More Than Friends (Kingsley #4) (25 page)

Michael woke up twenty minutes late in the morning with a dead phone, a dry mouth, and a conflicted spirit. He had spent the night in conflicted dreams, and when he woke up, his sheets were damp with sweat. The day went by without struggle though, and he and Ben worked through their backlog of repairs and maintenance jobs with an ease that had become routine. He had taken care not to get too dirty or sweaty as he worked, though, and while it had meant moving a little slower, he still felt good at the end of the day. He and Ben were only behind by two small jobs, and he only thought of it as being behind because the deadline was tomorro
w
– but knowing that the jobs would be done in the morning before the cars were due to be picked up in the afternoon settled his soul, and he had time to think about what he wanted to say to Renee at dinner.

When she arrived in the afternoon, the air already smelled of twilight, and the late spring sun was just beginning to slip over the horizon. Michael had changed into a clean shirt, and was cleaning his tools for the day when Renee stepped through the door that led from the lobby to the garage. She smiled almost shyly when he looked up to greet her, and Michael gestured for her to come closer, waving a wrench lightly over the scattered tools on the counter in front of him
.“I’
m almost finished here
,
” he said
,“
if you do
n’
t mind hanging out for just a second? I can leave it though, if you want to head out
.
”

“
Or ask Ben to get it for you, more likely
,
” Renee teased. She bent down to pull a clean rag from the basket below, draped it over the edge of the counter, and then propped her elbows on it
.“
Do
n’
t forget, Michael, I know how you are about your tools. I can wait until yo
u’
ve finished though
.
”

Nodding, Michael finished wiping the wrench in his hand, added it to the drawer at his elbow, and lifted a blackened socket piece from the scatter on the counter
.“
How was your day
?
”

“
Fine
,
” Renee said, smiling softly. She watched as he painstakingly removed the grease from the socket, set it aside, and began work on another
.“
My class went well, but I do
n’
t much like doing them in the park. Level ground is harder to find, and it was cool most of the day, s
o
…” Her voice trailed away and she shrugged slowly
.“
Yoga just is
n’
t the same if you have to wear a sweater to keep from freezing
.
”

“
Good thing you do
n’
t teach hot yoga, then
,
” Michael answered, laughing
.“
No climate control at the park – yo
u’
d have been shut down entirely for the day
.
”

She laughed, daintily reaching out to collect the soiled towels as Michael reached for another clean one. She dropped them into the basket of dirty rags beside the counter, and turned away to scan the garage
.“
You must be proud of this
,
” she said
.“
Making it work all on your own
.
”

“
I am
.
” Michael shrugged, placing the sockets neatly into their places
.“
And I know I do
n’
t do it like everyone else does, you know? I care about my place, my tools, the quality of my work. Right on down to these
,
” he said, shrugging again as he held up a stray plastic zip tie
.“
I ca
n’
twork efficiently if I do
n’
t know where things are, if my tools are
n’
t in good condition. The
y’
re cheap enough, most of them, but I wo
n’
t pay overhead as easily if
I’
m always replacing things. So I put it away
.
” As he spoke, he knelt down to open a drawer below the counter, slipping the tie in amongst piles of others, each pile neatly sorted by color. He watched her eyebrows raise, felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment, and closed the drawer
.“
I just like to know where things are
,
” he said.

“
That makes sense. You still have that one in here? It was here the last few times I was here, too, was
n’
t it
?
” Renee wrinkled her brows, narrowing her eyes as she stared at the Camaro in the third bay
.“
And actually, now that
I’
m thinking of it, I do
n’
t remember ever not seeing that there
.
” She glanced over at Michael expectantly before looking back toward the car, and as he finished his cleanup, she left the workbench and walked over to the Camaro.

“
I
t’
s the one
I’
ve talked about now and then
,
” Michael said, following a moment later. He watched her manicured fingernails glide over the chrome trim piece that edged the windshield, and smiled
.“
I
t’
s only just finished. Looks alright, I think, but maybe she needs a paint job
.
”

“
Maybe. Does it run? Or is it just fo
r
–“

“
Looks
?
” Michael broke in,grinning
.“
Oh no, she runs.
I’
ve idled the engine over the rebuild process to check things, make sure it sounded right, ran right. She runs fine. Purrs, even
.
”

Her eyes twinkling with amusement, Renee bent at the waist and peered in through the passenger window
.“
Nice. You did all this? The inside, too
?
”

Michael nodded, embarrassed again
.“
I did. Well, most of it, anyway. I mean, someone else sewed the leather, but I put it on, put everything together. Bought the parts, put them in. It kept me busy, you kno
w
… after
.
”

Glancing briefly up at Michael, Renee nodded her understanding and then turned back to the car
.“
Can I see? Inside, I mean
?
”

“
Have at it
.
” He laughed as she made a little excited humming noise, opening the drive
r’
s side door as she slipped into the passenger seat.

“
This is beautiful, Michael
,
” Renee said, running her hands over the leather interior. She looked over at him, smiling as he settled into the seat beside her, and twisted to look into the back
.“
You did a great job with this. How does it drive
?
”

“
I do
n’
t know yet
,
” Michael answered with a shrug
.“
I have
n’
t gotten around to driving heryet, just ran the engine to make sure everything was good there
.
”

“
Wow, not even a test drive yet
?
”

“
Not yet. I finished herright before my mo
m’
s accident
,
” he said
.“
And then everything with me and you, and the
n
… I just have
n’
t yet
.
”

“
Oh
.
”

Watching her face as she opened the glove box and peered inside, Michae
l’
s heart warmed. Thinking she would likely be uninterested, Michael had
n’
t mentioned the Camaro much over the years, but he could see now that he had underestimated her. She stroked the soft leather of the seats just as he had when the
y’
d arrived, examined the controls in the dashboard and commented on the old style of the steering wheel
.“
Wanna take her for dinner
?
” He had
n’
t meant to ask the question, had
n’
t planned to ask, but as Renee turned wide eyes in his direction, he was glad the words were out.

“
That would be so cool. Are you sure i
t’
ll get us there
?
”

Michael felt his mouth twist wryly
.“
Relatively. W
e’
re not going far thoug
h
– Alfons
o’
s is close to here
.
”

Renee shrugged agreeably
.“
Alright then. Le
t’
s do this
.
” She waited in the car while Michael got out to open the bay door, and he saw her smiling as Be
n’
s voice came over the loud speaker, telling Michael to leave the bay door open and go on, and that h
e’
d get the door as he locked up. He could see her bending and twisting in her seat, examining the car, and she looked over at him with sparkling eyes as he got back into the car
.“
This is really amazing, Michael
,
” she said
.“
I
t’
s beautiful
.
”

He could
n’
t hold back a smile as he twisted the key in the ignition and listened to the engine roar to life, the sound echoing in the quiet of the garage. The smile did
n’
t falter during the drive either, as he and Renee chatted easily about the process of rebuilding the car, the varieties of interior colors he could have chosen, and the merits of the old American muscle cars. Michael was in his element, and the awkwardness between them slowly bled away. By the time he pulled into a parking spot at the restaurant they had agreed on, her hand was tucked into his as comfortably as if it had always been there, and he felt like he was losing a part of himself when he released her hand to get out of the car.

“
Stay there,
I’
ll get your door
,
” he said, grinning as he got out of the car
.“
If w
e’
re doing this old-school, you have to let me. No arguments
.
”

She did
n’
t answer before he closed his door, but he saw her smiling as he opened it again to push down the manual lock button. He was smiling too as he opened Rene
e’
s door, and she stepped out with a courteous tip of her chin
.“
Such a gentleman
,
” she teased, laughing.

“
Tha
t’
s how I roll
,
” Michael retorted, slipping his arm around her waist as he led her into the restaurant.

Inside, Renee looked around, admiring the
dé
cor and commenting quietly in his ear about the quaint uniforms of the wait staff
.“
I can never get enough of this place
,
” she said quietly as they waited to be led to their table
.“
Cass told me about it after Drew first brought her here, and
I’
ve been a thousand times since. I think i
t’
s my favorite place to eat, when I let myself come here. Maybe my favorite treat for myself
.
”