Chapter Four
T wo days later, Sloane had been on another date, and like her date with Flinn Isak, there was no spark with Ken Williams, a chef from a popular Italian restaurant in Durango.
And after a pleasant evening spent with him telling her all about his life in his hometown, if things worked out between them, she was certain he wouldn’t want to give up the position he’d worked so hard to achieve and move to Strawberry Ridge where his commute wouldn’t be ideal.
As her dad had told her just that morning when he called, she had to try on a lot of shoes to find the one that fit her the best. It was just that the whole dating process was wearing on the nerves.
Serial dating, it turned out, wasn’t her thing.
But if she wanted to find a husband this year who would adore her and who she could love back, socializing was what she had to do.
It was just that she’d gotten spoiled by having Jonas Lohmen for a best friend all these years.
He was easy on her senses. Always there when she needed him.
Good-looking. Strong in a way that made her the envy of her friends in college.
She rolled out from under the Silverado she was working on and wiped the grease from her hands on the rag hanging from her pocket. Leaning into the car, she started the engine. It purred like a happy cat. Sweet.
She’d been working on cars with her dad for as long as she could remember and loved it.
Even after they moved to Strawberry Ridge.
Looking back now, she recognized that he worried about her because she was pretty solitary as a kid and didn’t make friends easily after her mother, Tracy, left them.
She was in the first grade then and hadn’t heard from her mother since.
It didn’t matter. Her dad loved her and let her work with him as much as she wanted, which was basically every day. When he retired last year, she inherited the garage.
Over the years, her dad had set an example for what kind of parent she wanted to be. Never would she leave her child behind. Not for a million bucks or whatever it was that had motivated Tracy to leave them behind.
She moved the car into the fenced parking lot next to the garage.
Turning off the engine, she shrugged off her memory of the woman she rarely thought of these days.
As long as she had any say in it, her kids would have a mom and dad who would always be there for them, no matter what.
Maybe that was why she’d hung onto her crush on Jonas for so long.
She’d always believed he would be that kind of parent.
Even after he’d kicked Blake off the Triple L, he’d kept an eye on both his brothers—though from afar.
It didn’t matter. She had a lot of love to give, and she’d waited long enough to find someone who would appreciate that. Even with her rocky start, she was confident Perfect Match was the answer. As long as she could stop comparing the guys she dated to Jonas Lohmen.
Closing up for the day, she smoothed back the strands of hair that had worked free, more than ready to go home to her bungalow, put her feet up, and take another pass at finding someone who would take her mind off you-know-who.
A sleek turquoise Mercedes pulled up out front.
The woman who emerged was just as trim as her car, in form-hugging black slacks and a brown flowing top, cinched in with a double-wrapped belt at the waist. Her brown hair flowed straight past her shoulders.
“Can I help you?” she asked when the woman got close enough that Sloane didn’t have to shout.
The woman held out her hand, then saw the rag Sloane was wiping her hands with and let her hand drop. “Yes, I’m looking for Sloane Michaels. Is she here? I understand she owns this garage.”
“She does. I’m Sloane.” Squirting hand cleaner onto her palm, she grabbed a clean towel and motioned toward the Mercedes. “Nice car. Does it need some work?”
The woman looked over her shoulder at the Mercedes. “Oh, no. She had a tune-up in Denver last month.” The woman swung back around. “Do you have a moment to talk? My name’s Julieann Vincent. Maybe Jonas Lohmen mentioned me?”
Sloane shrugged. “Not that I recall.”
“He’s mentioned you. You’re his best friend, right?” Julieann asked, her sharp gaze taking Sloane in from messy hair to well-worn booted feet. “Is there someplace we can go and talk?”
“Um. Sure. The Strawberry Ridge Coffee Company is next door, but—”
Julieann smiled. “That’s great. I could use a cup of good coffee.”
Okay, she wasn’t going home to relax. Not yet. Sloane glanced down at her grease-smeared coveralls. “Let me get cleaned up first.”
“I can wait.” Julieann took a step farther into the garage and looked around.
In her office, Sloane closed the door. Luckily, she kept a change of clothes in the bottom drawer of her file cabinet for when unexpected situations came up.
Going to the bathroom, she washed up and replaced her coveralls for black stretch pants and a green, bohemian-style top.
Letting her hair down from the ponytail she kept it in when she was working, she pulled the long lengths over her shoulder and gave it a good brushing.
Julieann was waiting for her on the sidewalk. Unless a person was interested in fixing vehicles, there wasn’t much to see in the garage. She locked up. “I’m ready.”
They ordered their coffee before Sloane found a table in a corner where they could have a semblance of privacy. “How do you know Jonas?”
“We dated for a while.”
“I see.” She frowned at the other woman.
She figured Jonas dated, but he wasn’t a date-and-tell kind of guy, and she wasn’t curious enough to ask.
She just figured it was none of her business.
Julieann must be pretty determined if she’d driven all the way from Denver for a chat with his best friend.
Julieann turned her cup in slow circles before glancing up at Sloane. “I’m hoping you’ll do me a favor. You know, girl-to-girl? I thought if we talked and you got to know me, then you wouldn’t mind—”
Julieann’s chin went up. She didn’t like asking for favors, Sloane guessed. Probably with her chic style and obvious bravery in coming all this way, she’d never had to before this.
“I can’t promise anything,” Sloane said cautiously. Especially since it was clear this had something to do with Jonas.
“I know this sounds a little strange, and you have every right to turn me down, but well...” Julieann took a dainty sip of her coffee.
Sloane waited. “It’s just my brother, Charlie, and me.
Charlie is Jonas’s law partner until the sale of Jonas’s half of the practice to my brother goes through.
I’m in marketing. Our parents live in Switzerland.
..” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs.
“The thing is... I’m in love with Jonas and I want to marry him, but he says he’s not interested in getting married.
Someday, I think he could even be the Governor of Colorado. ”
The Governor of Colorado? Jonas? Of course he could. And he would need the kind of wife who could keep up with his status if that was his ambition, though Sloane wasn’t convinced it was.
“I’m not sure how I can help you. He’s telling you the truth. He’s not looking to get married that I know of.” Sloane was done with it now, but she had spent a lot of time wishing he would ask her to walk with him down the aisle.
Julieann tapped her manicured nails on the table. “You’re his best friend. You could put in a good word for me. He would listen to you.”
“I don’t think he would.” Sloane wouldn’t do that to Jonas. For a lot of reasons, but primarily because he deserved to pursue whoever he wanted, if he wanted a romance that went beyond friendship, not someone she took up the banner for. “You talked to Jonas about this?”
“Yes, but—”
Sloane’s cell rang. Surprised at the number on the screen, she said, “I need to take this. I’ll be right back.”
“Sure.” Julieann nodded, frowning as if unsure how to finish her sentence. It was that “but” that had Sloane worried.
Outside, keeping her eyes on the other woman, Sloane picked up the call. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Ken said. “I thought I’d call and see how you’re doing.”
Julieann began tapping her fingers again.
“I’m doing fine.” Shocked was a better word and confused that a girl who had dated Jonas was asking for her to approach him on her behalf. What a pickle, as her dad would say.
“Good.” Ken sounded unreasonably pleased. “I wondered if you want to go on another date.”
“Um...” Huh. This was getting weirder by the minute. “I’m kind of in the middle of something. Can I call you back?”
“Of course. No worries. I was thinking. Maybe we could go on a picnic.” Pans banged in the background. “I’d better go. The dinner rush is starting.”
“Okay. I’ll call you later.” She disconnected. Maybe the dating app was paying off after all, though she wasn’t sure Ken Williams, chef extraordinaire, was the guy for her. Still, she wouldn’t mind another date to find out.
Heading back to Julieann, her footsteps slowed. Maybe a second chance for Ken or Julieann wasn’t such a good idea. She sat before she could make her excuses and run as fast as she could in the opposite direction.
“What do you think?” Julieann gave her a practiced smile.
Sloane countered, “What did Jonas say when you talked to him?”
“He said he liked me”—she huffed—“but he doesn’t love me. Or something like that.”
“I think you have your answer, then.” Sloane rested on her elbows. She wasn’t the only woman who had feelings for her best friend. “I don’t know what I would say that would change his mind.”
“Won’t you at least try? I’d be good for him. I’m easy on the senses, I think, and could help him get more of the right clients. I will support him in whatever he wants to do with his career.”
“Even if he wants to move his law practice to Strawberry Ridge?”
Julieann’s brows arched. “Why would he do that? Denver is a great city to be a lawyer in.”