Miss Mechanic

The rumble of his truck came from behind, and any fleeting thought I’d had about calling him to meet somewhere disappeared.

Damn it.

I steeled myself and got out of my car, clutching my keys in one hand and my phone in the other. “Hey,” I said when Dex caught up with me at the front door.

“Hey. Sorry—I know this is awkward.”

“No, it’s fine. Come in.” I walked inside and tossed my keys into the bowl on the side table. My phone stayed firmly with me as I moved through to the kitchen door. “You can take a seat. I just need to do some laundry.”

I darted into the kitchen and dragged the basket across the floor. It tipped up on its side, and instead of sighing, I slowly separated the whites from the colors and the darks.

All right, I was killing time. As much as I wanted to hear what Dex was going to apologize for, I didn’t want to be alone with him in my house.

Because I wasn’t even angry anymore. A part of me didn’t even care that he’d been talking about me, because I had been about him. That was human nature—how else were you supposed to figure stuff out? Sometimes you needed a sounding board, and if the thing you needed to sound off on was a person…

Well.

The wall wouldn’t be very helpful, would it? It wasn’t a police investigation with pictures and goddamn memo cards.

I set the load going and hovered in the doorway. “Can I get you a drink?”

“Nah, I’m good.” He paused, looking back at me. “You don’t need to look at me like I’m gonna bite you, darlin’. I only do that on request.”

I pursed my lips and sat on the arm of the sofa. “Haley said you were here to apologize. Was that it? It sucked.”

His lips pulled into a smile. “It was an unspoken offer.”

I stared at him flatly. “You do that when you’re uncomfortable. Have you noticed?”

“No, but I probably will now.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You get really snarky when you’re uncomfortable. Have you noticed that?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Yes. It’s called self-preservation. And this is not an apology.”

Dex rubbed his hand down his face. “You’re right. Shit. You put me all out of fucking sorts all the damn time.”

Was that a compliment?

Nah. It was a frustration. Maybe a weird mix of both.

“Um, okay.” I clasped my hands in my lap and waited for him to speak more.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry for this morning.” He leaned back, one arm over the back cushions.

Our eyes met, and there was no deception. He really meant it.

“Charley laid into me over lunch, as much as I hate admitting a seven-year-old kicked my ass.”

I looked down and smiled.

“In her words, I’m “mean” to you. And…she’s kinda right. I am. And there’s no excuse for the way I speak to you sometimes, so I’m sorry.”

I peered back up at him and pushed my now-dry, wildly curly hair behind my ear. It popped right back out again. “Well, thank you. I appreciate the apology.”

Dex grinned—a real, genuine smile that made his eyes light up. Made him look pretty damn handsome, too. “I promise I’ll do better to be nice to you.” He got up and walked to the door.

“Dex, wait.” I followed him and caught him opening the front door. I slid past him and clicked it shut.

He looked at me quizzically. “Yeah, I know I didn’t say anything wrong this time…”

“I’m sorry, too.” I threw the words out before I could change my mind. “I…don’t exactly make it easy for us to get along.”

He tilted his head to the side, pinning me with his gaze.

I rolled my shoulders awkwardly, holding my hair back from my face. “So…you’re not the only one who could try harder or watch what they say. If you’re willing to try, then I am, too.”

“Look at that,” he muttered through a smile. “The sassy one has a heart under there.”

“See, that.” I pointed at him and shook my head.

He laughed. “I’m kidding. Don’t sweat it, Jamie. We’re just different people and we clash.”

“Actually… We’re not that different.” I fiddled with the hem of my shirt, glancing down for a second. “We’re both pretty stubborn—”

“I take offense to that.”

“—Which is the first sign of stubbornness,” I continued. “We’re pretty headstrong and determined, and with this whole set up… I mean, it doesn’t help that only one of us can be right, and that’s not going to be you.”

“This apology went downhill real quick.” His lips twitched as he fought laughter.

I touched my fingers to my mouth. “The best apologies are honest ones.”

“Continue.” He laughed.

“We’re just really similar, and that leads to personality clashes. That’s all.” I smiled and dropped my hand back to play with my fraying hem. “Maybe now that we’ve recognized it, we’ll be able to be friends.”