Chapter 7 #2
I’m about to ask her if she likes that type of thing when the shop door bangs open, and Rob bursts through, whistling loudly. He stops, his eyes bouncing between me and Mikey.
“Van’s all yours, Mikes.” He tosses the keys, and Mikey fumbles to catch them, a scowl forming on her face. “I’m going on my lunch break.”
“It’s barely eleven.”
“No one else is here, and you’re so much better than I am at this stuff. I’ll be back in an hour, babes.” He winks at her and walks out the front door without another word.
Mikey mumbles something under her breath as she makes her way around the desk. “Sorry about Rob. He’s… yeah.”
“No problem. What happened to Patrick?”
“His mom was diagnosed with cancer in December, so he had to move back to Idaho to take care of her. Rob is Merv’s step-grandson. We needed help, and he needed a job, so…”
“Ah. Got it. He uh… implied you two were…” I trail off, hoping she picks up what I’m trying to say.
Her face twists in confusion before it morphs into disgust. “Oh, fuck no.” She slaps a hand over her mouth.
“Sorry. That wasn’t professional. No, Rob and I are coworkers at best. He thinks he’s some type of ladies’ man and assumes any woman with a pulse wants him, despite no one ever flirting back.
I’ve turned him down on multiple occasions, but he’s the kind of guy who takes it as a challenge. ”
Thank goodness she’s not dating him, because fuck Rob. No one deserves to be subjected to unwanted advances, especially if they’ve set a boundary. “Have you told Merv?”
“Yeah. Merv told him he’d cut off his balls if he asked me out again. We have a new guy starting next week, thank goodness. I’ve been having to pick up all of his slack. Merv helps where he can, but he’s old, and his eyes aren’t what they used to be, so it’s been a long few months.”
I take a minute to really study Mikey’s face. She has dark circles under her eyes that weren’t there in November, and her shoulders slump like the weight of carrying everything is bogging her down.
She looks tired, and I don’t want to add to her burden.
“I can take my van somewhere else so you’re not overworking—”
“No, don’t be silly, Saint. I swear I’m fine. Your van has always been easy to fix. Let me go see what I’m working with, and I’ll be back to let you know how long it’ll take.”
Hey, so I broke something big, and it probably won’t be easy.
Guilt smacks me in the face. I’ve made more work for her, and for what? Just to see her again? To give myself another chance to see her? I should have just put on my big boy underwear, asked her out, and saved us both the trouble.
“Sounds good. Thank you, Mikey.”
“Anytime.”
Then she’s walking away from me, and the guilt mixes with lust as I see the way her coveralls hug her ass.
Get it together, Valentine.
I take a seat and open the book app I was reading on my phone.
I get lost in a story about a bodyguard slash driver who falls for his boss’s sugar baby.
They’ve just confessed their feelings for each other, and now all bets are off.
He wants her, she wants him, and he’s going to have her no matter what it costs him.
The male main character has his girl pinned up against the door to his apartment, his fingers deep in her pussy, whispering filthy words in her ear when I’m startled by the door to the shop opening.
My cheeks flush red from being caught reading explicit sex scenes in public, even if there’s no way Mikey would know what I was doing.
Besides, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a bit of smut.
“All right, baker man, do you want the good news or bad news first?” she asks, twisting her rag around her finger.
“Good news, always.”
“What? Why?”
“Then the bad news doesn’t seem so bad.”
Mikey clicks her tongue and huffs out a laugh through her nose. “The good news is I replaced the fuel line, and it doesn’t have any other issues. I can have the other part here by Tuesday.”
“Okay, maybe I should have gone with the bad news first,” I chuckle.
“Maybe. Okay, so remember when you came for the fuel pump fuse in August, and I told you the spark plugs were a little dirty? When your fuel line disconnected, starting it without the fuel burned the spark plugs and damaged the fuel pump. Because of that, we need to replace both of those things. I have the spark plugs, but the fuel pump needs to be ordered. I’ve honestly never seen something like this happen, but like I said, the good news is we can order the part and have it here by Tuesday.
Because of the weekend, it’ll take a bit longer, so I apologize for the wait.
Once it gets here, it should only take a day to fix. ”
I nod, starting to panic a little bit. “Okay, that… that wasn’t what I was expecting, but it’s okay. I need to be back in Cupid’s Cove tonight, but I can come back on Wednesday to pick it up.”
“That’s perfect, yeah.” After a brief pause she says, “Need to be back for anything exciting?”
“We take Valentine’s Day very seriously in Cupid’s Cove, obviously. There’s a parade and festival, and it’s a busy time for Ruby and me at the shop.” Not to mention I get to walk around dressed as a cherub while matchmaking.
But I leave that part out.
“Ah, right. That makes sense. Well, you’re welcome to wait in the lobby until your ride gets here.”
I rub my hand over my beard. “Right, thanks. Do you happen to know any ride shares who will take me that far?”
“You don’t have anyone you can call to come pick you up?” There’s a hint of concern in her voice, and it makes me want to melt.
“My buddy Slater’s swamped with parade prep, and Ruby’s running the shop. Everyone else is busy setting up for the festivities, so a ride share is pretty much my only option.”
Mikey rolls her lips inward, glancing back at the shop door. “Give me a second?”
Confused, I nod. She scurries back into the shop.
I pull up a ride share app, and when I see the one and only available ride, my eyes nearly bug out of my head at the amount. I don’t want to pay for that and pay to fix my van. I could get a hotel for the night and have someone come get me tomorrow for less than that…
I might have to skip being Cupid this year.