his intentions, so he tended to keep to himself when it came to these situations, no matter how much he wanted to reach out.
They got back to her car and he quickly put the spare on. As he checked out the other tires, he was positive she wasn’t going to be happy when she got back to the tire place.
“Thank you so much for your help, Miikka,” she said when he put her jack and wrench back in her trunk. “I have to get back to the tire place so he can fix this today.”
“You want I come?” he asked slowly. When she started to protest, he raised a finger, indicating she should wait as he typed in his translator and then read the results. “A woman alone often gets taken advantage of at places like that. If I come, and they think I’m your boyfriend, they probably won’t try to upsell you or anything.”
She shook her head. “Oh, I’ll be okay. I’ve been on my own a long time. I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s just one tire.”
He shifted uncomfortably. “I think maybe all tires bad.”
Charli stared at him. “What do you mean?”
“All new tires, Char-lot.”
“Shit.”
Charli wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.
As Miikka had predicted, she needed four new tires and they weren’t cheap. There went the renovation of her master bathroom. She’d been saving up to gut it and now she’d have to dig into that fund, but mostly she was bummed that she was missing her eye appointment. She’d been so excited about getting contact lenses again.
She’d worn contacts all through high school, but then her life had imploded and she’d gone back to wearing glasses. After graduating from college, it seemed fitting for a kindergarten teacher, so she hadn’t bothered changing anything. But she was turning twenty-five this summer and it seemed like a good time to make some updates, even if it was something as small as contact lenses.
Today had turned into a comedy of errors, though, and while she barely knew him, she was suddenly glad she’d taken Miikka up on his offer to come with her. The man at the tire store had tried to sell her a thousand dollars’ worth of tires, talking about all-season this and bad weather that. Miikka had nipped it in the bud, pointing out it was a small, older car that didn’t need anything that expensive. A few negotiations later, her car would soon have four new tires and she was sitting with a hunk of a hockey player who’d been the one bright spot in her day.
“You are sad?” Miikka asked her as they waited, sinking down next to her and apparently not that anxious to leave yet.
“It just seems like one thing after another lately,” she said ruefully. “I had to get a new battery not that long ago and the water heater in my house broke two months ago, all while I’m trying to renovate my master bathroom.”
“You live alone?” he asked.
She nodded. “And it’s a really old house. My grandfather left it to me but it seems like I have to fix something every other week. It’s better than renting, since I don’t have a mortgage, but I have repairs all the time, so it’s almost the same thing.” She paused, watching a bit of confusion in his eyes. “Am I talking too fast?”
He smiled sheepishly. “Yes. Maybe.”
“I’m sorry.” She pulled out her phone and started typing. She found the Google translation program and typed in what she’d just said. Then she handed him her phone since she couldn’t pronounce the words in Finnish.
He read it and nodded. “Yes. Much work, houses.”
“And not much money, as a teacher.”
He seemed to be thinking about something and then cocked his head. “You teach me?”
“What?” Charli wasn’t sure what he meant.
“You can teach English?”
“Well, yes, I suppose, but—” she began.
“I give money, you teach?”
“I…” She occasionally tutored children who were falling behind, but she’d never done it for money.
“I buy—” He motioned to the cash register. “You teach, one month.”
“I…” Charli was at a loss for words. Tutoring might be fun, and doing it in exchange for these new tires meant she could continue her bathroom remodel without dipping into her savings.
“Please?” He gave her an impish smile and she laughed.
How bad could this be? He was a professional hockey player and the best-looking guy she’d met in a long time, so it seemed like a win-win for her.
“Yes, okay. I’ll tutor you in English.