Page 21 of Survival

I laughed, shaking my head this time. “Thanks. And I’m Jet. It’s nice to know I have a fan, but can we keep quiet about it, while others are around, at least? It’s not something the rest of the shop knows about.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I should have thought. I know the races are a discreet thing. My God, I must sound like an overexcited puppy or something. I swear I’m normal.” She ran a hand down the length of her ponytail, pulling it over her shoulder, and I grinned.

“Gotcha. Now, come on. I’ll show you around.”

After going over things up front, I had one of the guys come up to cover and gave her a tour around the back where we worked on the cars and kept the inventory.

“So, what made you look for a job here?” I asked as we passed by a couple of cars getting oil changes.

“I, uh, need some extra cash flow. I do the waitress thing a few nights a week, and I was going to Ridgeside U last fall, but some things came up, and I couldn’t swing the tuition this semester.”

My brow furrowed. “Sorry to hear that.”

“No. No, don’t be. I’ve never been huge on the school scene, anyway. It was something my uncle pushed me to do. He wanted me out of Outer Ridge. To end up better than him, butthis…” She opened her arms to the bustle and noise of the shop. “This is more my speed. I mean, I’m not dumb by any means, but give me a hood to stick my hands under any day over sticking my nose in a book, and I can die happy. So, when things fell through with school, I used the money I’d managed to save up to start my certification. Your dad said if it goes well here, then he’d hire me on as a mechanic full time once I’m finished.” She beamed, and all I could do was nod. I got that. Just about every word of it.

“Makes sense. If it wasn’t for my football scholarship, I’d be doing the mechanic thing as soon as school’s out myself.”

“Oh, you’re still in high school?”

“Yeah. My last year. I’d be done already, but I repeated a year back in first grade. It works out, though. I’d be a year ahead of my best friends and girlfriend if I hadn’t, so it saves some drama. Come on. We need to go cover the front again so Mario can get back out here.”

Ruby followed me past a large truck and into the main building, and my heart jolted for a second when I saw Annie leaning against the counter talking to Mario. She was gorgeous, her skin glowing with the first hint of a sunkissed tan from her time at the beach, but eventhrough her smile, I saw the ache behind her eyes when she met my gaze, hope and an apology resting on the surface.

I headed straight for her, rushing around the counter, loving the way she giggled when I pulled her into my arms and swept her feet off the floor.

“God, it’s good to see you.” I growled the words into her neck, and she hugged her arms around me tighter.

“I couldn’t wait. Five o’clock felt like forever. I’m sorry I got mad.”

“No, I’m sorry. Last night should have been for us. I just have so much to fill you in on from the trip. I think you’ll get it when I tell you.”

She looked into my eyes as I lowered her back to the floor, her gaze searching mine. “Tonight then?”

“Definitely.” I pressed a slow peck to her lips, but when a throat cleared behind the counter, Annie jerked back, and her eyes widened.

“Hey. Sorry. I just wasn’t sure what to do with this invoice Mario left me with.” Ruby held up the slip of paper. “I’m Ruby, by the way. Just got hired today.” She waved, and Annie just stared back, a million expressions crossing her face.

“Annie,” she finally replied.

“Jet’s girlfriend, right? He definitely seems like a keeper. Love the way he handles that Mustang of his in a race.” Ruby smiled before looking back at me. “So, is there a certain place I need to file this?”

“On the clips over there on the cabinet.” I pointed to a few other invoices hanging up. “When the customer comes back in, we just grab them from there.”

“Cool.”

Annie sent me a curious look as Ruby turned, and I pulled her into my chest, holding her to me. “You plan to wait here until I get off? You can go hang out in the inventory room if you want.”

“Um, no. I just wanted to come see you for a minute and smooth things over. I’m supposed to go meet Emma and Megan for coffee. Unless you want me to stay?” Her eyes glanced over at Ruby before looking up at me. “You seem kind of busy, though.”

“A little. Go ahead and meet up with the girls, and I’ll come over when I get off. The whole evening, just us.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

She pecked my cheek before heading out the door.

Chapter 7

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