Page 12 of Choosing You

He stepped back into his small house—a Craftsman-style bungalow—and grabbed a bottle of water and his keys. Locking up the house, he went out to his beloved Dodge Ram pickup. Will looked at it and smiled while others looked at him like he was crazy. It was a little beat up and showing its age, but it was Will’s baby. He bought it when he was eighteen and it was already ten years old then. But with the constant work he did on it, it still ran like he’d just taken it off the showroom floor.

Within minutes, he was approaching the heart of Sweetbriar Ridge and even though that meant driving far slower than he wanted, he was curious to see what was going on—if anything. Realistically, he knew it was far too soon to see anyone setting up anything for the Meet in the Streets festival, but as he drove down the main street, he couldn’t help that his heartbeat kicked up a notch at the thought of seeing his sexy kisser.

“But the booth won’t be here. It’ll be over on the school grounds,” he murmured to himself.

Shaking his head, he chuckled. He sure as hell wished he had gotten her name. He was running out of cute ways to describe her.

Sexy, beautiful, great kisser, his every fantasy come to life…yeah, he’d used them all. A real name would be nice.

He waved to some familiar faces who were walking down the street, including Reid Baylor, who motioned for him to stop, so Will pulled over, rolled down his window, and watched Reid’s approach. “What’s up?”

“Hey! I was talking to Devin the other day about a 1968 Camaro that a buddy of mine at the firehouse owns and it needs a crap ton of work. Did he mention it to you?” Reid asked.

“The one he’s transporting here from Vegas? Yeah, sure. How come?”

“Are you up for a job like that?”

Will laughed in disbelief. “Seriously? You have to ask? I’d love to get my hands on it. But I don’t know why he’s bringing it all the way here to get work done. Why not get the work done first and then transport it here? I’m sure they have plenty of qualified mechanics in Vegas, especially with all the Formula 1 races happening there now. Why pay the shipping cost to get it here?”

Reid shrugged. “He doesn’t know any of them personally, and I know you and Devin aren’t going to rob him blind or talk him into unnecessary repairs.”

“Fair enough.”

“I know you guys are busy at the shop and it’s not like he’s in a real rush with this car, but…I want—no, Ineed—to make sure that you’re committed to doing it.”

Will looked at him oddly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Reid looked around uncomfortably before blurting out, “Because word around town is that you’re already starting this year’s kissing booth campaign to find your elusive kiss-and-run chick.” He laughed. “Is that why you were driving so slowly down the street? Mapping out a strategy so she can’t get away this time?”

Damn. “First of all, I wasn’t driving slowly. That was Margie Ferguson in front of me, and she always drives ten miles under the speed limit.”

“And why were you looking around as you drove?” he asked with a smirk.

“Because Margie was going so slow that I needed to have something to do! Sheesh!”

“And this has nothing to do with you scoping out the area where Meet in the Streets is going to be?”

For the love of it…

“Reid, this is the main road in this damn town and in order to get out of town, you have to drive through it,” Will answered sarcastically. “Are we done now?”

“I don’t know…,” Reid said. “Still seems a little suspicious.”

Will considered flipping him off but decided to be the bigger person. “It will have my full attention. Trust me. Send me the specs and what you think needs to be done and we’ll talk about a timeline. I can work on it after-hours, no problem. I’ve got plenty of free time.”

“Until the festival,” Reid murmured.

“Bite me,” Will huffed, hating how he took the bait. “Anyway, so…yeah. Let me know about it whenever you get the chance.”

“Sure thing. And thanks, Will.”

“No problem, Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got some driving to do,” Will said.

“Around the block to find the quickest route from here to the school grounds?” Reid teased.

And with a one-finger salute, Will pulled away.

Maybe he’d go to Richmond and check out the classic car dealership where he often went for inspiration. Or maybe he’d go and check out the Harley Davidson place and look at motorcycles. That was one mode of transportation he’d always wanted to try but never had. Or maybe…

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