Page 11 of You're All I Need

“What was that?” Stevie asks the moment we hit the sidewalk.

“What?” I ask, playing dumb. I know exactly what she’s asking about, considering I’m pretty sure the entire room felt the burn of sexual tension sizzling between Caden and me.

She snorts. “Oh, come on. You know exactly what I’m talking about. I saw the look in his eyes when he watched you.”

My heart does this happy little skip in my chest, so I quickly slap that stupid organ upside the head. “It’s nothing. Just some banter.”

She stops at the driver’s side door as we reach her vehicle. Her eyebrows dance suggestively. “Sexy banter. He wants to strip you naked and do very dirty things to you.”

I give her a wide grin, reaching for the passenger door handle. “Maybe I’d be the one doing all the dirty things.”

My friend blushes and shakes her head. “I don’t doubt that.”

We climb into her car and fire up the air-conditioning. “It’s hotter than Satan’s ball sac in here,” I grumble, turning the A/C vent to blow in my face.

Stevie laughs hard. “How do you know how hot Satan’s ball sac gets?” she asks, carefully pulling out onto the street from her parking spot.

“Well, I did date a guy who could have been his brother,” I inform her, catching sight of Jack and Caden as they chat beside their work trucks. Caden looks…yummy. Gorgeous. Doable, which, by the look in his eye as we were getting ready to leave the restaurant, is something he’s one-hundred-percent game for.

Hell, he’s had that gleam in his eye since the moment I met him. That fun, playful, I’d rip your clothes off and have my wicked way with you look. Not that I’m complaining. Oh, no. The exact opposite, in fact. He’s hot and it does all sorts of good to my self-esteem.

“Are you sure you want to come back over and help me after you pick up your car?”

“I told you I’m all yours today, so yes. It’s just easier for me to grab it now while we’re already out and about.”

She nods and takes off toward the auto repair shop my uncle works at. He’s had my car for almost a week, working on a few things that are both expensive and complicated, after hours. This bill won’t be easy to pay, and that’s with the family discount he insists on giving me by him working on my car after hours. Sure, I have savings, especially since I sold my new car—which was fully paid for by my ex—and buying an older model to buff up my account, but I depleted a big chunk of it when I moved here earlier in the year. My townhouse is about the same size as my former apartment, but when I decided to relocate, I did it for the fresh start. That also meant selling some of the larger furniture I had and buying new pieces, so the memories weren’t trailing behind me. Or at least new-to-me. I’m not above resell and consignment shops, and I’ve found a lot of great treasures while filling my townhouse.

Stevie pulls into the parking lot for Otto’s and stops at the front door. “I’ll see you back at my place?”

Grabbing my backpack purse, I nod. “Yep. Be there soon.”

I head for the entrance and smile when I see my uncle’s girlfriend behind the counter. “Hi, Patti.”

“Well, good afternoon, Adrienne. How is this Monday treating you?”

“Not too bad. Just had lunch with Stevie. I hear my car is ready,” I reply, leaning against the countertop.

“It sure is,” she replies with a grin. Spinning around, she retrieves a sheet of paper from the bin on the wall. She glances at the amount and winces. “Yikes.”

“Yeah,” I swallow over the lump in my throat. “I knew it would be pricey. Everyone thinks cars are great, until they break, and you have to pay for all that computer shit.”

“I hear ya,” she says, slipping back on her stool and placing the bill in front of me. My stomach drops a little at the number on the paper, but I have no other choice. Well, I could have taken it to the dealership, and the number on the bottom line would have probably been twice as much.

Pulling out my credit card, I hand it over so she can run the charge. “Do you want to make monthly payments? Otto says you can pay whatever, since you’re Gary’s niece.”

While I appreciate the offer, I shake my head. That’s not fair to Otto to not receive payment for the parts and use of the shop while my uncle worked on my car, especially since he’s probably already had to pay for the parts when they were ordered. “No, thank you. You can put the whole thing on my card.”

My savings will cover the full amount and not be completely depleted, just dangerously low. My mom taught me to always keep six months of living expenses in your savings account at all times for emergencies, such as this one. Of course, I didn’t quite have six months’ worth saved up, but I was on my way. Then my life crashed and burned and what I was able to put away was slowly needed.

That’s why I offered to help Caden and Jack. I really don’t mind doing admin work and I have the experience. Plus, whatever money they’ll pay will do wonders to replenish my rapidly dwindling savings.

Just as Patti slips my keys and card back across the counter with the credit card slip needing my signature, the door from the shop opens. “Hey, kiddo.”

“Hi, Uncle Gary,” I reply, smiling as I glance up and take in the aging man.

Gary is my mom’s only brother, and one of my remaining living relatives. He moved to Stewart Grove back when he was in the military, and the story is he was following a woman. It didn’t work out for them after a short marriage, however, and neither did the second one. He’s been dating Patti for about five years now, and with both of their pasts, they are content to just live and work together and have no intention of marrying.

Wiping his hands on a shop towel, he says, “I got y’all fixed up, kiddo.”

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