Page 12 of Lady Luck’s Kiss

“No time frame, remember? No limits,” he said in a sultry voice. “No rules. Just what we want is the only thing that counts. Don’t clean off the red yet, I might be tempted to kiss you again and smear it around a bit more.”

“Want the grand tour or did you already look around?” she asked, swallowing hard at the intimacy in the room.

She changed the subject. It was getting warm in here and she wasn’t quite ready to take the next step just yet.

Kissing Jack would lead to the next step easily and while she said ‘no rules’, she did have one whopper-of-a-rule.

She didn’t want to regret anything in her life and that included fooling around.

Pulling back, she showed him around the shop quickly and explained about the water pump. She then showed him the bill and, thankfully, he didn’t balk at it. She had really never discussed price because she wasn’t sure what would fix it yet.

“Who’s Camaro?”

“She’s mine.”

“Yours? Are you restoring her?”

“Working on it. I just got the motor running the other day. Someone had tossed her aside for scrap and there was so much zest, so much life waiting to come alive that I had to have her. I bought her for a couple hundred and towed her here years ago. She’s been my project ever since.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Yes, she is. I feel odd calling it a ‘she’ but it feels right. All the chrome, all the lights? It reminds me of a woman’s jewelry. All she needs now is some pretty, black shoes.”

“Shoes? Like brake pads?”

“No, shoes like a woman. She needs new rims. The person that had her before had a set of steelies on her and it didn’t fit the aura she projects.

This girl needs a set of aggressive black rims. When I do my taxes, I think I might buy them.

Unless, I buy my a new cell phone first,” she admitted, grinning.

“Stupid, I know, but that is why I was so surprised you called me Lady Luck. If I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any. ”

“I don’t think it’s stupid. Lots of people say that their cars have personalities. They even name their cars because it feels right. You care about the inanimate object when it’s named. That gives it life and a personality. So, what’s her name?” he asked casually.

“Martha Stewart.”

“What?” he exclaimed and burst out laughing. “You named your Camaro Martha Stewart?”

“No laughing and no judgement! Remember? Hear me out!” she countered, feeling extremely embarrassed by the moniker she had given the car.

“She’s a powerful, independent female that looks sharp, right?

She’s got the jewelry, the kingdom, her universe, and owns it all - from sheets to sauce pans.

The girl’s got it , if you get my drift.

She’s got it all and rules like a queen.

The name fits my car.” Beth had called her that a few times over the years and while she hated it, it kinda stuck to the car.

Every young girl wanted to be a princess, but only a few became a queen…

and her car, her shop, her mantra was to rule it all like her own little kingdom. The Camaro became Martha Stewart.

“Wow. I thought you were going to say something mundane, like Bandit or Onyx. I can honestly say that I wasn’t expecting Martha.”

“Meh,” Charlie said shrugging. “My rules, my car, my nickname.”

“So, it is,” he agreed, chuckling still at the name. “And I can tell you really adore it. It looks like you’ve put a lot of work into her.”

“She’s mine. I have put a lot of work into her, so yeah, I’m proud. She’s my goals, you know?”

“You should be.”

They stood there for a few moments and she could see the hesitation in his eyes. “What?” she asked and saw him shake his head. Instead, he led her back into the waiting area where it was a bit cleaner and the basket he had brought sat. “So, what did you bring in the basket?”

“I brought dinner for us. It’s nothing fancy, just a little something.”

“Sounds good, but it’s a little early for dinner.”

“True. I was kind of hoping to spend the afternoon with you and then sweep you off your feet for dinner. I even have a closer.”

“A what?” she exclaimed with a laugh. If he didn’t look so embarrassed, she’d have thought he was being arrogant and claiming to have a “closer” for the night. He was actually blushing. What exactly was a closer anyway? Did he think he was going to get to sleep with her?

“You’ll see.”

“Well, that is unsettling and a bit unnerving.”

“Okay, maybe closer isn’t the right term. How about a gift?”

“That’s a much better term,” she admitted, laughing. “So, how shall we pass the time this afternoon?”

“Ever play spades?”

“You know, the naughty term for playing cards is strip poker. Not spades.”

“I wasn’t intending to be naughty, little one. I want to talk and get to know you a bit more and thought maybe we could do that over a card game.”

“A card game that won’t result in me being naked? You aren’t trying very hard, Romeo.”

“By all means, if you want to undress, I am NOT going to stop you from doing so,” he retorted with a wide grin.

“Go ahead, please! But I thought we’d try spades because I’m old-fashioned.

My parents always used to play, and they said that you could see the true personality of a person based on how they played.

If they were cutthroat, they’d probably be that way in life.

If they played well with a partner and fell into sync…

” He stopped and looked at Charlie, his eyes unfathomable.

“That partner would probably sync well the rest of their life. Dad swore that was how he knew Mom was the right one. She could read his mind and play off his hand.”

“That’s so sweet,” she breathed and cracked a smile. “Cheesy and tender, but sweet. I love it. But don’t you need four to play?”

“Yes, and, in fact, the other two should be here any minute.”

“You are bringing others? Who?” she asked, slightly bothered that he had taken it upon himself to plan out the afternoon without consulting her - and invited other people to this little romantic interlude that was quickly fizzling before her eyes.

“Beth is on her way and bringing a friend.”

“You threw that together last minute, didn’t you?”

“Absolutely I did,” he nodded proudly. He pointed out the window nearby just over her shoulder. “And there they are. Want to go wipe off that lipstick, little one? I’m not going to have time to smear it until later when we are alone.”