I felt the blood rush to my cheeks, so I laughed it off and said, “Hunter is engaged.”
Mrs. Hellman’s head swiveled as she looked to the left, then the right. “I don’t see Mrs. Hunky Mechanic anywhere. And until the wedding, it’s not official.”
“Hunter and I are just good friends.”
Mrs. Hellman gave me a look. “Dear, if I was living withthatbeautiful creature, I’d throw myself at him every night. And if he rejected me, I’d throw myself into traffic.”
Hunter returned to the garage with a bottle of water. He guzzled it down, rivulets of water running along his defined cheekbones and neck. Mrs. Hellman gave me another look as if the sight proved her point.
“Enjoy the casserole,” she said. “And don’t havetoomuch fun together!” She gave a little wave and then walked across the street to her house.
Hunter frowned at her. “What’d she mean by that?”
“Hell if I know,” I replied, still blushing.
23
Erica
I thought about what Mrs. Hellman had said the next day, about how nothing wasofficialuntil the wedding ceremony. But as tempting as it was, I didn’t like the idea of making a move on someone who was spoken for. That wasn’t the kind of woman I wanted to be.
And honestly? I didn’t want to be with a man who would cheat on his fiancée, even if he was cheating on her withme. And even if that man was Hunter Cade.
One night while I was at the brewery, Hunter came in and sat at one of the barstools. “I’mreallyclose,” he said by way of a greeting.
I grinned when I saw him sitting there. “Is it still cool to saythat’s what she said?Because if so, that’s definitely what she said.”
“The Mustang,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I’m really close to getting the engine to run.”
“That’s awesome!” I said. “And you decided to come to your favorite brewery to celebrate with a beer?”
“Naturally. You know what I like.”
“The blonde ale?”
He winked at me. “Blondes are my favorite.”
I wish I was your favorite blonde, I thought while drawing his beer. Carmen had beet-red hair, but based on the videos I had seen, I was pretty sure she was a natural brunette.
“When does Brad get back?” Hunter asked when I brought him his beer.
“Sunday night, three days from now. Why?”
Hunter nodded thoughtfully. “I think I can get the car running by then. I’d love to see the look on his face if we picked him up at the airport in the Mustang.”
“He would lose his shit!” I replied with a grin. “In a good way, I mean. Since Dad died, he’s mentioned hiring someone to fix it up. But we didn’t have the money.”
“Speaking of fixing things up,” Hunter said, “I also got the website store up and running. It’s connected to your business bank account. Now you just need customers. Which brings me to my next question. Are you ready to do some marketing? I know you spent most of your seed money on the lab deposit.”
I leaned on the counter, showing him some of my cleavage as if he was a customer who was about to leave a tip. “I was approved for a business credit card. As soon as it arrives next week, we can get to work.”
Hunter sipped his blonde ale. “Awesome.”
“I’m not sure where to start, though,” I said. “Would you mind helping me get them up and running?”
“I’m not a huge expert in ads,” Hunter admitted. “I, uh, pay an ad guy to do most of it for me.”
“Can you ask them for some pointers?” I begged. “Pretty please? I don’t need alotof help. I just want someone to point me in the right direction.”