Page 13 of Tuned To Break
“The office looks like a tornado blew through it. I honestly don’t know how they’re still operating or how they’re getting work done. It’s just... It’s a lot.”
“Is it something you can do?” Megan questions.
“Absolutely. I love the challenge, but there’s a little hiccup.”
They both look at me and level me with their stare.
“What hiccup?” Emily frowns in confusion. “Don’t tell me you’ve quit already.”
“No, no, nothing like that. If anything, it’s going to take a lot of time to get that shop back up and running. As much as I don’t like my uncle and I’m not talking to him at the moment, I’m not going to let his legacy—his shop, his dreams—all go up in flames. He built a reputation, and that reputation should beupheld. From what I’ve seen today, I know that in the last few years of him running the shop, things went downhill quickly. It would have been around the same time Mum died, so maybe he was feeling it in other ways. Maybe he wasn’t coping as well as I thought he was, and maybe that’s part of the reason why he chose to have nothing to do with me.”
It still stings that my uncle cut me out of his life. We were quite close before Mum died, but it was like he almost couldn’t stand being around me or dealing with the grief.
“So, what’s the hiccup?” Megan probes.
I take a deep breath. “You remember the masquerade party we came to here?”
“Yeah, the one a few months ago.”
“I’m so pissed I missed that one,” Emily adds.
“Well, you know how I did that thing?” I say, trying not to talk too loudly.
“You mean how you let a stranger in a mask finger-bang you in the corridor and make you come harder than you’ve come in months?”
“Yeah, that thing,” I grumble.
“What about it?” Megan asks.
“Well, I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling he may work at Doc’s.”
Emily spits her drink across the table. “He what? How do you know? And how do you not know for sure?”
I’m chicken-shit to ask. I keep the thought to myself, though.
“Well, the night’s a little hazy because of how much alcohol I consumed, but some memories from that night are quite clear. I remember what happened, and I remember I enjoyed it. I’m not entirely sure it’s him—it’s just that he called me ‘darl.’ The same way that guy did that night. He looked at me like he kind of knew me, but then again, he didn’t, like he was testing the waters.”
“Did you let him know?” Megan asks.
“No, but I’m telling you, he has that voice, the same voice that’s been haunting my dreams for the last three months.”
“And getting you off in the shower,” Emily jokes.
I fucking hate these two, but I love them. I hate that I’m so open about everything, but they’re my best friends. They know everything about me—all my dirty secrets, all my fantasies, everything I do. The same as I know theirs. There are no secrets between us. But right now, I regret telling them that.
“Yeah, so I don’t know, but holy fuck, he is hot. Like, hot hot.”
“Are we talking like Channing Tatum hot, or are we talking like Chris Hemsworth hot?” Emily asks.
I look at her like she’s lost her mind. “Both of those guys are hot, but we’re talking like if Channing Tatum and Chris Hemsworth had a baby—that hot. He’s tall—really tall—with this incredible build that comes from actual physical work, you know? Not gym muscles, but the kind you get from years of lifting engines and wrestling with stubborn cars. Dark hair that’s slightly messy, like he’s been running his hands through it while concentrating or frustrated. And his hands...” I pause, remembering the way they moved with such confidence and skill. “God, his hands are amazing. Strong, capable, with calluses that speak to real work, but gentle when they need to be. He’s got these dark eyes that seem to see right through you, and when he smiles, which he does with this slightly cocky edge... There’s something about the way he carries himself, this quiet confidence mixed with just enough rough around the edges. He’s the kind of man who looks like he could fix anything that’s broken, including you, and make you enjoy every second of it.”
“Oh,” they both say together. “Okay, this could be fun.”
I glare at Megan, confused by her words.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if he hasn’t actually said that it was him, and you haven’t said that you remember it was him, maybe have some fun with it.”
