As Livy and Skye drove back into Bellwater, they had to stop in the middle of Shore Avenue to allow a tow truck to back a pickup into Kit’s auto shop. Kit stood near, chatting with a heavy-set guy, presumably the pickup’s owner.
Skye’s gaze drifted in boredom across the pavement, then snapped to attention upon spotting the young man who stood waving the driver into the space, pointing and shouting to direct him left and right.
Her stranger from the woods. Her mate.
Warmth flooded her. She felt short of breath.
Livy chuckled. “Well, at least we don’t have to get under that truck. We’re luckier than the Sylvain boys that way.”
“Sylvain.” Skye leaned forward in her seat for a better look.
The guy jogged out of the way while the driver slotted the truck into the garage.
“Yeah,” Livy said. “That’s Grady, Kit’s cousin. He’s in town a while. Apparently he’s a really good cook. He’s looking for a restaurant job in the city.”
Skye watched as he disappeared into the garage to unload the truck. A good cook as well as a good kisser. He sounded nice.
She wondered if the magic would have made a prison inmate sound “nice” to her, however. Because this surely was all due to the spell. Picked him as your mate? Fine, then here’s your mating instinct, it seemed to be saying.
She longed to see him again. Had he been thinking about her? He must have been, given their extraordinary meeting in the forest.
Kit spotted Livy waiting, and exchanged waves with her. Then the tow truck backed its nose out of the street and their path was clear. Livy drove past.
Skye twisted around to watch the garage as long as she could, until they turned the corner onto their street.
Livy cleared her throat. “Grady doesn’t like working at the garage, Kit says. He’d really rather cook. I was thinking it might be nice if I offered him a job, just temporary, like coming over to make us lunch or dinner some days. If he’s interested. I mean, if you don’t mind him being around while you’re there.”
Skye examined her. Livy’s expression was a little too carefully aloof; she must have guessed at Skye’s interest in Grady. Probably from how Skye had been staring.
Livy pulled into their driveway and turned off the engine. “So what do you think? I could ask him.”
Skye dragged her black leather purse off the car’s floor and onto her lap. She looked down at it, winding her fingers into the strap. His kiss. His kind face. His human warmth. The way he had made her feel good when nothing else had for a month.
“Ask him,” she said quietly.
CHAPTER TEN
SKYE DIDN’T NEED A BABYSITTER. LIVY STILL FELT CONVINCED OF THAT, THOUGH IT COULD BE SHE JUST WASN’T READY to face the idea of Skye needing anything resembling a nurse or a nanny. But some friendly company would help, as Morgan had said; especially someone who could cook. Grady’s culinary inventions sounded delicious and Livy wanted them in her house. Livy could easily rationalize it that way.
Also, Skye seemed to want him to come. That alone was notable, as she showed so little interest in anything lately. How could Livy not ask him?
Livy had taken the morning off to drive Skye to her appointment, and planned to spend the rest of the day working from home, emailing trail-restoration volunteers with the month’s plans. But she could put that off another half hour.
She heated up canned soup for lunch, made sure Skye ate some, then told her, “Since I’m here, I’ll walk down to the garage and see if Grady’s interested. Okay?”
Slouched on the sofa, browsing Netflix by remote, Skye nodded.
“Cool. Back soon.”
Livy walked down their sloping street and turned onto the shoulder of Shore Avenue. She told herself her thumping heart was nervousness at asking something kind of weird from someone she didn’t really know, and was certainly not excitement about talking to Kit again.
She strode up to the garage. Grady leaned his back against the mudsplattered pickup truck, eating what looked to be some kind of wrap.
As she approached, he swallowed a bite and greeted, “Hey.”
“Hey. Is Kit around?”
“Yup. Office.” He nodded toward the door.
“Thanks.” She paused. “I hear you cook. Is that something you made?”
He nodded and tilted the half-eaten wrap toward her to display it. “Tandoori steak, cucumber, and mint. With romaine.”
“Good God. That sounds fantastic.”
“Might as well eat something that tastes good, right?”
“You have the right attitude.” She sighed, thinking of her woeful can of soup. Best not to even tell him about that. “Talk to you soon.”
He waved in the middle of another bite.
She stepped into the office to find Kit behind the counter, frowning over a ledger book. An open Tupperware container sat beside it. The smell of warm Italian herbs mingled with the usual motor-oil scent.
He looked up at her and his scowl cleared to a surprised smile. “Heya. What’s up?”
“Hi. I have kind of a weird question for you. Well, an offer. And it isn’t really for you, it’s more for Grady, but I didn’t want to put him on the spot, so I thought I’d ask you.”
“I am officially intrigued.” Kit rested both hands on the counter’s edge, arms straight, and gazed at her.
She interlaced her fingers in front of her chest. “Well…his cooking sounds so amazing, and I suck at it so much myself, that I was thinking it’d be nice to hire him to come over and make us lunch or dinner some days. It’d be mainly hours I’m not around, but Skye would be there, and I think she could use the company, the way she’s felt lately. I know she could use the good food.”
Kit considered, lifting his eyebrows. “He may go for that. I gather he hates working on cars. Only because he tells me daily.”
“It’s just if you could spare him. Hours could be flexible, so it wouldn’t get in the way of his schedule here.”
“Eh, just between us, he’s not that much help in the shop.” Kit picked up a slice of pizza from the Tupperware and held it out on his palm. “This, now, is his superpower. Here, try. You’ll see.”
“Oh, no, I don’t want to take your lunch.”
“I got plenty. Seriously, try it.”
Livy caved in, took the pizza slice, and bit into it. The flavors blossomed in her mouth, a perfect blend of garlic, basil, crust, and what tasted like the top-quality varieties of pepperoni and mozzarella. “Mmm,” she said around the bite. “Okay, yeah. This. We want this.”
Kit folded his arms, watching her with satisfaction. “He took pity on me and made me pizza, but of course it’s still fancy pizza. Pesto instead of marinara, some kind of leaves on it along with the pepperoni.”
Livy tasted the scrap of wilted salad green she had just encountered. “Arugula maybe?”
“Something like that.”
“It’s awesome. Wow.” She ate another bite.
“Then sure, I’ll ask him. Would there be any job duties besides cooking?”