“Then send her away.”
“She has nowhere to go. She just got out of a bad situation. I can’t do that to her.”
She smirked. “Good thing you don’t like her. You might care about her welfare, then.”
“Okay, fine. I liked Charlynn. She was funny and droll. Sexy. I wouldn’t have slept with her if I didn’t like her.”
“Aren’t Charlynn and Charly the same person?”
“No. Charly chaps my ass. She does all these crazy things, and she has the weirdest little expressions.” I waved my hands, fluttering them in the air, raising my voice. “Easy peasy. Holy moly. Chap my…” I let my voice trail off when I realized I had used one of her expressions. Dammit.
Mary bit her lip to stop from laughing again. “She gets under your skin.”
“She annoys me.”
“So, how do you solve it?”
“I ignore her. She can do her job, I’ll do mine.”
“How is that working for you so far?”
“It will be fine.”
“What room is she in?”
I squirmed a little in my seat. “She told me to treat her like the guy I thought I hired. So, I’m doing exactly that.”
Aside from wanting to kiss her all the time. I didn’t share that piece of information. It was a passing phase. Once we put aside the night we shared, I’d be able to ignore her and only see her as Charly. I was convinced of that.
Mary narrowed her eyes at me, waiting for my response.
“She’s in the room behind the garage.”
“You put her in the garage?”
“That’s where I planned on putting Charly, so that’s where she stays.”
Mary struggled to keep her amusement in but failed. “This is better than reality TV. You hire a stranger you thought was a guy, sleep with a pretty girl who turns out to be said guy, and you stick her in the garage to avoid temptation. You refuse to admit you like her, regardless of her name, and she’s been here less than twenty-four hours and has you tied up in knots and running from your own place.” She wiped her eyes. “Yep. I definitely need to come and meet this girl. Soon.”
I stood. “I’m leaving. I’ll show myself out. Thanks for nothing, Mary.”
Her laughter followed me out the door.
I arrived back at the house a few hours later. I was calmer and my head clear. Charly was unexpected. We’d had amazing sex, and I was still reacting to the memories. It was as simple as that. I would put that aside, treat her as an employee, and give her a shot. She was obviously a hard worker, and I needed that. She could concentrate on the business, and I would concentrate on the customers. Once money was flowing again, maybe I would find the enthusiasm to start a new project. One to replace the one I had lost. I tried not to dwell on that.
Except as I rounded the truck and saw what was waiting for me, all my clarity disappeared. Lying on a blanket on the grass, Rufus stretched out beside her, was Charly. Her legs were bare, a T-shirt hanging off her shoulder. She was on her stomach, knees bent, legs crossed at the ankle as she typed on her keyboard, enjoying the sun. I had to stop and take a few deep breaths before I went over, pushed away her laptop, and mounted her like a dog in heat.
Jesus, she was sexy.
I waited a moment then walked over, and she sat up, looking leery. “Hi.”
“Hi. How’s the hand?”
“It’s fine.”
“What are you doing?”
She crossed her legs and pulled her laptop onto her knees. “Looking at the website. Coming up with ideas. How attached are you to your, ah, logo?”
I sat down across from her, imitating her crossed legs. She was trying, so I could do the same. “It’s old and outdated, I suppose. There used to be a sign.” I indicated the pole at the end of the driveway.
“So, it was your dad’s shop?”
“Yes, he ran it. He worked on cars, motorcycles, anything with an engine.” I smiled as I remembered being young and hanging around his garage. “When I was a kid, people even brought their lawn mowers here to be fixed.”
“So, the house…”
“…was my parents,” I finished for her. “I grew up there. I moved to Lomand when I was older, then when my dad wanted to retire and they needed a smaller place, I bought the shop and house.” I plucked a blade of grass, twirling it in my fingers. “I grew up in that shop. Being a mechanic was in my blood, and it was all I ever wanted to do.”
She shut the laptop, pulled off her glasses, and leaned forward. “Your dad taught you?”
“Yeah. He started me on those lawn mowers, then we moved to cars. It was a long time before he allowed me to touch his precious motorcycles. Those were his babies.”