“I want Four Cheeses,” Adam chimed in, without thinking for a moment that we weren’t going to have pizza for lunch.
“Yeah!” Mark agreed.
I sighed. “I’ll go and sort it out.”
I hurried to my office, getting the menu for the local pizza restaurant out of my desk. It was the way we celebrated all good work here in the workshop. I would be paying, too. As the boss, it was an obligation, but I also liked rewarding my brothers for a job well done.
Casting my eye down the menu, I took it to the shop.
“Right,” I said, walking to the reception desk after five minutes with the boys. “Can you do something for me?”
“Sure,” Amelia said in a frosty-cool voice. I wasn’t looking at her directly, but I could imagine her cold expression on her face. I could smell her strawberry shampooed hair. I wished I could be more friendly, but changing my demeanor around her would lead to me losing my mind and getting excited. I didn’t want to risk looking at her. I barely wanted to risk speaking to her.
“So,” I said firmly. “The guys are having pizza for lunch today. It’s our tradition when we finish a custom bike here. I have the list of orders here…” I pulled out a grimy slip of paper from my pocket, where I’d recorded the wishes of three particularly picky eaters. “And I wanted to ask if you could call the order in and then pick it up when it’s ready. It’s just around the corner from here. I can’t go… I have to order some parts.” I looked through the window, avoiding looking directly at her.
“Sure,” she said again. When I looked down at her, she was reading the list. She was not interested in me and even seemed a little annoyed about the request. I got irritated interacting with her, but I fought those feelings down. Her ignoring me annoyed me more than when I was ignoring her. I wanted her to look at me, I realized. I wanted her attention and to be desired by her, and that made me feel ridiculous. I turned around and walked out of the office.
“Carter! Come and see,” Mark called to me. “We’ve taken the last bit of tape off the chrome. The bike looks mean.”
“Sure,” I said. He must have heard the flatness of my tone because he gave me an odd look.
I followed him into the shop.
“Look, boss,” Matthew said with a grin in my direction. “Smooth and even. Check out the detail. As good a job as I ever did.”
“And the handles were put on the right way this time,” Adam teased.
“Shut up, Adam,” Mark said good-naturedly. “You didn’t notice last time.”
They all laughed. I felt oddly on the edge of the group, watching their banter but unable to truly be a part of it.
“What is it?” Matthew asked me, sensing my discomfort. Matthew has always been like that. His intuition has always been strong and accurate.
“He’s in love,” Mark shot back. His eyes held mine, and the words and stare caught me off guard. “With Ms. Rose.”
“Now, don’t you start,” I said, feeling the need to distance myself from such ideas.
Mark just held my gaze, his eyes were hard. I was about to shift gears again when Matthew thankfully laughed.
“Carter, we can see there’s something between you and the receptionist. Why not admit it?”
“Yeah. She’s hot. We all think so,” Adam said frankly.
“You do?” I stared at all of them, shocked. What was I going to do if my entire business got distracted just because of a girl? I was about to tell them I regretted hiring her when Matthew spoke.
“There’s nothing wrong with looking. None of us would do anything.”
“No. We like her,” Mark said, and he made the words a challenge.
I breathed deeply. I didn’t want this to build up into an argument between them and me. I just shook my head. “Guys… let’s just let it go,” I said. “We can all agree that she’s an attractive woman.”
“At least you can see that. We often wonder about you, big brother,” Matthew said.
Mark whistled. Adam giggled.
The door opened. Amelia stepped in.
She looked at all of us with a concerned look on her face.
We all stopped dead. I could feel the blood draining from my face in shock, and Matthew hurriedly turned to clean a speck of dust off the Harley’s new paint job. Mark stood, grinning brightly. Adam went red and hurried to the shelves to put the tools away.
“Hi,” I made myself say. I was sure my face was stiff. My voice was frosty.
“I brought the food,” Amelia said. Her voice was shaky. I noticed at once, as I took the boxes from her, that her hands were shaking. Mark noticed it too.
“Amelia? You okay?” he asked. “Come on… you need to sit down.”
Taking her arm, he led her out and to her office. I followed, not knowing why. I could see that something had shaken her badly.
Waiting in my office, not wanting to look too interested, I hung about by the door. I could hear Mark talking to Amelia, and what she replied with confused me more.
“Are you okay, Amelia?” Mark said gently.
“Yes… I’m fine. I just saw something that shook me a little. Please, just give me five minutes.”
“Okay,” Mark said gently. “But… if you need anything, we’re here. Okay?”
“Okay. Thanks.”
I heard the sound of boots on wood, and then the door shut. Mark had left. I waited. What had she seen, I wondered, that scared her?
I tiptoed out of my office and to the door. I hesitated, wondering if I should go in or not. None of my business, I decided. I should just let her calm down and give her some space like Mark did.
I tiptoed past, and then I heard the sound of crying. It was coming from Amelia’s office. I couldn’t restrain myself anymore and, taking a big step, forgetting about my own feelings, I entered her office.
I did care.
8
Amelia
I sat at my desk after Mark left my office. I was shivering so badly that I could barely sit on my chair. I tried to regain my composure and shake the emotions pouring over me. I wrapped my arms around my shoulders and tried to stop shaking.
Come on, Amelia. You can do better than this.
I drew a long breath and tried to forget everything.
When I shut my eyes, the image of his face appeared again. As did his sinister leer that was part of his smile. Luke Lowry—mom’s creepy friend—had reappeared in my life in the parking lot of the pizza restaurant.
“Hey, Missy,” he greeted me. He always called me that. My stomach crawled.
“Look, Luke…” I shot back. “Please. Leave me alone.” The shock of seeing him there, in the last place where I’d expect to see him, was chilling. How did he find me?
“Hey. Aren’t you pleased to see me?” he inquired.
I looked around, but the restaurant had no windows on that side, and the parking lot was deserted. I was alone there and, even if I screamed, in the industrial area, who was going to bother? My stomach twisted.
“Please,” I whispered. “Leave me alone.” I walked away, trying to make it to the front door of the pizza restaurant.
“Amelia,” Luke said. He strode up to me. He was an inch away. I could smell the gel in his hair and the intensity of cheap aftershave. “You shouldn’t play hard to get like this, you know. I know you really like me.”