Page 9 of Loathe at First Sight

“Not exactly,” I tell him as I jump down out of the front seat. “My parents own the place.”

I take a deep breath and get ready to head inside.

Time to start the next chapter of my life.

three

Not Going to Happen

Jack

Her parents own the place? Is she one of the Lawsons?

Everyone knows that Andreas and Suzanne Lawson own Andre’s Tavern. The two are fairly popular because they own the only bar in town. I know that they have four children, but I’ve never heard of Liz before.

That doesn’t just surprise me because it’s a small town, and everyone is in each other’s business. It shocks me because one of those four children works with me. Dylan is one of my mechanics, and never has he mentioned another sister aside from the three that I know about.

Who the hell is this woman? And why does she seem to be this town’s best-kept secret?

And why was her car piled high with stuff?

I know she said she was moving back, but she looked more like the type of woman who would hire movers rather than shove stuff in her tiny sports car.

When it comes to Liz Lawson, I have far more questions than answers.

Not that I should care.

I’m sure when I came into town, people had a ton of questions about me. I worked damn hard to make sure that all of my skeletons stayed in the closet. Maybe I shouldn’t be poking around in someone else’s.

I take one final look at Liz before she heads inside. The rain has made her far more disheveled than how I saw her earlier. Her straight hair, now soaking wet, is starting to curl, and her eyeliner and mascara are smudged. Her white shirt clings to her, and I can see her black bra underneath.

Although I’m in no hurry to spend any more time with this woman, I’m glad she let me help her. I know that all night long, I would have had a nagging voice in my head wondering if she was okay. That fact has nothing to do with Liz, though. I would feel that way about anyone in her position.

I drive back to the shop and rub my eyes. It’s been a really long fucking day. And it’s not over yet. When I get back to the shop, I still have some invoices I need to finish writing up and some parts to order.

As the owner of my own shop, my job never ends. But I love it. Keeping busy keeps my mind occupied. When I had to start my life over not that long ago, I knew I needed something that would give me some purpose again.

Thank God I found it here in Lilly Leaf Falls. I love this place.

Let’s just hope that I can stay clear of Liz Lawson as much as possible. She screams big city and reminds me far too much of my past. Much like the women I surrounded myself with back then, she is stuck-up, irritating, and rude. I don’t need that kind of energy around me anymore. Women like that have brought me nothing but trouble. Lord knows I don’t need any of that now.

Staying away from her may be harder than I imagine since her brother works for me. But I’ll do my damnedest.

I’ve made a good life here. I refuse to let someone like Liz ruin it.

An hour later, I’ve got Liz’s sports car off the truck and into the shop, and I’m knee-deep in paperwork. Usually, I leave this kind of work for the evenings because all day, my office tends to be a revolving door of people needing something or just wanting to shoot the shit.

The shop tends to stay pretty busy. I have a handful of guys working for me, and most days, they always have a full schedule. Not only do we cater to the people in town, but I befriended the owner of a couple of used car shops the next town over. Whenever he gets a new ride in, he brings it here for us to look over and get ready for resale. Everything put together has given me a nice little business to call my own.

As I’m finishing up my parts order, I hear the front door chime, and I wonder who the fuck it is at this time of evening.

But a chipper, “Hello,” tells me all that I need to know.

Misty Jacobs.

She pokes her head in my office. “Hey, you.”

“Hi, Misty.”

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