Yeah. It was kind of an impulse buy, to be completely honest with you. Just like the minks.”
I turned to the door, glancing out of the corner of my eye to see if Troy followed. He had. “The minks?” he asked.
With a grin, I held open the door and bowed.
Troy’s smile strained, and his eyes flashed with irritation.
He seemed completely immune to my charms. But maybe Troy was just slow to warm.
I’d discovered that sometimes, I was an acquired taste.
I threw people off-kilter. But usually, people came around.
“You bought a bunch of furs?” Troy added.
“Oh, no. I bought the minks. Live ones,” I replied. “See; I was at an auction, and there were minks. Thirty, if I remember right. They were going to be sold for their fur, and I just couldn’t sit there and let that happen. So, I bought them.”
“All of them?”
“All of them. I mean, I couldn’t just sit there knowing that—if I didn’t buy them—someone would kill them for their fur, and they just kept looking at me with those sad, little eyes. So, I took them home with me.”
“And how much money did that set you back?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just bid the highest and signed the slip. I let my accountant deal with it.”
“Do you still have all the minks, then?”
I stopped beside the bike and fondly patted the seat. “Nope!” I declared, looking at Troy, his eyes alight with interest as he took in the bike. “I found some friends to take them and make sure they were well taken care of.”
“That’s good,” Troy muttered, although I could tell he wasn’t really listening.
I stepped back and let Troy inspect the bike.
He kept leaning forward with his hand extended, like he wanted to touch my bike but couldn’t actually bring himself to do it.
I rocked back on my heels and looked at Troy, studying his profile.
He had a strong jawline, covered in a thin, even layer of dark stubble.
I felt a spark of envy. The few times I’d tried to grow my facial hair, it had grown all patchy and uneven.
He was a handsome creature, really. His black t-shirt pulled tightly against his broad, well-muscled chest.
“It’s a nice bike.”
“Yeah,” I said. “She’s a real beauty. I knew I couldn’t pass her up, or I might never see another one.”
A sky-blue Nissan Saturn pulled into the lot. Troy straightened immediately and walked to the car. And I most definitely did not notice that he had a nice ass, even in his ragged, too-loose jeans.
Okay, so I did notice. Maybe stared a bit. But just a little, a very respectable amount of ogling.
“She’s early,” Troy muttered.
I forced my gaze upwards in case he turned around and saw me looking him over. “Who?” I asked.
“Skye.”
Oh! The pretty brunette woman. I waited, as Troy walked over to the car. The passenger door opened, and a little girl jumped out, her caramel curls bouncing with every step. She looked to be eight or nine and was utterly adorable. Troy pulled her into a hug. “Hey, there’s my girl!” he exclaimed.
His daughter, maybe? If I squinted, I could maybe see hints of a resemblance between them.
She had the same crooked smile. “You won’t believe what I did at school today!
They had a guest speaker, and she works rescuing animals!
When I grow up, I want to do that! I want to take care of owls and raccoons! ”
“What happened to being an astronaut?” Troy asked.
“Well, I can do both!” the little girl replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Skye stepped out from the driver’s seat.
Today, she wore a tight, turquoise dress and strappy high heels.
I wondered what she did and if she always dressed like that.
She looked like a lawyer or maybe the editor of a fashion magazine.
But she clearly didn’t come from money. Even at a glance, I could tell that the star-shaped diamond earrings were clearly fake.
She walked around the back of the car, her heels clicking on the pavement.
She threw her arms around Troy and pulled him into a tight hug.
“Thanks for watching her for me. I’ll be back at eight.
I’ve got a—” Skye cut off abruptly, her attention darting to me.
“Oh! You were here last time, too, weren’t you? ”
“I was, indeed. Skye, right? I’m Seth.”
Just in case she’d forgotten, I’d save her the awkwardness of having to pretend she remembered my name.
“Oh, I remember you,” she said. “Did you bring another bike?”
“I did indeed!” I said, “One of my new babies!”
“Very nice,” Skye said, clearly faking interest. “Is it expensive?”
“It is. Rare, too,” I said.
“Mom says motorcycles are dangerous,” the little girl said, staring at me with wide, green eyes. “It drives her ca-razy. And all the men in our family are stuck on them.”
All the men in our family.
I glanced between Skye, noting the gold, diamond solitaire on her finger. Troy didn’t wear a ring. I’d noticed that the first time I met him, but then, Troy worked a lot with his hands. He probably pulled the ring off for work. Were he and Skye married?
Probably. And this must be their daughter. I felt a sudden flush of embarrassment for asking Troy for drinks. Admittedly, I didn’t know if Troy understood that I had romantic intentions. He was hard to read.
“Are they?” I asked, returning to the little girl’s question. “I’m the only person in my family who likes them.”
“Yeah,” Troy said. “On both sides.”
They had to be married.
He was a lucky man; Skye was a total bombshell.
Not that Troy was bad looking either. He was quite handsome in a rugged, mountain man kind of way, and at our first meeting, I might’ve stared more at his broad shoulders than I should’ve.
Either way, I needed to rein in any romantic interest and sexual intentions, of which I had many.
“So, you come from a long line of motorcycle connoisseurs, I see.”
“I wouldn’t call them that,” Troy replied.
“I would,” Skye said. “So, what brings you to the shop, Seth?”
“Do you mean generally?”
“I mean, are you new in town? I come here pretty often, dropping Jess off, so I know most of the regulars,” Skye replied, gesturing to the little girl.
Well, at first, I’d just been looking for a replacement for Mallory’s. But then, I’d seen Troy. Who was, unfortunately, married. Not that something like that would stop me from coming. Troy really does good work.
“I’m hoping to be a regular,” I replied. “I like to support small businesses; you see. I used to have my own mechanic, and I suppose I could—”
“Your own mechanic?” Jess asked, furrowing her brow.
“Sure. He lived on my parents’ estate.”
I paused, wondering if I should’ve worded that another way.
Obviously, I knew that most people didn’t come from money, and sometimes, I felt as though I came off as obnoxious about it, even though I didn’t intend to.
And there were always misconceptions and misunderstandings.
I didn’t want Troy and Skye thinking I lived like the hero in some sort of historical bodice ripper.
“It’s not nearly as grand as it sounds,” I added. “It’s out in Santa Monica.”
Skye let out a sharp, little laugh. “That sounds much grander than my cramped apartment. We’re looking at moving into something larger, but rent is insanely high in Bluehaven.”
I really didn’t, though. I lived in a penthouse, and all the payments came automatically out of my bank account. God, I didn’t even know how much my rent was.
“It’s ridiculous,” Troy muttered.
Skye nodded. “Anyway, I should be going. Eric doesn’t like to be kept waiting. I’ll see you later.”
She placed a quick kiss on Troy’s cheek and went back to the driver’s side of her car. “Bye, Seth!” she declared, giving me a small wave.
“Bye,” I echoed, putting my hands in my pockets.
Troy squeezed Jess’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go set up shop inside? I’m going to finish looking over Seth’s bike with him. Then, I’ll come back in. We can sneak you a soda from the customer fridge if Arthur isn’t looking.”
“Okay!” Jess chirped. “Nice meeting you, Seth!”
I winked. “You, too, Princess!” I replied.
Her light-up pink sneakers flashing as she skipped inside.
“She’s adorable,” I said, once Jess was inside the shop.
“Yeah, she is,” Troy replied. “A handful, though. I’m no good with kids.”
I was, but now, didn’t seem like the time to mention it.
“So, what did you want done with the bike?” Troy asked, crossing his arms. “She’s a real beauty. I’ll give you that. But if it’s anything that requires parts, that’s gonna be a special order. A pricey special order, just so you know.”
Troy cut his eyes toward me, seemingly judging my reaction. “Cost doesn’t matter. I just want her running.”
“Her, again?” Troy asked. “What is this one named?”
“I don’t know yet,” I replied, shrugging. “I’m thinking maybe Audrey. After Audrey Hepburn. That’s a very classy, old Hollywood kind of name. Just like the bike.”
“It’s fitting,” Troy muttered, crouching before the bike again. “You’ll want some body work, too? It might take a bit of work to match that exact black, but we have a guy—Matt. He’s pretty good at stuff like that. We can fix the scratches. Do you mind if I…?”
Troy trailed off and gestured to the bike.
“Do whatever you need to,” I replied.
Troy placed a hand, seemingly reverently, on the bike. I watched as his fingers, rough and cracked, moved along the polished black paint and the silvery hardware. “You drove her here?” Troy asked.
“I did.”
I nearly asked if he wanted to go on a ride but caught myself before the words left my mouth.
While drinks could be a friendly invitation, asking him to go on a ride with me sounded too intimate.
That would definitely be crossing a line, and the last thing I wanted to do was make Troy uncomfortable.
“She pulls a bit to the left,” I said instead. “I think there might be a warp in her frame.”
“And you drove her down here like that?” Troy asked, a hint of chastisement in his voice.
I grinned. “I was very careful. Promise.”
Troy muttered something under his breath that I couldn’t catch. His hand moved slowly over the bike, tracing every dent and scratch. He stood and swept around; his eyes locked on my bike with such a stunning intensity that it sent a shiver down my spine.
“This is going to be interesting,” Troy said. “I’ll have to run some diagnostics before I can tell you everything she needs, but… bent frame? I don’t know…”
“I’ve no doubt she’s in capable hands,” I replied, reaching into my coat and pulling out the keys. “Do whatever you need to. I saw what you did for Debbie, so I’m sure you’ll do right by Audrey, too.”
Troy took the keys and nodded. “So, did you want to wait? We’re backed up, so this might take a while.”
I shook my head. “I’ll Uber home.”
Troy frowned. “Couldn’t you just have someone drop off your bikes for you, so you don’t have to do that?”
Absolutely. But if I just had someone drop my bikes off, I wouldn’t be able to see Troy’s face light up when he looked at them. And it was so hard to find people who really appreciated motorcycles so much.
I grinned. “But where’s the fun in that?”