Page 19 of Only Ever Yours
“Are things that bad?”
Hollis let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair. “I don’t know what my brother has been doing, but his paperwork and accounts are all over the place. I can’t reconcile a bunch of the parts he’s got in stock with the relevant suppliers. How do you usually order stuff?”
I shrugged. “Depends. Sometimes, we’ll do it through the system; sometimes, one of us will call up.”
She stretched, lifting her arms above her head. The movement made her already tight T-shirt emphasise her breasts, and I had to make sure I kept at eye level.
Fuck, she’s a distraction.
“We need to set something up so everyone follows the same process. I think that’s where things are falling down.”
Biting the inside of my cheek, I nodded. “Yeah, makes sense, I guess. I’m not sure how well it’s going to go down with Rod. He’s been doing it his way for such a long time.”
Letting out a little moan as she stretched out her shoulders, Hollis sat back in her chair. Our eyes met, and I had to stop my mind from focusing on how good the noise sounded.
“He’ll have to get used to it, like you and Finn will.” She fixed me with a look that said she wasn’t going to be flexible just because we were all friends.
“Hello?” a male voice called from the main garage area.
Dragging my gaze away from Hollis, I turned and stalked out of the office. This ‘working in such close proximity’ malarkey was tough on a guy.
“Morning, Mr Thompson.” I greeted one of our returning customers with a smile. He’d recently been sold a dud of a vehicle and had come in several times with a starter motor problem. Each time I thought I’d solved it, something else seemed to go wrong with it. Sometimes, I wondered whether he’d be better off trashing the vehicle and starting over. “Don’t tell me it’s happened again.”
“Not this time.” He shook his head. “One of the delivery drivers pushed me off the road, and I ended up in the hedge. My wing mirror got smashed clean off.”
“Good to hear.” I held up my hands. “What I meant was, good that it’s not the same problem. It should be a relatively quick fix.”
He laughed. “I knew what you meant. At least the starter motor has lasted a good two weeks this time.” He gestured to the door. “Do you want to come and take a look?”
“Sure.” I followed him outside to the car.
It was a fairly quick diagnosis. Mr Thompson had managed to salvage the original wing mirror, and while I wouldn’t be able to fix it straightaway, it was a fairly standard part to be ordered. I chuckled to myself. Hollis would be able to show me her new order-processing system. After a few minutes of polite chat, I went back inside. Sure enough, there was a mug of tea waiting for me on the side. Smirking, I took a sip.
Our little ritual.
The aroma of home-cooked food slapped me in the face as I walked through the front door, transporting me back to the times when Finn would invite me over for tea. His mum, Sara, would make a delicious meal from scratch—something my own mother was incapable of—and usually gave me a Tupperware dish of whatever she’d made to take home for the next day. I shook my head against the surprise wave of emotion that washed over me and followed my nose to the kitchen. The table was set for dinner, a bottle of red in the middle already open and breathing. Hollis had her back to me, frantically stirring the food in the saucepan and muttering to herself under her breath.
“You got a hot date tonight?”
“Shit!” The spoon slipped from her hand onto the floor,and she turned, red-faced and covered in what looked like Bolognese sauce.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” I moved closer to the cooker and leaned over, taking in the smell of beef mince. “He must be really special if you’re going to this much effort.”
I swore her cheeks coloured even more at my comment.
Hollis threw the dirty spoon into the sink and grabbed another one from the drawer. “It’s not a date; I’ve made dinner for the three of us. Thought it might be nice for us to sit down and eat together for once.” She held out the spoon, loaded with sauce, for me. “Here, see what you think.”
The flavour definitely reminded me of the one Sara used to make although Hollis’s version wasn’t quite the same, despite still being tasty. There was more of a full-bodied flavour to this one, and I wondered how much of the red wine had made it into the recipe.
I chewed and nodded. “This is good,” I said once I’d finished the mouthful. “Is there any more?”
A small smile spread over her face. “There will be once you’ve got cleaned up for dinner.” She reached out and touched my cheek. “Engine oil, probably.”
“How long have I got?” I savoured her touch, almost craving more.
Now isn’t the time.
“Maybe ten minutes. I’m about to pop some garlic bread in the oven.”
