“Of course I remember you, I never forget a pretty face,” he flirted. “Avery might be a little jealous about you calling me.”
I gave him a dry laugh. “I doubt that, but… um, I was calling because I’m having a little car trouble, and I need some help.”
“I’m sure we can handle that. Bring it on in!”
“Yeah… about that. I’m stranded with it… you guys have towing services, right?”
He chuckled. “You’re talking to the right man for the job, sweetheart. Where are you?”
I told him where I was and gave him the make and model of my car, then hung up to wait. I hoped it was another simple issue, with another quick fix. The hassle of purchasing another car was another added stress I didn’t need, not with the way my life was going. I hadn’t been sleeping well. I was swamped with everything I was doing for my clients, including Avery and Maya. And perhaps the biggest thing, I had been contacted again by one of the big online-dating companies. They were interested in purchasing my proprietary system to incorporate into their own, and to be honest… I was thinking about doing it. They had been pursuing me for several years, and each time they contacted me, the number they were willing to pay got bigger, but that wasn’t my biggest reason for considering it.
It was draining the life out of me to have to go to work everyday and help other people find and develop what I didn’t have. Every time I went home to that big empty house — Mel was usually out doing twenty-something things— I felt a little more emotionally depleted, and I was starting to wonder if it was time to move on. If I did, perhaps it would be easier to manage the overwhelming loneliness that came with the reality that I wasn’t cut out for love.
A knock on the window pulled me out of my thoughts, and I glanced out to see that Nick had pulled up. I waited in the passenger seat of the tow truck while he hitched my car in the pouring rain. I wanted to hold an umbrella for him or something, but he insisted he was fine in his poncho and boots.
“Okay, you ready to head out?” He asked as he climbed into the driver’s seat, splashing water all over the front cab.
“Um, yeah. Thanks again for coming to help me out,” I said, wiping the raindrops from my face.
He shrugged as he started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot. “It’s no big. Any friend of Avery’s is a friend of mine.” I didn’t bother to correct his ‘friend’ assumption, because it was the impression I’d given when I called.
When we arrived at the shop, Nick pulled my car into the bay, and shortly after, he was able to give me a diagnosis of faulty distributor caps, corroded wiring, and a list of other things I was clueless about. He sent me to wait in the office while they worked on it. When I walked in, it smelled like Avery, and I felt… comforted by that for some reason. I settled into the couch, letting my thoughts drift freely to him and twenty minutes later, I was asleep.
“Hey… wake up.”
Still feeling sluggish, I opened my eyes to see Avery kneeling in front of me, an unreadable expression in his eyes. I squinted through my hair, trying to figure out if this was still part of the dream I’d been having about him, but then I felt the warmth of his hand as he brushed my curls out of my face. Definitely not a dream.
Sitting up, I moved away from his touch. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep in here, I was extremely tired, and I—”
“Tori, stop.” He stood up to his full height, still without his usual smile. “It’s not a big deal.”
I shook my head. “Still. Do you have somewhere else I can wait, so I can get out of your way?”
I was rambling, because I was nervous as hell. I had carefully avoided being alone with Avery, and now here he was.
“There’s a waiting area for customers.”
“Oh,” I nodded, a little confused. “Nick sent me back here, I wasn’t trying to run into you, or intru—”
“I know. Nick called to tell me you were here.”
So it was a damned setup.