Nick nodded and threw some money onto the bar, for whoever wanted it, because he wasn’t sure who was even his bartender at this point or if he had paid for any of the alcohol he had consumed. “Good night…” Shit, what was her name again? “Everyone.” That was safe enough, he, figured and waved to everyone who was in his vicinity.
Luke watched him stagger off towards the door before turning back around and coming face to face with Cara.
“Luke, either order a drink or follow Nick out. I don’t need a babysitter.” She said and for the first time there wasn’t malice in her voice.
He considered her words and nodded. “I’ll have a Jack and coke.” She stared at him for a moment, studying him, and then she nodded slightly.
“Okay.” She whispered as if they had an understanding between one another. If she only knew he would drink himself silly if it kept her from lashing out at him.
Chapter Fifteen
Nick pulled his truck into the lot of Lanza Automotive the following morning, with a piping hot cup of coffee from the deli and sunglasses on to shield his eyes from the cheery sunny morning. He grunted as he turned off the ignition. He was late as usual, but was certain he would get a pass from Luke, being as how he had stayed at Rudy’s last night. In fact, as Nick scoped out the lot, he didn’t notice Luke’s car. It brought him a profound sense of joy that he had beaten Luke to the shop, hangover and all. He glanced at his watch and noticed it was almost noon, and there was no sign of Luke. His friend must’ve had one wild night, chuckling, he pictured Luke feigning off Alaina that was her name wasn’t it? He shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his coffee as he walked into the garage.
One of their mechanics was working diligently on a Mustang. Nick nodded towards Johnny, who lifted his head when he heard Nick enter the garage.
“Hey boss, how’s it going?” asked Johnny as he wiped some grease off the gears he was holding.
“Shitty.” Nick admitted as his head throbbed. “Luke never showed up?”
“No, it’s just me. I opened the shop and got started on this beauty.” He said as he ran his hand down the hood of the cherry red Mustang.
Nick nodded appreciating both the beauty of the car and the fact that they had a reliable worker to carry on with their business. “That’s why we pay you the big bucks.” Nick joked. He had no idea what they in fact paid him that was Luke’s area. He started for the office when he heard a door slam shut in the parking lot.
He paused and turned around, ready to taunt Luke. His eyes did a double take when he saw Sam crouched over the backseat of her car, unbuckling Ava’s seat belt. He pushed his glasses to the top of his head and watched the two blondes holding hands walk towards him. They were a sight, one that made Nick’s heart throb to the same beat as his head.
“Hi.” She said softly, stopping just a few feet in front of him.
“Hey.” He said and took a sip of his coffee, in an attempt to stop himself from leaning in and pressing his mouth to hers. He didn’t give a damn that his mouth wasn’t welcome on hers or that there was a kid present. He looked down at the pint size version of Sam and winked. “Hey kiddo.”
Ava grinned up at Nick; her toothless grin sucker punching him right in the gut. “Hi Nick.” She said cheerfully, swinging her hand that held her aunts.
“Is Luke here by any chance?” Sam asked, forcing Nick to take his eyes off of Ava.
Nick’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why is he supposed to meet you here?”
Sam eyed Ava and sighed. She didn’t want to worry her niece, but she needed to talk to Nick to see if he had any insight as to where Luke had disappeared too. Nick must’ve read her mind or saw the concern for Ava in her eyes because he bent down so he was eye level with Ava.
“Ava, in my office there is a huge jar with change in it. Why don’t you go see how much you can fill your pockets with and if it’s okay with your aunt, we’ll hit the arcade and see if we can win some prizes. How’s that sound?”
Ava’s eyes lit up like the Vegas Strip and she peered up at Sam. “Can we?”
Nick and Ava both looked at Sam to gauge her reaction. Her eyes met Nick’s first and he arched an eyebrow questioning her much as her niece had. Between the two of them and their puppy dog eyes, how could she ever say no? She was actually beginning to forget why she was even there in the first place. It was as if she came here to spend the afternoon with Nick and Ava instead of drop Ava off to Luke.
“Sure.” Sam said and as soon as the word slipped from her mouth, Ava took off towards the office to invade the change jar. She watched her disappear into the office before she slowly turned her attention towards Nick. “I’ve been calling him all morning. Originally the plan had been for me to drop Ava off at his house by nine this morning. He wasn’t home and he hasn’t answered his phone.” She let out a deep breath, not realizing she was rambling.