well have been carved from stone. Broody, stormy, grumpy stone.
He said something, but I couldn’t read his lips any better than I could read his expression. Was it I’ll call you? Maybe See you tonight? Hopefully something more like No thanks, I’m busy. Whatever it was, it ended their conversation. Jill left in the opposite direction.
Evan came in and even if my eyes hadn’t been trained on him, I would have known he was there. His presence was palpable, as if he displaced so much air that it pressed against me, gentle but insistent.
I bet his lips were gentle but insistent. That lower lip of his was very plump.
God, why was I thinking about Evan’s lips? I had a busted transmission and a cash-flow crisis, and here I was staring at the man’s mouth.
Logan looked up as Evan approached the booth. “Hey, brodozer.”
He seemed to ignore Logan, fixing his stare on Gavin—who still had his arm draped on the back of the booth behind me.
“You’re supposed to call Jill,” Gavin said, emphasizing her name.
Evan’s nostrils flared and I heard the hint of a growl coming from deep in his throat.
Logan watched his brothers, clearly amused.
“What are you guys doing here?” Evan asked.
“Keeping Fiona company,” Gavin said. “We also rescued her from Luke. You’re welcome.”
Evan’s eyes darted to me. “You saw Luke?”
“Yeah, but it was fine.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
Was I imagining things, or was Evan reacting with concern instead of anger? He couldn’t be.
But there was no rage in those whiskey-brown eyes.
“Positive. He doesn’t have any hard feelings about the Pontiac. He actually said he was impressed, not mad.”
Evan’s eye twitched and I wondered if he believed me. “Good. You ready?”
“Yeah, I’m done.”
“I can take her,” Gavin said. “What do you think, Fiona? We can go grab some dessert first.”
“No,” Evan said, his voice low.
“I’m pretty sure she can make her own decisions, bro,” Gavin said.
“I know she can. I’m making your decision, and it’s no.”
“I’ll save you the trouble of playing a game of who’s the alpha brother,” I said. “I need to get back to Evan’s shop. I still have a lot of work to do.”
“All right, that’s fair.” Gavin said, sliding out of the booth so I could get up. “But it’s definitely me.”
Logan laughed. “Yeah, right.”
“It was nice meeting you, Logan,” I said. “Bye, Gavin.”
“Bye, Fiona,” Gavin said. “Call me.”
I just shook my head and left with Evan.
We drove back to his place, the roar of his motorcycle preventing conversation. I hadn’t said anything about Luke offering me a job. But what was I supposed to say? I already knew he’d tell me not to take it. And a part of me felt like a traitor for even considering it.
But their weird family feud didn’t have anything to do with me. Why did I have to choose a side?
I needed a job. Luke had seen something in me that had made him want to hire me, despite the fact that I’d helped his rival. Wasn’t that worth something?
But if I took it, would Evan see it as a betrayal to our friendship? Was I willing to take that risk?
I was so confused.
Riding on the back of his motorcycle with my arms around his waist wasn’t helping.
I liked Evan. But I had no idea if he liked me, or if he was just trying to discharge the debt he felt he owed me.
One thing I knew for sure: Whether I took Luke’s offer or not, I was going to figure this out on my own. I’d helped Evan, and he’d helped me. The last thing I was going to do was ask him for anything more.
17
Evan
After our trip to town, I left Fiona in the shop to finish up her car while I took Sasquatch out for a trail walk. I needed it as much as he did—needed space and fresh air to clear my head. I had too much bouncing around up there. It was distracting, keeping me from making good progress on the Pontiac.
Fiona’s transmission had set her back a few days, but she was almost done. Which meant she’d be leaving soon. Probably tomorrow. Hell, maybe even today if she wanted to put some miles behind her.
I didn’t know how to feel about that.
As much as I liked my space—I lived and worked alone for a reason—I was getting used to her. The way she hummed along to the music while she worked. The way she smiled when she caught me looking at her.