It’s Zack. His tattoos are covered by the long sleeves of the blue coveralls he's wearing, but that hair is unmistakable. As I get closer, he pauses and then snaps his fingers.
"Hey, I remember you. Last night at Finn's party. You're the one Jim towed in?"
"Yeah. I'm Sasha."
He comes around the counter. "I remember. Zack."
I shake the hand he holds out and try to look around without being obvious. Would it be weird if I ask if Gabe's around? Maybe if I don't say anything I can just pay for him to fix the car and get out of here before Gabe even knows I'm here.
The bell over the door tinkles and I freeze then glance over my shoulder. A young blond guy walks in and waves at Zack. I let out a breath.
"He's not here. You can relax."
I look over at Zack innocently. "Who?"
He snorts. "I know when a woman is looking for my brother. Not sure why all the girls go for that preppy look."
At his disgruntled look, I can't help but laugh. "Well, some of us like bad boys." Despite all the tattoos and the spikes in his hair, he comes across as cute instead of scary.
His eyes twinkle. "So what happened to your car?"
"I'm not exactly sure. It just wouldn't start. It's old so I guess it's finally breathed its last. Luckily it happened after I finished lunch at least."
He smiles. "Small favors. Don't worry. We'll get you fixed up. It'll probably take a few days depending on what's wrong though."
A few days? It finally hits me that my car has just broken down. The money from my new gig has kept me current on the rent but there's no way I can afford major repairs on my car.
"Breathe. It's going to be okay." Zack takes my arm and leads me to the counter. "Let's get you logged into the system and I'll go back there and take a quick look. It might not be a big deal."
His calm, confident manner is soothing. I follow and lean against the counter, looking around while he logs onto the computer.
It's much cleaner than I was expecting. Not that I spend a lot of time in auto shops but I definitely had a different mental image. This place is wide open and modern looking. Everything is either white, black or chrome and it smells only faintly of rubber. There's a man sitting in the waiting area watching the television mounted on the wall. He coughs, a wet, rattling sound. I shudder and look back at Zack.
> He hands over a form and a pen. "Fill these out and then we can get started."
After I scrawl my name, address and the make and model of my car, he takes the form back. "So, tell me. How does a nice girl like you end up mixed up with my brother?"
"That's a long story."
"I've got time. Actually, if you don't mind a little noise, why don't you come to the back and keep me company?”
"Really? I don't want to be a distraction."
He laughs. "The day I'm not distracted by a beautiful woman is the day they put me in a coffin and drop me six feet under. After the day I've had, I need a distraction." His eyes swing toward the waiting room. The man there dissolves into another coughing fit before pulling out a tissue and blowing his nose.
"Unless, of course, you'd rather wait out here."
I scurry behind the counter, ignoring his soft laughter.
chapter six
GABE
When Josie called and asked to meet for lunch, I jumped at the chance to get out of the office. This morning, I’d snapped at several of my employees and a customer before Zack finally pulled me off desk duty. He put me to work in the back but even repairing a chrome bumper on this sweet 1970 Dodge Charger wasn't enough to take my mind off the prior day.
All I could see was Sasha looking up at me while we were dancing instead of the car in front of me. Instead of the wrench in my hand, my fingers kept clenching, remembering her soft skin and the way she'd fit against me when we kissed. If we ever ended up in bed together, it would be explosive and my body wasn't happy with me for denying it the pleasure.
Josie is one of the few people who understands how to navigate my strange moods. She's also one of the few people who can see through my bullshit and doesn't let me get away with anything. She'll probably get along with Sasha really well.