Page 14 of Knot Falling in Love
“No damage, I just finished up. It’s done.”
“What do you mean ‘it’s done’? I just dropped off the keys 30 minutes ago. How can you be done?”
“I ran diagnostics and then replaced the spark plugs. Everything is good as new. Youshould see the old ones—they’re wrecked. Why? Was there something else?”
I groan, raking my hand through my hair, gripping the back of my neck. “No, I was just hoping it would take a little more time.”
There’s a silence, and then the sound of my office door shutting, Mike says, half whispering into the phone, “If we need to keep this person in town, you know, for legal reasons, I can do a full workup on the car. It would buy you some time at least.”
“What?!” I glance over my shoulder, thinking that Maisie might have heard, but she’s still looking at the baked goods, “I mean, I like where your head is at, but, no. The car belongs to,” I hesitate, “a friend, and she’s visiting for the weekend, so I thought, nevermind.”
“If she’s that special to you, the least we can do is give her an oil change. We could rotate the tires and maybe get one of the guys to detail her car.”
“You know what? Do it. Toss in whatever else you think is appropriate. I’ll flip the bill for whatever supplies you use.”
“She must be pretty great,” Mikereplies.
Maisie looks over her shoulder, brows furrowed as she searches the sidewalk. Her features soften the moment she finds me and I can tell she’s fighting a smirk, as always.
It’s like a shared reaction, lightning arcs between the two of us whenever we lock eyes. She stares at me like I’m the only man in the world, and in that moment, she is the only thing that matters.
I exhale, “Yeah, she really is.”
After I hang up with Mike and step foot into the bakery, Phil emerges from the back carrying a white cardboard box with a pink sticky note attached to the side with Alexis’s name in a sprawling script. She circles around to the small wooden countertop beside the register, setting the box down in front of us.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I took a few creative liberties with the design.” Phil flashes a smile, unfastening the sides of the box and lifting it to reveal the cake.
The two-tiered round white cake is decorated with bright green grass along the bottom and a row of green shells with a shiny royal icing rendition of Ghostlight Lake, with Happy Birthday, Alexis written in a lighter blue icingover top. That’s not all, Phil also added three tiny Great Basin Spadefoot frogs sculpted with frosting sitting on the small patch of grass off to the side of the lake.
“That is incredible.” Maisie’s smile is as bright as the sun.
“It’s wonderful, you have really outdone yourself, Phil. Alexis is going to love this.”
Phil smiles, looking between the two of us, “Can I get you or your mate anything else?”
“My—” I look down at Maisie, my heart in my throat.
Her panicked thoughts threaten to overwhelm me, but after her initial shock, there is a wave of jealousy. Followed by an intense longing, images of a future and a quick barrage of memories from the night before play through her head. The whole confusing ordeal leaves my cock pulsing uncomfortably in my jeans.
“Not his mate. We’re just friends.” She finally forces out, her voice laced with the disappointment that I felt in her thoughts.
“I am so sorry,” Phil waves her hands, her cheeks flushing pink, “You two look really close, so I got that vibe. It just kind of slipped out, Iapologize.”
“No harm done. However, we will take one of each.” I say, gesturing to the glass case filled with the assorted pastries.
She seems to relax, “Great.” She closes up the cake box, setting it off to the side as she turns and picks out the pastries, placing them in individual paper sleeves.
“Elijah,” Maisie mutters a warning under her breath, “I’m not eatingallof that.”
“Who said it was all for you?” I lie with a smile, placing my card on the counter.
She rolls her eyes, fighting a grin, and that one smile means the world to me.
Chapter Eight
Maisie
After dropping the cake off at Hannah’s house, we stopped by the grocery store to pick up some wrapping paper and something for dinner, since Elijah’s fridge is just as empty as the rest of his house. I learned quickly that the grilled cheese combo wasn’t him trying to evoke a sense of nostalgia. The man just hasn’t gone grocery shopping in weeks.
