Page 58 of On the Double
Turning on my heel, I marched across the lawn and past the burnt building. I could have taken the truck over there, but that would make me look eager to return. And while I really fucking wanted to hear the story, I also didn’t want to appear like I wanted to be near Harper. Again, I didn’t want to give her any ideas.
By the time I yanked open the door to the garage office, I was fucking fuming. Duke looked up from his desk and raised an eyebrow. “Problems?”
“Your wife needs you.”
He must have caught the bite in my tone when I said wife because he started chuckling, tossing his pen on the desk. “What did she do this time?”
“She’s trying to set me up with Harper.”
“The woman you brought as your fake fiancée? Gee, I can’t imagine what would give her the idea to do that.”
“Are you suggesting I had this coming?”
“Well, I wouldn’t suggest it was purely coincidental.”
“I was just doing her a favor.”
“And sticking your foot in it along the way. You fucked yourself over.” He sighed heavily. “So, what does she want, and how do I figure into it?”
“Harper has a brother. He just happens to be a mechanic and she thought you might be interested in a little help.”
“And I’m guessing you don’t want me to hire him.”
“The last fucking thing I need is for her to have a connection to us.”
“Are you worried her brother is going to get involved?”
I shook my head. “No, but I’m really fucking worried she’s going to think she can visit anytime she wants. And then I’ll run into her and it’ll be really fucking hard to stay away from her. And before you say anything, yes, she’s fucking hot and I’m attracted to her. But she has these crazy fantasies and daydreams about me in the middle of the check-out line.”
“I feel like I’m missing some vital information.”
“It doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that I don’t want him working here.”
“I’m sure it’s not a problem. The kid probably doesn’t have any experience, anyway.”
“He works at the garage in town.”
This made Duke sit up straight in a flash. “Wait…how old is this kid?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Late twenties, early thirties.”
“Red hair?”
I thought about it and nodded. “Slightly red. Why?”
He jumped to his feet, holding his hands out apologetically. “I’m really fucking sorry about this.”
“No—”
“Sorry, but I’ve been trying to snatch that kid for over a year now.”
“Duke, you’re supposed to have my back.”
“And under any other circumstances, I would. But this kid is fucking amazing.”
“Better than you?”
He tsked. “Nobody’s better than me. But he’s reliable, and that’s hard to find around here.”