Page 106 of It's Always Us

“Why did you say you don’t have Carson or Wind here? You didn’t include Slade.”

She side-eyes me as I step up. “Slade would just push me out of the way and do it himself.”

Great. Manly Slade could just get in there and fix this beast himself. That answer doesn’t give me anything, but if Slade has feelings, I really don’t care. He had eight years to make a move and didn’t. Now, Lex is mine and always will be. It really sucks to be him.

“Now, come on. Roll up your sleeves, Sandberg. Get in there and get this fixed, or I’ll climb up there and do it myself.”

“You know, I kind of like it when you’re bossy.” One eyebrow raises. “Maybe we should work on engines together more often.”

“You know there’s more in there than the engine, right?” She is giving me rare shit, and I love it. Lex talking cars and engines is damn sexy, and I want it all day and all night.

I hear a group hoot and holler my name, recognizing Macgowen and the guys. They’ve now joined the group of useless spectators.

“It seems like an electrical fault. I need you to check the battery cables for any looseness or corrosion.”

“Uh. Where’s that?” I stare at all of inner parts, having no idea what they are.

She moves to the side and pushes to her toes trying to get a look. “Over here.” She points. “Wiggle each of those cables to see if they’re loose. Look for corrosion. It’s white or green and powdery.”

I find the cables, and they don’t move. “They all seem tight, and I don’t see any residue.”

“Ok. Follow the cable down to where it connects to the body and do the same.” I lean further, moving my hand along the cable. “You should feel a bolt, and it should be securely attached.”

My fingers find the bolt. “There’s a ring.”

“Yeah, it should be connected to the bolt. See if it moves.”

I jiggle. “It’s loose.”

“Great. We need an adjustable wrench.”

I straighten. “Clive,” I holler. “We need an adjustable wrench stat.” Lex snickers. “What you are you laughing at? I’m going to fix this drunk mobile, and then you have to take back your ‘I can never put my hands on a car again’ rule.”

I get both eyebrows this time. “That so.”

I lean down my lips an inch from hers. “You’re so beautiful when you’re doing what you love.”

She bites her lip, her eyes flicking between mine. “Not even close to watching you play.” Her voice is achingly tender, sending a warm ripple through my chest.

A throat clears, followed by a gravelly voice. “Hey, this is all I’ve got.” The driver stands, holding an emergency kit with a handful of silver tools.

Lex selects one. “Let’s see if this will work.” She hands it to me. “See if you can get this around the bolt enough to tighten it.” I take the wrench and angle it to fit it onto the bolt. “You’ll have to keep the cable from twisting and make sure it’s snug.”

It takes me a few minutes, but little by little, the bolt tightens.

Lex tells the driver to try to start the truck. I hop off the stool as he climbs in the driver’s seat.

She gives the go-ahead, and it roars to life. The gathered crowd cheers.

Lex grins, and I can’t help but lean over and kiss her, holding it for just a second before kissing her again.

“We did it,” she says against my lips.

“Damn straight we did.” I wrap my arms around her, kissing her one more time. “You ready to get out of here? I wasn’t expecting this to turn into a work trip for you.”

“That was fun. Besides, you getting those million-dollar hands dirty is pretty hot.”

“That so.”

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