Viktor laughs. “Just doing what we can to help a brother out. ”
“I can tell. When you get out of here, we should get you a job in Frost Industries’ PR department. I bet you’d do wonders for his reputation. ”
Alejandro laughs. “We probably would at that. But once I’m out, I’m going home to Chicago. My dad has a mechanic shop there. I think I’m going to settle down, get my mechanic’s license. ”
“You want to fix cars?” I ask, excited because that’s always been a secret passion of mine as well. Miles taught me all about how engines work before I hit high school, even let me help him fix up what had been his pride and joy at the time—a 1967 Shelby Mustang GT. I’ve never had more fun on a project in my life. He’d loved that car—right up until my dad lost it in a poker game.
“I think so. When I was younger, I wanted to see the world and the Marines gave me a chance to do that. But since I got injured I’ve been thinking it might be nice to be home for a while. To have a chance to build things instead of just tear them down. ”
“That sounds like a really good plan to me. ”
He grins. “You think so?”
“Absolutely. Nothing like a little grease under your fingernails to make everything seem better. ”
He glances at my nails, which are currently painted a soft shell pink. “What do you know about grease under your fingernails?”
“More than you’d think. ”
We dive into an in-depth discussion of engines that has all three of us grinning. Viktor isn’t much on fixing cars, but he’s thrilled beyond all comprehension that I know how to do it. He and Alejandro take turns quizzing me on what I’d fix if a car behaves a certain way. I get all but two of the questions right.
Alejandro’s in the middle of explaining why I missed the second question when Ethan comes back to get me. I’m facing Alejandro, my back to the door, but I still know the second Ethan gets close to me. There’s an electricity in the air around us, a current that originates with him and flows straight into me whenever he’s around. It sounds crazy, but I don’t know of a better way to describe the way my body lights up when he’s around, my every nerve ending sparking as they wait for contact—any contact—with him.
I turn to him with a smile and instinctively take the hand he holds out to me. “You been taking good care of my girl, guys?” he asks Viktor and Alejandro.
“I think it’s more like she’s been taking good care of us,” Viktor tells him. “I like her. You should keep her around for a while. ”
“I’m trying to do just that. ” Ethan raises one dark eyebrow. “Any suggestions on how I can accomplish it?”
“Let her get dirty,” Alejandro tells him with a wink.
“Excuse me?” The second eyebrow lifts to join the first, and I get the impression that, injured or not, Alejandro is in danger of getting his ass kicked. I’m not offended because I know exactly what he means, so I put a calming hand on Ethan’s shoulder.
“Your girl’s a grease monkey,” Alejandro continues. “She likes getting her hands dirty. You should get her a car to fix up. I bet she’d like that. ”
“I’d love it,” I tell him, leaning over to give him a gentle kiss on his still healing cheek. “But I can buy my own car to fix up, thank you very much. ”
“Uh-oh,” Viktor says teasingly. “You got yourself one of those feminists, Ethan. You better treat her right or she’ll be gone. ”
“Believe me, I intend to. ” He reaches over, shakes both their hands. I kiss Viktor’s cheek as well before we walk away.
“Hey, chica!” Alejandro calls after me. “Come back and visit us sometime. ”
I turn to smile at him. “I plan on it. Take care, okay?”
He winks. “I always do. ”
“I’m sorry I was gone so long,” Ethan tells me after we say a quick hello to the last soldiers in the ward. “Andrew has some interesting ideas for some new bone-grafting technology we’re working on. I wanted to make sure I understood what he was talking about before I went into R&D with his thoughts on Monday. ”
“That’s okay. You couldn’t have left me in better company. ”
“I could tell. You looked like you were really enjoying yourself. ”
“I was. Alejandro and Viktor are great. Really cool guys. ”
“And closer to your age than I am, certainly. ”
I turn to look at him, confused. “I don’t know what that means. ”