I swear that Old Man Jacobs. Of course he told Jeremy everything he saw.
“Shut up, Jeremy. Hand me a four-inch torque wrench.”
I have my hand hanging out the underside of the car. “Jeremy! Torque wrench,” I say again.
“Here you go,” a sweet voice says.
I know that voice. I lift my head to look at where the sound is coming from. She’s bent down, her knees on the dirty concrete, and she’s staring at me, holding out the torque wrench. She’s smiling, and right then, I know I’m screwed.
I don’t take the wrench. I push my way out from underneath the car. I grab a towel off the table and try to wipe my hands. I have my coveralls on, and I’m covered in grease, probably from head to toe.
“Lakelyn,” I mutter, staring at her, barely able to breathe from the pressure on my chest. What is she doing here?
The makeup from earlier is gone. She has her hair up in a ponytail, and the jean shorts and v-neck T-shirt are back.
She smiles up at me. “Hey Tate. I hope it’s okay that I tracked you down.”
She tracked me down... that has to mean something, I tell myself.
I cross my arms over my chest. “Sure, what can I do for you? You have car problems?”
Her forehead creases as she stares back at me. I’m being an ass.
4
Lakelyn
He’s being an ass, and I don’t understand it. “Did I miss something?”
He just looks at me. His face is void of any feeling whatsoever, and he’s just staring at me. What happened to the man from earlier?
I wave my hand in front of his face. “Hello...”
The man that is here with Tate is looking between us, back and forth, and then suddenly a huge smile forms on his face. He starts to laugh, and Tate gives him a deadly glare that shuts him up quick.
The man holds his hands up and starts to walk backwards. “Yeah, so it’s quitting time. I’ll see you tomorrow, Tate. Ma’am, it’s good to meet you. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”
A growl, low and lethal, comes from Tate as he watches his friend walk away.
When he looks at me, I can see the possessiveness in his eyes, and a small sliver of hope builds inside me. Maybe there is a chance.
But just as quickly, it’s gone. “What are you doing here, Lakelyn?”
He seems frustrated and maybe even a little mad. Today has been a roller coaster of emotions, and I’m trying to keep up. I shake my head. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to seem like I’m stalking you or anything. I thought we hit it off.”
There’s a flare of interest in his eyes, but he doesn’t say anything. I should walk away, turn around, and forget I ever met Tate Jennings, but I can’t.
“So... your name’s on the building. This your shop?”
He grunts a yes, and I start to walk around because standing in one spot, staring at him is too much for me. “This is a nice garage.”
He makes a sound like he doesn’t believe what I’m saying. “Yeah, I doubt you hang out in a lot of garages.”
My eyes snap to his. His cheeks are ruddy, and I know I caught him staring at my ass. Obviously he’s into me, so why is he acting so standoffish?
I put my hand on my hip. “What’s your problem?”
He lifts his chin in defiance. “I don’t know what you mean.”
I shake my head side to side. “I thought... well, I thought you were going to ask me out. I mean, am I completely stupid on this or did we have a moment earlier?”
His jaw tightens as if he’s gritting his teeth, but he doesn’t say a word.
I throw my hands up in frustration. “Okay, whatever, obviously I read the whole entire situation wrong. I’ll just go and let you get back to work.”
I get as far as the door before he stops me. “Wait, Lakelyn.”
Tate
I should let her go. I know I should. There’s absolutely nothing that can come of this. We’re too different, but I still couldn’t let her walk out the garage doors.
I stride toward her. “You’re right. We, uh, did have a moment earlier.” More like a thousand fireworks went off in my head when I looked at her, but we’ll just call it a moment. “But that was before...”
When I stop, she shakes her head, no doubt fed up with me, and I can’t blame her. “Before what?”
I clear my throat. “Before I found out you were a model... ya know.”
She laughs like it’s a joke, but when I don’t laugh with her she stops. “Wait... you’re joking, right?”
I shake my head side to side.
She tilts her head to the side. “So let me get this straight. You liked me when I was a woman you thought was just working on the set... now that you know I’m a model... you don’t.”