Page 42 of The Charm of You

If anyone saw me, they’d think I was staking the shop out to rob it later.

Okay, this is Sapphire Creek, so these people would kindly just stop to ask if I needed directions. They might even point me toward the nearest sale on pies or something.

But as I pace across the street from Austin’s garage, I definitely look like I’m staking it out to rob later.

I nod and smile to a few people coming out of Lucy’s Diner behind me. Each time the door opens, I’m hit with a quick sniff of burgers and fried goods. It’s enough to make my stomach growl, but confrontation now—burgers later.

After a few more minutes, I mutter a curse and proverbially rip the Band-Aid off by marching across the street and straight through the creaky door.

I fully expect to come face-to-face with a scruffy mechanic, so I steel myself against his usually icy glare.

But the eyes landing on me are neither icy, nor do they belong to the town’s resident grump.

“Hi,” I say on an exhale, but it comes out as more of a question.

“Hey, yourself.” A guy who doesn’t appear to be legal stands upright and gives me a slow once-over like I’ve seen people do when perusing a dessert menu. “What can I do you for?” he asks with a curl of his lips. Did he purposely lower the octave of his voice to sound… older?

Adorable.

“Bo, sit,” I hear from behind me.

A door clicks shut, and I gulp as Austin sidles next to me, his veiny forearms slick with sweat from a hard afternoon’s work.

Instantly, as if it’s a reflex, images of his hands on my skin not one hour ago flood my mind, and a shudder leaps down my spine. My lips still freaking vibrate from where he practically devoured me.

“I’m not a dog,” the kid tosses at him.

“Then stop salivating like one, and ask Rose to cut off our load for the day.”

Bo grumbles something as he shuffles through a side door, and I stifle a laugh behind my palm.

“Teenagers,” Austin mutters. “They wear their damn dicks on their sleeves.”

The rest of my laughter bursts through so hard I snort, and I swear, his frown twitches. He wants to join me. This tall, dark, and handsome grump wants to laugh. What would it take for him to cross the mythical finish line?

I sway to the side and put another foot of space between us. No good comes from losing myself in the heat of him. “Is my car ready by chance?” I ask.

“How would it be ready?” He blinks.

“I left it here for an oil change…”

Austin swipes at the corners of his lips, and a twinkle blinks in his eye. It happens so quickly there’s a chance I imagined it. “You left the car, but you didn’t leave the keys, Homecoming Queen. Your car’s been locked this whole time, and I have a strict policy against breaking into cars that don’t belong to me.”

Heat radiates through my cheeks and neck, and my lips part.

“I’m happy to change your oil tomorrow since we’re capping the load for today.” His tight-lipped smile is victorious, like he’s getting back at me for one of the number of inadvertent jabs I’ve made against him.

It slips under my skin, and nervous energy skitters throughout my body.

Bo joins us with a tip of an imaginary hat. “I can change your oil for you. I don’t mind staying late, and maybe afterward, I can interest you in a… a…”

“A snow cone?” Austin cocks a brow.

“You’re such a buzzkill.” Bo shakes his head and stalks toward the car he was working on when I first arrived.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” I clutch the sides of my cardigan, and his gaze falls to my chest.

Warmth spreads through the spot where his eyes land, and I’m cemented in place.

---