Page 11 of Lady Luck’s Kiss

CHARLIE

“Spill it! Before I get upset that you didn’t call me last night!” Beth threatened, shaking her Starbucks cup towards where Charlie sat totaling the order on Jack’s truck repair.

She had been up most of the night, utterly beside herself thinking of that single kiss and where it could have gone.

She regretted leaving his driveway and felt ashamed that she was that loose with a man, that she could even consider just throwing out her morals out the window on a whim because of one gorgeous smile - and the man behind it.

She had not been interested in anyone for so long.

Now, some sexy rodeo cowboy swaggers into her life and knocks it all upside down?

“Did ya’ bang him till your teeth shook in your head like a set of maracas?”

“What? NO! Geez! Who do you think I am? I don’t go ‘banging’ men on the first date - or any date,” Charlie repeated, using imaginary quotes in the air to get her point across. “Or any man that comes knocking. Marriage, remember? Some of us believe in marriage, vows, and happily-ever-afters.”

“Well I knoooooow that, silly. Buddy is here all the time sniffing after you and you have yet to bang him.”

“Can you not - please?” Charlie grimaced, swallowing back bile. “I think I’m gonna be sick. Those two words: Buddy and bang – do not belong in the same sentence in this house.” She put her hand over her stomach and forehead for dramatic effect.

“I guess that’d answer my question with a big, fat NO. Either that or your man was a lousy lay. If you have sex and you are grumpy the next day, then something is seriously wrong in the sheets.”

“You are vulgar, I swear! And for the last time - I am not sleeping with someone before I get married.”

“No, I’m honest. You are thirty years old.

You have your own business and you are a strong woman.

This isn’t the Middle Ages where if you sleep with someone you are ruined.

Heck no! Try him on for size and see if he is compatible.

The fire might be there but if your cowboy can’t ring your bell, it might be time to look for another musician. Ya’ get me?”

“Crudely effective descriptions, and yes. I understand. Adopt the Baird-Boy-Village bicycle lifestyle?”

“It’s one man, honey! That does not make you Matthew Baird or the village bicycle in the slightest. It makes you a cranky, uptight prude when you don’t get any nookie in your cookie. Geez, you’re in a foul mood today.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Drink your coffee and get over it…with it? On it? Whatever! But girl, get the attitude corrected or you are gonna run off customers if you bark at them like you do me. I can take it - paying peeps… not so much.”

“You’re the best.”

“I know I am. By the way, your cowboy just pulled up in an Uber. So, while I am ‘vulgar’ as you put it, I have no desire to see you two making spicy, goo-goo eyes at each other. If I want to see that I gouge my eyes out. Next time I come by, though, if you bite my head off, I’m gonna tell Buddy that you are incredibly shy and want him sooooooo badly. ”

“BETH! YOU WOULDN’T!” Charlotte roared in shock and outrage, coming off of the wooden stool she sat upon. If anyone dropped any hint to Buddy, she’d never get rid of him and that was beyond the pale.

“Try me, Ten-Speed. I love you to pieces, but dang, girl! Make with the happy stuff with your man, okay?” Beth blew a kiss towards where Charlotte stood at the counter and flew through the doorway, ringing the overhead bell on her way out.

Jack stepped out of the sedan and paid the driver. Charlie saw that he waved politely at Beth who was grinning from ear to ear. In his arms were a large picnic basket and a bottle of wine. Apparently, date number two was starting earlier than she expected with little warning.

While Charlie had been calculating his total so far, she had only finished not long ago bleeding the coolant system.

She still had yet to take the truck out for a spin to see if it overheated.

It had idled in the stall for about thirty minutes safely, but there was a distinct difference between letting a car idle and driving it.

And unfortunately for her, that meant she had sweat and grime everywhere.

Sighing dejectedly, she took a deep breath and prepared herself. It wasn’t every day that Cinderella met her Prince Charming in coveralls and smelling like axle grease.

“Hey there. I hope I’m not too early?”

“Nope, you just get to see me at my very finest,” she quipped and gnashed her teeth as she saw his surprised expression. “Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t sleep well last night and, honestly, I’m a filthy train wreck right now. I just got the water pump on the truck and was about to go on a test drive.”

“That’s great. I think.”

“Maybe. Hopefully, it is.”

“I’m sure it is. You look like you know what you’re doing.”

“I look absolutely wretched.”

“You look like you’ve worked hard on it and I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life.”

“Annnnnnd you’re officially crazy,” she teased with a light grin. “See that spot? That’s silicone sealant. And that charming smell? Brake cleaner from where I cleaned up all your coolant and my mess repairing it.”

“Enchanting, I swear. I love the smell of brake cleaner in the morning,” he said, leaning over the counter. His face was alight with a wide grin and he kissed her tenderly on the lips. “Do you have to work late or have any clients coming in soon?”

“Nope, all yours. Unless a customer drives up unexpectedly.”

“Well, I brought us a little something for dinner and thought maybe we could spend a little more time together. You didn’t seem to mind my singing during the movie, so how could I want to be anywhere else?”

“You know, I understand the feeling and the singing. Have you ever seen Mannequin ? There is some shameless singing that comes from me when that movie is on.”

“Ahhhh,” he said laying a hand over his heart. “I knew you were perfect for me!”

“Maybe I should let you smell axle grease up close? If you like that, then I will know it’s true lo-…” Charlie stopped midsentence and looked away quickly. “If you don’t mind, I think I will run upstairs and clean up a bit. Do you mind?”

“Would you feel better?”

“Much,” she said quickly, wanting to get away from the moment.

At his nod, she darted up the stairs and locked the door behind her.

Stupid, stupid idiot! she thought, shutting her eyes as she stood against the door.

“You don’t bring up the ‘L’ word so fast, or you run them off.

” Beth had always told her this and did she listen over the years?

Not one bit.

Thinking about it, she realized that if she had been out with a guy once or twice and he mentioned love, she’d flake on him instantly. It just doesn’t happen. And if it happens to be that way for her, who said it was that way for him, too?

She was infatuated and that’s all it was.

Infatuated and a complete idiot who happened to have left her shop full of tools and equipment unlocked with an almost stranger.

Did she even lock the till?

Shaking her head, she realized that she wouldn’t ever imagine that Jack could take something from her…other than her heart.

Thirty minutes later, she came downstairs and was clean. She had dawdled and taken her time wondering if he was regretting coming early. She also wanted to give him time to get an Uber back if he needed it.

Coming down the stairs barefoot, she felt like a brand-new person free from the muck and grime. She was wearing a comfy set of jeans and a feminine blouse that could easily fit under a set of coveralls during the next few hours, if needed.

No dresses today. She was basically on call - only she just didn’t make the same amount of money a physician did.

As she descended, she saw Jack in the waiting room sitting patiently and staring at the television in the corner. When she entered the room, he hopped up out of his seat politely.

“Feel better?” he asked. She felt like a wall had come up between them and it was probably because of her slip.

“Much, I appreciate it. I wasn’t sure if you minded waiting or if you would leave.”

“Did you think I was leaving?”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”

“Charlie-”

“Jack-” They both began and smiled. Charlie spoke first.

“Look, I don’t want things to be weird. I like you – a lot. I consider you a friend and if I can’t be myself with a friend, then maybe something’s wrong. If there is more, I don’t feel like there is a certain time frame or rules we have to follow. It just happens – and if not, then it doesn’t.”

“I agree.”

“So, what’s wrong? You seem a bit out of sorts.”

“Can I be myself? No games?”

“Heck, yes…please, no games,” she said with a happy sigh of relief and gave a loud squeak as Jack pulled her into his arms. His lips came down hard on hers like a starving man.

The feel of his tongue made her purr deep in her throat and that seemed to encourage him on.

His hands grasped at her waist, pulling her forward into his arms. He kissed her deeply for several minutes and then finally pulled away, tugging at her bottom lip.

“I adore your lips, Charlie,” she heard him whisper as she clung to his shoulders, weak in the knees. The man could knock her socks off and as she looked down at her bare feet, she giggled.

“Kissing me makes you laugh?”

“No, but it sure knocks my socks off,” she replied and heard him chuckle. “Actually, I didn’t come down with any, so…”

“So, I should try it again?”

“And often, I’m thinking,” she admitted softly, tracing the edge of his chin. “You’ve got a bit of red on your face again. Maybe I shouldn’t wear my lipstick anymore?”

“I’d be crushed,” he admitted tenderly. “Those pretty, red lips haunted my dreams last night.”

“Those red lips are staining yours… and making quite the mess on your sexy face.”

“I always knew you thought I was sexy,” he teased.

“I just met you two days ago.”