Page 29 of Ice Mechanic

“Look at his face. I don’t know a single psychopath that’s as handsome as him.”

“Oh? Do you regularly hang out with psychopaths?”

“Ladies, we can argue about this all day, but the fact is we have an opportunity here. Chance McLanely mentioning our shop just once would be explosive for business. April, you know it’s true. However, you’re the one who has to go through with it. You’re the one who has to fake a relationship. May and I both have our opinions, but this is your decision.”

“If it sweetens the deal any, imagine how crushed Evan would be to see you dating his favorite hockey player.”

“Forget the shop. For that alone, I’d say yes to this.”

“It would be nice to get revenge. But lying about dating someone just to get back at my ex feels so wrong and petty.”

“Cheating is wrong and petty too. Seeing you upgrade to a hotter, richer, more famous hockey player boyfriend is what Evan deserves.”

The women glance at me, see me watching and huddle closer, lowering their voices. After a few minutes, April and Rebel go inside while the newcomer approaches me.

I smile at her. “Hey, are you a mechanic too?”

“Uh no. I’m April’s sister.” She peers up at my face. “Your eyes are much bluer up close.”

My smile widens. While April was chilly and guarded, her sister is the total opposite.

“I’m Chance and you are…”

“I’m May.”

“May… as in April, May… June?”

“Yup.” She bounces on the tips of her toes.

“Really?”

“June is our oldest sister, but she booked it out of here the moment she turned eighteen and rarely comes home.” May shrugs. “What can I say? Our parents like the calendar.”

“Wow.” I’m still digesting April and her two sisters being named after months when May says, “You should come inside. It’s hot out.”

“Oh… yeah, sure.”

I follow her into the shop and notice the lone car in the corner has been locked and the tools put away. Four chairs are stationed in the middle of the room.

May directs me to sit in the lone folding chair as the three women sit across from me in a line.

It feels like I’m about to be interrogated. My palms are insanely sweaty, and I want to pull out my fidget spinner, butI can’t. Flicking an anxiety tool won’t exactly help me bring the right image across.

“After a discussion with my team,” April says crisply, “we’ve decided to give this a shot.”

A grin unleashes on my face. It’s too soon to be this happy, I know, but there’s no controlling how pleased I am.

“In exchange, I’d like to service the exotic cars you supposedly own.” She puts bunny ears around the ‘supposedly’. “And I’d like it filmed for my social media accounts.”

“Of course. Is that all?”

“For me? Yes. However, this agreement isn’t just with me. It’s with everyone here at Pink Garage.”

The blonde woman in the pink jumpsuit straightens. “My expectation of this agreement is that you’ll feature our shop on your social media profile for every date you and April have.”

“And how many dates can we have?”

“Three,” April says. “Pre-planned and pre-approved. Like I told you yesterday, I’m busy with the garage and you’re busy with hockey. We don’t need to be all over each other.”

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