Page 18 of Love Arranged

“Unless your goal is to kill your engine, no. It’s not.”

I look up at the sky and pray for patience when Lorenzo shifts the stick so I can get a better look.

“See how it’s dark?” he asks.

“A bit hard to miss.” The bead of oil at the end of the stick is nearly the same shade as his eyes, hair, and today’s suit. He skipped out on wearing a tie, but I imagine it would match his doom-and-gloom aesthetic.

“That means you need to get it changed, along with your serpentine belt, which looks like shit, by the way.”

“I knew you loved collecting cars, but I had no idea you knew how to fix them too.” The comment slips out. Typically I pretend we hardly know each other, especially around my family, but I forgot myself.

He puts the metal stick back where it belongs before he stands to his full height and assesses his stained hands. “Do you have a rag or something?”

I pluck his fancy pocket square from his jacket and hand it over. “This looks like it could work.”

He grabs it with a fake smile. I ignore the way the tips of my fingers tingle when his brush against mine, just like I ignore the small jolt in my chest when he stares at his hand too.

He wipes engine grease from his well-manicured fingers and tosses the stained silk square into the trash bin next to us before asking, “When’s the last time you changed the battery?”

“Recently.”

“Are we talking in the current decade?” His smile grows, along with the pain in my chest. Countless times I’ve seenVote Vittorilawn signs, street banners, and local television ads promoting his mayoral campaign, so Ishouldbe used to it.

My gaze drops to his mouth before I look back at the engine. “I’m going to grab my phone and call the mechanic. He can come out and take a look.”

“The shop’s closed already.”

“Great,” I mumble to myself.

He shuts my hood. “I can give you a ride home.”

“I’d rather walk.”

“In the middle of a heat wave?”

I give his suit a quick pass. “I don’t see you struggling.”

“This is nothing compared to Vegas.”

“Huh. And here I thought you spent the last two decades in hell.”

“Sure felt like it sometimes.” His light tone doesn’t match the dark, intriguing look in his eyes.

“Hm,” I reply while chantingwe don’t care enough about him to ask what he meansin my head.

“Do you want a ride or not?” He pulls out his key ring from the interior pocket of his jacket. “I don’t have a lot of time before my next meeting.”

I stare at him without saying anything.

“I’ll even call Manny on the way and ask him to come here first thing tomorrow morning.”

My brows rise. “I wasn’t aware that you’re on a first-name basis with the town’s mechanic.”

“He didn’t give me much of a choice.”

“Aw. Look at you making a friend. Should I warn him about what happens when anyone gets too close?”

“You and I were never friends.”