“I would thank her insomnia,” he jokes, but it’s strained probably for her sake and mine.
“That’s fair,” I admit as Talon pulls back the covers, allowing me to slide in next to him. “I just didn’t expect to like you.”
He chuckles, his chest vibrating as his arms wrap around me. “You really know how to stroke a man’s ego.”
“The onlyegoI’d like to stroke is yours,” I tease, my lips pressing a kiss to the column of his neck. “Also, that was me saying I like you.”
“I know.” His arms tighten around me. “I love you too.”
“That’s not what I said,” I protest weakly.
“I know, but it’s what you meant.”
“Must be tough being right all the time.”
His body stills as I prop myself up on my elbow to look him in the eye. My heart races with the admission, but all I see is adoration reflected back at me.
“You don’t need to say it right now. I don’t want you to feel like?—”
“There’s never a right time, Talon Banks, and if watermelon season has taught us anything, it’s that the simplest things can be the sweetest.”
“I’m thinkin’ about growing you a whole garden of the damn things for next year.”
“Next year, huh?” I murmur against his lips.
“And every year after.”
“It’s a good thing I love you or that would be awfully presumptuous.”
“Thank God for that.”
26
TALON
A FEW MONTHS LATER
[Social Media Post from the Lowcountry Automotive]
Don’t forget, all this week if you bring your receipt from Taste of Magnolia, you’ll get a $5 discount off your vehicle’s service and be entered to win a free oil change.
#supportlocal #lowcountryautomotive #tasteofmagnolia #magnoliapoint
Ihit post and sit back in my chair. Social media has never been my thing, but I’ve slowly been increasing our online presence. We’ll definitely have to hire another mechanic soon, but that is a problem for another day.
The garage is busy as I step out of my office and head for my brother, sitting behind the front desk. I’d feel worse about him filling the role of receptionist if he didn’t also use the downtime to run his graphic design business.
He’d done all the rebranding for the garage, and the response has been more than I could have expected.
“Hey, how’s it look for the rest of the week?” I ask even though I have access to the same scheduling program in my office.
“Pretty much booked through the rest of the week. You need to hire another mechanic soon. Things will probably slow down next month, but you’re not going to want to wait.”
“I mean, you could fill that role and I could hire someone for reception,” I say pointedly, but he just grins and spreads his hands out to the side.
“And miss all this? You already pay me a decent salary, and I don’t have to scrape grease from under my nails. Honestly, I’d be an idiot to pass this up.”
“Sounds like you owe me a favor.” I grin and he frowns.
