Page 9 of Scrap Metal & Love Reforged

I nodded. “Yeah. It was kind of an impulse buy, to be completely honest with you. Just like the minks.”

I turned to the door, glancing out of the corner of my eye to see if Troy followed. He had. “The minks?” he asked.

With a grin, I held open the door and bowed. Troy’s smile strained, and his eyes flashed with irritation. He seemed completely immune to my charms. But maybe Troy was just slow to warm. I’d discovered that sometimes, I was an acquired taste. I threw people off-kilter. But usually, people came around.

“You bought a bunch of furs?” Troy added.

“Oh, no. I bought the minks. Live ones,” I replied. “See; I was at an auction, and there were minks. Thirty, if I remember right. They were going to be sold for their fur, and I just couldn’t sit there and let that happen. So, I bought them.”

“Allof them?”

“All of them. I mean, I couldn’t just sit there knowing that—if I didn’t buy them—someone would kill them for their fur, and they just kept looking at me with those sad, little eyes. So, I took them home with me.”

“And how much money did that set you back?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just bid the highest and signed the slip. I let my accountant deal with it.”

“Do you still have all the minks, then?”

I stopped beside the bike and fondly patted the seat. “Nope!” I declared, looking at Troy, his eyes alight with interest as he took in the bike. “I found some friends to take them and make sure they were well taken care of.”

“That’s good,” Troy muttered, although I could tell he wasn’t really listening.

I stepped back and let Troy inspect the bike. He kept leaning forward with his hand extended, like he wanted to touch my bike but couldn’t actually bring himself to do it. I rocked back on my heels and looked at Troy, studying his profile. He had a strong jawline, covered in a thin, even layer of dark stubble. I felt a spark of envy. The few times I’d tried to grow my facial hair, it had grown all patchy and uneven. He was a handsome creature, really. His black t-shirt pulled tightly against his broad, well-muscled chest.

“It’s a nice bike.”

“Yeah,” I said. “She’s a real beauty. I knew I couldn’t pass her up, or I might never see another one.”

A sky-blue Nissan Saturn pulled into the lot. Troy straightened immediately and walked to the car. And I most definitely did not notice that he had a nice ass, even in his ragged, too-loose jeans.

Okay, so I did notice. Maybe stared a bit. But just a little, a very respectable amount of ogling.

“She’s early,” Troy muttered.

I forced my gaze upwards in case he turned around and saw me looking him over. “Who?” I asked.

“Skye.”

Oh! The pretty brunette woman. I waited, as Troy walked over to the car. The passenger door opened, and a little girl jumped out, her caramel curls bouncing with every step. She looked to be eight or nine and was utterly adorable. Troy pulled her into a hug. “Hey, there’s my girl!” he exclaimed.

His daughter, maybe? If I squinted, I could maybe see hints of a resemblance between them. She had the same crooked smile. “You won’t believe what I did at school today! They had a guest speaker, and she works rescuing animals! When I grow up, I want to do that! I want to take care of owls and raccoons!”

“What happened to being an astronaut?” Troy asked.

“Well, I can doboth!” the little girl replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Skye stepped out from the driver’s seat. Today, she wore a tight, turquoise dress and strappy high heels. I wondered what she did and if she always dressed like that. She looked like a lawyer or maybe the editor of a fashion magazine. But she clearly didn’t come from money. Even at a glance, I could tell that the star-shaped diamond earrings were clearly fake. She walked around the back of the car, her heels clicking on the pavement. She threw her arms around Troy and pulled him into a tight hug. “Thanks for watching her for me. I’ll be back at eight. I’ve got a—” Skye cut off abruptly, her attention darting to me. “Oh! You were here last time, too, weren’t you?”

“I was, indeed. Skye, right? I’m Seth.”

Just in case she’d forgotten, I’d save her the awkwardness of having to pretend she remembered my name.

“Oh, I rememberyou,” she said. “Did you bring another bike?”

“I did indeed!” I said, “One of my new babies!”

“Very nice,” Skye said, clearly faking interest. “Is it expensive?”