2
" I glance up and nearly squeal in shock as the same hunky mechanic stares down at me.
How did he see me back here? This spot is super secluded, and no one ever sits here.
“Can I help you?” I ask, pulling my earbuds out and taking in the broad width of his shoulders. Today, Mr. Book Boyfriend is wearing blue jeans and a black, fitted Tire Depot T-shirt. He’s much cleaner than he was yesterday in his dirty coveralls that made me reconsider the profession of my current book hero.
“You’re back,” he states knowingly, his stunning blue eyes drinking in my yoga pants, T-shirt, and a baseball cap.
“I, um…had an issue with one of my tires. The guys are fixing it.”
“Which guys?” he asks, crossing his tan, sculpted arms over his chest. I have to crane my neck back completely to even reach his face he’s so tall.
“I’m not really sure.”
“Okay, well, which car?” he inquires, running a hand through his trim black hair. Damn, he’s really got that tall, dark, and handsome thing down to a T. He looks almost Mediterranean. Le swoon!
I swallow slowly. “Um…I drive a Cadillac SRX.”
“A Cadillac?” He barks out a small laugh. “Isn’t that kind of an old lady car?”
My brows furrow. “It’s not an old lady car. It’s a luxury SUV. It’s wonderful. I have heating and cooling seats.”
“Well, if you have that kind of money to spend on a vehicle, you should look at a Lexus or a BMW. Much more sexy feel to the body. You’d look pretty damn hot driving a Lexus LX.”
“Maybe I’m not trying to look hot. Maybe I like looking like an old lady.” That was a really unhot thing to say, but Book Boyfriend booms with laughter and squats down next to me. "
― Amy Daws , Wait With Me (Wait With Me, #1)
3
" I mean…sure, my guilty conscience poked at me a few times, but the more I went, the easier it got. America’s greatest serial killers probably lived by this same mantra. But so be it.
Give me complimentary coffee or give me death.
The CCC had become my Luke’s Diner. I was Lorelai Gilmore waltzing in every day, and that little, nonverbal, automated coffee machine was the grumpy diner owner that I was slowly falling in love with. And now I’ve met Betty, the baker of the goods and direct cause of my poor diet these past few weeks.
But love is a wild creature. You can’t contain it or control it. You can’t break it and tell it no. It’s a charging animal that you must accept as your destiny.
That is how I feel about the Tire Depot CCC: true, unadulterated love. "
― Amy Daws , Wait With Me (Wait With Me, #1)
4
" Me: You fucking whore.
Hannah: What?
Me: You know what. This pizza!
Hannah: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Me: Your name is on the receipt.
Hannah: CRAP! I thought it’d take you at least ten minutes to figure out it was me.
Me: Yeah, crap! I am fucking mortified, you idiot. I’m trying to keep a low profile, but that delivery guy probably had to go talk to the guys at the counter to figure out where I was. I am humiliated, and you are the worst! Don’t you have your own book to write? How do you have time for this?
Hannah: I’m shaking so hard with laughter, it’s difficult to type.
Me: I had my earbuds in, so I didn’t hear him calling my name. He listed off the food you bought for a football team and then handed it all to me—the chubby ginger creeping in the corner. Goddamn you!
Hannah: Is it good, though? I got you extra dipping sauces for those parm breadsticks. That cost extra, you know. I ain’t cheap.
Me: I can’t eat it because my mortification has killed my appetite! But…this does give me an excuse to try out the fountain pop machine, so…silver lining.
Hannah: My eyes are wet from laughing so hard.
Me: Yuck it up, yucky yuckerson. God, I was in the middle of writing an anal scene, so I was super in the zone too…it’s no wonder I didn’t hear him.
Hannah: STOP. MY STOMACH IS KILLING ME…ON ACCOUNT OF ALL THE LAUGHING.
Me: Well played, whore. Well played. And it’s the burn that keeps on burning b/c my inner cheap girl will NOT let me throw these leftovers away. So I’m going to have to carry them out of here.
Hannah: Oh, I was counting on that. Want to hear something horrible?
Me: What?
Hannah: I was going to do a sub delivery, but then I decided the pizza boxes were more embarrassing.
Me: You’re dead to me.
Fifteen minutes later.
Hannah: So I’ve been picturing you sulking and refusing to eat for the past fifteen minutes and then finally giving up and eating it anyway. Am I close?
Me: OMG, it’s like you’re here with me. That’s exactly what I did. This food is delicious btw. But I’m still not thankful.
Hannah: But you’re always welcome. ;) Best $53 I ever spent. "
― Amy Daws , Wait With Me (Wait With Me, #1)
13
" With a rumble of his truck, Miles pulls away, and I exhale heavily. Turning on my heel, I walk up to my front door. “Hey, Dean,” I murmur, fishing out my keys and unlocking the deadbolt.
“Hey, Kate.” Dean looks awkward as he scratches his fingers through his beard.
I take pity on him and ask, “Want to come inside for a coffee?”
He smiles. “Is it complimentary?”
I pin him with a look. “For people who aren’t assholes, yes.”
His eyes cast downward. “I won’t be an asshole, I swear.”
“You sure?” I ask, gesturing down the road. “Nothing to say about Miles’s truck? Did you hear how loud that muffler was?”
His brows lift. “I’m surprised you even know what a muffler is.”
I frown at that comment. “Me too, actually. I guess some of my research has been sticking.”
The corner of his mouth tips up into a smile. “I’ll be good, I swear. "
― Amy Daws , Wait With Me (Wait With Me, #1)
14
" I dare you to go skinny dipping in the lake.”
Her brows shoot up into her hairline. “The lake that birthed my blessed tire? No way! Who knows what the hell else is in that thing?”
I shake my head. “I knew you wouldn’t do it.”
“Oh, and you would,” she grumbles back.
“I’ve swum in that lake before. It’s not disgusting. One little bicycle tire doesn’t change my opinion on its cleanliness.”
She pouts. “But it’s probably going to be cold.”
I shrug. “It’s fine. I knew you wouldn’t do it. You’re all talk, no action.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yep,” I reply, pinning my eyes to her.
“Need I remind you who’s been sneaking into Tire Depot for weeks on end now?”
I scoff. “You call that dangerous?”
“I’m consuming those complimentary beverages without a service, Miles.” She waggles her head back and forth with some serious sass. “That’s basically just as bad as thieving.”
I laugh at her choice of words, then narrow my eyes and reply through clenched teeth, “Such a cold, hard criminal.”
She narrows her eyes back at me, clearly not enjoying my sarcasm. “Fine, I’ll do it, but you have to do it with me.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because I’ll be naked "
― Amy Daws , Wait With Me (Wait With Me, #1)
17
" I’m sweaty. I’m tired. And I stink in places I really shouldn’t be stinking.” I whine and shoot a glare to Dean, who’s sitting in the passenger seat looking sheepish.
“What?” he exclaims with his hands raised. “I didn’t know we’d have fucking car trouble. Your car isn’t even a year old.”
“I know!” I snap, hitting my hand on the wheel and growling in frustration. “Stupid old lady car!” I exclaim and push my head closer to the window for a breeze. “The frickin’ air conditioning isn’t even working anymore. Me and this car are officially in a fight.”
“I think we all just need to remain calm,” Lynsey chirps from the back seat, leaning forward so her head comes between Dean’s and mine. “Because, as horrible as this trip was, after everything that’s happened between the three of us the past couple of years, I think this was really healing.”
I close my eyes and shake my head, ruing the moment I agreed that a road trip to the Rocky Mountains to pick up this four-thousand-dollar carburetor from some hick who apparently didn’t know how to ‘mail things so they don’t get lost.’”
Honestly! How are people who don’t use the mail a thing? Though, admittedly, when we got to the man’s mountain home, I realized that he was probably more familiar with the Pony Express. And I couldn’t be sure his wife wasn’t his cousin. But that’s me being judgmental. Still, though, it’s no wonder he wouldn’t let me PayPal him the money. I had to get an actual cashier’s check from a real bank.
Then on our way back down the mountain, I got a flat tire. Dean, Lynsey, and I set about changing it together, thinking three heads could figure out how to put a spare tire on better than one.
One minute, I’m snapping at Dean to hand me the tire iron, and the next minute, he’s asking me if I’m being a bitch because he told me he had feelings for me. Then Lynsey chimes in, hurt and dismayed that neither of us told her about our conversation at the bakery, and it was a mess. On top of all of that, my car wouldn’t start back up! It was a disaster.
The three of us fighting with each other on the side of the road looked like a bad episode of Sister Wives: Colorado Edition.
I should probably make more friends.
“God, I hope this thing is legit,” Dean states, turning the carburetor over in his hands.
“Put it down. You’re making me nervous,” I snap, eyeing him cautiously.
We’re only five miles from Tire Depot, and they close in ten, so my nerves are freaking fried. “I just want to drop this thing off and forget this whole trip ever happened.”
“No!” Lynsey exclaims. “Stick to the plan. This is your grand gesture! Your get out of jail free card.”
“I don’t want a get out of jail free card,” I cry back. “The longer we spent on that hot highway trying to figure out what was wrong with my car, the more ridiculous this plan became in my head. I don’t want to buy Miles’s affection back. I want him to want me for me. Flaws and all.”
“So what are you going to do?” Dean asks, and I feel his concerned eyes on mine.
“I’m going to drop this expensive hunk of metal at the counter and leave. I’m not giving it to him naked or holding the thing above my head like John Cusack in Say Anything. I’ll drop it off at the front counter, and then we’ll go. End of story.”
Lynsey’s voice pipes up from behind. “That sounds like the worst ending to a book I’ve ever heard.”
“This isn’t a book!” I shriek. “This is my life, and it’s no wonder this plan has turned into such a mess. It has desperation stamped all over it. I just want to go home, eat some pizza, and cry a little, okay?”
The car is dead silent as we enter Boulder until Dean’s voice pipes up. “Hey Kate, I know you’re a little emongry right now, but I really don’t think you should drive on this spare tire anymore. They’re only manufactured to drive for so many miles, you know.”
I turn and glower over at him. He shrinks down into his seat a little bit. "
― Amy Daws , Wait With Me (Wait With Me, #1)
18
" I remain silent for a few minutes as I scroll through everything about Miles that I love. Then I think about everything he loves, and my eyes alight when I recall the night we shared in his grandpa’s truck.
“His grandpa has this old truck that he’s dying to fix up. But he’s dumping all his money into house renovations, so he’s holding off on it for now. He said the carburetor needed replacing.”
Dean’s eyes brighten at this revelation. “You just had seven months’ worth of rent open up.”
“You think this is a good idea?” I ask, chewing on my thumbnail nervously. “Can you just buy a carburetor for a car? Wouldn’t he have to like…I don’t know…repair it or something?”
“That’s what Google is for!” Lynsey squeals and reaches out to grab my computer.
“Wait, will this be emasculating?” I say, stopping her mid-Google. “If I buy some expensive part for his grandpa’s truck, is he going to be like, ‘Fuck you bitch, I pay my own way?’” Lynsey and I both look at Dean for an answer.
“Not if you give it to him naked.” He simply shrugs.
My first reaction is to laugh, but when Dean doesn’t join in, my face drops. “Wait, seriously?”
He lifts his brows and pins me with a look. “I’m not even into cars, but if you came at me naked with a carburetor in your hand, I’d probably be all over that.”
I look over at Lynsey, who gives me a shrug as well.
“We’ll figure that part out later "
― Amy Daws , Wait With Me (Wait With Me, #1)
