Page 49 of Choosing You

“Dude…grow up,” Will murmured. “What about…?” He stopped talking when the door opened and Drew Hanna walked in. He was a firefighter who worked with Reid and was also the guy who owned a classic 1968 Camaro that Will hoped to work on. “Hey, Drew. What’s up?”

“Not much,” he replied easily, smiling. “Rumor has it that you actually found this elusive kissing booth chick. Although no one’s really seen her, so I guess it could just be a vicious rumor.”

Will took the good-natured teasing and even chuckled. “I’m not really ready to share her with the town yet. I don’t want to scare her off.”

“I can understand that—especially if she found out just how crazy you were getting about finding her,” Drew teased on. “We were taking bets on you just putting a kissing booth out on the highway in hopes of her coming back.”

“Ha, ha. You’re hilarious,” Will murmured, unwilling to admit that he wasn’t that far off. “Anyway…are you here for a reason or just to poke fun at me?”

“Oh, don’t be so sensitive,” Drew said with a sincere smile. “You know I’m just joking. Whether or not this woman is real is completely your business.” He grinned and winked at Devin. “Right?”

“I’m not saying a word,” Devin laughed, holding his hands up.

“So,” Drew began, his tone a little more serious. “It took me a little time, but I finally think we’re ready to work on the Camaro. Are you still interested?”

Will took a quick glance in Devin’s direction before answering. “Absolutely. I’ve looked over the info you emailed me, but didn’t think you were really going to do it.”

“Why not?”

Shrugging, Will replied, “Because it’s been a few weeks. I just figured you changed your mind.”

“Well,” Drew began, “there was a bit of a problem—which is what I need to talk to you about. Both of you.”

Devin and Will exchanged glances and then waited.

“There’s a little more body work to be done than we originally expected.”

“What does that mean?” Devin asked before Will could.

“It seems my buddy’s son took the car out for a joy ride.”

“I thought it wasn’t drivable!” Will said irritably and then caught himself. “I mean…”

“No, no…you’re right,” Drew said evenly. “It really wasn’t. The kid just didn’t believe it. Now we have some front-end damage to deal with.” He paused and seemed to let that sink in for a minute. “So now, instead of just dealing with some minor dents and rust, you’re going to be looking at some major body work. I need to know if you’re really equipped to do the job. I feel like shit wording it like that, but…” He shrugged. “I know that body work isn’t what you do here.”

And right then and there, Will felt like he was going to lose out on working on a really great car because some teenager couldn’t follow the rules.

And man, did that seem like bitter irony.

Beside him, Devin was silent, standing with his arms crossed and studying Drew. It was a long minute before he spoke. “What kind of timeline are you looking for on this? What kind of turnaround?”

“As of right now? No expectations. We want it done right,” Drew replied, his tone very businesslike.

Nodding, Devin said, “So if I said we’d need a couple of weeks to work out logistics and whatnot, would you still trust us on this? After all, we haven’t done this sort of thing before.”

“Understood. But honestly? I’ve seen the work Will has done with older cars—dealing with rust and whatnot. He pays attention to details and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that he can handle it with the right tools.”

“I agree,” Devin said, and Will was mildly annoyed that they were speaking about him as if he wasn’t even there.

“Tell you what,” Drew said, “think about it and give me a call. Let me know what you’re thinking and when you want to start.”

“Will do,” Devin said, reaching out and shaking Drew’s hand. “Thanks.”

It wasn’t until Drew was out the door that Will turned to Devin with total annoyance. “Dude! What the hell?”

“What?”

“That was going to be a side job for me.Me!And you just totally swooped in and took over like I wasn’t even here!” He was beyond frustrated, and he moved away, raking a hand through his hair.

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