Chapter 14 #2
There’s a pause and then a signature, nonchalant Knox Cooke chuckle comes through the speaker. This man doesn’t realize how terrifying my big sister is. He’s lucky she was away at college when he broke my heart.
“It’s Knox Cooke,” he replies smoothly. “Is your sister there? I have some news about her truck.”
Eve’s smile sharpens, and I can tell she’s getting ready to go in for the kill. “Oh, I’m sure that’s what you want to talk to her about, Loverboy. If this is strictly professional, then why are you calling her Bambi?”
“Eve!” I hiss, wrestling the phone from her hands. She is fast, but her coordination is shit, which makes it easy for me to steal my phone back. “Sorry about that. I’m here.”
Another unbothered chuckle rings in my ears. “It’s alright. Is this a bad time?”
“Yes!” Eve yells loud enough for Knox to hear.
“Eve, I am this close to kicking you out and making you spend the night at the shady motel down the street.”
She gives me a soft version of her infamous death glare and grabs a bag of chips from the counter before stalking off.
“She sounds fun,” Knox says. “I think we’re going to be best friends.”
“I think you have a better chance of winning over Marie,” I laugh, surprising myself. It wasn’t that long ago that I was the one giving him a hard time. This town is making me soft.
“I don’t know,” he sighs, “I did a pretty good job at winning over her sister.”
I scoff and look over my shoulder. Eve is sitting on the couch, scrolling on her phone and happily munching on potato chips, but I know she’s listening to every word of our conversation. “Don’t push your luck.”
“Don’t worry, Bambi,” he says, and I can tell he has a huge smile on his face. “Luck has nothing to do with it. I always play for keeps.”
I roll my eyes so hard I hope he can hear it through the phone. “Why did you call?”
Knox clears his throat, and I hear rustling in the background like he’s sorting through papers. “Your truck is officially ready.”
“Really?” I ask, excitedly. I am so ready to have my truck back.
Most of the things I need are within walking distance, but I am in dire need of hair dye, and the closest place is a half hour away.
Not to mention, I can start picking up more furniture to flip.
I am holding off on reaching out to anyone because I did not want to ask Knox for help.
Although he always found a way to help me anyway.
“Yup,” Knox answers, smacking his lips together. “I can drop it off if you want. I’ll just need a ride back to the shop.”
“No,” I say a little too quickly. After our kiss and the karaoke serenade, I was trying to avoid being in small, enclosed spaces with Knox. My mind knows touching him is a recipe for disaster, but that hasn’t been properly communicated to the rest of my body. “Eve can take me.”
Taking Eve straight into the belly of the beast is probably a terrible idea, but if I still feel the same way about Knox, then why do I care if my sister lays into him? Yet, the bastard is right. He has slowly defrosted the part of my soul that used to loathe him.
“Are you sure? It’s really not that big of a deal. I can—"
“We’ll be there in ten,” I say, cutting him off. “Goodbye.”
I don’t give him the chance to argue anymore before ending the call and turning to my eager sister. I swallow the bile building in my throat and step forward. Now is the perfect time to tell my sister about my new relationship, right?
“Eve, please don’t kill me, but I have something to tell you.”
“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” Eve says, aggressively putting her car into park.
I stare up at the tattered “Sal’s Auto” sign and let out a muffled breath. Eve had a lot of questions. So many that I found myself pulling lies out of midair. Lies that I didn’t necessarily feel guilty about because I was starting to believe them.
Knox wasn’t the same immature idiot that I fell for the first time.
He was thoughtful and kind. Soft when he needed to be and even serious, which was a word I didn’t think was in his vocabulary.
I thought I would struggle to be civil with him, but he made it so damn easy, and that frustrated the hell out of me.
What was even more irritating was that I found myself mindlessly attracted to the man. It’s like my brain turned itself off when he batted those long eyelashes that were wasted on the male species.
“I’m sorry, Eve,” I say, bowing my head. “I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me for falling out of one man’s trap straight into another.”
“Okay, hold up,” she replies, unbuckling her seat belt and turning toward me.
“I’m not disappointed, Ree. You’re a grown ass woman and you’re free to date whoever you want.
I’m going to pull out my big sister protector card again to say that I’m just concerned that you’re jumping into this too quickly after Patrick.
Not to mention, if that asshole breaks your heart again, you have nothing to run back to.
You gave up a lot to make this dream a reality, and adding a man into the mix will complicate things. ”
I nod slowly, taking in every word. I want to tell her that she’s wrong and Knox is actually helping me with my business, but I don’t want to give her any more ammo. Plus, these warnings will be null and void at the end of summer once Knox gets his loan and we can go back to ignoring each other.
A sour feeling ruminates in my stomach, and suddenly, the idea of ignoring Knox doesn’t sound all that great.
“I know,” I say, popping open the car door, “and I appreciate your concern, but I know what I’m doing, Eve. I’m not a dramatic teenager anymore. We’ve only been seeing each other for a few weeks. It’s not that serious.”
Eve purses her lips and strains her eyes. I know she doesn’t believe me, and she doesn’t have to. Once this horse and pony show is over, I’ll tell her the truth.
“Well, I’m coming in with you,” Eve mumbles, pushing open her door. “I’ve got to meet the guy that has my sister in a chokehold.”
The chime of the bell reminds me of the last time I was here and how much has changed in such a short amount of time. My feet guide me through the same door where the sharp clanking of metal echoes on the other side.
I find Knox crouched over the hood of someone’s car. His electric-blue stare is intense, and there’s a small pencil perched on his ear. He’s not wearing his hat today, so the dirty blonde curls are loose and stick out in every direction. And then there’s his outfit.
Baggy coveralls are snugly wrapped around his waist, and he’s wearing a skintight white tank top that looks painted on. His face is freshly shaven, and his jaw looks sharper today. Even though I like the five o’clock shadow look, this also works for me.
Who am I kidding? It all works for me.
I clench my hands tightly against my sides and try to ignore the pulsating warmth occurring between my hips. I bite the inside of my cheek and remind myself that fake relationships only work if you don’t fantasize about your partner bending you over the hood of their car.
Eve grabs my arm and pulls me back before we get any further into the shop. “I get it.”
“What?” I ask, wrinkling my forehead.
“I get why you’re into him,” she says, running her tongue across her bottom lip.
“Hey,” I say, shoving her shoulder. “Stop eye fucking my man.”
She sticks out her tongue and side steps me before advancing. I quickly catch up.
It doesn’t take long for Knox to notice the commotion and finally look up. “Hey, Bambi,” he says, his eyes transitioning from concentration to something I can’t figure out. And then he looks at my sister and says, “Hi, I’m Knox. You must be the sister.”
Eve looks at his greasy hand with a wrinkled-up nose. “Oh,” he says, looking down at the mess. “Sorry, let me wash up really quick. I wasn’t paying attention to the time.”
She nods, tracking his every move as he disappears into the bathroom to wash his hands. I can’t help but think I don’t mind the mess. I like that the neat freak has a messy job. It makes me—nope. Not going down that route.
Eve leans over and whispers, “Does he have any hot coworkers? I could get behind this whole sexy mechanic thing.”
An unfamiliar sound slips from my mouth. It almost sounds like a growl, but that would be way too embarrassing. “No. He’s a one-man show. He does have a—” I stop myself when I remember the image of Beau swallowing Marie’s tonsils. “I thought you were into doctors.”
She smiles back at me and excitement gleams in her eyes. “I don’t know. After feet fetish guy, maybe I need to broaden my horizons and go after something a little more…blue collar.”
I laugh and poke her in the ribs with my elbow.
“What’s so funny?” Knox asks, pulling our attention back to him. Disappointment slices through me when I see he’s taken off the coveralls and is now in his usual T-shirt and jeans combo.
“Nothing!” we both say, looking at each other with wide eyes. Now Knox is the one chuckling. The sound made my stomach lurch, but now it’s comforting, maybe even a slight turn-on I didn’t know I had. Could you be attracted to someone’s laugh?
“Right,” he says, with a knowing smirk. “And Eve, I do have some single friends if you’re interested. But I will admit that none of them are as attractive as me.”
Eve’s face turns bright red, and my obnoxious laughter fills the shop.