Page 88 of Fiona and the Fixer

She was beautiful. High maintenance, but low key. Dark skin, tall and even taller still in the high heels she always wore. Even in Coal Springs, where none were sold.

There was no spark, and we were both fine with that.

“That’s right,” Brittany told him.

“That’s Nitro,” I added. “He’s my tech guy.”

I recognized the gleam in Brittany’s eye. It was the one all the women who’d come into the bookstore got when they looked at me.

Interest.

But thankfully, that gleam was directed at… Nitro?

“You’rethe tech guy,” she said, sounding impressed. She’d probably heard of him before from Hannah, but hadnever met, even over a video call. “Think you can get my programmable thermostat to work?”

“You missing some heat? I can definitely help with that.”

I’d never, not once, heard Nitro flirt. I rolled my eyes.

“Definitely.” Brittany sure as hell was direct.

“Dax, I’ll hand deliver the info you want. Pass the phone to Brittany.”

With Brittany giving megimmefingers, I didn’t have any choice.

After twenty minutes of the two of them talking–and hard-core flirting–I forced them to share numbers so they could keep talking and I could get my phone back. Then, I left. If I stayed, I might be witness to some phone sex and I’d already had enough of that with strangers at the bookstore.

43

FIONA

The next morning,the doorbell rang. I was in the kitchen doctoring my second cup of coffee and expected Dottie to singsong a hello and barge right in. My mouth watered at what she might bring for breakfast. I’d thrown on cutoff jeans and a t-shirt, having learned it was safest to always be dressed in this house. Dax was in the shower, so it wasn’t him at the door, but if it had been, he wouldn’t have rang the bell. He’d have picked the lock and snuck in.

For the first time, I actually answered the door.

There, standing on the steps, was Hannah, and the way they were holding hands, her boyfriend Jack. I recognized Hannah from her DMV photo I pulled during my search. She was prettier in person. Everyone was prettier than their license photo.

Petite, curvy, dark hair, bright eyes. She wore pale pink sweatpants, a white long-sleeved pullover, and her blonde hair was pulled back in a low ponytail.

Beside her was a big guy who gave Dax a run for the most serious person in the world. He wasn’t smiling. He exuded grumpiness, which only made Hannah seem even more sunshiny. That made sense because she grew up in this town of rainbows and unicorns.

Although, I knew her parents, so I had lots and lots of questions. The easiest answer: she was adopted.

“Where’s Dax?” Jack asked. He wore faded jeans, a Colorado Avalanche t-shirt, and sneakers. His hair was messed up, like he had bedhead.

They were both tan in October, which indicated a recent beach vacation. And Dax had pulled them from it.

Hannah swatted him in the chest. “Seriously?” she huffed. “Hi, I’m Hannah. This big oaf is Jack.”

“Fiona.” God, dressed like it was laundry day for my first meeting with Hannah was not what I wanted. I tucked my unruly bits of hair behind my ears. “Dax is in the shower.”

Neither looked surprised that Dax was naked in my house.

I stepped back to let them in and kept my eyes on Hannah as she moved into the living room. I whispered under my breath, “Can you hear me?”

Nothing. No response from her. Not even a twitch. Shit. Did she not have bionic hearing, too? My stomach was inknots, and I was more nervous now than when the guy held up the convenience store.

“Um, want some coffee?” I asked them.

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