Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“He is.” I drag my eyes off her and clear my throat. “You want some coffee or water?”
“I’m good, thanks.” She moves and takes a seat on the bench.
“Alright, I’ll be back to get you. It shouldn’t be long.” Without looking at her again, I leave her in the office and head back out front with her keys. It takes me about thirty minutes to get the belt replaced, and when I’m finished, I go back to the office to find her on the couch with an e-reader similar to the one I bought Billie for Christmas last year. Her head bent to the device, and Dozer is up on the bench seat with her, his big head on her lap, with her free hand scratching behind his ears. I know she had to lift him to the seat since he can’t jump more than an inch off the ground.
“All done.” Her head flies up, and so does Dozer’s.
“Already?” She sounds almost disappointed as she rests the e-reader on her lap.
“Do you want me to come back in thirty minutes, so you have a little longer to read?”
“I wish, but I need to get back to work.” She smiles as she stands.
“Do you work around here?”
“I’m the client coordinator for B&T Builders, so I mostly work from home.” She bends over to pick up her bag and begins to dig through it after putting her e-reader away. “Do you take Apple Pay?”
“No charge.” Her eyes come to me, and her brows drag together. “I owe Bax, so this is on the house.”
“You don’t have to do that; how much do I owe you?”
“Nothing.”
“No, really, how much?” She opens up her wallet.
“Seriously.” I hold up my hands. “It’s all good.”
“Okay, but I don’t feel comfortable with you doing the work on my car for free.”
“Like I said, I owe Bax.”
“But you don’t owe me.” She pulls out a hundred-dollar bill, holding it out towards me. “Is this enough?”
“I’m not taking your money.”
Instead of looking thankful, she looks agitated, which makes me curious.
“Alright, if you want to pay me back, how about you bake me cookies or something?”
“Pardon?”
“Cookies, you can pay me back with cookies.”
Glancing down at herself, she then looks around. “I’m sorry, do I look like a baker to you? Did you catch the hint of fresh-baked cookies when I walked in here, or hear me talk about the bakery I own?”
Shit. Her smart mouth and attitude should not be a turn on but fuck me it is. And it helps that she’s adorable when she’s pissed.
“It’s just a suggestion, you can come up with your own idea if you can’t bake.”
“First of all, I can bake. Second of all, I don’t need to come up with another idea. I just want you to tell me how much I owe you so I can give you the money.”
“I don’t take Apple Pay or have cash to give you back change?”
“Okay, then I’ll use my credit card.”
“My card reader is down.”
“Oh my god, you’re annoying,” she whispers like she’s talking to herself.
“It’s annoying that I fixed your car for free?”
“I didn’t ask you to do that,” she snaps, putting the hundred-dollar bill on the edge of the desk. “If there is change left over from that, you can give it to the food pantry in town.”
With that parting statement, she storms past me to the door, and I grab the cash before I follow her out of the office and down the hall, watching her ass as she goes. When she gets outside, she walks over to the door of her Bronco and opens it up.
“You’re forgetting something.”
“Really? What’s that?” She turns to glare at me, and I hold up my hand with her keys. She looks at them, then at me, and walks my way. “Thank you.” She leans up on her tiptoes and snatches them from my grasp while I put the cash back in her bag without her noticing.
“You’re welcome.” I grin, and her eyes drop to my mouth before she turns around and walks off, muttering something under her breath.
“What was that about?” Hector asks, walking over to join me as I watch her back out of the drive.
“Pretty sure I just fell in love.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah.” I turn towards the shop smiling after her Bronco disappears around the corner at the end of the block.
“You always have been a glutton for punishment.” He pats my back, following me back inside as I laugh.
Three
NALIA
“Thank you,” I tell the waitress taking the menu she passes me before I slide into the booth next to my sister, Harmony, and our other sister, Willow, takes a seat across from us.
“You’re welcome. Do you ladies want some coffee?”
“Please,” we all say in unison, making her laugh.
“Alright, I’ll be right back with three coffees and to take your orders.”